Week Two in the MTC

April 23, 2015

Konichiwa kazoku (family),

So, I am typing this from an iPad and it may be a little rough.  Our mission is heading the pilot program on using technology to destroy Satan.  Literally.  The basic theory is that if we come on a mission with bad habits with technology, then now it’s time with this tech to break those habits and develop better ones, and if you come on a mission without any bad habits, you still have the opportunity to develop good ones.  It is so cool that I am only one of twenty five missionaries to be a part of this experiment, and it is soooo amazing that the inspiration for this program came about.  What is Satan’s greatest tool for evil in the world today?  Technology??  And what are we using to thrust a dagger of righteousness into his side?  That's right, technology.  Eat that, man without a body.  The MTC is sooooo awesome.

Okay so this place is awesome. Demo (although) my patience is being tested. I often feel inadequate since I have no background in this language and everyone else does, I feel frustrated that I have to unlearn every grammar rule of English.  I get frustrated that I have to learn hiragana, katakana (phonetic alphabets) and hire ten tens (grammatical particles), ask dad what those are, and some kanji (formal Japanese characters), the lessons, challenges, you all know.  BUT, my companions have helped with those feelings so much.  They have told me how inspiring my work ethic is.  They tell me how I am always studying and never let a spare minute escape me to ‘relax,' so that was really good to hear about.  Of course I am constantly humbled and taught by them in many ways so don't get the wrong idea about me.  I have not been sleeping well but I feel that when I begin to wear down there is a surge of reserve energy that comes into effect and helps me to remain motivated and excited about the day.  Perhaps the Lord recognized I would need this and it is a gift from him.  Either way he still gets all the credit.  Our choir director made an analogy the other day about how when we are walking with Christ, as we do while missionaries, we pull together like oxen sharing a yoke.  We like to think that Christ and us are pulling equally, but he said that Christ is like a forty foot tall ox, like the one Paul Bunyan had, and we are like normal sized oxen running our legs as fast as we can saying, "Look at me and how fast I am going,” with our legs pumping a thousand miles an hour touching nothing but air.  That is when Christ looks at us and says, "Great job servant of mine!!"  But remember, "There is never a time when you pull alone."  I really liked that.

I got some questions about day to day, so first off dad that card is not essential right now so just hold on to it.  Natalie, my classes are mostly filled with the sensei (teachers) speaking Japanese ninety percent of the time and English ten percent.  The ten percent is mainly to tell us what words mean so we can study them later.  We go over grammar and vocab and stuff for three hour blocks.  There is a lot of time to use dedicated to our studies to what we feel necessary.  This is also part of the pilot program.  It is called foundational study and we study day to day Nihongo (Japanese) so that we become more masters of the language rather than simply memorizing the lessons and gospel vocab.  We teach like seven lessons a week and on Monday nights we teach real members like a home teaching appointment who are mostly Nihonjin (Japanese people).  That has been really cool because they already know the gospel, we simply provide the spirit.  Dad, sorry about the shingles!  I'll pray for you.

Now to all the young men who may come into contact with this email.  DO NOT BE DISOBEDIENT in the MTC!!  DO NOT BE DISOBEDIENT IN THE MTC!!  There is a lot of disobedience here, and it can really detract from the spirit and progression of yourself as a missionary and those around you.  Learn early on that there is a time and place for fun and goofyness, which there will be sooooo much of in the MTC.  It's a blast and I love it.  But make sure during all meetings and class times you are reverent and respectful.  Please.  It means so much when everyone is on the same page and feeling the spirit.  Okay, lecture over.

I love my mission and I love the MTC so much!!  Shannon I cannot wait for you to get here.  You will fall in love immediately.  The gospel is the only one hundred percent true thing in life, everything else is just a hypothesis with supporting detail.  Never let someone tell you otherwise.  Glory to God and what he can do with us as tools.

Love you all, ai shitte imasu

Elder Viehweg