First Week in the MTC

Thanks to all those who sent me packages and letters. The food is amazing, I think I'm gaining weight and it is not muscle. My companion is Elder Brown, who is 6'6". He is so strong in the gospel and is always being as obedient as he can be. He is also very orderly so that is nice to have someone who has the same mind set. We get along very well and continue to grow in the gospel. The spirit is so strong in the MTC! I just has an experience with the spirit recently while logging into my email. I totally forgot my username and password, and my time was winding down to 20 minutes, and so I gave a sincere prayer that I may be able to remember. And in a few moments the letters appeared in my mind. The gospel is such and amazing tool in our lives if we stay closer to our Savior and his example. The last few days have been amazing, though it has been very crazy in that I have so much to do, and prepare. it is pretty much Sunday school x100 all day long. On Thursday, we met our branch presidency and they explained how the MTC works and called a district leader. He took each for interviews and called me to be the district leader for 8 Elders and 4 Sisters in our district. I thought I had a lot to do before, and now I have double the work. But I'm loving every minute! Because I'm so busy, time is flying by! Some of the things I do is just conducting meetings, interviewing, picking up mail twice a day and other little things that add up. But it's been a blessing, and a good experience of being a leader. One of the hardest thing I've had to adjust to is calling everyone by Elder and Sister, rather than saying dude, man, guys, etc... Our district is the biggest it can be and we are so unified. It 's so amazing to be with the people who are all here for one purpose, who leave behind our worldly habits. All we do is speak about the gospel and how it has changed our lives and then we teach it to others. Missionary work though is hard and yet so rewarding. Thanks so much for every one's prayers and support.
Love Elder Gardner