The Compound

7/6/15

Hey Family!,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!!!!!!!! I hope you got the card I sent you! It's awesome seeing pictures of you guys doing fun stuff for the 4th of July, we didn't get to do much. We had a big devotional and then everyone in the MTC went out to the parking lot to look at 'fireworks' that you could just glimpse through the trees. Then we went to the edge of the compound, my companionship did, and we got to see the big ones from the stadium of fire in between some more trees. Gotta love the compound. Jenny Oaks Baker did a devotional last night! Mom, I thought you would like that one. You guys aren't sending this first part out to everyone are you? It's only supposed to go to you, the close family. The rest goes to everyone else. Oh and I actually did mean gym shirts..... Haha sorry I guess that was my bad for not being specific enough... If you could just send one more SMALL package with the ping pong, my journal, and a few shirts that would be awesome! No cake though please, there is plenty of food here. I'm not kidding. I still have so many treats I can draw from. Another Elder's mom in my district sent Elder Facer and I packages with candy in them... Kinda weird. Not my other companion Elder Jensen or anyone else in the district got a package from her, including Elder Darrington's companion (Elder Darrington's mom sent the package). Sorry I haven't gotten to the letters lately, I'll be working on sending some this week. This Friday marks 1 month in the MTC and also the halfway point. I can't wait to get over that hump, there is only so much language you can learn in the MTC. I'll be with the same companions. I did get the letter from Grandma! I've seen an Elder from EFY four years ago, he said the only way he recognized me was because I was in the Duty to God book. BTW, I saw Brother and Sister Davis in the Plan of Salvation booklets we use as missionaries all the time. Who are they holding?? They haven't even glanced at our visas. They do it all online as far as I know, and they would have contacted me if they needed anything. I don't get my travel itinerary for four more weeks. When I get it I will let you know. I'm actually eating too much fruit so I've had to vary it up a little bit. They don't have too many food options here. Anyways, I'm getting pretty good at basketball. Never thought I would say that.... Keep up the awesome letters and pictures!!!

Brothers and Sisters,

It has been awesome seeing so many people I know come through the MTC lately! I know there are a lot more coming in the next few weeks, so let me know if you are one of them or know one of them so I can keep an eye out! I got to see a few fireworks for the 4th, so that was pretty awesome. We could just barely see them through a gap in the trees on the edge of the compound. Trust me, it's a compound. But hey, I would definitely rather be in this compound than the one at the Point of the Mountain. The days are beginning to blur together a little bit, especially as we do the same thing day in and day out, but I am growing so much. There is so much to learn in the MTC.

Things I learned from cleaning the Provo Temple today:

-It isn't just superficially clean, we quite literally cleaned every inch. Our bodies represent a temple right? So clean every inch of it. Get down on the floor and scrub the base of the chairs with a toothbrush, wipe it with a rag, and then go over the cracks with a q-tip and a toothpick. Clean even the places no one will ever look. Behind doors, behind picture frames, under benches.

-Go over things twice, with twice the effort. I was cleaning the baseboard by the staircase, and there were tons of black scuff marks. I went over a section of the baseboard once before I found out that if you took a long time to scrub rigorously, the black marks would come out! So I went back and spent around an hour cleaning a 30 ft segment of baseboard. Don't do any job or fulfill any commitment half-spirited. Give it all you got. Put some elbow into it.

-The details are important. What needs just a little bit of dusting in your life? The sisters took every single crystal off of the chandelier in the Celestial Room and dusted them individually (they broke a few but my metaphor ends there).

-Some jobs just need doing. We dusted all the chairs that go in any of the sealing rooms with a bone-dry rag. It pretty much made no difference. Actually, it made no difference. It was completely pointless. But even the pointless things need cleaning every once in a while. Even if it is just to show them they are loved.

I'll share one little epiphany I had last Saturday. There really isn't much to say about the MTC, so I'll have to share a little bit about what is going on in my mind. The MTC changes your perspective on things. I'm not really sure how. The classes are hard and long, many of the missionaries don't take this whole thing seriously, I wake up early every morning, and the food stinks. Ok, not literally, but I can only take so many chicken burgers. So why on Earth do I get anything out of this experience? Honestly, I'm even surprised I'm awake to think about things. But I have a theory. I think that because this compound, this dark and gloomy prison, is set apart from the world. Even though the buildings are dim, the walkways are covered, and there is a fence around the perimeter, it keeps the outside world at bay. We have a place here where everyone has the same purpose, united as one. We all love God. We all have Jesus Christ's name on our chest. And that makes it special. This unique atmosphere really causes you to think about the trajectory of your life. Here people ask me all the time, "what are you doing after your mission? What do you want to be when you grow up?" So I guess that question never goes away and I will never grow up, but it led me to think. Everything I've ever wanted to do after my mission is what society expects. I've always wanted to go to college, graduate with some awesome degree, go get a secure job where I can make a lot of money, get married, buy a house, settle down, and eventually retire. That is the average life. For reasons other than what I can explain, I have never entertained possibilities outside that realm of expectation. I feel like a horse with blinders on! Not only on, but as if they would fall off if my hooves weren't holding them on! I can quite literally do anything, especially in this country of freedom. I can take financial risks. If it goes haywire, I only get more experience. I can move to Africa and live with the poorest of the poor for a year. I can join the Army. I can be a river guide and make no money. That is the coolest thing about life. As long as I continue to live this Gospel, gain knowledge, and follow Christ, I can't go wrong! It's not that I am actually planning on going and doing those things now (don't worry mom), but I have just realized that I can physically devote my life to following the promptings of the Spirit and that having a nice house and a good job aren't necessarily the best way to return to God. I guess I've just realized what's important in life. Take my dad for example. He came out of college and worked at a high-paying law firm where he could get rich. But he didn't like the lifestyle. He wanted a better job where he could have more time with his family and focus on other interests in his life. So he gave up the Lamborghini for a Corolla. Prestige for fish-lawyer. Granted, he is climbing the bars in politics, but that is something he enjoys. It is a job where he can make a difference. I hope we can all take a look at our lives like my dad did and find how we can shift our focus from the natural man to the spiritual man. From mammon, to God. Even though I am starting to learn more things in Chinese, I still always pray for all of you back home. Wo de jia ting he wo de peng you. May you always sail against the wind!

-Elder Hawkes

P.S. Elder Poon and Elder Duffin say Hi