Elder Jacob Hillstead

Week 2 of the MTC! Dang dude this week has flown by so fast. Literally feels like I wrote the last email 2 days ago its crazy. I dont have a whole ton to report on this week but it's been a real good one. We had to say goodbye to 2 of the Elders in our room this week which was sad, they've been with us since day one. However we got a new elder in our room and he's like the most legendary dude ever. His name is Elder Sayer and he loves The Beatles and Scott Pilgrim so we get along wonderfully. Speaking of new Elders, young Elder Hohl arrived at the MTC this week, thus completing 2 of the 3 members in the Missionary Squad. Elder Demke and I gave him a warm welcome, and turns out his room is the one right next to mine! So we've been having some fun as neighbors. Elder Demke leaves this week though, but it was still good to have the boys together for a while.  The days here at the MTC are like the same thing on repeat basically, but that doesnt mean they aren't GREAT da...

Ola everybody!! First week of being in Provo MTC! Or first 5 days, cause I'm still short of a week. But still. What a week! Right when I got here my pal, Elder (Oliver) Demke, was waiting right there to get my bags for me. It was tough saying goodbye to the family and friends but I felt pretty ready to rip the bandaid off and get to work. And get to work we did. We've been doing a bunch of spiritual classes, exercises, roleplays and studying. Just as I suspected, in person MTC is a LOT more fun than home MTC. I knew my district was gonna have some homies in it, and Ive made good friends with basically everyone. My companion and I have already gotten up to some antics (included in the photos below) and we've been getting along a ton. Overall so far it's been a really positive experience. Portuguese is a lot of hard work. We learned these evil things called "irregular verbs" and I hate them mucho. However I can't deny the fact the language is coming along. S...

Hello everybody! It's official, the man that was once Jake is now Elder Hillstead! I've been on the Home MTC grind for the last week, and I gotta say I've enjoyed it more than I thought I was going to. Last week I got to meet my district, teachers and my companion, and every single one of them are top-notch people. Every class I've had has taught me so much, and has had such a great spirit about the things that are being said. Although some of the classes are hours long, the time flies by with how much you're learning and being taught. If you're ever worried you're gonna have too much free time at Home MTC, I can tell everyone here in full confidence that the motivation to grind and work hard is like none other. All the time I'd normally use for vegging in a day is now time I use for more studying, both for the Gospel and Language. It's a good thing nobody shares a room with me here at home because for the last week I've just been muttering Portu...