The Rumors Were Right

The MTC in Preston England...

Does have the best food out of all the MTCs. I haven't tried any other MTCs' food, but gosh wow, this place hit above my standard. There was only one meal that wasn't our favorite, but it was more of a preference thing. It taste quite American, funny enough.

Right! You might have not heard about my travels. So much happens in one week. Saying farewell to family was something I was not prepared for, but it's something you never can be. I didn't cry as much as I thought though. I never had to try to keep it in as much in my life. However, these two years are not forever. In a way, that makes it easier. It is also in the service of God. If there's no bigger justification, it's that.

I traveled with a bunch of missionaries, and remarkably, we all got along. Well, remarkably if we weren't all missionaries. Elder Braithwate and I kinda acted like temporary companions while traveling. Something unites people when they are going through the same thing together. Some moments, I haven't laughed harder then waiting in NYC JFK Airport for 4 hours. The flight to England was 7 hours after 4 hours from UT to NY. One of us Elders was talking to someone we met on the plane for so long, during the nighttime on the plane someone turned them saying, "Will you please, shut up" It was kinda funny.I sat next to someone I could barely understand, and couldn't understand until I realized they were speaking English. Very nice guy. Everyone in the mtc is easy to understand, but the moment you step outside, everything changes. Brits, are you sure this is English? Lol.

I got to the MTC looking for Elder Huhtala, but realized my group of missionaries was the first to arrive. After waiting and meeting the MTC President, I saw Sister Campbell(One of our Greek teachers) and went to go say hello. Suddenly I hear, "ELDER ΗΑNSEN!" I whip around to barely see a tall Finnish man grab me in a hug and pick me up off the ground. As Sister Hall said, "Elder Huhtala, your and Elder Hansen's meeting was exactly how Ι imagined it to be." We've been getting along very well. It's funny though cause I'm kinda seen as the super chill American cause all the Americans here are super happy.

The showers are good, but the water pressure is super low. While in the showers, someone said, "Oi, the show'rs have such low wa'er pressure," and out of response I shouted in an English accent, "You got wa'er don' ya?" and we all started laughing. My only good joke all week. Everyone else is hilarious though, and it's weird to be in a place that my jokes actually land.

And yes, we are actually learning Greek. I didn't think we were learning anything the first day cause it was so hard, but now that we are making some progress things have changed. The gift of tongues is real cause the 5 days I have been here, we've learned more about how Greek works than I did 日本語 right before my mission. Can't say there wasn't days we weren't overwhelmed. Yesterday, we felt quite overwhelmed, but I think it was since we were getting ahead of ourselves. We took it step by step the last class of the day. I think it made us all a lot more comfortable. It was cool. But I have a feeling we are gonna low-key die in Sister Campbells classes. But it's really good exposure cause she will mostly only speak in Greek.

We've been sharing candy from each of our countries too. Elder Huhtala has this Finnish "candy" that's basically salted liqourice. I'm not gonna soften it, Elder Huhtala... it was horrible. I tried it a second time to see if it was an "aquired taste". It's not. It's just so strong. I could have probably eaten salt rather than that, but Huhtala and Brother Turner would eat them like every 10 minutes. I don't know how they didn't start throwing up. It doesn't taste bad, but it's strong.

At home MTC is worth going through to have in person MTC. It's not bad here, and it's really cool to already know your district before getting here. It was like meeting old friends, despite only having known each other for two weeks.
We've also really taken advantage of the 50ish minutes to get exercise. We've played basketball most days and ran as well. The English hills and houses are really cool.

I hope everything is going well at home.

Elder Dylan Hansen

From the MTC Mission Page:
England Missionary Training

October 26, 2022

"Yesterday, 55 missionaries arrived at the MTC from all around the world! What a joy it is to see their enthusiasm and excitement despite many having travelled for hours!  This morning, our final elder who had been delayed during his travel, finally arrived.  We were all in a meeting, singing "Called to Serve" when he walked in. The music stopped and the missionaries cheered for him, knowing his travel had been difficult.  Do you want to know what brings joy???  It is looking into the eyes of all these missionaries and seeing the hopes, dreams, enthusiasm, love and testimony radiating from them.  Tears well in our eyes as we feel their spirits yearning to be good, to make a positive difference in this world, to bring their brothers and sisters to their Savior, Jesus Christ.Thank you, parents and families, for sharing your missionary with the world!"