Sounds like he's the leader of the MTC 'hype' gang!

MTC day 16! We are just cruising!!

I think I'm going to fully commit to honest emails these 2 years. So this is an authentic Scott Kearl experience. 

Things are going sobra mabuti!! The tripanionship and I have been keeping really good habits, staying real obedient and  getting hyped!!  Every morning at 6:30 we are up and I do 100 pushups.  I've been eating so big!  The food here is secretly epic, there's like 4 meal choices, you just got to know how to fully operate the cafeteria.  I have like 3 plates of food every meal, tons of juice and a fruit!  Every meal I am so full.  I've gained like 5 pounds (thought it would be more tho :/).  Gym time is super sunny.  I play a handful of hard working 3 on 3 basketball then finish her off with a chill game of volley ball.  Like 30 mins of each.  So fun.  I get a mean sweat going.  Thanks so much for the sneaks dad, they are perfect.  Pretty sure I'm the fastest kid in the MTC.  I haven't actually raced anyone but the shoes are rad, sooooooo also i can jump close to 7 feet.  They work out so much better than crocs and socks, less swag but more functional.  thx.  I'm pretty sure its a thing for all scotts (scott wolff and I) to love Elder Waites.  The Waite in my district has got to be one of my favoite people ever.  So funny.  So spiritual.  Great people in here.  Just great. 

The language is still killing me, but I'm getting with it.  Sometimes during a grooling classroom sesh, Elder Paulsen will whisper "the Billings Montanna Mission sounds pretty nice right about now", but we stay positive.  I've heard in these 2 weeks we have learned more than the average highschool student learns in the 3 years of whatever language they are studying, so thats rad.  I just realized yesterday, thanks to somebody's letter,  that its pretty neat how I'm learning Tagalog, so thats got me so hyped!!  I'm loving the learning so much.  I'm learning a lot.  Super tired tho.  I've seen everyone doze off in class, even Elder 'soon to be big money'!   I'm shamefully leading that stat tho.  Takes me an hour to an hour and a half to fall asleep every night.  But i dont mind laying there and thinking in in english.  When it hits around 11:20 Elder Larsen starts snoring so i get up, use the CR and shake him awake to tell him to shut it (so savage).  Apparently Tagalog is the one language where after you learn it, it makes learning another language so much easier beacause its so bonkers.   I now know a couple hunnit tagalog words and i can say a bunch of my own sentences.  Teaching is going smoother but we still get wreckt. 

Crazy stats this week!! So last wednesday, we got 700 new narries and 171 new mission presidents (double that including there wives) so the MTC got supper busy and weird.  The cafeteria was getting changed over for a huge Mission president thing for saturday so we ate in the gym.  We got catered by like subway, chick fil a, taco bell and other stuff!  So it's been a fun week.  Most people on this campus ever.  All of the 12 apostles were here on saturday, first for that too.  I didnt see any tho :/ so much masigla (enthusiasm) around the MTC this week.  I also hosted yesterday meaning when kids get dropped off I get them situated.  I hosted 2 different boys and it was weird and hard seeing them say goodbye to their families. 

Cauayan stats now.  I heard my mission has one of the coldest areas (Bambang) in the south in the mountains and one of the hottest (Tugugarae or something) in the north.  Also,  I have the tallest mountain in the Philippines in my mission boundary!  It's 3000m, thats as big as devils head!!  So maybe ill be able to score a summit out in the field.  Look it up its called Mt Pulag.  So hyped!  Also the Cauayan mission is biggest in the country and also has the most daily walking distance, so I'm getting hyped! 

Also Dan.....I met an Elder Vaiau from Yigo ward in Guam who knows you! i see him all the time, so rad. 

Also, that's fun how all the Melchins are in Calgary.  Wish i could be there, but I'd rather be at the MTC.  Even tho I'm the Melchins number one fan. 

Theres some contention in the land with the tripanionship and I share some of the blame.  We are figuring it out though and things are going well.  There's some kind of enchantment in here where the scriptures become so much more interesting and understandable. I'm learning a lot of Tagalog and doctrine and i couldn't be loving it anymore.  I feel myself growing at a tremendous rate and i would reccomend the MTC to all.  So much goodness in here.  When you get set apart as a missionary you get set apart from the world so you can magnify your effectiveness, it's such a blessing!  While it's still challenging in here,  I'm loving all the challenges because I'm becoming better from them.  I was told by a General Authority on Tuesday,  when your on the Lords errand you can expect the Lords help so i will be just fine!!  Thx for all the love and all the mail!!  More mail tho, it's the highlight of my day always!  Thanks to all who have sent me mail!!  Keep em coming!!!  The more the merrier.   If you want me to reply please add your email!  I'm doing great tho.  Nothing to worry about on my end.

I love wearing the Missionary name tag.  I love representing Christ and I feel hounoured to do so.  There's a lot of trust in us to do the work properly, so I'm studying hard to be effective.  I feel respected when i share the same title as an apostle "Elder".  I will never get sick of being called "Elder".  Love being a narrie. 

Please read 3 nephi 14:2 and also Ether 12 until verse 27. 

Work hard, Pray Hard,

Elder Kurd

ONE WEEK DONE.....103 WEEKS TO GO!

Hey mama,

So it is day 9 in the MTC and it has been such a rollercoaster. i have an hour to email so let me explain. 

I'm not going to lie, its been very hard. The days feel like weeks and this week has felt like a day. I also have trouble remembering what life back home was like. They brainwash you pretty good in here. On the first day we went to our classroom session and I immediately was depressed because the teachers speak in tagalog only.  Everything they say goes over your head and you end up just listening for an english word they would slip in and look at their hands as they try to direct you.  It's super frustrating not understanding what the teacher is saying.  On our second day in the MTC we taught an investigator (actor i think and hope) in tagalog. So that was a gong show because how much of a new language do you really know in 2 days. She would talk and we don't even know what she is asking.  A lot of awkward quiet and long pauses in the conversation.  We have taught her everyday since.  We are learning the language at an insanely quick pace.  I'm a little slower then the rest but im keeping up.  Our last lesson with her was very discouraging.  We said what we know (next to nothing) and we mostly read out of a book of our pre written phrases.  Then she would drop a question on us like "whats the difference between a prophet and apostle?"  i can probably create about 7 phrases off the top of my dome and my companions and i in no way could even begin to anserw her question.  She tore our lesson apart.  The language is kind of killing me and some classes drain me of my masigila (enthusiasm), my pep and my personality.  But since sunday I have been feeling a lot better. You have nothing to worry about with me on this end. 

I'm in a triple companionship!!  I have an Elder Paulsen from SLC who graduated like 3 weeks ago. I look up to this guy a lot, he works hard and is very spiritual.  He never complains and is nice to talk to, he's my best friend in the MTC.  He's good at sports, huge but shorter then me. My other companion is Elder Larsen from South Jordan. He is tall and lanky, with the exact build as Ben Palmer so its kind of like having a familiar face in the MTC.  He's an interesting dude.  He's good,and we dont argue but i have to be tolerant.  He means well and is very intelligent.  He  knows the language well and has a goal of being fleuent before leaving the MTC (good luck buddy).  All in all a good tripanionship, and I'm very happy. 

We have about 4 elders in my zone and on my floor who are from Kiribatis and they are a riot.  So funny.  They are from the south pacific islands and are hilarious islanders. They have tons of stories from there.  A lot of the photos I will send you,  involve them.  They don't speak much english but we communicate with masigla.  They dont go to bed at the proper time but instead give people from the building haircuts (against the rules).  All of the polynesians and islanders get together and it gets so exciting.  There are good people put here.

My district is top notch.  Not much to say.  I have 2 other sisters, ones from Colorado Springs and the other from SLC, and 2 other Elders one from Fort Collins and the other from Gilbert (shout out to Lysys!).  The elder from Fort Collins is a super genius and we call him "Elder soon to be big money" because he is a young Bill Gates.  He is avery quiet kid.  The other elder from Gilbert is Elder Waite (shout out to Wolffs!!), he is such a beauty, fills me with masigla, he gets me laughin so hard.  I am a huge fan. 

If you are ever wondering what I'm up to and its between 8am and 9pm you can bet I'm in class while my teacher is speaking only tagalog at me.  We usually have 8-10 hours of class/study time a day.  It gets discouraging some days, but some lessons in here will blow your mind and fill you with masigla.  I'm very hyped to be out here and honoured to be a missionary for this church i love so dearly.  So don't worry about me, I'm getting through this just fine. 

Mom..i need some things from you, lol, typical.  I need sneakers immediately because I have been using my crocs as athletic shoes during gym time and the trainers are not hyped.  Thanks for the crocs tho erin!!! life saver.  So if you could buy some online or something and ship them to the MTC that would be great.

Also could i get a flip book of photos? I want pictures of my family and crew and tons of my adventures.  Make sure they are sick or funny, thanks. I also need a pillow tie for traveling and laughs.  Can you also wash my goretex jacket and store it out of the sunlight in my closet or something.  You are the best mama.

I think about home sometimes but i am not homesick.  I realize summer is soon and I'm getting hyped for all the kids back home.  If any of you NW folks need something to do i have a suggestion.  A good start is grabbing my dog Joey,  a Matt Wolff and a Ben Kearl and heading somewhere pretty neat to go for a good walk.  That always leads to a sunny day.  Please walk my dog, the more he gets walked (to an extent, go easy on him hes old) the longer he will live.  So thats on you guys!  His leash is on the front step and the evite is open for all.  Get out of your house (your house is lame) and go outside or to someone else's house.  My favourite house is the Wolffs.   I prefer to drop in uninvited, its good living lol (sorry Wolffs). 

As one day in here feels like a week,  you feel all the emotions in one day as you would a week.  It's a rollercoaster. i have become closer with my Heavenly Father and I am working hard and praying harder!   I wouldn't trade this experience or trial for anything.   I'm becoming a better person and stronger in my faith.  The MTC is a magical place. 

I found out that I get to go to the Manila MTC for 5 days and I'm super hyped for that.

I've decided the scripture I want on my mission plaque.  I have chosen Alma 26:11-12,  it's a beauty.  It reads, "But Ammon said unto him:  I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.  Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise His name forever." 

Work hard, Pray hard,

Elder Kearl

PS: Please send me as many dear elders and mail as you possibly can everybody!!!!  Mail is a life changer and i love to hear from home no matter what it be about or no matter how much you have to say!  My mom will hook up the neccesary info (thx mom :)) love you guys. 

from julie:  what scott is referring to is www.dearelder.com.  on the left hand side you can select 'MTC pouch Free'.  You can send a quick note to him and they print them out every day and deliver them that evening to the MTC.  his unit number is 40, mission is PHI-CAU and his departure date is July 27.  I have attached a link for you.

http://www.dearelder.com/index/inc_name/letter_sender/mission/Provo%20MTC/

First email from the MTC

I made it. It's now day 2 and I'm supposed to send a quick email home, so here we go. 

It's pretty weird in here, I'm feeling pretty good but pretty uneasy and freaking out a bit at times. There are some sessions that get me hyped to be here though.  The days feel like forever.  The classroom session is pretty frustrating because they speak 95% tagalog and 5% english. Pure Tagalog immersion and after about 5 hours of classroom instruction i thought i was done, but the last 30 mins that we just had, we learned tons of phrases and I'm getting hyped.  The teachers bore their testimony in Tagalog and I understood some sentences, so I'm feeling real good about the language considering it's day 2 out of like 40 or so.  

Even the branch president said the first couple days until sunday suck so just hold on and thats what I'm doing. I appreciate the love from the 403!!  Oh, and Im in a trio and the comps are mabuti (good)! 

maganda po ang ebangheylo (the gospel is beautiful) with tons of spelling mistakes in that phrase. 

palaam, 

Elder Kearl

Entering the MTC

As soon as Scott received his mission call, he decided that he wanted Dan and Emily to be the ones to take him to the MTC.  In the weeks leading up to his departure, I was feeling and little anxious and wanted to go to Utah with him and drop him off too, he was nice and said that would be fine.  However, a couple days before he left, I decided to obey his wishes and just let him go and have our goodbyes in Calgary at the airport.  Both Emily and Dan were surprised at how sad they were to say good bye to him.  I'm so grateful that my kids get along so well and genuinely love and care about each other.  As per Scott's true self, it was fun and games up until he entered the MTC.

Day One.....Part 2

Oh wait, I'm gonna drop a part 2 email here because the day got a little more epic. Ethan, Jared, Curtis and I went for a nice cruise and got 3 dozen krispy kreme doughnuts. 2 dozen too many. Then on our way home i realized there is a Melchin family in the area and that Curtis and Jared go to school with the girl so we DM'd for the address and i went over to visit Amy Ritchies Family. I met Nathan, Annie and Amy. So good to meet more Melchins, I'm a fan. I came back to Rosenvalls and ate dinner and i now have a letter to mail myself. since it takes 2 months for a package to get to the Philippines and it takes a missionary 6 weeks it should work out perfectly. Now I'm just waiting for bed time and then I'm off to the MTC tomorrow, feeling strong but getting nervous. Should be good. 

Paalam,*

Elder Kearl 

xoxoxo

Day One

Hey Mom, 

I guess this is my first email home even tho i saw you this morning! Its been a real sunny day tho. I'm hardly sad at all! The flight was great.  I read some nice letters from joel and caleb which helped me feel at peace about leaving. When I landed Heather and Ethan were waiting at baggage claim for me and we had a lot of fun together. We cruised around temple square which was super rad and got me really hyped! I ran into Sister Lysy (Dallins sister) on temple square as well as a bunch of filipino sisters. Seriously such a good time at Temple Square. After we grabbed davis and found jayden and had cafe rio, good eats. now I'm with ethan at David and Denises, exhausted but still cruisin. So far so good stay posted. 

Work hard, Pray hard.

Paluum,

Elder Kearl

Saying goodbye at the Calgary Airport

Scott wanted his good buddies, Joel and Caleb to join us at the airport.  The night before they were acting very strange.  Scott wanted me to wash his blue goretex jacket that night, even though he wasn't planning on taking it on his mission.  That next morning, they had a few little props and weird things they were taking to the airport.  I didn't think to much about it.  Then at the airport they wanted Derek to 'redo' his hug to scott 2 times.  It wasn't until we left the terminal that I realized they were filming the whole thing on their GoPro.   The video they made was hilarious.  I posted it right below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty_9ioUGB94

It was hard to say good bye to Scott but I did my best to keep my emotions in check to make it easier for him.  He was excited to go and ready to go.  That made it easier for me.   Derek and I drove right to the lake from the airport and enjoyed a quiet week together on Swan Lake, our happy place.

The Setting Apart

Scott was set apart by our Stake President, Colin Steele in our home.  His counsellors, President Kevin Palmer and President Egide Nzojibwami were in attendance too.   Scott received a nice blessing from President Steele that gave me some peace and reassurance that the Lord knows him, knows his strengths and his weaknesses and will protect him as he goes to serve in the Philippines.  We invited the Wolff family to join us since they have become like family to Scott this past year as he has prepared to serve a mission.  Great family!