Christmas Eve & Christmas at the MTC

We got to hear from Andrew on Christmas Day ... not a phone call like we were hoping for, but a newsy email letting us know about the "festivities" at the MTC.

First of all, he let us know he had received a lot of Christmas mail; so much that he hadn't even finished reading it yet! He loved it. The mailroom lady was a bit surprised at the quantity :)  He sent a special thank you for the letters and messages. "It's great to hear from the people I love."

He says:
Christmastime at the MTC is different, but good. It's very testimony-building, if you're paying attention. I love love it when we sing hymns. :)


I really had no idea how many missionaries were in-training at one time, but apparently, there are over two thousand young men and women there during this Christmas season! Wow!

Christmas Eve was fun! All 2100 of us congregated in the big gymnasium with really uncomfortable bleacher seats, and they put on a little Christmas Nativity program. It was funny because all of the angels, wisemen, shepherds were wearing ties under their costumes. There was a lot of beautiful, beautiful music. I've decided that I'm going to learn the flute, and that I'm either going to learn to play the violin or make friends with someone who can. 

After the Nativity reenactment, they passed out big bags of non-greasy popcorn and we watched Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The funniest part was the part where they are in the Cratchett home and Tiny Tim is supposed to say, "And God bless us, every one!" Everyone was waiting for it, and as Tim opened his mouth to speak, the DVD suddenly skipped, and it was the next scene. The whole auditorium was immediately in an uproar. A similar uproar occurred when the Ghost of Christmas Present revealed the children, Ignorance and Want.

Elder David A. Bednar paid a Christmas visit and spoke to them. "Awesome!"

Still waiting and wondering when that Visa will come in....

Sounds like Andrew is happy and healthy and raring to go! We love his positive attitude and joy in the things he is doing. Think he got that from his Grandma :)

Merry Christmas! Say Merry Christmas to family, ward members & friends for me!

All my love,

Elder Stockton

Merry Christmas!

For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called
Wonderful,
Counsellor,
The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6


Merry Christmas everyone!

Still waiting .... no Visa yet!

It is looking like Andrew will spend Christmas in the MTC after all. No one seems to know when his Visa will come, but he has found that each new day he is learning so much, and feeling the spirit of our Heavenly Father as never before. He is experiencing Christmas in its purest form ... no commercialism, no pressure, just a focus on Jesus Christ, his birth, his mission, his message, his sacrifice for us. We could all do with a little more true Christmas spirit.

He would, however, love a glass or two of eggnog ... Mormon-style, of course! He will be missed as we enjoy some of our Christmas family traditions.

He loves hearing from family and friends. (Need we say we love hearing from him too?) Keep the messages of love and support heading his way!

Our wishes of love, peace and happiness to you all!
Merry Christmas!
Sally

Departure just around the corner . . .

News from the MTC!

Andrew has learned more about his travel plans, but still has no definite departure date. Apparently, some missionaries are given just a few hours notice before heading out!

Most of the missionaries in his district have been given a temporary assignment to serve in Mesa, Arizona (whee!) while they wait for their Visas to come through. For some reason, Andrew's Visa has been approved, so he will stay at the MTC until it comes, then fly straight to Argentina. If for some reason there is a snafu, he'll go to Florida and serve there until he can travel to Buenos Aires. He has met with the Argentine Consul to finish the Visa process, so we expect it won't be long.

Andrew has been taught and influenced by so many wonderful people in his life. It sounds like the blessings continue!

Life in the MTC is great. To be honest, the days blend together and I have trouble remembering whether events occurred yesterday or three days ago. Although we've only been here two weeks, I've changed a lot for the better. All through my life it seems like my teachers have just been the best of the best --- it's the same here. Hermano Adams and Hermana Dickson are excellent, excellent teachers that have helped us learn a lot. All of us in our district have gotten much, much better at teaching. We've taught a lot of people, including our progressing investigators, referrals, and less-active members. Missionary work doesn't scare me anymore --- it's just helping people. I'm anxious to go to Argentina and do work that really matters.
My testimony has grown and been reinforced here, and I have a greater desire for a deeper conversion to the truth.

We miss him a lot, but are excited for him as well. We know he will grow and mature as he embarks on these new adventures.

Our family would like to share a wonderful documentary we watched recently. We found it gave us quite an appreciation for what a missionary experiences out in the field (as well as what we all experience in life!) It is inspirational! You'll laugh; you'll cry. Check it out!

5000 Days Project: Two Brothers



byutv.org
Meet Luke and Sam Nelson, two brothers who struggled to develop a positive relationship in childhood. The Nelson boys are just two of 60 kids documented over a 5,000-day period by filmmaker Rick Stevenson.

Week Two

We received Andrew's second email this week. Talk about waiting by the "mailbox"!!

It may seem strange that we hear from Andrew so rarely. Or you may wonder why he can't call, instant message, or visit in the way we've all become accustomed to.

His days in the Mission Training Center (MTC) are packed! He is polishing his language skills, learning about the culture of Argentina and the people he will be teaching, learning how to best present a gospel message, and in general, learning how to be a missionary. When he accepted his call to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he agreed to set aside his own personal interests and goals for two years, so that he might share something he values very much with others. As his family and friends, we are making a sacrifice too, since we miss his daily company, his unselfish disposition, his beautiful music ... well, you get the picture. But we are blessed too!

So, on to the really important stuff ...

He is enjoying his training and making lots of new friends among the other missionaries-in-training. Now that he's been there a week and a half, he's seen a new batch of missionaries come through the door, and can pretend to be an old hand at this sort of thing :)  He misses his friends here, but his "district" is bonding and he is making many new friends as they work together.

Once a week he has a "Preparation Day," where the traditional schedule is set aside so that laundry can be done, letters received and written, and the general business of life can be accomplished. He has found that many missionaries like to workout or play volleyball to relieve stress (which he enjoys too), but his favorite thing to do when he has some free time is to sit down at the piano and play.

He really appreciates the letters he's received. He mentioned many by name. His big sis sent him a custom crossword puzzle that he and his companions had a lot of fun working on.

He either forgot to tell us .... or he still doesn't know .... how long he'll be at the MTC. Since he already speaks and understands Spanish so well, he will not stay at the MTC as long as some of the other missionaries. Because it is often difficult to get a visa for Argentina, he may be reassigned to another location until his visa comes through. We are anxious to hear where he'll go next!

It is summer in Argentina. I expect Andrew will be ready to get out of the cold and into the summer sun soon! Hermana Carter, the Mission President's wife, writes a blog about what is happening in the mission. If you would like to check it out, go to http://buenosaireswest.blogspot.com/. She does a wonderful job, and I'm looking forward to seeing Andrew's picture in her posts :D

Write to Andrew!!

(Note: This is old information!! He is no longer at the MTC. Click on the "Mail Central" tab to get current mailing addresses.)

If you would like to send a message to Andrew, one of the easiest ways is through dearelder.com.

You do not have to register or open an account to use this service. It takes your message, prints it up, and delivers it to his mailbox in the MTC. And it is free!!

Here's what you'll need:

On "select mission" choose Provo MTC, then click "Write a letter."
Put your return address in the "envelope."
His MTC Box is #139 and his mission code is ARG-BAW 0131.
We don't know his departure date yet, but it may be a soon as December 21st!

If you want to write a traditional letter, or send a package to him while he is in the Mission Training Center, use this address:

Elder Andrew Stockton
MTC Mailbox #139
ARG-BAW 0131
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793


We'll keep you posted when we know where he'll go next!

Thanks! I know he will appreciate knowing how much we care about him!!

First Letter!

Words can't express how excited we were to receive Andrew's first letter from the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah! 

Excerpts:

It's great to be here. Great to finally be a missionary. It's a little strange to look in the mirror and see myself with the name badge. The missionaries always seemed a lot more mature than I feel now.

I have two companions - Elder White and Elder Cisternas. We're a companionship of three because a missionary got sick (or injured) before he was supposed to come. They're great.... my companions and I want to be here, and so we're being obedient, we're working hard, and we're doing well. We feel like we were matched up very well.

Here's something that may come as a surprise to you, since it did to me: I've been placed in the advanced Spanish class! From the very beginning, no one spoke English in class. Most are native Spanish speakers - everyone except Elder White and I. This also means that we're only going to be here for three weeks. We don't actually study Spanish in class, we just speak it. I'm doing fine. I can understand almost everything that is said, and I can speak fine. It takes me a little longer to read in Spanish. 

My companions and I decided yesterday that we would speak only in Spanish, to be better prepared to be immersed in Spanish. Entonces, todo es en Espanol. (My companions tell me I talked in my sleep last night - but I was speaking Spanish, so it was okay. :) )

Since I'm only going to be here for three weeks, I probably won't be here for Christmas. However, my mission president also tells me that there are problems with getting visas for Argentina. So I may be going to an English mission first. I'm not sure where I'm going to be on Christmas - no one seems to know exactly when my departure date is.

We taught our first two real lessons, completely in Spanish, yesterday. Our teachers assume the characteristics and past experience of investigators that they taught on their missions. We teach them from the beginning and help them progress. We feel that we've done very well with our first two lessons con "Shirley" (we taught her again today), and did allright with our lesson with Lorenzo.

I've memorized the missionary purpose in Spanish, as well as the invitation to be baptized.

This place is great. It's hard, but feels so right. We're working hard.

I didn't have to get any more shots. :) Thanks Mom.

He reports that the food is good, and there is a lot of it .... pretty important, I imagine, when feeding an army of 19-year-old young men! But the cooks in the Stockton household were pleased to hear that he prefers the burritos and potato salad from home :)

We're so proud of Andrew. He says:

The days are long and packed with activities that demand concentration. I've never had to focus hard on something for so long before. Today is our Preparation Day, (from now on it will be Thursday, but we're new and so it's a little different,) so we get a little bit of a break. It's hard work. :)