So I finally got my reassignment!!!!
I am going to be at this place until I get my visa. Some hints?
I've never been there before.....
It is east of the Mississippi River.........
It is south of Tennessee.......
Ironically...... the team that just beat Oregon is from this state.
Until I get my visa I will be serving in the Birmingham, Alabama mission!!! AND I leave this MONDAY!!! I check into the travel office at 5AM and then drive to the SLC Airport. Then, I fly from SLC to Dallas/Ft. Worth departing on American Airlines at 820am. I arrive around noon and then have a 3 hour layover from around noon to around 3, where then I board American Airlines again to Birmingham and arrive at around 4:30pm I think it was! Such short notice. Usually, they give you a week and half. I have known for less than 3 days. I am super excited though. I asked whether or not I would be speaking in Spanish there and they said it would be a lot of bilingual areas but it would be mostly up to my mission president who I know nothing about. Hmmm... what do you all want to know? I'll give you my mission address. If you want to send a letter or package then just send it to that address. If you already sent me something but I haven't got it by Monday, no fear, they will forward it to me. But from now on remember that if you send me DearElders you must send them to Birmingham, AL not the MTC. The Birmingham, Alabama mission home address is:
Elder Steven Card
3100 Lorna Rd Ste 102
Birmingham, AL 35216
So I am pretty excited to get out there, but I am so so scared and nervous at the same time. I got really comfortable the at MTC doing the same thing everyday and being with the same people everyday. But now I know it will be more exciting with a bigger reward. I was actually looking forward to (In a way) to staying awhile longer just because I have really gotten to love the missionaries in my zone. For example, Elder Janssen from West Jordan, UT going to Guadalajara, Mexico. He is awesome! We play volleyball and basketball every gym. We have this tradition of passing down items to the missionaries in the lower districts. Since my district is the oldest we have had our fairshare of passed down items in our collection. For example, I have been blessed with befriending the missionary with the memory foam mattress. Ever since he left I have had a peaceful night sleep. Then, my companion befriended the missionary with the fan. It helps with the warm nights in the room. Some other various items passed down have been an iron, special clothes hangers, a TIMEX clock, the special ties, etc, etc. Looking at those items.... I think it's obvious that I got the best one. Anyways, everything has been happening so fast. I am already in my phases of last. I already had my last gym period, and last devotional, etc. It is quite the phase. So I will be in Alabama for awhile until my visa comes. So feel free to still write me. Just cuz I am out of the MTC doesn't mean that I don't want letters anymore!! *cough cough* my birthday is on Feb 15!
Thanks again for all of the support,
Elder Steven Card
Opening My Mission Call
August 16, 2010
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Travel Plans?
Guess who got travel plans yesterday!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!???.................
My entire district but not me or my companion =( It's kinda sad when the entire district gets their travel plans to leave the MTC and you don't even get an update on your status. Everyone is leaving the 31st of January and Elder Lignell and I are clueless on what we are going to do. It's really sad and just frustrating. What's worse is that since I am district leader I was the one who had to get the mail so I had to deliver everyones good news, and my own bad news haha =( . Later, we found out though that our teacher just found out that he is going to be a dad! Yesterday was just a weird day haha. Travel plans.... pregnancy news....
Anyways, let's just say thankfully today is P Day. The temple was awesome. Elder Lignell and I went and did sealings which was really cool since I've never done them before. It was an awesome experience. Then... we get back to the room and waht happened? Our thermostat broke and is stuck on like 80 degrees. The windows don't open and we tried having two fans in the room but it doesn't matter. It is like a sauna in our room. Could the last two days get any worse!?!? But seriously, the MTC is still great. I still love the place, but the past week has definitely been filled with trials. I hope that tomorrow will be a better day, but considering it can't be much worse I expect it to be pretty good.
A good thing to look forward to tonight is that it's pizza night, so maybe that will be the one good thing from this entire week. However, my Spanish I do feel is becoming excellent. I feel more and more confident everyday. I feel like whatever I want to say at all in Spanish I can get across. I'm sure I have a few errors in my sentences but the fact that I can get my point across is a huge achievement. Well, I don't have any more time left, so I will talk to you all next week! Hopefully, next week I will know what is going on with my visa, cuz as of right now I have ZERO idea of what is happening. I don't know how much longer I am here for or anything. I'm just sitting in the dark. Looking back, this was kinda of a depressing update, but there wasn't too much that happened here in the past week except for that. Thanks for the support though from everyone!! I will talk to you all next week!
Love,
Elder Card
(One hour later)
So I just went to the travel office and I just asked about my visa situation. Apparently, my visa has no chance to be here in time. So I went to the travel office and they told me I will be temp. reassigned on Wednesday. My name will be submitted to the Twelve on Monday and I will get my reassignment on Wednesday then leave who knows when after that. So it's time to start guessing again!! It doesn't have to be in Utah, but there is that possibility. I can possibly be sent anywhere in the 48 states. Good luck with the guessing!! I'll update you next week!
My entire district but not me or my companion =( It's kinda sad when the entire district gets their travel plans to leave the MTC and you don't even get an update on your status. Everyone is leaving the 31st of January and Elder Lignell and I are clueless on what we are going to do. It's really sad and just frustrating. What's worse is that since I am district leader I was the one who had to get the mail so I had to deliver everyones good news, and my own bad news haha =( . Later, we found out though that our teacher just found out that he is going to be a dad! Yesterday was just a weird day haha. Travel plans.... pregnancy news....
Anyways, let's just say thankfully today is P Day. The temple was awesome. Elder Lignell and I went and did sealings which was really cool since I've never done them before. It was an awesome experience. Then... we get back to the room and waht happened? Our thermostat broke and is stuck on like 80 degrees. The windows don't open and we tried having two fans in the room but it doesn't matter. It is like a sauna in our room. Could the last two days get any worse!?!? But seriously, the MTC is still great. I still love the place, but the past week has definitely been filled with trials. I hope that tomorrow will be a better day, but considering it can't be much worse I expect it to be pretty good.
A good thing to look forward to tonight is that it's pizza night, so maybe that will be the one good thing from this entire week. However, my Spanish I do feel is becoming excellent. I feel more and more confident everyday. I feel like whatever I want to say at all in Spanish I can get across. I'm sure I have a few errors in my sentences but the fact that I can get my point across is a huge achievement. Well, I don't have any more time left, so I will talk to you all next week! Hopefully, next week I will know what is going on with my visa, cuz as of right now I have ZERO idea of what is happening. I don't know how much longer I am here for or anything. I'm just sitting in the dark. Looking back, this was kinda of a depressing update, but there wasn't too much that happened here in the past week except for that. Thanks for the support though from everyone!! I will talk to you all next week!
Love,
Elder Card
(One hour later)
So I just went to the travel office and I just asked about my visa situation. Apparently, my visa has no chance to be here in time. So I went to the travel office and they told me I will be temp. reassigned on Wednesday. My name will be submitted to the Twelve on Monday and I will get my reassignment on Wednesday then leave who knows when after that. So it's time to start guessing again!! It doesn't have to be in Utah, but there is that possibility. I can possibly be sent anywhere in the 48 states. Good luck with the guessing!! I'll update you next week!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Miracles
So this entire week has been quite eventful which is quite the change! On Sunday we had our normal devotional. The speaker was Richard I Heaton, the administrative director of the MTC. He was doing a normal talk in front of the entire MTC and then he randomly asked people who have joined the church in the past 3 years stand up. After that, he narrowed it down, and asked for everyone who has been baptized within the past two years stand up. There actually were not that many people for the entire MTC. So all of us standing up, he asked for us to come down to the stand. We all then one by one told our conversion story in front of all 2000 or however many MTC missionaries. I was so nervous!!! But apparently everyone said I did really good and a lot of people laughed. I asked President Clegg (second counselor to the MTC presidency) to talk to his cousin (Malaga Spain's Mission pres) about my visa. Afterwards he pulled me aside and we talked for like 10 minutes and he said he would let Pres Clegg know I was on my way hahaha. It was cool, I got to talk to the entire MTC presidency that night. THEN.... my dream finally came true.
For Tuesday we had a devotional like always, but this time the speaker was no ordinary speaker. My dream has finally come true. Jeffrey R Holland came!! Luckily for me I was sitting in about the 3rd row, so it felt like he was talking directly to me. He spoke with such power and authority and it was awesome, to finally see one of his talks in person. It has just been an awesome week. For the past few months I have also been way addicted to this ice cream here from the BYU creamry. Roasted Almond Fudge. I LOVE it. I get like 3 bowls everytime it's out, and I even buy some from the vending machines. So to everyone who can try some, I highly reccommend you do so. To pass the time, I have been reading Jesus the Christ pretty regularly. I try and read about a chapter a day in my little free time. I'm about half way done, so it's been going good. I absolutely love that book!!!
It was funny, when I first got here I couldn't find Trevor to save my life, but I saw him once in the 5 days we were here together. Ethan came in on Wednesday and I have already seen him like 6 times. We have the same schedule!!! So we have the same meal times and gym!! What a miracle. I introduced him to all of my zone, and he played knockout with us his first gym period. It was so funny. People here don't really play the cut throat way, where you can knock other people's ball away. But Ethan didn't know that so he did so, and everyone didn't expect it. They were all getting upset and started to jokingly yell at Elder Grether to get out! I was busting up laughing so hard. I had to tell him afterwards that people from Utah can't handle the knockout the same way Oregonians do. Alright all, well that was pretty much the highlights of the week!!! Nothing new has been about my visa. It looks like I will still be here awhile, but I am not discouraged at all. In a way, it is like I get two mission calls! I'm excited to finally get out in the field though. I am waiting for that day to come. Keep writing all!!! I love hearing from everyone! I hope to hear from you soon!!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
For Tuesday we had a devotional like always, but this time the speaker was no ordinary speaker. My dream has finally come true. Jeffrey R Holland came!! Luckily for me I was sitting in about the 3rd row, so it felt like he was talking directly to me. He spoke with such power and authority and it was awesome, to finally see one of his talks in person. It has just been an awesome week. For the past few months I have also been way addicted to this ice cream here from the BYU creamry. Roasted Almond Fudge. I LOVE it. I get like 3 bowls everytime it's out, and I even buy some from the vending machines. So to everyone who can try some, I highly reccommend you do so. To pass the time, I have been reading Jesus the Christ pretty regularly. I try and read about a chapter a day in my little free time. I'm about half way done, so it's been going good. I absolutely love that book!!!
It was funny, when I first got here I couldn't find Trevor to save my life, but I saw him once in the 5 days we were here together. Ethan came in on Wednesday and I have already seen him like 6 times. We have the same schedule!!! So we have the same meal times and gym!! What a miracle. I introduced him to all of my zone, and he played knockout with us his first gym period. It was so funny. People here don't really play the cut throat way, where you can knock other people's ball away. But Ethan didn't know that so he did so, and everyone didn't expect it. They were all getting upset and started to jokingly yell at Elder Grether to get out! I was busting up laughing so hard. I had to tell him afterwards that people from Utah can't handle the knockout the same way Oregonians do. Alright all, well that was pretty much the highlights of the week!!! Nothing new has been about my visa. It looks like I will still be here awhile, but I am not discouraged at all. In a way, it is like I get two mission calls! I'm excited to finally get out in the field though. I am waiting for that day to come. Keep writing all!!! I love hearing from everyone! I hope to hear from you soon!!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
Friday, January 7, 2011
Groundhog Day
At first I had no idea how Trevor didn't know what to write when he started giving updates of his MTC life. Now I realize a little bit more. It just feels like Groundhog's Day everyday. The days feel so long, but it's insane to think that I have been here for over a month. Time does indeed fly. The oldest district had visa problems to Mexico so they all got reassigned in the Utah area and leave Saturday. It's sad to see them go. Like I said last week it's crazy to think of how close i can become to these people in such a short amount of time. I can't wait to hang out with all of them when I get home. Anyways, they leave tomorrow so now my district will be the oldest district in our zone. Oh, the leadership and seniority!! I look back at all of the newest elders and hermanas that we got and I can't believe that I have learned as much Spanish as I have in the past month or so. It is truly amazing what you can do when the Spirit of the Lord is helping you.
Today, we went to the temple for the first time in a long time, because of the holidays. It was an awesome time, as always. I love going, and I have definitely found a new love for the temple while I have been here. I had more family names needing endowments so I got to do those today, which was really cool. Hmmm, what else to talk about? Well, the district that got in after us here in absolutely insnae. The reason being probably because there are no hermanas in their district to keep them sane. They have wrecked havoc while being here and have broken things in the hall and are loud 24/7. I personally couldn't handle it anymore so I went up to them and talked to them about it haha. It was funny, cuz they thought i was upset or mad, but I just wanted to get some sleep and personal quiet time. During that quiet time I have found it good to read Jesus The Christ. It is such an amazing book. I have tried reading about a chapter or two a day, and I'm about 230 pages in at the moment. I plan on finishing maybe even before i get out into the field. It is just such an awesome book and if you have never read it, I highly suggest you do so.
Other than all of the usual, the MTC life here is just the same every single day. Thankfully, I have a bountiful amount of ties so I can customize it up every day. Even multiple times a day if needed. I thank everyone reading this for their support and love. I hope to make these a bit more exciting in the coming weeks!!! Stay in touch!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
Today, we went to the temple for the first time in a long time, because of the holidays. It was an awesome time, as always. I love going, and I have definitely found a new love for the temple while I have been here. I had more family names needing endowments so I got to do those today, which was really cool. Hmmm, what else to talk about? Well, the district that got in after us here in absolutely insnae. The reason being probably because there are no hermanas in their district to keep them sane. They have wrecked havoc while being here and have broken things in the hall and are loud 24/7. I personally couldn't handle it anymore so I went up to them and talked to them about it haha. It was funny, cuz they thought i was upset or mad, but I just wanted to get some sleep and personal quiet time. During that quiet time I have found it good to read Jesus The Christ. It is such an amazing book. I have tried reading about a chapter or two a day, and I'm about 230 pages in at the moment. I plan on finishing maybe even before i get out into the field. It is just such an awesome book and if you have never read it, I highly suggest you do so.
Other than all of the usual, the MTC life here is just the same every single day. Thankfully, I have a bountiful amount of ties so I can customize it up every day. Even multiple times a day if needed. I thank everyone reading this for their support and love. I hope to make these a bit more exciting in the coming weeks!!! Stay in touch!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Years Tomorrow??!!
I can't believe that tomorrow is New Years Day!! I can't beleive that it is 2011. Time flies so fast, I COMPELTELY FORGOT that tomorrow is the New Years. Shows how much I pay attention to the outside world.
Well, the past week has been pretty intense. Christmas was a great day. We all woke up and opened up all of our gifts in a circle each taking a turn with the cardboard Christmas tree in the back. It was a lot of fun. Then, we had our Christmas "Dinner" at like noon, and while the food was good the logistics of it was not. They had all few thousand missionaries in the cafeteria at once so I waited in line longer than I did actually eat food. Throughout Christmas we had a bunch of meetings. In the morning we had a Christmas Talent Show which was so so so funny. It was so fun to just kick back and relax and laugh. Plus, my companion and I have found the secret to getting to the front row without waiting in line forever so for that we sat in the second row, right behind MTC President Smith. After that Christmas "Dinner" we had a devotional. They never tell you who is speaking until right before. So we all start singing a song, and then the doors open up and who walks in through the door?........ MTC President Smith!! But then...... who walks in behind him?...... His wife! But then finally..... who walks in behind him?? Apostle Russell M Nelson!!! It was so legit! We all stood and were all super excited. He then shared his message, came back in the evening to share another message, and then even came back on Sunday to talk to all the Elders in Priesthood. It was awesome!!
This past week the oldest district finally left for the field. It was a weird expereince. I never thought that I would get so emotionally attatched to them. They were all such great missionaries, and I am happy to say that I actually became close friends with them all before they left. However, since they did leave, we had to restructure our leadership, so I got called as our new District Leader haha. I used to like just sitting back in the shadows and doing my work, but now I have actual responsibilities. I look forward to the challenge though.
My new weight report: I think since I've been here for the past 30 days I have only gained about 6 pounds or so. Not bad for the amount of food I eat. I think it's also because I play basketball everyday and work myself to death when I play I must just sweat it all out. But other than that, that is all that is new. The status of my visa is unknown. Chances are I will be reassigned before Spain, or that's the prediction, but I am all for it. It's almost like I got two mini missions!! Anyways, thanks for all the support, and I love and appreciate all the letters!! Please continue to write and I will talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
Well, the past week has been pretty intense. Christmas was a great day. We all woke up and opened up all of our gifts in a circle each taking a turn with the cardboard Christmas tree in the back. It was a lot of fun. Then, we had our Christmas "Dinner" at like noon, and while the food was good the logistics of it was not. They had all few thousand missionaries in the cafeteria at once so I waited in line longer than I did actually eat food. Throughout Christmas we had a bunch of meetings. In the morning we had a Christmas Talent Show which was so so so funny. It was so fun to just kick back and relax and laugh. Plus, my companion and I have found the secret to getting to the front row without waiting in line forever so for that we sat in the second row, right behind MTC President Smith. After that Christmas "Dinner" we had a devotional. They never tell you who is speaking until right before. So we all start singing a song, and then the doors open up and who walks in through the door?........ MTC President Smith!! But then...... who walks in behind him?...... His wife! But then finally..... who walks in behind him?? Apostle Russell M Nelson!!! It was so legit! We all stood and were all super excited. He then shared his message, came back in the evening to share another message, and then even came back on Sunday to talk to all the Elders in Priesthood. It was awesome!!
This past week the oldest district finally left for the field. It was a weird expereince. I never thought that I would get so emotionally attatched to them. They were all such great missionaries, and I am happy to say that I actually became close friends with them all before they left. However, since they did leave, we had to restructure our leadership, so I got called as our new District Leader haha. I used to like just sitting back in the shadows and doing my work, but now I have actual responsibilities. I look forward to the challenge though.
My new weight report: I think since I've been here for the past 30 days I have only gained about 6 pounds or so. Not bad for the amount of food I eat. I think it's also because I play basketball everyday and work myself to death when I play I must just sweat it all out. But other than that, that is all that is new. The status of my visa is unknown. Chances are I will be reassigned before Spain, or that's the prediction, but I am all for it. It's almost like I got two mini missions!! Anyways, thanks for all the support, and I love and appreciate all the letters!! Please continue to write and I will talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Elder Steven Card
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