Hey everyone, this first week in the CCM (MTC).  It has been pretty fun and really difficult at times.  My flight had probably about 50 missionaries on it so there wasn't any fear of going somewhere wrong.  The bus ride to the CCM was a bit scary though because of how people drive here.  People switch lanes real fast without signaling.  There are people standing in the middle of the road selling things, and you´ll see police in the back of a truck with a couple of rifles.  Pretty crazy.  The altitude here is about 7500 feet so doing any running sports winds me pretty quickly.  Initially, my companion Elder Greene and I thought we were going to be a trio with Elder Gleason who was in our room and his companion wasn`t going to arrive.  Then the next day at night someone else showed up to be his companion.  The amount of things that we have to learn is pretty crazy. In the first 10 days we need to have about 350 words, 20 phrases, the preach my gospel objective, baptismal invitation, first vision, and Moroni 10:3-5 memorized all in Spanish.  That seems crazy but even crazier is that all I have to memorize now is the first vision, and Moroni 10:3-5 by Friday.  Eso es el don de lenguas (that´s the gift of tongues).  The second day here was pretty hard and I was discouraged and irritated.  Although it has gotten better and it´s good to be here.  Although I´m already excited to get out of here and into the field.  The days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days.  Every day is scheduled to the minute and is very busy.  It is fun most of the time, however.  The food here is good, la tienda (the store) has a bunch of things you may need for cheap, parrots just fly around, and everyone here has the same goal of learning Spanish.  Today we went to the temple and that was amazing.  Really spiritual experience.  We had some headphones to listen to things in English but the temple there is really huge.

 A couple districts went to the temple today and It was really nice.  I´m glad we could go.  I have gotten a lot better at Spanish and I can kind of talk to people and do contacting and that sort of thing, however, I need to get faster.  It´s crazy how fast the week went by.

 All the books and pamphlets that they give us

 Tyler's response to "what would you tell someone who is about to enter the MTC?"  . . . . Sage advice after 7 days.

"They give you most everything you need.  The store has a lot of stuff for cheap like zote (collar stain remover for less than a dollar the size of soap).  You don´t need temple clothes, just baptism ones.  I have an xs timbuk 2 bag and I think it is a perfect size.  However, I may sew on a water bottle holder on the outside for more space.  In the MTC you have a lot of books but they give you a backpack for carrying most of them. The more Spanish you know the better.  Studying is good.  listen to scriptures while reading to get the pronunciation.  you have gym time 3-4 times a week so you need regular socks as well as regular clothes to sleep and do that in.  They do have it here if you need.  I got a couple more pairs of socks because I only had 2. Skimming Preach My Gospel before is good to get a background on the info.  The church is true.  You can see miracles here if you put in some effort and understand that you really need the spirit to teach, learn, memorize.  The gift of tongues can work miracles but not without your effort.  Pray all the time for help.  constantly.  You can´t come here thinking you can get a testimony here.  You would quit before you had time to.  The first week is hard.  It gets easier but you have to know why you´re here and have a desire to help others.  Having some powder to put in your shoes at the end of the day is a great way to reduce any smell.  get some moleskin to put inside your shoes.  make sure it is large so it won't come off from your foot catching the edge of it.  The water is good here but they still have us drink from big 10 gallon bottled water dispensers for most things.  But hypothetically it is fine to drink the tap only in the MTC or temple.  A little notebook is great for goals, notes,  lesson info, etc.  journal size or pocket size is good.  Don't get a huge bag.  once you are in the field you´ll only have scriptures, PMG, water, a notebook that you would carry in your bag."

There you have it . . . everything from stinky feet to the gift of tongues.