Aug 28 - Mission Farewell Open House

 Note from Mom:

We had a lovely evening with many friends coming to support and say 'Adios' to Elder Kovacs!

8/27/22 Week 2 - Home MTC - Mexico Here I Come!

 Hola everyone!

It has been another great week of being a missionary! This was my last week of online MTC training and I will fly to the Mexico City MTC on Tuesday! I have learned so much in these first couple weeks and I am so excited for the opportunity to be immersed in the culture as I continue learn as much as I can. 

I have been getting the most out of my home MTC “cafeteria” before I am at the full mercy of my own cooking skills. This week we had some family friends over for sushi night and Liz made homemade blueberry pie. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Another night, my dad made Pad Thai which was delicious. I think I might have to take a copy of that recipe. 

My MTC classes have been awesome! We finished up learning how to give a 5-10 minute lesson. We have had the chance to practice teaching a lot this week. Usually we practice teaching another missionary from the class but on Tuesday we had a chance to teach a REAL LIFE PERSON. They put us in breakout rooms and then a Hispanic person joined the room and acted as  someone we might have met in the real world. I was slightly traumatized but my companion, Elder Hanks and I did a great job and we know we will continue to get better. 

Today I went tracting with the Elders from my ward. It was great and I got to see what it’s really like to be out there talking to people about the gospel! We met a Hispanic woman who was struggling to understand us because English is her second language. I began to realize that I had an opportunity to use some of the Spanish I had been learning for the last two weeks. I told her that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. At that point one of the Elders had called a Spanish speaking missionary who took over the conversation, for which I am grateful because I completely froze and didn’t know what to say next. The woman was happy to listen and set up a time for Spanish speaking missionaries to come by.

After tracting we went to the Kent Stake Center for a BIG devotional for youth and missionaries. The meeting had several special guests including Area Seventy Brother Naumann, General Authority Seventy Elder Sabin, Presiding Bishop of the church Bishop Causse, and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Jeffrey R. Holland! Each of them gave amazing remarks with a specific emphasis on missionary work. Elder Holland focused especially on missionary work. It was such an amazing experience to see an apostle of the Lord and hear his remarks about missions and his mission especially right at the beginning on my own mission! I can’t wait to tell my MTC district about it!

My next email will be sent from Mexico so stay tuned for all of that. 

“Hope of Israel, rise in might

With the sword of truth and right;

Sound the war-cry, “Watch and pray!”

Vanquish ev’ry foe today.”

- Hymn 259, Hope of Israel

Elder Kovacs 

Dinner out with Mom after Friday Temple night

Family Summer Backyard Campfire

First Splits/Tracting with Elder Wilcox and Elder Smith

Home MTC Headquarters

Delicious Berry Pie by Liz

Lunch Break: Teaching Liz how to change oil filter

Service Project: Stain mom's preschool playset

Workout Companion Liz

Dad's Pad Thai

Sushi night with the Toomeys

Front Yard Summer Sunset

8/20/22 Week 1: Home MTC - One Week down - 103 to go!!!

 Hello everyone!

Today marks one full week of being a missionary! I have learned so much in just this first week of online MTC (or CCM as it is called in Mexico). If you haven’t heard already, I have been called to the Missouri Independence Mission Spanish speaking. I have two weeks of live online training here, begun on 8/15, then I fly to the Mexico City MTC on Tuesday the 30th. 

I couldn’t be more excited to have started missionary training and I can’t wait for what is yet! On Monday, my first meeting was at 6:00 am Pacific Time which is 8:00am in Mexico. I was pretty nervous going into that meeting because I didn’t exactly know what to expect, but the instructors did a very good job of being welcoming which helped calm my nerves. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. 

The MTC does a very good job at keeping its missionaries busy and learning. My typical day consists of companion study at 6:00 am then straight to a three-hour class with my district, then an hour of “Mentoring” which is a continuation of the previous meeting but more specific to learning Spanish. Following that we have a workshop meeting with about 80 missionaries. Then there’s a two-hour break for lunch and other studies. The last class is from 2:30pm-5:00pm which is similar to the other long class in the morning. 

I can’t wait to meet my companion, district and teachers once I get to Mexico! My district has already bonded, and it is a very positive environment as we are all learning how to be Spanish speaking missionaries. My companion Elder Hanks is a rockstar! Almost everyone in my district took Spanish in high school, but Elder Hanks took ASL which means that he had no experience with Spanish before the mission.  I admire his enthusiasm for learning the language. 

My testimony of missionary work has been strengthened so much in just one week and I am so grateful for that! 

I wanted to share my mission scripture with you all. This scripture is amazing, and it relates to us in our daily lives but also very strongly to missionary work. I love how it illustrates our importance and purpose here on earth. As a missionary I have the opportunity to be anxiously engaged in being a branch (or conduit:) to help spread the love and peace that comes through Jesus Christ.  

John 15:4-5

“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches

: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”.

 

Pictures:

1. Family picture after being set apart

2. Rachel making arepas for dinner 

3. Getting some exercise with my companion Gavin

4. My home MTC workspace

5. Some friends I grew up with  at Wakely Stephenson’s Wedding that I attended Friday after Zoom classes were complete