This was a very interesting week for me. In short:

New Apartment.

New Roommates.

New work experiences.

Perfect church time: 9:30.

First the new apartment. I was one of the first to move in on Monday and when you move in you are given a page to outline what the living conditions were like when you moved in. So I began to fill out the form and in walks one of my roommates parents. We start to talk and he points out things that I had overlooked because I just thought that they were styling and cosmetic. Turns out that most of the baseboards in the apartment are covered with mold and water damage. I was shocked! So since then we have been submitting work orders and finding other issues around the apartment (thankfully, most of which are just cosmetic and not nearly as bad or deadly as the mold).

Introducing…

Kyle: He served his mission in Albania and returned around two months ago. He is originally from London, UT. He is 20 years old and is studying Computer Science at BYU. His parents are very nice and his dad is a doctor. His family loves to go to the lake and he loves Snapchat haha. I will just get random funny snaps from him almost daily.

Chris: He served with Kyle in Albania and they were MTC companions with one other guy, Sean, who is actually in the same ward as us. He is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and just got off his mission some time two weeks ago. I actually met his parents and grandparents before I met him but they are super nice. His mom and grandma took it upon themselves to clean most of the common areas of the apartment (which was awesome!). He is a student at BYU and I think he is studying accounting but I could be wrong haha.

Porter: Porter shares a room with me and likes to run cross country. He got off his mission to Berlin, Germany in June 2017 (so yes all of my roommates just barely returned home this summer). He is a very patient guy and has sat through a ton of the US Open matches that have been going on this week even though he doesn’t really like tennis that much. His parents live in the Mud Lake area of Idaho, pretty much the middle of nowhere an hour west of Rexburg. He is studying Chemistry with a minor in German and wants to be a pediatric anesthesiologist.

I’ll add pictures of them later and I’m sure that I will mention them again at least throughout the semester. Interesting fact: this is the first semester that I haven’t picked my roommates for myself!

Like I mentioned last Sunday, this week I started my floor training on the phones. I love it. It’s kinda reminds me about the time that I spent driving for Lyft and Uber this summer. I am able to talk with and connect to people through short conversations. I get to catch a glimpse of their lives, which is fascinating to me! At this company they put a lot of emphasis on building rapport and expressing empathy and I think that is my favorite part of the job. 

My favorite church time is 9:30. It’s not too early and also not too late. I can get through a morning routine and still have time afterwards to visit friends and family. I do have a lot of family in Utah so I will be able to get out and visit them often and I am super excited about that. The ward that I am in is an interesting mix of recently returned missionaries and ones that have been home for a little while. The bishop was actually in a Mormon Message that was released in March (you can check that out: Bishop Mackintosh).

This week I am looking forward to finishing my work training and getting to know my roommates even better. I may even post a midweek update or thought so keep an eye out for that!

– Mitch