For those of you who don't know, the MTC is the Missionary Training Center. I'm at the Provo MTC in Utah, but there are several in different parts of the world. Most missionaries sent to the United States are here for three weeks to deepen their understanding of the gospel and to learn how to preach it. Foreign missionaries (ie those going out of the country) are here for between 6 and 12. I'm here for 12 weeks due to the complexity of the Korean language. I don't think I'll ever actually be fluent until the end of my mission, which will be a year and a half minus a week. It mostly sounds and looks like gibberish to me right now, even after a week of intense study.

As missionaries never go into the field alone and have what are called companions, you're probably wondering who I'm learning Korean with. Well, I'm a special case, as it were. I'm a solo sister, meaning that I was the only sister to enter the MTC on April 8 who was going to Korea. I have two companions who are about halfway done at the MTC, Sister Peterson and Sister Olgilvie. We share a room with three bunk beds. Both are very sweet and always willing to help me find where I need to go and answer questions. They're wonderful examples of charity, and often help me with my pronunciation. I really appreciate their presence. Sister Olgilvie has wonderful quirks, and is from Colorado. She loves music, and went on an Ambassadors of Music tour like Katie did (though for Colorado instead of Utah) as part of the choir. Sister Peterson is soft-spoken and sweet. She's a very Christ-like individual. She graduated from BYU in Editing and is from Texas.

In my classes, I hang out with a district (a group of missionaries) that is made up of four elders. Elder Lee and Elder Lee are companions. They both come from Korean-speaking families, so therefore are fluent. That makes it pretty intimidating to me, but they're very kind and helpful. I feel like I've got four new brothers, actually. Elder Bessey and Elder Stubbs are the rest of the district. I do my companion study with them (usually) and they're great fun. All of them are wonderful young men, and are generally very mature when in class. Generally. I'm constantly surprised that they're only 19.

Life at the MTC is very structured. That took a while to get used to, as I don't particularly like plans. We have instruction twice a day for between three to five hours each block. Our teachers are Sister Labaron and Brother Theil. Both are returned missionaries from the Daejeon mission. They are kind and very patient, even though I forget about 90% of what they try to teach us.

So far, I've learned Korean fairly well. I know the alphabet (if you give me a minute for the vowels) and can pray in Korean. I can also bear my testimony (if I read it) and will soon memorize that. I also hope to be able to introduce myself by Saturday, as that's something we need to do for a teaching appointment. I'm nervous about that, actually, but I know that the Lord will be able to help me get through it without dying. The worst thing that can happen is that I say something absolutely terrible.

My days start at 6:30 in the morning and end at 10:30 at night. I don't really have any spare time at all, which is okay. An hour is devoted to personal study each day, and an hour for companionship study, and an hour or more for language study. Things are going quite well, and I'm excited to be here.

Alright, I am only allowed to email family. So, if you're not in my family, I can't give you my address. Consequently, you'll need to write me a letter. Please write me letters. I feel so sad when everyone else gets one and I don't. You can use DearElder.com if you want to. It's fast, convenient, and will make you happy. I can only respond to letters on my preparation day, which is every Tuesday, so don't expect a prompt reply.

I love you all!
Erica

Sister Erica Ellen Oates
MTC Mailbox #255
KOR-DAE 0622
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, Utah 84604-1793