Happy 4th of July!!

It was a fantastic week here at the MTC! Especially on Saturday, we had a big 4th of July devotional and then we all went outside into the parking lot and watched the fireworks that came from the BYU Stadium. People had glow sticks and everyone was taking pictures and having a blast. It was so awesome. I saw so many friends from school! I have seen Elder Tanner Holmes (roommate and one of my best friends from college) every single day! I have seen three other sisters from home and school and two other elders. It's so exciting to see these people and to know that we are all working and doing the same thing.

So I have learned more in the past six days than I have in the past six years! So this is basically how my day goes:

So we wake up at 6:30 and go to breakfast at 7. We are in class from 7:30 to 11:30. We just learn from Preach My Gospel and the scriptures. We do different activities and we practice teaching one another. We go see demonstrations and do online assessments and different activities to help us learn. Then we go to lunch at 11:30. The food is okay, sometimes it's pretty good and other times it's gross. You can eat as much as you want which is nice. Then we have class from 12:15 to 4:30. We go back to class and learn and study some more. There is this thing called TRC where they have recent converts come and you have to teach them and they pretend like they haven't been baptized yet and they portray themselves as the people they were before. It's pretty exciting and exhilarating teaching someone and when you see them understand it's so awesome. We committed our investigator, Lisa to pray each night and she said she would. Tomorrow we will teach her the restoration and about the Book of Mormon. I have already learned so much in the last six days, probably more than the last six years. We have dinner at 4:30 and then from 5:15 to 8:15 we have personal study, companion study and district study. You will also have interviews and other meetings during this time. We have gym for an hour and then we hangout and go to bed at 10:30. My district is pretty cool. Elder Pugmire (Pugsy we call him) is super cool and we get along well. The other guys in my district are all friendly and nice and there are two sisters in our district, both going to Detroit. All of the people in our zone are cool and get along really well. There are six elders in our zone going Portland and everyone else is going to different places in the USA. I have become great friends with some of the elders in our zone. Our floor in the residence hall (our zone) is so friendly and we all get along so well. There are four floors in our residence building and ours is by far the loudest. There is a little loft area where everyone goes and hangs out and there are like thirty of us elders in our zone that will all hangout and talk and laugh. We are also really close with our sisters and we all get along so well. 

The Spirit here is so strong, and it is crazy how much you need to rely on the Spirit and on Heavenly Father to help you learn and to teach!! I am so glad that I have this opportunity to serve and I am so grateful to be going to Portland!! I leave for Portland on Monday!! I will only be here for 12 days! Crazy!! I am so excited to get into the field and to go serve and teach the people of Oregon. I have so much to improve on, but I know that it will come!! Being a ZL is such a blessing because I have the opportunity to attend all the meetings with the Branch President and to teach and help the new missionaries. So I am very excited about that. 

I LOVE receiving packages, letters, and Dear Elders... they make my day. Thankfully, I have awesome family and friends who send me a lot of mail and when the mail comes everyone says, "Let me guess ... for Elder Hill" hahaha so keep them coming please!!! I love it!! Thank you to everyone who has sent me something, it means a lot!! Love and miss you all!

Elder Hill