And so it begins! Week 1

Elder Hays left on April 23rd and arrived at the MTC in England on the 24th.  We received a letter from him the day he arrived letting us know he was there safe and sound!

Here are excerpts from his letters home so far: 

Ok, so you'll have to forigve me because this is going to be a kinda short letter. I've had issues with my email, and it just started working and I'm CRAZY jetlagged! I got here totally fine, and everything went great. I'm here at the MTC and it's a beautiful building and I'm super happy!   THERE'S ONLY 14 MISSIONARIES HERE! And that's all there will be for the next two weeks while I'm here! It's actually pretty cool, and leaves a lot of space open for us. The other Elders and Sisters I've met so far have been awesome, and I couldn't be more excited about getting to know them better! I miss you guys, and I love you lots and lots! I've really hit it off with a few of them that I came in with, and we seem to get along well. I really love you guys so much, and I can't wait to hear back from you. Well, I think I'm gonna go shower and stuff! Mom, would you email me back all of everyones email addresses so I can just add them to my list? Love you guys! Talk to you next wednesday (p day)!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO

And the following week: 

Alright guys, I’m gonna try and make this one  long ish, but it may be fast because I’m getting my haircut in 10 minutes. So let’s see how I do!

This week has been really interesting! I’m finding that I ABSOLUTELY Love the MTC! Honestly, it’s so much better then everyone made it seem! Lol. I’m still here with just the 13 other Elders and 3 Sisters, and we’ve all gotten to know each other pretty well! Everyone is super nice, and helpful! My companion is Elder Ilori.  He’s incredibly knowledgeable in scripture, and can quote practically any passage you want him to from memory! He’s been a really great companion, and we’ve pretty well established a solid line of communication, boundaries, and a great teaching style on the investigators.

Ok, this email thing is a little annoying, simply because some of the keys are not the same as a US keyboard, so I have to spend a minute hunting for certain things! Lol, but it’s all good! Half of the Elders here are from the US, and the other half are English, Swedish, Italian, and French. It’s been super awesome learning about each other’s cultures and stuff!

We went to the temple here today, AND IT’S SO PRETTY. Like seriously, the grounds are so impeccable I can’t even! I’ve taken a few pic’s, but not that many. I’ll see if I can get on the computer one more time today so that I can share them with you, but If not, I’ll try and remember for next week! 

Mom was right, I mayyyyy be a bit spoiled when It comes to food! Lol, the food here is pretty good, but everyone here acts as though Gordon Ramsey himself just set it down in front of them! Hahaha, but It is good! And we have 3 meals a day, and then a snack before bed, so there is a LOT  of it! Ok, I’m running short on time.

I really am having so much fun, and I’m so happy I made the choice to come. It’s not going to be easy, and I know I’ll have my moments, but I really do feel that this was 100% the right thing for me to do! Well, I talk to you guys next week!

and then he was able to utilize the computer one last time that day: 

Hey! I was able to get on one more time before the end of the Day! We just ran to the store, which was my first time out in public with my companion/tag/everything! Which was a bit weird, but a bit cool as well! I just got my haircut, and it’s not too shabby! I was going to download photos, but my camera died, so I’ll try to next week! Lol, it’s funny, all of the missionaries in the entire MTC are writing emails right now, which means there’s 14 of us sitting in a semi-circle writing on laptops! Hahaha, it’s a bit weird with only 14 of us, but it’s also SUPER cool. I never have to worry about waiting for a shower, I never have to worry about getting a seat at lunch, and I never have to worry about feeling cramped for space! It’s bizarre though, this MTC is made to hold over a hundred people, and so there’s loads of empty rooms! Lol, we take about three rooms on the dorm floor, and there’s 20! Just in our wing! But it’s so awesome because we’ve all gotten to know each other really well! I share my room with Elder Ilorio, Elder Corrano, and Elder Boukuzba. Corrano is from Naples Italy, and he’s awesome! He’s wayyyyy helpful, and loves to joke around, which is perfect for me! The sisters here are super nice! So there’s 9 of us here going to England, and then 5 of us going to Germany, Alpine (Austria is also in that mission). The German Missionaries have been here 5 weeks, so they’ll leave with us, and they’re really nice. Well, I probably got to go! I love you sooooo much, and I’ll talk to you next week! IDK if I’ll be able to write the night before going into the field next week, So IDK what day I’ll be emailing you next! And I don’t know what the situation is for Mothers day. I LOVEEEEEEEEE YOU! Talk to you soon! –Elder Hays (I just really wanted to say that!)