D.L. and Dai-Senpai

Well. It's the middle of week seven in the MTC. It has been so crazy. It feels like forever, but before I know it, it's another week. Ugh. Well. Big news this week. I became the new and last District Leader for our District (District 27B, the best one there is). It's kind of stressful being D.L., but it's also a lot of fun.

So this week we got more kohai! Which means we're Dai-senpai, which is a lot of fun. It's kind of weird to think about, but out of everyone at the MTC we have almost been here the longest. That is kind of exciting. It's almost our turn to leave.

Well I don't know if you guys know this, but in the MTC, if one missionary gets sick, all of them get sick. There was a huge flu going around, and I happened to get stuck with it. Ugh. That was tough. I was throwing up all day. It was pretty rough. But I made it through. I hope no one else has to go through that. It was pretty bad.

Last Sunday I got to sing in a quartet in Sacrament Meeting. That was a lot of fun. I've never sung in a quartet before. Who knew it could be so much fun?

Another interesting thing: My birthday is this week. That's going to be interesting, because it will be the first birthday I've ever celebrated away from home. It should be pretty interesting.

I also got a package from the Hagens. It had 2 air fresheners, a Santa hat, a stress ball, m&ms, Christmas lights, and a giant rice crispy sheet. And a letter from Uncle Gary, and Jacob. It was so nice to hear from them.

So I found out that it's okay if we do family history here at the MTC, and it's really cool! I found out the my companion and I are related! We're both related to a guy named "Grandmaster Boaz". How cool is that name? So as I was looking at the family tree, I saw the Great-Grandfather Loomis wasn't on there. So I added him, and now I can trace my line all the way back to Adam and Eve on both sides! I think that's really neat.

One of the best experiences I've had during my time at the MTC happened this week. My Sensei, Cook 兄弟, took us up to the top floor of the highest building on campus. In that building, there is just a wall of glass looking out over the Valley towards Spanish Fork. As we're looking at this beautiful sight, he points out the mountains on the other side by S.F. canyon. He says, "You see those mountains over there? Are they big, or are they small?" Every one being at least a little confused said, "Big..?" "Yes," He answered, " They are. Really big. I know that sometimes you have problems, or stress, or you just don't know what you are doing, but God created those mountains. He created those huge mountains over there. Do you think he can't help you solve your problem? God can help us do anything, whether it's homesickness, stress, or learning a new language. Nothing is impossible with God."

I just want you guys to know that I love you, and even if sometimes you can't tell, God does too. I hope you are all doing well. I miss you, and if you're not busy, feel free to shoot me an email. I love talking to all of my friends. 

I love you guys

Elder Tolen

The Zone...a couple weeks ago.

Elder Dunn modeling the new lights, Santa hat, and Krispies treat from the Hagens