"In Field Orientation"

Hey Friends/Family!
So today I have this thing called in field orientation, which is like a 13 hour long workshop. they gave us a two hour long break for lunch and told us to write an email. So here I am. Today is not my P-Day. I may be able to write again tomorrow on my real P-Day but I don't know how kosher that would be.
So I am leaving the MTC next Wednesday, and I can tell you that I am STOKED. I actually have to leave the MTC at 5 in the morning. So anyone that I would call at the airport (My immediate family) take note, you might be receiving a phone call at like 6 or maybe 7.
So things back home are changing rapidly and stuff, and oftentimes I get kinda worried about what is happening with the outside world. This can lead to me being a tad unfocused and stuff. so my new goal for my mission is to eventually reach a state of mission nirvana. I dunno how familiar you guys are with Buddhism, but Preach my Gospel gives a very brief definition: "...Nirvana (is) a state if oblivion to care, pain, or external reality." I guess I don't wanna do exactly that and be oblivious or anything, I guess I could define "Mission Nirvana" as totally getting lost in my work, and stop worrying about things that I haven't got one iota of control over that happen 100's of miles away, and to find joy in what I am doing. Well, that's my goal. I'll have to see if I can do it or not.
I'm not trying to say I don't care about you guys, or that I don't want letters anymore. In fact I just got a letter from Shannon Kelson, thanks Shannon, that really cheered me up a bit. I also got a package from an absolutely awesome group of people, you guys are awesome and I greatly, greatly appreciate the contents of that package. I wish I could reciprocate.
I'm sad to say for the last week or so I've abandoned the push up thing. Well, it had a good run. I learned lots of Spanish.
sometimes i think I might miss it here. But probably not. I've always had a bit of a problem with being restless, and the thought of having an entire area with which I can do whatever I want with is pretty exciting. I mean I can walk out the door of my apartment, and go north, south, east, or west, and preach the gospel to whoever i come in contact with. It sounds like a dang fine life to me. I know mission life isn't gonna be exactly like that, and it would probably suck if it was, and that I've never been in the actual field, but that's just the image and attitude I have in my head.
Anyway, I appreciate you all, pray every day and read the scriptures and stuff.
Elder Call.

Editor's Note: "Mission Nirvana" Joe, it seriously sounds like a military operation. Merry Christmas!

Fake Mustache, Man.

Hello people,
So in response to the letters I got from people this week, I have never worn a fake mustache (You know who you are. This same person, thank you so much for what you send me. It brings great happiness.), and I love you too grandma.
Not a whole lot happened this week, I got my travel plans, I'm gonna be flying out to San Fern (Don't get it confused with San Fran) on the 28th. Also, if you want to send me a package, the last day the mail room will accept them is the 23rd. To clarify, in the last entry I said that I did 300 pushups over the course of 2 days. So it was like 150 or so a day. But I do much less now. Maybe I'm getting into a Spanish speaking groove. Let me say though, it sucks. I mean, I know it is very beneficial for me, but it still sucks.
They also got a new weight room over here. Jordan Kennedy, rowing is hard. I have a new appreciation for what you do. I now do it often because it reminds me of wrestling workouts (but not as hard :))
These past 2 weeks or so have been tough for me. Yeah, I know I have only been out for 8 weeks, and I can extrapolate and figure out that it's gonna get much harder. But you know what, I enjoy it anyway. Also, I think that I have also grown the most over this hard time. I guess that's life. When faced with a hard time, you can either fall into a pit or spring up, right?
I am very excited to get into the field. I know now why my brother calls the MTC "the joint". I feel kinda like a caged animal in here. I think the other elders can feel the same way, it can get kinda interesting sometimes. But hey, on the bright side I don't have to cook any of my own food and I get to hear general authorities speak once or twice a week and I am growing spiritually a lot. Actually, I shutter to think about what kinda teacher I would be without the MTC. I mean, I'm still not all that good, but I am much better.
Well, I love you all. Sorry if this was a little scatterbrained.
Elder Joseph Call.

Editors Note: Fall into a pit? That's a little dark. *chuckle*

World Record

Hey Everybody!
A lot of stuff happened this past week. I heard from a lot of you, which makes me happy. First of all, I've had a lot of time to think lately, because I've kind of started this "incentive program" where if I speak a sentence in English to a Spanish speaker, I have to do 5 pushups. The first two days I think I did something like 300, but today is the 4th and I've only done like 30-40 today. I think this may be defeating the purpose, but now I just don't talk much to anybody, and thus I've had a lot of time to think. On the bright side, my Spanish is greatly improved over the course of just a few days, and so has my ability to do pushups. I think I might have to increase the number to 10 soon.
Also I met a guy who holds the world record for one of the craziest things ever. He had to drink a cup of eggnog, run 400 meters in less than 90 seconds, and repeat until he threw up. He did it 16 and 1/2 times and thus holds the world record. That's right, he drank a gallon of eggnog and ran 4 miles. The guy is a beast, I think his name is Elder Adams.
Also, a nice gift the lord has given me here on my mission is that I never seem to go to bed frustrated. During the day at times I feel like I'm swimming upstream, and I get frustrated, but come bed time I always pray and the feeling of "Hey, it's alright, calm down." comes over me. I enjoy it greatly.
My companion left for Peru a couple of days ago, but do to a housing situation, I got another one, so I'm still in a threesome companionship. The new guy is pretty awesome, he was at the MTC before but he had to get knee surgery and take a medical vacation for a few months, but now he's back and with me. Oh, and the aforementioned housing situation is that parts of the MTC are under construction, so we have 6 beds in a room instead of 4. So it's pretty crowded, and since we just had a guy leave we had some room in our residence.
Anyway, I love you all, please continue to write me and be all nice like you guys are.
Hasta la vista, bebe!
Elder Joseph Call

Editor's note: Eggnog! A gallon of EGGNOG! I think i would just throw up drinking that without doing any running.

Meh...

Hey guys

This week was pretty uneventful, I can't really think of anything interesting that happened. Chuck and Tacy sent me a nice package, and I am very grateful to them. Anyway, my Mom asked me to describe MTC life. The food goes both ways, for instance, I think I learned the right way to make shepherds pies. Oh man, I hope to get more of those. there are other times when the food makes me a little sick. either way, I've gained 10-15 pounds since I've been here. I haven't been able to do that over the course of my entire life. So because of that I spend most of my time running or working out during gym time. Occasionally I play basketball or four square but I'm not very good. Mormons tend to be good at basketball, I don't know why. the hardest thing about it is that I feel kinda like a caged animal, I really want to get out in the field. I dunno if I'm ready, but I'd be willing to take that plunge. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll need me for some reason. I usually have lots of energy, I think I'm gonna keep to this schedule the rest of my life. Ha ha, JK. for those of you who don't know, I spend all day studying and I get half a day off each week. The people here are pretty fun. I love how spiritual it is. another thing I love is just sitting down and talking to people every once in awhile. it's quite fun. Everybody's got some kinda story they are just dieing to tell you. Anyway, I feel like this isn't a very good description of MTC life, but meh.

Thank you all for your letters and kindness. I appreciate it greatly. It brightens up my day.

Love you all!

Elder Call

 

Editors note: Sounds like the MTC is not that bad, hee hee.

Alleluia!

Hello World!

This was an eventful week at the MTC. On Tuesday, we got a talk from D. Todd Christofferson. I was impressed by his Candor and Sincerity. He talked about giving your will up to the lord. On thanksgiving we had a talk from Russel M. Nelson, who talked about thanksgiving. What was kinda interesting about that is he told us to think about all the people we loved and our errand from the lord while he played the song "Alleluia" by Men of Motab. I admit, hearing that beautiful song and thinking about all of you, I teared up a little bit. It was the first time I've been legitly homesick. And I was directed to do it by an Apostle of the lord. Ha ha, well, it was the only time. I love you all.

A funny thing happened the other day. I was having one of those days where the part of my brain that holds the Spanish language was in open rebellion. It was during a lesson with one of our fake investigators, and we were talking about keeping the sabbath day holy, and our fake investigator was talking about how he had to work on Sundays, and I said. "Dios entende que usted necisita comer su famillia." Ha ha, I can't belive I said that. I meant to say "feed" your family.
Also, I've been sick for like 2-3 weeks or so. This week it actually got kinda got to the "psychedelic world of pain" level. Ha ha, that was an interesting day. There was no doctor in because it was a weekend. My companion has been sick for longer than I have too. Not used to the Utah germs I guess. But on thanksgiving day they had us watch 17 Miracles, which is about the handcart companies. I then realized that I would never complain about anything ever again for the rest of my life. The movie is pretty depressing, but it's really well put together for a Church movie. I'm sure you guys would like it.

I know I say this up and down, but I love being a missionary. I would recommend it to everybody who can.

Also, thanks all my family members for the E-mails, sorry I don't have time to answer you all, I'll try to get to it but I only have half an hour to write all this stuff. In case you were wondering why this blog is the way it is.

Love you all!

Elder Call.

That rhymed.

Like a chime,

and a dime.

 

Editors note: Man Joe, your sick, and still moving on and telling everyone to serve a mission. "Hurrah for Israel!"

Japan?

Time flies by on wings of lightning! 10 points to whoever can name what song that is from. It seems like just yesterday me and my companion got lost every time we stepped out of a building. Spanish is coming along well, I am grateful to God for this gift that he has given me, that learning a language is relatively pain free. I'm also grateful to one of my brothers, it was either Anson or Dan, who told me that I should take Spanish in high school instead of German. Oh man, that was a good call. Thanks whichever one of you did that. Three of my brothers in my district left the MTC this week to go to the Peruvian MTC, so now there is enough time for us to teach a fake investigator twice a day, which I just love. It's another one of those situations where I walk around with a stupid grin on my face whenever I teach. Those Elders leaving also means that I get another companion, because he is waiting on his visa. He's from California, and he's a pretty cool guy.

 I also got the chance to have a very short wrestling match with a District Brother (Our District has formed a brotherhood) but then I remembered that wrestling matches in the residences were actually specifically prohibited, so we had to cut it short. I made a covenant with him that we would finish the match in two years, don't let me forget. The score was 2-1 in his favor. (Only because I didn't want to throw him, he would have died).

Anyway, I really love you all, and if any of you are thinking about going on missions, please, for the love of Pete, do it. It's fantastic. Hard, but fantastic. I love being a missionary.

On an unrelated note, I got to talk to a Japanese speaking elder who taught me how to say "Your dress looks stunning" in Japanese. I really hope I can meet a Nee-Han-Jean (Japanese Person) wearing a dress in two years, I have it written down. I would feel pretty boss at that moment. With any luck, it would turn out that that girl was Japanese-American and didn't speak Japanese and would live for at least a moment thinking I did.

That folks, is what we call a tangent. Anyway, pray for me please, and pray every day, read your scriptures and all that. Come unto Christ!

I Love you All!

Elder Call

P.S. I'm sorry I don't have time to email all of my family back, I still love you guys I promise.

Editor's note: It was from the song "Improve The Shining Moments". Thank's for coming.

He Got Your Letters!

Hey Family/Friends/Stalkers!

This week was kinda rough. But funny thing about that is yesterday I was way down in the dumps and I got a letter from the Murphies which cheered me up, thank you by the way, and then I got some really awesome muffins from Angie, thanks for that too, and I got a really inspiring Dear-elder from Jordan, muchos gracias. It's funny how everything is sort of provided for me here when I need it. Whether it be inspiration, clothes hangers (I found a closet full), hair gel, money, the gift of tongues, you can find it here. Being a servant of the Lord is awesome. I would highly recommend it to you all.

Speaking of which, I decided that the reason I am here is because I love the lord and Heavenly Father and I want to serve them. That's it. Also I love humanity and I want to serve them too, and those two coincide. Forget everything else, it really just comes down to those two. I feel good about that.

Anyway, another really cool thing about the MTC is the firesides. They are a load of fun. It's really interesting to get yelled at by a general authority. I hadn't had the experience of getting yelled at in a talk before and I can honestly say I love it. Call me weird.

Also I was humbled when a friend of mine sent me a Dear-elder in Spanish and I had no idea what it said, because the guy used some kind of slang. I had to get my Chilean teacher to translate it for me. It turns out the Mexicans are just as weird at picking slang words as the Americans are. Carnal=Man/bro? WHAT?!?

Well, nothing else interesting of note happened this week, so I'm going to fill up space by writing an ode to my awesome brother, Parker Call.

Parker, you are the salt of the earth. I know our relationship has been tenuous at times (I knocked him out one, maybe two times), but I honestly think that you are awesome. One of the things I miss here in the MTC is you, because you were always around and it just feels weird without you. You tend to brighten the day of the people you come in contact with (usually), and you have some really intersting insights about life and Man eating pirahnas and stuff. Everyone, I would reccomend talking with/hanging out with/complimenting Parker Call in the next week. You won't regret your decision. Parker, you're always going to be my right hand man, or I'll be your left hand man, whichever you prefer. I love you buddy. Stay Strong!

That goes for the rest of you!

Adios! (I found out that adios means "With God", a-dios. Pretty Cool)

Elder Call

Editor's note (Parker): ah, the times we had together, man. I'm glad people are sending letters. By the way, Joe knocked me out more than two times.

He survived!

Hola,

I survived my first week here at the MTC. It's truly remarkable how much Spanish everybody learns in just a few days. We finished teaching Carlos and he agreed to be baptized, it turns out that he was our real teacher, Hermano Duran. He is a really cool guy. He's Chilean, and he's been off his mission for 5 months and he speaks English Spanish and Chinese. Sorry Megan, I don't think he is single. I may be wrong. Look into it when you come to Provo.

Anyway, I haven't got any letters from any of you. Let me remind you that if you all don't send me letters then I'll probably forget about you and find replacement you's here on my mission. I know that may be A. Weird B. Impossible C. Wrong, but you know what, it's your own fault for not writing me.

I got to go on the temple today. It was super awesome because everything spiritual in my life is under a magnifying glass. I've been more emotional here in the 8 days I've been on a mission than I have been in my whole life I think. It's pretty crazy.

In the last post I wrote about how the MTC beats the crap out of physical labor. dan wrote back to me: "Now you know how Jean Valjean felt when he left the quarry to devote his life to god!". Ha ha it's so appropriate given my previous job at the stone factory, with a bunch of convicts.

Although, sometimes I miss being a workman. But not really. I like my life right now. No fooling.

The MTC is incredibly diverse. I see Japanese people walking around all the time and there is a British woman behind me talking about how she is a huge nerd and how Starship Troopers was the first movie to give her nightmares.

But I digress and I'm out of time. Keep me in your prayers!


Editor's note (Parker): I think Joe loves it there. *snicker, snicker*

The New Joe

Hey Everybody!

I am really liking my time here at the MTC. Spanish is coming along very slowly, but I feel fortunate to be one of two missionaries in my district who has some kind of backround in spanish. You can tell most of the other missionaries feel like they grind their foreheads on a cheese grater every day. Surprisingly, Yesterday  and today we actually taught an investigator who didn't speak any English (He was actually a teacher, but he was chilean and they didn't tell us that he was a teacher until after we taught him.), it was a very humbling expirience, I spoke spanish at half a mile per hour and I did not really get my point across at all. Maybe today will be better. It is harder on the other elders who spoke only two days worth of spanish. It's really interesting the way they teach over here. First of all, we are supposed to speak as much spanish as we can, but whenever I do, nobody understands me. I'm thinking next week things will get better with everybody. They also make you look everything up by yourself. The teachers just aren't around much.

Yesterday was kinda rough. I tell everybody that I am Siempre Bien but in reality I was a little discouraged about teaching Carlos (Our investigator). But last night I had some inspiration about what to teach him next, and a story I could tell him, ect. I was actually so excited about it I had trouble relaxing and I couldn't sleep. Maybe someday I'll quit being crazy, but probably not.

My companion is a cool guy, he kinda reminds me of a shy, less unique version of parker. He's an intelligent fellow, and he knows the gospel. He also has a lot of trouble with spanish. Sometimes I think I actually hinder him with my more extensive knowledge of spanish.

Did I mention that I really like the MTC? It beats the heck out of hard physical labor, I can tell you that. It's really awesome to walk in the light. I sometimes feel that in my previous life I have walked in darkness all the time, and it feels good to focus on spiritual things. I really feel the spirit strongly, and it feels good. It feels good to be Elder Call, and have my identity be erased and relaced with the identity of a full time servant of the lord. Thats why when people ask me ?Como Esta? I say ! Siempre Bien!

 

Love you all,

Elder Call

 

Editors note: THIS GUY IS AWESOME!

Hey Everyone.

My name is Elder Call, and I made this blog so that my friends and family could see how I am doing on my Mission. While you guys were having fun at college or whatever it is you were doing, I was working at a stone factory trying to raise enough money to go on a mission. I will be leaving to go to the MTC, or missionary training center, on Wednesday. There I will hopefully learn some Spanish, and maybe how to preach the gospel the right way. After like 8 weeks or something I will be going to San Fernando, California.
I will be serving the people of San Fernando for 2 years. Some of you might wonder what the whole point of being a missionary is. When I got called on a mission several months ago, I got a packet that helped explained my purpose. It said:
"Your Purpose as a Missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."
Basically it means that I will be encouraging the people of California to do good things. As many of you know, I am a Mormon, I have been my whole life. I think that this gospel has brought me great happiness, and I want to make other people happy. That is why I want to go on a mission. I think that I have found the key to happiness, and I want to share it with everyone.
Some people ask me if I have to go on a mission. They ask me if I've been coerced or something. Honestly, this is what I want. I want to give up two years of my time. I want to pay a large sum of money to do it. I want to work the 17 hour days that are required and follow the stringent rules that are associated with it.
Speaking of stringent rules, I won't be able to use a Facebook or really a computer for a long time, so if for whatever reason you guys really want to communicate with me, send me a snail mail. I will be moving around a lot, and I will have my address posted along with all my letters home on this blog.
Another thing all of you should do if you see a Mormon missionary, even if you don't want to hear what they have to say, give them some cookies or something. Of course, inviting them in and listening to them would be preferable. They aren't pushy. They would answer your questions. But failing that, cookies would be nice. Going on a mission is hard, and they need it. If you don't want to do that, send ME cookies. Please.
I think I'm gonna miss all of you guys. I know some of you just plain don't think very highly of me, and I'm sorry for whatever reason. But I'll miss those people even. But I feel very happy about going. How could I not? I'm in God's army now!
I would encourage all my Mormon buddies to help out the missionaries in any way you can. They need you. I would encourage my non Mormon buddies to at least talk to the missionaries. They are generally cool. Think of me when they are on your doorstep (I hope that would be a positive thing). For my young Mormon buddies, go on a mission. Do whatever it takes. It will be worth it, and God will provide I way for you. I know from experience. Everyone keep me in your prayers. If you want to talk to me or tell me something, do it in the next day and a half. God be with you all!