Third Week in the MTC

I am doing great! Learning tons of new things everyday, as well as feeling the Spirit too!

I love being the District Leader and especially checking the mail. I love delivering and seeing the excitement on people's faces when they get their mail. I also have the responsibility to watch out for everyone, kind of like an Elder's Quorum President. We have a 'Branch Council' meeting on Sundays and it's just like Ward Council where we discuss the needs of those who we are supposed to be looking out for as well as ways that we can improve.

My teachers are absolutely wonderful! I don't think that you know this, but all of the teachers here at the MTC attend BYU. Being an MTC teacher is a student job here at the MTC. So, Brother Olson is graduating and Saturday was his last day that he had with us. You get the boot when you graduate. We are all sad to see him go; he taught us so much and we love him a ton for all that he has done for us! But our new teacher, Brother Stevens, is awesome! Ha ha, he talks like a million miles an hour though! You have to pay really close attention to what he says so you can understand him. It's probably a good thing though because I am sure that all the people in Cambodia talk at least that fast!

On April 25 a lot of changes are going to happen here at the MTC. Our schedules are all going to change; everyone's schedule. They aren't redoing the cirriculum, but they are redoing the way that they do things. We are all curious to see what is going to come in the changes. We know that MDT (Missionary Directed Time) is going to go away. It was a time that we had to use at our own discretion. I'll have to let you know what happens.

I made 12 new friends instantly! More like 11 brothers and a sister. My district is wonderful and we all support and love each other. I have also made tons of new friends that are on the same floor as I am in my residency hall.

Sister Rytting and I did a really good job on our audition, and we were told that yes, they are going to use us as a special musical number, and that we will get a notification with the details in our mailbox as to when and where. It might be a while, it could be Sunday! We don't know!

I have ran into one of my friends here! Alex Hughes; I went to his farewell in February.
At the MTC we have very different lessons from what is taught at church. On Sunday, we spent the entire Priesthood session on the topic of baptism and why it is important for an investigator to be baptized. Our district meeting on Sundays is basically our Sunday school, and I am in charge of teaching that or finding someone to teach it. I taught it this past week and it was on the Book of Mormon. 
I am still working hard on learning the language! It's coming along!  I am still working hard on learning the language! It's coming along! Before we start each classroom instruction we sing a hymn and kneel in a circle to pray. Well, we have always sung the hymn in Khmer, but it was romanized so we could read it. Ha ha, as of this week, all romanized Cambodian/Khmer is out the window. The teachers only write in Khmer, and we sing the hymns in Khmer too. We have to take 10 minutes to go over the hymn so we don't hear a solo from the teacher! Ha ha! It's tough, but we are sure to catch on soon!

In my residency hall it's like a college dorm. There are four of us in my room, and I am on a top bunk. There are two bathrooms in the middle. Two massive public restrooms. Ha ha, I hate them! Not super hate, but it stinks not to have a bit of privacy, lol. At least the showers aren't open locker room showers-anymore. You can tell they were and just put up some dividers and curtains. You are lucky to get a warm shower... it's either cold, freezing cold, or scolding hot! But I think I have the timing down to get a warm one :) I will have to take some pictures so you can see. It's interesting, but past the bathrooms, I love the residency hall!

Meals are typically pretty good. In the morning they get doughnuts or something from a doughnut shop, so there are always a variety of doughnuts. On Friday nights they order a billion papa john's pizzas!

HA HA! Here's the funny part. During gym, my district mostly plays four square. It's the most competitive sport played in the gym! LOL! We get all excited and lots of yelling and OH!!'s slip out! Ha ha! It's hilarious when you think about it! We even make plans. lol!

Love,

Elder Kuhn!

Second Week in the MTC

I am learning the language so fast! It's hard to take it all in sometimes though. Last night we learned how to read script! We have to study out of our Cambodian Book of Mormon for 15 minutes everyday now. We won't understand a lot of it, but the point is to learn how to fluently read. It's crazy! Ha ha, you read it in circles... weird. I will have to show you in my letter. I caught on really fast though! There are weak and strong consonants, sub-consonants, and vowels. A lot to work on! I haven't had a chance to do my study yet today, so we'll see how that goes. We also learned in this past week to bear our testimonies! I knew a bit, but now I know a whole lot more! It's awesome to be able to speak more. I can now say, "We are missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." It's a mouthful, that's for sure!
Last Tuesday evening, we had an awesome devotional where a former member of the Seventy (He was just released at G.C.) came and spoke to us. Elder Robert C. Oaks talked a lot on missionary work and how the Spirit works with missionaries. Fantastic talk, and then after we have a District Meeting where we review the devotional and what we liked about it. It is really cool to have that review.
On Saturday we went to the T.R.C. (Training Resource Center). There we practiced with investigators; introducing ourselves and we taught our first lesson. We were all pretty nervous! Because at first you had to introduce yourself to two people in Cambodian. People come and volunteer, both R.M.'s and natives, and so we could not use ANY English at all when we introduced ourselves and asked a few questions. My companion and I were both able to introduce ourselves as missionaries and then ask if the investigator believed in God, or a higher being, and then ask if they believed that they could be with their family after death, and bore testimony of both. Then set up a return appointment! That took a lot of work and practice! But it certainly paid off! Then we went back to our second investigator that we introduced ourselves to and taught the first lesson. We were allowed to teach in English though, after asking the investigator if it would be ok. My companion and I did really well! We were able to get through the entire first lesson without being stumped; the Spirit really helped us a ton! It was a great experience, and I learned a lot!

My companion is Elder Anderson and he is from South Jordan.  At the MTC they have a few instruments. A violin, flute, and Cello!  I borrowed it and played around with it for a few minutes on Sunday, for the first time.  Sister Rytting and I found a piano and cello duet in the music library.  'Our Savior's Love', it's beautiful and my companion likes to listen to us play.  I am doing pretty well at adjusting to the missionary life.  I am learning, growing, and strengthening my testimony every day here! The more I do, the greater my desire to serve is and the better I want to be!

First Week In the MTC

Alex's first few days at the MTC were very full.  As he walked away from the van all tears and feelings of sadness disappeared and the excitement kicked in.  The Spirit is truly present and wonderful in there.  He received his name tags, ID badge, and his Cambodian triple combo, and Preach My Gospel, and and also a Romanized one, which is Cambodian in our 'letters' of sorts.  There are 13 missionaries learning Cambodian for the next twelve weeks.  Twelve of them will be going to Cambodia and the other one will be going to Boston, Cambodian speaking.  His companion's name is Elder Ryan Anderson.  He says that they get along really well together.  Their whole district is like one big family, growing stronger and closer everyday.  Alex says, "That's what happens when you are united in one purpose for the Lord!"  He has gone through a lot of orientations and the language is coming quickly.  By Friday, April 1st he was praying only in Khmer.  By the end of the week, April 8th he will be bearing his testimony only in Khmer.  And within 7 weeks he will no longer be able to speak English.  He has two teachers, Bro. Olson and Bro. Godfrey, who are fantastic and they only speak Cambodian in class.  The second day they had a branch presidency meeting with the new missionaries in his zone.  They learned more about obedience and following with EXACTNESS.  It was very cool to hear some of the testimonies about being obedient.  Then they had interviews with the Branch President as well, just a get to know you.  Alex was called to be the District Leader for District A.  - this district consists of the 13 new missionaries learning Cambodian.  He was shocked and was not expecting that at all.  But he is very excited.  As a District Leader he gets to check the mail and deliver it to the missionaries, write a weekly report on the District, and conduct the class.  Those are the duties he has performed so far.  He loved conference, even how they squeezed 2,000 missionaries into a gym and converted it into a meeting house.  His testimony is growing like a weed.  The spirit there is so strong and he is learning a lot  of  both the language and the gospel.  The Gospel is true.  So marvelous, and wonderful and he loves it!