The Last MTC posting and Travel Plans for Heading to Florida

Elder Eric Bruce Seamons

Florida, Ft Lauderdale Mission
7951 SW 6th St Ste 110
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33324-3211


E-mail sent Thursday August 19, 2010


Hi Family and Friends!

I have my travel plans [for Tuesday]. I will be at the travel office in the MTC at 4:00 am. I am leaving around seven and I will have a layover in Detroit. I don't need anything to be sent before I leave. I am putting stuff in my box to send home today. I put my weekly Branch president letters that I get back every week after I write them. I tell him what has been going on. I put the French pamphlets, triple combination, and other things that we got at the beginning but didn't need before. Elder Caldwell is the only one who will really need to use those. We got some Ensigns from the branch presidency which I will also be sending home. I am only going to keep the conference editions. I will also send the hangers home that you sent me.

I haven't read the instructions about how to send things home, but I will be sure to do that. I will read the instructions about waterproofing my shoes.

Elder Caldwell got up at 3:30 on Monday and he left in time to get to the travel office at 4:00. I have just been going around with Elder Loder and Elder Terry right now. Not too many things are different, since most of the time is spent in the classroom.

We have been practicing door approaches as well as contacting people the last few days. We practiced with each other. We also practiced getting referrals from people. We asked them if they knew anyone who would like to hear from us.

We did zone teaching on Tuesday. I was taught by some of the new Samoan elders who came in last week. We have had several English missionaries come in and out of our zone as well. We taught Elder Hoffman from the Tongan district. Elder Terry and Elder Loder committed him to baptism, and now we were teaching him some of the commandments this lesson, such as Tithing, the Word of Wisdom, Sabbath day worship, and the law of Chastity, which he said he was having problems with. He was acting as someone he knew who was going into the Marines soon.

Ever since Elder Caldwell has left, I have forgotten to use my planner. It is hard since people get distracted and sometimes forget to do planning before we leave. I will make sure I do better with that as I go into the mission field. I also need to organize my study better.

I have enjoyed going to the temple this week. This will be our last week in two years that we will be able to go to the temple. They aren't finishing the new temple announced in Fort Lauderdale until the end of my time in the mission field. Plus, I don't know if President Hale will let us take time to go to the Orlando temple. Today, we are going to do sealings if we can, though as missionaries, we can only be proxies for children. Elder Rybin, Elder Caldwell, and Elder Major, Elder Smith, and Elder Fenley did that while Elder Loder, Elder Terry, and I went and did another endowment session. It has been a really great spiritual experience.

I have had to work a lot on changing some of my daily habits and learned to become more organized. It will help me so much in the future if I continue to do that. My disorganization and my stress and anxiety are definitely the things that are holding me back the most from becoming the person that I am meant to become. I also have had trouble with not falling asleep in class. Today, I just rested a lot after I changed my sheets out. I try to avoid sleeping too much, because it is not productive. I sometimes do it even when I am not super tired. I need to learn to continuously put forth effort into always being productive. I am never going to feel completely energized, so I think that I will just try to work through it unless I am so tired that I could fall asleep within a minute or two.
I didn't get a chance to finish writing last week's letter. I will do that and send it. I will not write a written letter for this week, because I have a lot of things to worry about before I leave. There is not much for me to say about the MTC anyway. It is all about the same as you have heard.

I have learned so much at the MTC! I think the biggest thing that I have been continually hearing is that the Lord will carry me through this experience, so I should worry too much. I just need to work my hardest and then just let it go. I love you all. I know that God is there and that he loves all His children. And I know that Jesus Christ is everyone's savior, and that he knows all of our troubles. I need to go, but I will write you later. Bye!

Elder Seamons