Weekly Letter: March 2-8

Para todos ustedes:
Hola! This week has been another week of change. Just literally 24 hours ago I found out that I would get another companion. He was scheduled to depart for Argentina with the rest of his district this morning, but found out Saturday that his visa hasn't gone through. So the branch presidency decided to break up the trio I was in and put me in the companionship with Elder Bradshaw.
So far, I think we've been getting along pretty well. He's got about a month more of experience here and I'm looking forward to learning from him. I'm just worried that he might feel left out and a little awkward around our district, but so far everything has been going pretty well.
Anyway, with Elder Bradshaw, I will have had 6 missionaries as companions during these 5 weeks at the MTC....wow! Yeah, that's pretty insane. I'm starting to consider asking the MTC president if I'm breaking any kind of records here.
MTC life goes on. Sometimes it's hard to realize that I have been here over a month, but then I think about the first day at the MTC and that feels like an eternity ago. I literally am having a hard time remembering what I did with my life when I wasn't a missionary.
So I'm starting to get anxious to get out in the field, but I'm also loving it here. I'm thriving in this atmosphere of continual gospel study and growth. As much as I want to go to Mexico, I realize that once I'm out in the field, I won't have near as much time to really feast in the scriptures like I am now.
That being said, here at the MTC, it's hard to think that life continues to go on. I'm glad to be getting some letters from some of you that keeps me somewhat updated on some of the things going on in your lives, but at the same time, it's weird not knowing(and not necessarily being concerned about) what is going on in the world.
For example, when we had a MTC fireside last week, and the speaker talked about some of the things going on in the Olympics I was like: "Oh yeah, there is stuff going on right now....not everyone is putting their life on hold." Then we learned about the earthquake(s) in Chile, (mostly from the Elder's whose departure dates were delayed), and I realized how weird it is being so isolated from the world.
A couple things that happen in the MTC remind us how truly isolated we are from the world. We were walking to lunch one day and there was a truck parked in the middle of our path. We don't think much of it, because we're hungry and it's raining and we just want to get to lunch. However, Elder Taylor momentarily loses his footing on a puddle and manages to steady himself by touching the truck. We don't think about it too much until Elder Taylor doesn't move for a moment. We then asked what was going on and he says "I just realized that this is the first time I've touched a car in a month!" (of course, each of us were blown away by the same realization and each took a turn to touch the truck).
Also, nothing catches our district's attention more than when one of the elders cries: "¡Niños!" Immediately, every spanish-speaking elder stops what they're doing to see for themselves if these young children, truly, still exist.
Yeah, MTC life is great, but I'm starting to see how much of a bubble it is. People joke around about how it is like a prison (except you get no visitors or telephone calls), but the truth is, everyone one of us volunteered for this, and I, for one, am enjoying every moment of this spiritual feast.
The reason why I feel this time here is so precious is because of a talk someone gave in an LGM last week. They told us that our time is precious to the Lord...it is his time, so who are we to waste it? In Preach My Gospel it tells you to take an accounting every night of how you used your time that day and report it to the Lord and your mission president weekly.
I never thought that the cliche "time is money" would apply so much in the mission field.

Well time is short so I better get off and send this.

Sincerely,
Elder Blackham