I JUST PASSED HALF WAY DAY!!!
The MTC is a magical land where you never hear anything from the outside world. I've heard rumors that there was some form of bomb at the Boston Marathon, but know nothing of the incident. When I came into the MTC there was tension in the Euro-Zone because f Cypress, there were issues of Marriage Rights preparing to come before the Supreme Court. I have no idea how any of these things have progressed, just as for most of you, I don't get to share in the joys and pains that you're going through. Even though I'm not there, and can't follow your Facebook or twitter, please know that I do care. I love and miss you all.
There are a lot of things that you have to give up when you leave on your mission. The hardest thing for me has been listening to music. Prior to coming into the MTC, I listend to music like 80% of my waking hours. Now, when I get the chance to listen to music, it's only music from General Conference because it's on LDS.org, and those opportunities are exceedingly rare. Even though I don't get to have the constant companionship of my iPhone and the plethora of music that it held, I get the constant companionship of the Spirit of God. I think that's pretty cool too. On the subject of music, on Sunday, the BYU Men's Chorus performed for the devotional. It was amazing. I didn't have the best seat, but when I closed my eyes and listened for the polyphony of a live choir, it was magical.
Last Tuesday, for the devtional we had an extra special guest speaker. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles addressed us; it changed my perspective on prayer. His message was simple, pray often, take the time to pray, pray with gratitude, pray with sincerity. There are so many influences in our lives, there are so many times when we let the world influence our thoughts, actions and emotions. I would like to encourage you all to let our Heavenly Father be one of those influences. He loves you, He cares about you individually, He created a plan for eternal happiness specially for you. If you want to grow closer to Him, talk to him, ask for opportunities to increase your faith.
Now I know there may be some of you who read this that don't share my faith; for you, I would like to encourage you to try and do a small act of kindness every day. I want to challenge everyone to make a specific effort to do one nice thing you normally wouldn't do every day this week. If you take my challenge, please write me a quick email and let me know how it went. I can promise that it will increase your love for those around you. It will create opportunities for you to build better relationships and make new or stronger friends.
With all my love,
An Uncommon Elder
Elder Timothy Scott Ryan