Missionary work is the lifeblood of the Church

"Missionary work is the lifeblood of the Church. There is no greater work, no more important work. It blesses the lives of all those who participate in it. It will continue blessing future generations."

In Kevin's recent letter home he talked about working in the referral center in the MTC. This is a neat experience for him. Not all missionaries are able to work in the referral center in the MTC. Usually the only ones who are able to are the ones who are learning the missionary discussions in English. Kevin is loving the work and has had some amazing and uplifting experiences.

Kevin and his companion are working very well together. Kevin has only said positive things about their experiences together.

Kevin will be leaving the MTC Tuesday morning at about 3am! He will catch his plane in SLC and then head to Los Angeles. He'll catch a second plane to Honolulu, and the third plane will take him to Guam. Kevin wrote "It's funny looking at the flight schedule because it says we leave on the morning of the 3rd and we don't get in until the night of the 4th! We are on planes for about 19 total hours.Our total trip time is over 24 hours. I'm really excited to get out in the field and start bringing others unto Christ."

A Letter Home

Here is a part of the last letter Kevin e-mailed home.

So my first few days were pretty good. We had a lot of orientations and large group meetings. We are starting to get into a regular schedule now. It is really demanding here. 6:30-10:30 is pretty much non stop study and prepare. Its really good though. The spirit is really strong here. My teachers are amazing. Brother Moss is a great guy. I like his lessons because they are always really spiritual. Brother Haskin is really good too (he is a neuroscience major at BYU right now). They teach us so much in such a little amount of time. It really isn't them though. It's the spirit. We are starting to get the hang of teaching lessons now. We have been working really hard with the first one. We still have a few kinks to work out here and there.

Elder Standage is my companion. He is a great guy. My district is awesome. We call ourselves the temple district. We say it a different tone and make it fun. We also have a motto of sorts: Celestial Kingdom or Bust! We all get along really well. There are four of us going to the Micronesia Guam Mission. The other elders in my district are Nebeker, Anderson, Grondel, and Tangren. They are going to the Minneapolis Minnesota mission. We get along with them really good. I have adopted the nickname of scrubs on our floor because of my pajamas. I don't have a problem with it. I know that as soon as people take it too far I can call on Elder Tuaitanu and he will be there. Nobody will mess with him.

So you will never guess who is in my branch presidency... Professor Bott. It is really cool having him there. I told him I was in his class but he doesn't remember me. I would be offended but he had 1500 students last semester and has another 1500 this semester. He gave a great talk in sacrament meeting this last Sunday. He spoke like he was giving a lecture in his class. It brought back some old memories. I don't know my branch president's name right now. He has been out of town for a long time but he will be back tonight. The other counselor is Brother Vernon. He is such a nice guy. He always comes to the rooms and checks up with everyone to see how things are going before we go to bed.

Today we got to go to the temple. It was really neat there. It is a lot different than the Reno and Salt Lake temples. Our entire zone went up together. The men's side was completely full and I think I only counted 7 sisters.

So since I have been here I have seen so many people that I know. There are a lot of people from BYU. I have been getting pictures with everyone so you can see.

Love,
Elder Kevin South

MTC Delivery Service

Here is a neat website that will let you type a letter to Kevin and then they will print it out and deliver it to him for free at the MTC that same day if you submit it before 10 am Utah time! This cuts down on postage costs and eliminates travel time for letters!

Check it out here!

Missionary Training Center

Kevin headed off to Provo Utah where the MTC is located on Monday. He arrived Monday night. Tuesday he spent the day with family and running his last few errands. He was even able to squeeze in a temple session in the SLC temple with his dad and great-uncle Kerry. He enjoyed a fun dinner farewell where he said goodbye to his extended family for two years!

Monday he enjoyed his last meal at Tucanos (one of his favorites!). He headed over to the MTC where he had the chance to say goodbye to his Aunt Doreen and cousin, Eric.

He walked on to the MTC grounds with his mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law.

They dropped of his luggage and headed over to the check-in desk. He got his badge and was whisked off to the famous room where you say good-bye to your families.

(dropping off his luggage)

(Checking in)

(notice his dork dot)

(Kevin and his brother-in-law Mitch and sister Tori)

(Kevin and his dad)

(Kevi's mom just put his tag on him)

Kevin and his family heard the mission president, his wife and Elder Groberg (the author of The Other Side of Heaven) speak. After they spoke, we watched a video about what missionaries do in the MTC and they asked that families and missionaries share letters back and forth, they told families what they could and couldn't send and then they asked the families to say goodbye to their missionaries. Kevin hugged everyone and his family watched him walk out the door. Kevin is officially a missionary and training at the MTC. He is going to make an amazing missionary. The people in Micronesia are in for a huge surprise! Here is Kevin's address while he is in the MTC!

Elder Kevin South

MTC Mailbox #131

MICR-GUA 0304

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, UT 84604-1793

Please write him often.

Here are some intersting facts about the MTC

The Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah is still the largest such center and can accommodate up to 3,800 missionaries.

The facility includes a large gymnasium, cafeterias, a medical clinic, a bookstore, a mail center, a call center, laundry facilities, classrooms, meetinghouses, and residence halls.

Approximately 50 languages are taught at the Provo MTC.

Sunday was a Big Day

Kevin had a very exciting Sunday. He started the day off speaking in Church about his mission and applying the scriptures into his everyday life. Kevin was so excited to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover before he spoke and he was able to meet his goal before the night was over. His talk was very well researched and written. Kevin is very thorough and ended up with several drafts before he had the perfect talk. His ward and family were all very proud of him.

After church Grandpa South, his brother in law Mitch and his Father gave him a father's blessing. It was a wonderful blessing full of great advice. He was counseled to "not run faster than your feet can carry you!". This statement was perfect for Kevin. He tends to be such a go getter he forgets that he can only go get so much!

The open house followed. So many people came to say their goodbyes. He is lucky to have so many people who love him.

After the open house he headed over to the Stake center to be set apart. When it was over he was officially considered Elder Kevin South!

He spent the rest of the evening making his last few phone calls to say goodbye.

It was a very special day for Elder South! We couldn't be prouder!

Start of something great

We're new to this whole blogging process so bear with my mom and I for the time being while we set this up.

I have received my mission call to the Micronesia Guam Mission. I will be entering the missionary training center in Provo, UT on February 11. To the best of my knowledge I will be spending 3 weeks there. I am really excited to begin my missionary service and to teach the people of Guam and Micronesia about the gospel.

(opening my call)

(My letter)

My mom will be maintaining this site while I am in the mission field. Check back for pictures and posts.