July 9, 2017

I'm sending a quick little e-mail today just in case I don't get to send many e-mails on Tuesday. Tuesday is the day when all of the elders in the MTC are going out to the field. We leave Tuesday at 6 in the morning for a nice enjoyable 5 hour bus ride. I don't think it will be that bad actually; we'll all sleep on the bus wake up around 8ish and tell jokes for a while and say some prayers and such. This week at the MTC has been a little crazy. I did a journal entry in my class and compared my knowledge now compared to when I got here and it's an insane difference. I didn't realize how much progress I had made, a few examples are that I have tons of stuff memorized, from sequences of lessons to scripture, to all of the commandments. It's pretty crazy now that I look back. Speaking of looking back, I remember the good ol' times when I weighed 180 pounds throughout all of high school. I've literally gained 14 pounds at the MTC. I love it, and yes I can see the difference on my body. But I hope you all know that I'm safe and I pray for you every night and morning. Heavenly Father is here for us all and we need to trust in him.

Elder Erik Orchard