Week 5: The Covid-19mare
Nearly 20% of the missionaries in the MTC are quarantined
Bonjour tout le monde!
I am super excited for another group email. It has been so fun hearing from you and sharing my experience. This week has been both really challenging and really boring, so I have a lot and not a lot to talk about.
First was Christmas! I got a lot of awesome gifts from my family and the Relief Society. I would send a picture but I have already eaten most of the stuff I got. I got a lot of great candy and some other stuff. I got a really cool travel chess set from my family that has already seen ample use, and I got some really awesome socks from the Athens Ward Relief Society. Thank you all! It really means a lot that you would sacrifice some time and effort to send me a package. Also thank you for all the prayers. Their effects are definitely felt.
On Christmas I got to hear from Elder Cook. He gave a super awesome devotional and promise to us missionaries. I’m not going to share it here because it was very personal, but it was awesome! I was really homesick so that put a damper on the day overall. We also had an MTC talent show that was super fun. There are a lot of crazy good talents. Also my new favorite Christmas hymn is definitely “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” It is so awesome and I love the story behind it. Feel free to look up the story of the author. It is super touching.
Later in the week Covid exploded at the MTC. On Tuesday morning all missionaries went and got tested for Covid. One Elder in my district tested positive, but luckily no one else has. We all love you a ton Elder Hopkin! Keep your chin up Elder!
Anyway, in total about 20 percent of the MTC is quarantined. A lot of those are missionaries that were supposed to leave the MTC to go out to their mission but tested positive at the airport and were sent back to the MTC. A couple missionaries had Covid so badly they were sent home to quarantine and recover. Fortunately, the work at the MTC still continues. Everything I have heard indicates that the MTC presidency is doing everything they can to contain and end the outbreak so that the MTC can stay open. I am supremely grateful for their efforts.
Other than that there are not a lot of things to share. One other Elder in my district is sick with what we think is the flu, which has also been going around the MTC. Also Elder Forward arrived from the U.K. to join our district. He is doing his two weeks online at the MTC because the time difference would be too big to deal with. He has joined our district temporarily. We are so blessed to have him. His testimony is awesome, and his accent is pretty great too. He is going to be an awesome Elder!
I'll finish with an invitation for you. This week our teachers challenged us to memorize the first vision in French. As I have struggled to get it all down, I have felt the power, love and truth of Joseph Smith’s experience. I am so grateful that the Lord restored the fullness of the church at a time when I could be an active participant. Through prayer and pondering I have come to know the truth of the First Vision. I invite all of you to read it in Joseph Smith History and pray about if it is true. I promise that as you do the Lord will testify to you through the Holy Ghost that He and Jesus Christ truly appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and restored the fullness of the gospel for our day.
I love you all so much. As a reminder my email is lincoln.meyer@missionary.org. I would love to hear from you and I promise that on my P-day I will respond to you.
Merci beaucoup,
Elder Lincoln Meyer