January 23-30th, 2012

Hey family!

Hey sorry about that I bet you were pretty dissapointed haha. I accidently hit send when I was typing the first half of my e-mail this morning. so here is the rest.

So it has been a really great week here at the MTC! Thanks everyone for all the letters and kind words it really means a lot to me and I still love getting mail it's awesome. Sorry about the questions Dad I like them I just don't have time to answer all of them but feel free to ask them I just can't gaurantee they will get answered haha. and I'll think about working on my capitalization ;) also thanks for the package mom that was really nice of you. I shared everything with the zone and they all loved it, especially your cookies. I'm definitely not starving here. It's good to hear everything is going well at home. Sorry about that transfer dad, I'm sure you'll do great at patrol. Change is usually good. It's also good to hear that you replaced the toilets haha. now maybe they can hold up to tara ;) Sorry about that chicken ash.

Time is really flying I can't believe another week has gone by. the quote around here is that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. It is so true. Also sorry I didn't explain the investigator thing. It is actually a paid teacher that we don't know that just makes up a story and acts like an investigator so we can practice. But we treat them like they are real. E. Wirthlin and I are actually picking up two new investigators this week.

E. Wirthlin and I got the chance to bless the sacrament yesterday, in spanish of course. It was weird but good practice and pretty cool. Oh yeah, I guess the big news of the week is that E. Wirthlin and I have been called to be the zone leaders. Pretty crazy I know. It feels weird to us because we feel like there are elders that have been here longer that are better suited for the job. but if there is one thing I have learned it's that the Lord doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the ones he calls. This is true or I wouldn't be on a mission! I know He will help us out with this new calling as well. All it really means is that we have to do a little more work and be a little more obedient and be a little bit better of an example. So we'll do what's asked of us.

 We have two main instructors here, one of which actually started out as our investigator, then became our teacher so he could critique and help us. They are both really great and I am learning a ton from them. Elder Wirthlin and I got a really spiritual lesson from Hermano B. that he just gave to the two of us. It was really great and he pointed out a quote in PMG from Elder Holland that said if you truly love your investigators and listen to them, the spirit will tell you what to say. So me and Elder Wirthlin are trying hard to have enough faith in that promise. I know that if we really listend and care, the spirit will help us overcome any language barrier. I'm confident that I won't have any more problems with my lessons from here on out. Hermano B. showed us that everybody needs the gospel, they just don't know why. Our job is to show them why they need the gospel in their lives, and the spirit will do the rest.

The devotionals here are also amazing. they get hands down the best speakers to come to the MTC. One of my favorite parts of the devotionals though is the hymns we sing at the begining. This week we sang come thou fount of every blessing and it brought me to tears. It is my new favorite song, i felt the spirit so strong when all us elders sang that, it was really awesome.

Other than that it has been a really great week and I am loving life here! It's tough but sooo worth it. I really love my district/zone and I'm glad we'll get to serve them a little bit more now being the zone leaders. We're all just counting down the days till we get to go to Mexico. I also know that I still have a long way to go before I am ready for that though. I love the gospel and at this point I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to share it. It will make people so much happier. I know that the atonement is the center of God's plan for us and that Jesus Christ can get us through anything we could ever imagine.

Well I gotta go lb some more food before class! Have a good week guys, I love you!

-Love Elder Broadhead

January 18-23rd, 2012

Hey family,

 Hi guys thanks so much for all of the letters and the package that you sent!! It means a lot to me that you are thinking about me and praying for me. I have gotten the most mail of my district so i'm feelin pretty confident right about now. Granted, all the elders think the mail is from girls but I don't have the heart to tell em its all from my family and guy friends haha. Pops i didn't know that bishop wanted updates, did he say that or are you just assuming? if it's the former, send me back his address.

 Well the first couple of days here at the MTC were pretty crazy! It is a great experience though and I am loving every second of it! Our nametags have a red dot on them the first day so everyone knows you are new and they go out of their way to help you and make you feel welcome. But i took it off as quick as I could cause I didn't wanna be labeled the 'new guy.' My companion is Elder Wirthlin and he is from Arizona. He is a really good guy and i'm so grateful I got him as my companion. He is the only one in my district that is willing to work hard with me and not waste one second. We are studying as much as we possibly can. I have learned so much already and it has only been like five days. Everyone keeps telling us that things get easier once you get into a routine, so i'm looking forward to this week when our schedule gets finalized and we can really get moving. I really love my roomates as well. they are E. Johnson and E. Davis (redhead) and we all get along really well. All four of us are going to Veracruz and then there are four in our district going to Oaxaca Mexico, and then two in our district that are going to Peru. The two that are going to Peru leave us in three weeks for the Peru MTC. I'm way jealous. But we have had some great times and I really love my district. we love to work but we also love to laugh. They had us start teaching an investigator who only speaks spanish, on Friday! It was really hard cause we knew no spanish and had to rely on the spirit. E. wirthlin and I prayed for the spirit to be there right before we went in, and the lesson didn't go too bad. We have been teaching him every day since then, except sunday, but it is really tough. Spanish is frustrating but I know the lord will help me so i'm confident that it'll come. We also say all our prayers in spanish. I guess this is the best way to learn but it is kinda tough.

We have really good instructors that care alot. we also have a great branch presidency. every week we have to write a talk in spanish then he randomly calls on two people from our zone to speak. So i wrote a talk for yesterday but luckily i didn't have to give it. the idea is that when we get to mexico we will have a whole slew of talks at our disposal. Probably the most important thing that I have learned since being here is that my mission has absolutely nothing to do with me. Everything that I do from now on is completely about the people in Mexico. all my studying and work is so that I can help invite others to come unto christ, which is our purpose as missionaries. they really pounded this into our heads and it has changed my focus a little bit. everything that I right now is for my lone investigator, David, who we're teaching right now. we actually are going to teach him in about an hour so wish me luck. our lesson this time will be about the first vision. all in spanish of course gosh dangit.

How are things at home? keep me updated with everything! oh also I can't really attach pictures to this thing so i'll print them out and send them to you and you can scan them into the computer or whatever. I know it's lame mom, but hopefully the prints will satisfy you. i'll keep them on the sd card and flash drive as well so I can keep em all.

I feel like there is a lot that I am forgetting to tell you and i'm sure i'll realize it later but they only give us a half hour to write these things. oh yeah i'm getting even pudgier cause all we do is eat, sit at class, study, eat, sleep, repeat. granted they do give us fifty minutes five days a week to work out. but it doesn't feel like enough and my belt notch is showing the consequences. the food isn't bad though. well speak of the devil i gotta get off to dinner, so thanks so much for the letters and kind words, I love you guys all sooo much. Keep the missionaries and investigators in your prayers. The gospel is true and the atonement works!

 Love Elder Broadhead

Farewell Elder

Elder Broadhead entered the MTC on January 18, 2012 at 12:40 pm. He said his final goodbyes to his family in front of the Provo Temple. What an amazing man he has become. Farewell Elder Broadhead, you will touch the hearts of so many with your strong spirit. We love you! "God be with you till we meet again."

 

We will miss you Elder Broadhead!