Brenden left this morning for Seattle!  He arrived safely and is doing good.  He's ready for his next big adventure.  I updated his Mailing Address on the blog.  I know he'd appreciate a letter or two.

Thanks for supporting him.

 Lesa

Hey everyone,

Whats up? No one is writing or emailing me! I have no idea what has happened over there for the last month and a half. I don't even remember what the world is like. Just kidding. I remember well enough. But, still guys. Write me. Just do it. 

I'm about to leave the MTC so email is probably a better idea. By the way. in case you missed it. I'M ABOUT TO LEAVE THE MTC!! Right? It's crazy. I've been here for a month and a half already. It does not feel like it. Maybe a week, and in other ways like the whole two years already. I'm excited to leave. I'm ready for it. I cannot wait for the mission field. We had in-field orientation yesterday. It was pretty cool. It just made me even more excited for the field. To go start helping people. I cannot wait. 

This is my last P-day here at the MTC. That's a little scary. 

It's funny sometimes I hear people complaining that 6:30 is too early to get up and I think to myself. "Ha, this is great I get to sleep in for like a extra hour and half" I swear sometimes it feels like the standards I live by being a Galloway are slightly above that of the Lord's. Which I'm grateful for. But, Anyway it does not feel like I'm on my mission yet. I only have 23 months left. It does not feel like I've started it yet. I'm so ready for that. 

I checked the other day I have not gained any weight since I got here and I have been eating a ton. I'm not sure how I feel about that. The food here is questionable but. I just get hungry sometimes. I eat a lot. 

Class has been interesting as we have switched our focus to learning about the Deaf community, which I love! I cannot say enough how ready and excited I am for the field.  I think my favorite part about the MTC was not the nine hours of studying everyday. But rather the actual teaching of our "investigators". I think that's where I learned the most. I don't exactly miss home. It's just different here. But, then again I still have 22 months left. 

Bring on the rain. Quite literally. I hear it rains a lot. I'm ready for that. Hopefully I get a car. That'd be nice. And Hopefully I get to start off signing rather than english. And maybe even a deaf companion. That'd be cool.

 I get to go to the Temple today. We're doing initiatories and then a session today. I'm excited for that. Thanks everyone for your prayers. I think that's it for today. More from the field. Can't wait for that. Later.

Oh and 'member to smile. It helps.

Elder Galloway.

8-21-15

Hey Guys,

Missionary life is pretty good. Lots of learning. Everything is going pretty good. It's hard for me to realize I've left. It feels like only days since I left home. But, I've been here for almost a month. I only have 10 days left this is my second to last P-day before I leave the MTC. That's crazy. I can't wait for the field. It's weird. I've never been one to get home sick. But, maybe two years will change that. 

It's crazy how much you learn here, not only about the gospel but about yourself as well. It can be very challenging. It seems the harder you try to stay focused the harder it is to do so. It's hard when you're trying to learn and things just keep popping up in your way. 

So signing in the choir with the Nashville Tribute Band was awesome. How signing looked a little bit like dancing. Everyone else got a little jealous. Another thing I think is kinda cool. Something that we probably take a little too much advantage of, is they always save seating for the ASL missionaries in the front. Every devotional or meeting we always get to sit up front which is pretty cool. 

We also get to go to the temple today, I'm excited for that. It's pretty cool going through in a ASL session. I'm also working on my interpreting. Which is a crazy hard skill to master. Something, I'm having trouble with, since I grew up in the hearing world, is expressing emotion. Just like facial expressions even. I can't do it. It's hard. I'm not used to it at all. But, I'm improving day by day. 

A scripture that I've shared this week that has helped a lot of people out, it's one I want to share with you guys. It's D&C 101:16 "Let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion... Be still, and know that I am God." It's easy to forget why we're here on earth. Where we came from. I think that as members sometimes we make light of that.I think we need to remember who we are. Children of God. 

Hmm. In other news. I'm getting my first haircut today. By the way shaving everyday us weird. Somedays I have to shave in the morning and right before bed just to keep up with it. Not to try and impress anyone. I just thought I'd share that. 

So, I've been here a month, I've gone through the food cycle a few times now. The feed is getting bland. But, it's whatever. Only ten days left!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE FIELD. And also, I'm playing volleyball everyday, so I'm getting pretty good at that. It's fun. 

Well, I think that's it for this week. Love you guys.

- Elder Brenden T. Galloway