2010 Sep 17

Hola mi familia!

First things first, I guess: My MTC Box number is 288 and my mission code is GUA-QUE 1109, 2005 N 900 E Provo, UT 84604-1793 and my departure date is 9-28. That's all the info you will need for dearelder.com as well (WINK WINK blog readers...)

My Preparation days are going to be on Fridays from now until I leave for the Guatemala MTC so that means that that is the only day that I will be able to write letters and send emails and everything. I don't know what the deal will be once I get to Guatemala but I will let you know as soon as I know.

Speaking of Guatemala, I just got my travel plans yesterday! I'm going to be leaving the MTC at around 5AM on the 28th and my flight leaves from the Salt Lake International Airport at 8:25PM. They're going to fly me to the... I think it's an airport in Austin (all I know is that it's not Houston), we have a 2.5 hour layover there and before we fly to Guatemala city and arrive there at around 7PM. That means that we will have lots of time to go contacting in the airport and see a little bit what's it's like to be a missionary in the United States. I know that the gospel is true and that it will bless the lives of those who embrace it so why not share it every chance I get, you know? So that is really exciting. I'm so excited to go to Guatemala! I really love everything about the MTC in Provo and I am going to miss it a lot but I know that it will prepare me to serve the people in Guatemala better and help me to learn Spanish faster so I'm all good with it.

This last week has been really great. It all kind of dragged on until Sunday hit and then all of the days started to pass by a lot more quickly which is what everyone said when I got here. So that's good. The days are going by a lot faster. This week we've been doing a lot more with Preach my Gospel. The hard thing about it is that as a companionship, we need to be united in our message even though we have different firm ideas about how everything should be done. So that's really the hardest thing about it. But Hermano Koons and Hermana Bailey have both said that everything goes a lot better if you pray for your companion and just listen to the things that your investigators are saying instead of just trying to thing about what to say next. That way the spirit will be able to work for the both of you and the lesson will go by a lot better. And on Sunday, my district watched the Joseph Smith movie. I love the MTC so much because you can feel the spirit a lot more easily. They really focus on ways that you can hep to have the spirit with you. So with that in mind, I watched the Joseph Smith movie and I felt the Spirit soo strong. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't cry at all. I've come to accept the fact that I don't feel the spirit by crying like everyone else. I just feel a really really strong happiness and assurance that I know that what is being taught/said is true.

Today I went to the temple with my zone and that was really good. I didn't really have any big realizations or anything but it was really good. I liked it. And I'm starting to get a tan--one mini sunburn at a time. I'm not even completely white anymore lately. Also, while I was studying on some random table at the MTC a companionship came up to me and shared with my a scripture that I really liked. I think that it was Alma 37:34. It talks about how if you are constantly doing good works then even if you do get exhausted, you will find rest to your souls. I liked that a lot because my ongoing goal for my mission was to just work really hard every day sot hat I could be rally exhausted by the end of it so that I could go to bed knowing that I did the best work that I could have done for that day and this scripture kind of reinforced that philosophy by saying that if you work as hard as you can doing good works, at the end of the day, you will be satisfied with how you did.

That's really cool about Sarah and her Violin! She is already a really good violinist for her age and by the time I get back she'll be as good as I was after I did viola for 10 years! And it's good to hear that Janeen and Sarah are doing good in school. School is seriously the most important thing ever for people at their age. It will determine their future so make sure that they know that they need to work hard.

Also, tell Jason and Ryan to write to me. So I won't comment on their stuff. And make sure that they get this so that they know. And Janeen and Sarah, too, for that matter.

Okay, well, I bye!