Elder Masse

Elder Masse
Serving a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints August 2015-2017

Friday, August 28, 2015

August 28th -Week Two MTC! 10th Day! Love my comps, I'm the most organized and tidy elder, diction, blessings, haircut, mail!, "You are saying goodbye to your young men and in return you are getting men of god."

Area: MTC Provo
Comps:
Elder Vanaquer (from Lille, France) -going to Montreal
Elder Hopkins (from Colorado) - going to Florida


elder stepp is on the floor elder tuthill on the left elder hopkins in the middle and elder vanaquer on the right. Also which bed do you think is mine.. yeah the one that is spotless haha


This is what my journal looks like.. sometimes this is just 1 days worth





most of my studying material still stuff missing though always busy

the teal is my mission.....


 
I am trying to send you pictures we only have time to do it on p-day and i have the thing for it i am having trouble just opening the files! I am sure that i will figure it out though. 

this computer doesnt capitalize or autocorrect anything and I am trying to type fast so sorry for all the mistakes in the email! but!! 

1.What was the best part of your week?
2.  What does it feel like to be a missionary?
3. What made you laugh?
4. What's awesome about your comps?
5. Tell me something in Spanish or something you learned...
6. Anything you want me to send you?  

My week was amazing as always I cannot believe that this is the 10th day how can that be..! The time goes by so slow but then time also flies by. I spend 10+ hours in the classroom each day studying the scriptures, or preparing for lessons ( we teach 2 investigators ) we taught 2 lessons to one investigator and 4 lessons to another one this week. So we are always studying something! also language study that a big thing too! 

The language is coming fairly easy I already know how the structure works because of french I just need the vocabulary which i am good at! again because of french so i am constantly in the english to spanish dictionary just writing down useful words that I use in my day to day life! 

Yeah it was a huge surprise to see elder Nash that was a super cool moment we only had like 5 minutes to talk but I am glad you have at least 1 picture of me I have a bunch for you but I am working on It!

 I should have brought my planner with me because there are so many things that happened this week. There is no way that I will be able to remember them all! But I will tell you as much as I can remember. I will do this at the end of letter after I read through and respond to all your paragraphs. 

 I am working out really hard too we only go to the weight room! I have gotten more mail than everyone else in my district combined and I love it thank you so much! it is so nice to receive letters everyday! so after I write in my journal I make sure to write a letter so everyone's letters should be on the way! You guys are amazing! 

The stickers! yes never forget those but don't focus on them too much I am where I am supposed to be and i wouldn't want you worrying about me too much this is your time to go have fun with the two little boys! How have the little boys been holding up? I sent them letters! they should be there in a day or two they seem so sad in their letters I hope that they are having an amazing time! 

yeah i am thankful too be a missionary too haha! there is always so much love all the time! yesterday my companions had a prompting that all the elders in our dorms should give each other blessings so we did we each gave each other blessings of comfort. He felt that we should do it every sunday starting the following week and we all agreed. We thought it would be a good way to exercise our priesthood authority and really bring comfort to the each other. I absolutely adore everyone in our district! they are all such sweet spirits and we get along so well!

Thats really funny that you guys are doing that! I am sure that all is well though! this is just part of life! You are saying goodbye to your young men and in return you are getting men of god. 

You will always be my missionary mom! I am glad you have something to talk about though! always keep yourself busy this helps distract from the chaotic world!

Good I am glad I am excited to see how strong Cam is when I get back! we will have to have a wrestling match! When is school starting for the boys? are they excited? how are things going with the house?

It is absolutely beautiful here I couldnt ask for anything better! i am so excited for the winter in montreal though! there is 1 other spanish montreal elder here but he already knows spanish so he is learning french. Then there are like 10 other elder that are also going to montreal but they are just regular french speaking elders!

The temple was amazing as always! I got to see another new video so there is only 1 that I haven't seen now! WOO! The temple here is beautiful the portland temple will always have a place in my heart though.

Thank you mother you give me so much support I couldnt ask for anything more life here is so great and I love it! well here is just some more info about companions and what happened this week.

- Elder Vanaquer! I love him so much he is 20 years old obviously speaks fluent french and english and honestly he understands me better than anyone he is so chill! I love him so much he brings me so much joy he has a sweet spirit about him and he really relates to me a lot. we are so similar in so many ways. He is so helpful to my french and i know that God put us together for a reason! Sometimes he is the only person that understands what i am thinking. this is so nice! He is so charitable and sweet and funny and i couldnt ask for a better companion! Also I learned the importance of diction this week because elder stepp who is in our district one night said ' brushing my teeth is such a hassle ' and elder vanaquer thought that he has sad brushing my teeth is such an ***hole.. and he repeated it and I dont think i have laughed so hard in my life. I love him so much

- Elder hopkins! oh man he really is one of the reasons I am sane! he is just a jokester and he is always laughing and smiling and he really just adds the sweetest spirit everyday! He is always making us smile and laugh and I am so glad that he is here to help lift us up! plus its always nice to speak a little bit of english every once in a while and he gives me that opportunity I am thankful for his outgoing attitude and conviction of the gospel he is a really good teacher. 

my week! as always it was amazing! its always full of so many spiritual experiences! last saturday.. I can remember that far sorry! but sunday was amazing! it was nice to not be in the classroom for 10 hours we went to sacrament meeting and priesthood and I got to watch an amazing talk by elder bednar called the character of christ it is one of the most amazing talks i have ever heard and right before it a member of the 70 spoke to the missionaries and this again was one of the most amazing talks I had ever heard and he did the whole thing led by the spirit he couldnt think of what to say so he went of the spirit and it was amazing!
monday.. I think was just regular I am not totally sure that seems like an eternity ago!
tuesday we had another devotional at night and a member of the 70 talked to us this was again so amazing! 
wednesday was a normal teaching and 10 hour classroom day and so was thursday!

then today was p-day so we woke up at 6;15 - we always do this because we have warm showers and extra time to study in the morning it is really nice! and we ate breakfast then went to the temple after the temple we studied for like an hour and a half then went to lunch then after that we worked out, did some comp study, wrote and sent letters went to the store! we have been all over the place!

i scheduled a time to get a haircut because I have some of the longest hair in the MTc haha.. or from what I have seen I have not really seen anyone with longer hair than me so it is time to forget my old self and become a missionary of GOD! we also washed clothes and we will have more personal study later along with language study! we are always doing something! ALWAYS! we also have 3 more hours in the classroom today and dinner. then we will have district meeting planning session. we will go to our dorms i write a letter and write in my journal then go to bed at 10;30. This is my day for p-day! I will have to send you one next week of a normal day! 
umm.. other than this i need soap I am almost already out I go through a lot faster than i thought.. and if you could send more of those protein bars that would be nice but not necessary other than that I think I have everything I need this is the life!

Also 2 more things you will appreciate I am definitely the most organized and tidy elder in our district if not our zone haha.. everything is spotless and completely organized and I am always on time and perfectly obedient to everything. The 2 hermanas ( sisters ) in our district also said that they thought I would get married first because out of everyone I seemed the most mature and just 'fatherlike' which I thought was funny! it was nice though anyways! this should suffice!! love you so much mom ( and everyone else reading this!) love you until next week!

- Elder Masse'


Thursday, August 27, 2015

"Look who I found!" Elder Tate Masse & (Elder) Garrett Nash - "It was great to see yet another Masse at the MTC!"

This is the first pic of Elder Tate Masse from the MTC!  It happens to be with (Elder) Garrett Nash- who was Elder Devin Masse's trainer in Africa!  He is teaching French at the MTC and happened to see him and recognize him!  What a joy to get this picture from him!

"It was totally by chance.  I was outside doing an activity with my missionaries and he just popped out of a building .  He looked familiar, then I recognized him.  It was great to see yet another Masse at the MTC!"  - Brother Garrett Nash


Friday, August 21, 2015

First P-day!! AUGUST 21, 2015 - MTC Day 3- "this is the life! I cannot wait to go to montreal. I still have alot of work to do but it is amazing out here", " I can pray and say my testimony in spanish!" "eaten with Gordon quite a few times" "you just have no need to worry about me this is where I am meant to be and i couldnt be happier. "

Area: MTC Provo
Comps:
Elder Vanaquer (from Lille, France) -going to Montreal
Elder Hopkins (from Colorado) - going to Florida

1.       What part of France is Elder Vanaquer from?
1) Elder Vanaquer is from Lille its in northern france - he is an amazing elder and I love him so much he is an example to me and I love helping him translate from french to english or explaining in french to him. It helps me and it helps us grow closer he misses speaking french all the time so I get to help him with that and I am very grateful! 


2.       Where is Elder Hopkins from?
2) Elder Hopkins is from Colorado! I also love him so much he sadly is not going to Montreal with us he is going to Florida and I will miss him. He is hilarious and Optimistic all the time. He is kind and endearing and a great guy to be around! Our entire dorm is just strictly obedient missionaries and it is awesome! we are very effective missionaries and we do lots of language study together! We are getting good!!! It is so fun it was crazy because in the beginning of my dreams last night people started speaking spanish and I couldnt understand it woke me up actually out of excitement and joy! Later at like 2 am a similar thing happened but it was in French! When I am not speaking Spanish I am speaking french and It is so fun all the time to just be speaking in something that isnt Englsish.

3.       Anything I can send you?
3) I havent really needed anything here. In fact I have stuff I could send home! I definitely dont need 3 suits here especially because its hot so i usually just wear a shirt and tie. 

4.       What’s one of the best things that has happened so far?
4) umm.. Just meeting my companions and studying and working hard towards a common purpose. I can pray and say my testimony in spanish! that was so fun to learn with the other elders. I love just having things to do all the time I love being effective and knowing where I am supposed to be at what time. I have been getting up at 6 which "kinda" gives me hot water the last 2 days it has been cold but c'est la vie. This also gives me extra time to study spanish! When we are not in the classroom or basically doing something on our schedule workshops etc. We are studying. All our free time we use to study the scriptures and especially spanish we practice so hard and we try to memorize phrases and words I have never been so thankful for french in my life! it is so helpful and my accent is not bad! I have been pretty good about switching from spanish and French! It is so fun AHHHH!! cant describe my joy. My branch president went to the same mission I am going to fun fact! he also reminds me of president samuelin alot! He is an amazing guy full of joy. He makes effective missionaries
.
5.       What made you laugh?
5) Everything makes me laugh I am smiling all the time everyone is kind and loving and they all try and speak in their language we are effective missionaries and serious but we also like to tease each other and laugh when we screw up words or translate incorrectly! everyone here is amazing.

6.       How’s your finger?
6) My finger is great actually it doesnt hurt and I havent had to do anything to it there will be a scar but its okay. It has been good! havent had to use any medical equipment yet!

7.       Has anything been overwhelming?
7) No not really. I havent been stressed out at all I have been calm and orderly and effective IT IS GREAT! this is where I am meant to be and everything just seems normal classes are classes and I love to learn so i am just soaking all of it in. It just seems so normal. It is true that the days are very long it feels like I have been here for so long but it is only the third day. I am getting used to the sleeping schedule and when I woke up this morning I wasnt even tired! WOO! I had a rough start with only 2 hours of sleep on the first day. But all is well! I am used to it and this is my life!

8.       What do you love about the MTC?
8) I love everything about the MTC the food, the people, the language, the classes, the workshop, the teachers. All these people here in common goal and it is just amazing. I dont know how you couldnt love it! it is so organized and perfect I am loving every second. All the advice I have been getting has paid off. It is so wonderful here. 

9.       How is the Spanish coming?
9) again amazing i love it! it is so fun and i cannot wait to learn spanish! i am trying as hard as i can and our class is awesome! our teacher is very kind and wonderful! 

10) not sure what else to say! there are elder here from all over the world!!! OHHHHHHH ALSO!!!! okay so in my district there is an elder named "Elder Hunt" and his brother went to the DRC and he was there from 2013-15 which means he was there when devin was there so i am curious if devin knowns an Elder hunt. He was there when the mission split. so i am just curious he is also the DL he is a great missionary. 

11) in our class there are 11 missionaries 2 going to mexico ( they didnt get their visas so they couldnt leave) So they might leave us soon not sure yet. Then 1 going to florida ( elder Hopkins) vanaquer and I going to montreal then all the other missionaries are going to spain. Our class is awesome and everyone has such amazing testimonies. Most of the people here are 18-19 and so its weird because I am just as old as them but they look so much older! oh elder hopkins is 18. and vanaquer is 20. I am the youngest of the 3. Also i love gordon so much i have eaten with him quite a few times and its always nice to have an old friend here. speaking of which one of the elder in the zone I went to EFY with and jared reed is also here! so that was a very cool surprise. There are some crazy elders here! they are so fun though they tried to scare me the first day by hiding in my closet and jumping at me when i opened it but either due to me or my just massive fatigue the first day they failed haha I just stared at them and laughed. I think I got more joy out of it than they did! 

12) I havent gotten any letters from Camdeyn or Aiden so just tell them I love them so much and they have so much to look forward to. Cam is now the man of the house now so he needs to treat aiden with respect they are brothers now and it is up to them to help raise and take care of eachother. Nothing will help them grow closer than the simple act of being companions.

13) I will try to send you pictures I have a couple but.... I am failing at getting them from my camera to the computer so I will try again. 

14) misc - umm.. Not much else to say it hasnt been to hot because we are inside most of the day but still taking your jacket off is nice.  i Am trying to tell you everything uhhh.. OH! finally saw a new video in the temple and I really liked it. it was very nice to finally see a new video! the temple was beautiful and it was very calming to be there. Other than this.. you just have no need to worry about me this is where I am meant to be and i couldnt be happier. I have been writing loads in my journals about what I have been doing and yeah! all is well! tomorrow i will spend like 10 hours in the classroom so this is really the first day that we are in the classroom for more than like 4 or 5 hours. Not much else i can think of I am going to go switch my laundry now.  this is the life! I cannot wait to go to montreal. I still have alot of work to do but it is amazing out here. love you 

- Elder Masse'

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

MTC! August 19, 2015 - "Ma mere! I made it here. I cannot believe it. Even now it doesn't feel real. But this is it! Guess what! My companions are Elder Vanaquer, and Elder Hopkins!"

Ma mere!
 I made it here. I cannot believe it. Even now it doesn't feel real. But this is it! Guess what! my companions are so awesome! I am in a tri force!! my companions Elder Vanaquer, and Elder Hopkins! Man they are awesome! elder vanaquer is from france and he has been helping me so much with my french as much as i possibly can i talk with him in french and it has been helping me so much. Spanish is so fun i cannot believe it my teacher is the best and he is so uplifting and happy that it makes everything better! How could someone not love this. The MTC is amazing there are so many amazing people and my district is awesome. 

My p-day is Friday so i will be able to email you in 2 days this is just an email to tell you i got here safe. I am already thinking of things that would be useful but i am totally prepared it is amazing here i saw gordon and that was the greatest reunion of my life! i love that kid i was so happy to see him. 

The plane ride went smoothly and there was 2 other missionaries i got off the plane and the entire airport was bombarded with incoming missionaries there are so many. It still doesnt feel real but i am learning so much and its only been 1  day! it has been a long day i can say that there are so many more things i could tell you but this was supposed to be short haha. I love you mom and dad and everyone this is where i was meant to be. I am finally at peace.

-Love Elder Masse'


PS. I have 4 tags 2 in spanish 2 in french all of them correct with the accent.

GOOD-BYES AT PORTLAND AIRPORT