Author Archives: jwburb

Dear friends and family,

Kumusta! (That is the typical greeting in the Tagalog language),

The MTC is flying by!  We are already in week 4!  I’m definitely getting excited to be in the Philippines within the next few weeks.  I’m really excited to serve the Philippinos and help them be happier.

Even though it is tough being a missionary, I don’t think I’ve been this consistently happy before in my life.  Having two, three hour long classes a day isn’t too fun, but I can tell you that those classes are helping me progress.

Tagalog is crazy awesome.  I’m learning more every day and I LOVE it!  MTC life consists of getting up at 6:30 a.m., eating breakfast at 7:30, first class at 8:00 going until 11:00.  Then personal study time until lunch at 12:10 p.m.  After that we have different schedules depending on the day.  On the average day though, we’ll have either afternoon (hapon) or night (gabi) class.  We’ll have “TALL” (Technology Assisted Language Learning), regular language study, and then gym time.  Oh – and don’t forget dinner!

Speaking of dinner, the food here is good…for the first few weeks.  Some elders have resorted to DRY CEREAL for all three meals of the day!

I miss you all!  Love ya! Mahal ko kayo!

-Elder Tyler Burbidge

Tyler at the MTC

Tyler was finally able to send us some photos of his time at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, UT.  He has been there almost three weeks and still has three more weeks to go until he travels to his mission area in the Philippines!

Tyler’s District at the Provo, UT temple

MTC life consists of learning the language and preparing to serve a mission.  The missionaries get the chance to attend the Provo, UT temple once a week and perform sacred ordinances there.

Tyler clowning around

Tyler is not in the same district as his twin brother, Hunter, but their classrooms are across the hall from each other so they get to see each other multiple times during the day.

Tyler and Hunter in the MTC