Well, I'm out of the MTC. It's over. On Tuesday I got in a bus, then a train, then a Trax (like a smaller train), then a tiny plane (for thirty minutes), then a van, then finally the mission home. I got there, watched a trying-its-best-to-be-scary video about car accidents, got fed a bunch of medical info, and then met the Mission President for three minutes. He seems nice, but again, only met him for three minutes. We had dinner at his house and got assigned to our areas and companions. I'm serving the first chunk of my mission in Idaho Falls! More about the area later. We then went to bed at this nice empty-nester couple's house and thus ended the most hectic day of my life.
So now I'm in my area. So many mission blogs I've read have been kind of over-the-top positive, which is important, optimism is important, but also kind of blatantly unrealistic. So I'm going to be just rattling off the Goods and Bads of this mission, specifically.
Good: The area. I live in this kind of ramshackle, blue-collar suburb in Idaho Falls. The people here are mostly Mormon, so I'm constantly getting waved at and honked at and having food basically shoved into me. I have spent, so far, $20 on groceries. Of those groceries I bought, so far this week I have eaten one can of soup and some cookies. I have been subsisting, almost entirely, on the constant offerings of pizza and leftover casserole that I keep getting delivered. The people here are really, really, really aggressively nice. Even the pets are nice. There are just these roving packs of dogs and cats that, so far, have been more the "look it's people pet me pet me pet me" variety, and not the "look it's people I wonder what their Achilles Tendons taste like" variety.
Bad: The walking. My companionship is the only one in the area not to have a car, so we walk everywhere. Luckily the area we cover is so dense that most things are relatively close to each other, but even so we probably spend 3-4 hours a day just walking.
Good: My companion. He's a pretty easy guy to get along with. He's been here 17 months, so is kind of on the home stretch, but he's really motivated and popular with the people in the area. The only downside is that he's a big runner, so he gets me up at 5:45 some mornings to go jogging which is basically my nightmare.
Bad: The adjustment. Still getting used to all this. The MTC was so crazy packed full of things to do, and that was stressful in its own way, but here there's all this open time. Not the fun kind of open time, where you get to relax, but the angst-inducing kind where there's an expectation for you to be finding something to do the second you get done with your previous activity. Often times there isn't anything to do. Which is why we walk so much, we're just trying to talk to someone.
We haven't been doing much teaching either; this neighborhood is in a weird phase, where many of the people living here are moving away. A few weeks ago we had a sizable amount of investigators, but nearly all of them are gone now and the area's at square one.
The people here are pretty interesting. Like I said before, my area's largely populated by lower-middle class worker-types. Many of them are really humble and kind and interesting, but there's also a sizable population of "crazies," as my companion refers to them. I had my first experience with one on Friday, actually. We were coming back from a dinner with some members, and this huge guy, like 6'3", 350 lbs, just kind of waves us into his house, which doesn't seem to have a door? It then becomes pretty obvious that he's absolutely plastered, and he's an agile drunk guy. He gives a fervent prayer for the local Little League team to go win the National Championships, then kind of goes on a tirade for half an hour, while blocking our exit. Some choice quotes:
"Mormons are strong, man. You need- you guys gotta have WEAPONS."
"Kids these days, they don't- they don't even know- When my freakin' grandkids are over and they're bein' nightmares I have 'em read the Bible under a TREE. I tell em, 'GO READ THE BIBLE UNDER A TREE FOR FOUR MIIIINUTES' and at first they didn't like it but now they like reading the Bible under a tree."
"AHHHHHHHHHH" (While clawing at his own chest)
"There's this guy man, you got to help me man, there's this guy, in prison right now, but he gets out soon, and he works with computers, he'll find me, and he said he's going to kill me. I told the cops but the cops, they don't, they don't care. They don't even, they don't care!"
(At this point he kind of just starts jumping around, punching the air) "I BELIEVE, MAN. I BELIEVE. JESUS CHRIST IS GOING TO- HE KNOWS WHEN- JOSEPH SMITH IS GOING TO COME IN HERE AND LEAD ME THROUGH THE CEEEEEEILING" (He jumps up and punches what I assume to be the door to his attic)
Towards the end he grabbed me by the shoulders, this giant, violently inebriated, bear of a man, and starts shaking me, yelling to "STAND UP, YOU GOTTA, YOU GOTTA STAND STRAIGHT" I was frantically trying to stand up straighter, I guess, but it didn't seem to satisfy him. It was actually kind of terrifying. Luckily he got bored of that and we left. He said goodbye but then tried to follow us home.
Anyway, so, Idaho. That's how it's going. Oh, and yes, it was crazy to run into Mindy and Peter!
Thanks to everybody for your letters and prayers and support.
Also, quick postscript, I was going to send pictures but it turns out I need an SD card reader to use the SD card I bought at the MTC. So expect pictures next week. Whoops!
Love,
Ethan
Monday, August 17, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
Update, Week Two
This last week went a little better, probably just because I'm used to things here. It's still such a candyland, though. Is that too negative? It's just kind of this magical, sterile complex where the outside world just can't seem to penetrate. A lot of people like that, I think, but it's not quite for me.
I've definitely gotten along really well with my district and my roommates; both groups of people have been pretty easygoing and positive. My companion, who you wanted to know more about, is named Joshua. His dad's from Germany, and he's the second in his family to go on a mission. He's got a very distinctly different teaching style than me, which is probably for the best. He's very bold and take-charge, whereas I'm very chill and accommodating. He's like Elder Holland, I'm like Bob Ross with a name tag.
Choir practice wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, it went really quickly, and we were in the choir for a devotional given by M. Russel Ballard, which was novel.
I'm heading out to the field tomorrow. Getting on a plane around noonish. I don't know how I feel about it to be honest. It's going to be strange to have to reset almost entirely and start making new habits and learning a new schedule alllll over again. I'm going to stay optimistic.
Also Mom, thank you so much for including cough syrup in my packing. I've been just, like, disgustingly sick these last few days, and it was a lifesaver. Also thanks for that package. Between that puzzle, the raisinets, and all the letters from siblings, it was like Christmas.
Love you!
Ethan
This is my aforementioned companion:
My bed at the MTC, featuring Cabo, my lobster friend [Mom edit: and also featuring the BYU blanket I gave him for Christmas]:
My special color-coded highlighting system. I've been doing a lot of reading since I got here. I've very nearly read all of Alma; I just have three chapters left, which is like 120 pages or so, so I have that to be proud of.
I've definitely gotten along really well with my district and my roommates; both groups of people have been pretty easygoing and positive. My companion, who you wanted to know more about, is named Joshua. His dad's from Germany, and he's the second in his family to go on a mission. He's got a very distinctly different teaching style than me, which is probably for the best. He's very bold and take-charge, whereas I'm very chill and accommodating. He's like Elder Holland, I'm like Bob Ross with a name tag.
Choir practice wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, it went really quickly, and we were in the choir for a devotional given by M. Russel Ballard, which was novel.
I'm heading out to the field tomorrow. Getting on a plane around noonish. I don't know how I feel about it to be honest. It's going to be strange to have to reset almost entirely and start making new habits and learning a new schedule alllll over again. I'm going to stay optimistic.
Also Mom, thank you so much for including cough syrup in my packing. I've been just, like, disgustingly sick these last few days, and it was a lifesaver. Also thanks for that package. Between that puzzle, the raisinets, and all the letters from siblings, it was like Christmas.
Love you!
Ethan
This is my aforementioned companion:
My bed at the MTC, featuring Cabo, my lobster friend [Mom edit: and also featuring the BYU blanket I gave him for Christmas]:
My special color-coded highlighting system. I've been doing a lot of reading since I got here. I've very nearly read all of Alma; I just have three chapters left, which is like 120 pages or so, so I have that to be proud of.
Monday, August 3, 2015
The First Week
Thanks for all the emails and letters. My P-Day is on Monday so that's when I can read emails, but it's good to get letters in the mail too, so thanks.
So, let's take this chronologically. I got here on Wednesday, said goodbye to you, and was whisked off by, yep, Stephen [his BYU roommate]. He's still here for a few more weeks, learning Finnish, and I haven't really seen him since then. I was actually feeling pretty good for the first hour or so. My district was pretty easy to get along with. My companion showed up a couple hours late; he was doing temple work with his family. After a couple hours things kind of immediately went wrong, as we had to sign into our missionary portal accounts to do an orientation, and for the life of me I couldn't remember my password. I tried different combinations of username and password for an hour, and that didn't work, so I ended up using a teacher's account. On Friday I went to the IT desk and got it all reset, so it's fine now, I just have a new password to my account.
You may have seen on my first letter that we had a weird experience Wednesday night. [We haven't received that letter yet but are looking forward to it!] They brought in an investigator to talk to a group of us, and she had had a rooooough life. You can read more about exactly how tactful the fresh-out-of-the-gate teenagers handled talking to a victim of abuse and other really tough stuff in my letter. Oof.
Went to bed that night not really sad or anything, just kind of stunned.
Thursday was really packed, we had meetings and classes essentially every minute except for meals and bedtime. I'd written you a letter, which you might have received by now, but wasn't able to send it off until Friday.
Friday was also pretty stressful, but a little less busy than the previous day. Friday was my first experience with gym time, and that really helped. I spent nearly all of it on an elliptical machine so that I could be alone with my thoughts without people judging how slow I was actually running. I started to get at least a little more used to the lessons on Friday. We have personal study, breakfast, then companion study, then a four-hour block of lessons in the morning, lunch, and then three more hours in the afternoon. It involves a lot of role-play, during which I discovered I like playing the investigator probably a little too much. It's the improv background. We have dinner, and then there's gym time sometimes, or a devotional, or, in the case of next Tuesday, CHOIR PRACTICE UUUUGGGGGHHH. My companion really wants to do choir and I agreed because he can't do it without me and I didn't want to be as whiny on the outside as I am on the inside. At least it's only for a week.
Saturday was pretty easy. Classes like normal, then a slightly extended gym time during which I played, or attempted to play, soccer. Sunday was a little harder--essentially being at church from sunrise to sunset and a 24 hour fast on top of it. We took a temple walk, though, and that was good. It was really hot though, and I forgot to take off my suit jacket beforehand. I should have taken pictures.
Today's been going a little better. Had some time to email, went to the temple alone for the first time. I'm going to the gym soon, and then going to get a haircut, which are free, which is nice. Then we have a stress management class and I'm teaching an "investigator" (a member playing an investigator) for half an hour.
Also I forgot to take my camera to the computer lab. I'm in my gym clothes. I only really had a picture of my bed with the lobster I got from Lagoon on it, and a selfie of me and my companion. I'll take a few more pictures this week and then send them over on my next P-day.
One week down, one hundred to go. About 1% done. Or, as I've been thinking about it, 5% on my way to Christmas, at which point I can talk to you all on Skype and I'll only have a year until I have six months left. 2 years is a long time.
Thanks for keeping up with me!
Ethan
So, let's take this chronologically. I got here on Wednesday, said goodbye to you, and was whisked off by, yep, Stephen [his BYU roommate]. He's still here for a few more weeks, learning Finnish, and I haven't really seen him since then. I was actually feeling pretty good for the first hour or so. My district was pretty easy to get along with. My companion showed up a couple hours late; he was doing temple work with his family. After a couple hours things kind of immediately went wrong, as we had to sign into our missionary portal accounts to do an orientation, and for the life of me I couldn't remember my password. I tried different combinations of username and password for an hour, and that didn't work, so I ended up using a teacher's account. On Friday I went to the IT desk and got it all reset, so it's fine now, I just have a new password to my account.
You may have seen on my first letter that we had a weird experience Wednesday night. [We haven't received that letter yet but are looking forward to it!] They brought in an investigator to talk to a group of us, and she had had a rooooough life. You can read more about exactly how tactful the fresh-out-of-the-gate teenagers handled talking to a victim of abuse and other really tough stuff in my letter. Oof.
Went to bed that night not really sad or anything, just kind of stunned.
Thursday was really packed, we had meetings and classes essentially every minute except for meals and bedtime. I'd written you a letter, which you might have received by now, but wasn't able to send it off until Friday.
Friday was also pretty stressful, but a little less busy than the previous day. Friday was my first experience with gym time, and that really helped. I spent nearly all of it on an elliptical machine so that I could be alone with my thoughts without people judging how slow I was actually running. I started to get at least a little more used to the lessons on Friday. We have personal study, breakfast, then companion study, then a four-hour block of lessons in the morning, lunch, and then three more hours in the afternoon. It involves a lot of role-play, during which I discovered I like playing the investigator probably a little too much. It's the improv background. We have dinner, and then there's gym time sometimes, or a devotional, or, in the case of next Tuesday, CHOIR PRACTICE UUUUGGGGGHHH. My companion really wants to do choir and I agreed because he can't do it without me and I didn't want to be as whiny on the outside as I am on the inside. At least it's only for a week.
Saturday was pretty easy. Classes like normal, then a slightly extended gym time during which I played, or attempted to play, soccer. Sunday was a little harder--essentially being at church from sunrise to sunset and a 24 hour fast on top of it. We took a temple walk, though, and that was good. It was really hot though, and I forgot to take off my suit jacket beforehand. I should have taken pictures.
Today's been going a little better. Had some time to email, went to the temple alone for the first time. I'm going to the gym soon, and then going to get a haircut, which are free, which is nice. Then we have a stress management class and I'm teaching an "investigator" (a member playing an investigator) for half an hour.
Also I forgot to take my camera to the computer lab. I'm in my gym clothes. I only really had a picture of my bed with the lobster I got from Lagoon on it, and a selfie of me and my companion. I'll take a few more pictures this week and then send them over on my next P-day.
One week down, one hundred to go. About 1% done. Or, as I've been thinking about it, 5% on my way to Christmas, at which point I can talk to you all on Skype and I'll only have a year until I have six months left. 2 years is a long time.
Thanks for keeping up with me!
Ethan
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Day One!
This is Ethan's mom and I'll be updating this blog throughout Ethan's mission. Most of the words will be Ethan's, but today you get to hear from me.
We spent the week hanging out with family here in Utah and it was wonderful to see and enjoy everyone. The last few days before Ethan left were hard, though, for Ethan and all of us. However, after Ethan was set apart Tuesday night we all felt calmer, more peaceful, and more centered. We spent Wednesday morning packing, visiting family, and saying goodbye, then we piled the immediate family in the Tahoe and took off for Provo. Here's one final photo of us all together at Grandma and Grandpa's house before heading out:
Ethan picked The Slab for lunch -- a funny choice since he doesn't usually like pizza, but as a former Provo-ite, he has insider knowledge about the few pizza places worth a visit. We joked and ate and talked just like a normal day (other than the fact that Ethan was dressed in a dapper blue suit). Then it was time. The long, drawn out goodbyes at the MTC are a thing of the past. Instead, you say your goodbyes before arriving at the curb and only have time for a few quick hugs.
Ethan and the kids, pre-hugging:
Ethan giving Jonas a few words of advice and a prediction. (Jonas tells me he said, "Be nice to Wyatt" and "When I come back you're going to be taaallll.")
The other hugs happened too fast and out of camera range so I didn't capture them. But I DID capture the tender mercy of the afternoon, below. The cute missionary you see handling Ethan's bags is his former roommate, Stephen. Literally 50 or 60 "hosts" (or missionaries currently serving in the MTC) were lined up on the sidewalk, ready to help the incoming missionaries with their bags and show them the ropes. I heard a voice yell, "Elder Hallstrom!" and turned to see Stephen clapping Ethan on the back. Ethan looked thrilled and surprised and relieved all at once. I think right now Stephen is the only other person in the entire MTC who Ethan knows, so the fact that he showed up at that spot on the curb at that moment is a tender mercy in my book. I didn't even have time to exclaim over it, though, because before I knew it, Stephen had whisked Ethan away.
I did get Ethan to turn and wave. I told him that I got to take a turn and wave photo -- my prerogative as the mama. Happily he obliged.
And then he was off. We piled back into the car and some of us cried. I imagine him tonight in a little bunk bed, sharing a room with three guys he's never met, wondering what the future holds. It's scary, letting him go. But it's also right. He's doing the Lord's work and he (and we) will be blessed.
I'm sure Ethan would love emails or letters. His email address and MTC address are on the sidebar if you feel so inclined. The next post will be from Ethan himself. I can't wait!
We spent the week hanging out with family here in Utah and it was wonderful to see and enjoy everyone. The last few days before Ethan left were hard, though, for Ethan and all of us. However, after Ethan was set apart Tuesday night we all felt calmer, more peaceful, and more centered. We spent Wednesday morning packing, visiting family, and saying goodbye, then we piled the immediate family in the Tahoe and took off for Provo. Here's one final photo of us all together at Grandma and Grandpa's house before heading out:
Ethan picked The Slab for lunch -- a funny choice since he doesn't usually like pizza, but as a former Provo-ite, he has insider knowledge about the few pizza places worth a visit. We joked and ate and talked just like a normal day (other than the fact that Ethan was dressed in a dapper blue suit). Then it was time. The long, drawn out goodbyes at the MTC are a thing of the past. Instead, you say your goodbyes before arriving at the curb and only have time for a few quick hugs.
Ethan and the kids, pre-hugging:
Ethan and Dad:
Ethan giving Jonas a few words of advice and a prediction. (Jonas tells me he said, "Be nice to Wyatt" and "When I come back you're going to be taaallll.")
The other hugs happened too fast and out of camera range so I didn't capture them. But I DID capture the tender mercy of the afternoon, below. The cute missionary you see handling Ethan's bags is his former roommate, Stephen. Literally 50 or 60 "hosts" (or missionaries currently serving in the MTC) were lined up on the sidewalk, ready to help the incoming missionaries with their bags and show them the ropes. I heard a voice yell, "Elder Hallstrom!" and turned to see Stephen clapping Ethan on the back. Ethan looked thrilled and surprised and relieved all at once. I think right now Stephen is the only other person in the entire MTC who Ethan knows, so the fact that he showed up at that spot on the curb at that moment is a tender mercy in my book. I didn't even have time to exclaim over it, though, because before I knew it, Stephen had whisked Ethan away.
I did get Ethan to turn and wave. I told him that I got to take a turn and wave photo -- my prerogative as the mama. Happily he obliged.
And then he was off. We piled back into the car and some of us cried. I imagine him tonight in a little bunk bed, sharing a room with three guys he's never met, wondering what the future holds. It's scary, letting him go. But it's also right. He's doing the Lord's work and he (and we) will be blessed.
I'm sure Ethan would love emails or letters. His email address and MTC address are on the sidebar if you feel so inclined. The next post will be from Ethan himself. I can't wait!
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