Letter Home #2

Mi famila
okay so i wasted most of my time sending pictures so before i start let me by saying i love you all very much and that I am having a blast it's like a really spiritual scout camp. don't get me wrong it's crazy hard here, but it's also really really fun.

april 25 

today was like two days and really i was up forever. I still don't feel terribly confident with anything. and trust me they will get mad at you for anything. I guess I'm lying a bit, they mostly just scold in a way that makes your soul ache. anyway about the only thing that i can do here is eat and that brings me to my list of complaints about the mtc.

1. the food is the worst stuff ever and yeah I really hate it. It's nothing like momma's cooking or that yummy pie i had. i think the funniest thing is that i still eat a ton of it. boy am i glad i don't have a slow metabolism.

2. everybody is all in your space, and I just need like 2 seconds to think. like for real, every second you get and your like i don't know trying to prepare a lesson for your investigator somebody a teacher or another missionary is like hey wanna hug or whatcha doin'. its obnoxious

3. las hermana, they're everywhere, and their gorgeous. and you pretty much feel guilty for standing in the same room as one of them. even if you doing something innocent like reading scriptures.

things i like

1. my companion he's really cool. he just got made district leader, and he's a shyer kid. so its been interesting to see how he approaches, and it's really hard for me to let him read. but yeah elder eddington grew up in pleasant grove, and he played in a band, tennis and student council. he's solid in the gospel, but not in Spanish, so its funny.

2.hablando espanol- we are directed to HSI which means hablar su idioma which means speak your language. it's actually really cool because i know spanish better then most the class, so i actually understand more then the others. but i make mistakes like crazy.

3. i really like how i have a top bunk. it's great every morning, i get to jump down and scare the crap out of elder langford.

april 26 

I actually have a little free time to write. I really had to haul butt to get it though. your supposed to have 15 min of quiet time for 10:15-10:30 buyt between brushing teeth and hugging out the days sorrows with the zone (which we do every night. seems like it would be weird, but i'm good with it.) I can't explain it; it just happens. (actually that's how i feel about the man hugs now. i really thought it was weird at first. but then after the first group of elders left i realized just how much i love them, and i almost cried for people i had only known for like 3 days seriously dumb). also we are finally on the same schedule as the  rest of our district. it's actually really great and to be honest Wednesday is really not going to happen fast enough. i cannot wait until there is someone else for the older missionaries to make feel loved. 

i think it was today, but it doesn't matter. i watched the heavenly father, earthly father mormon message, and i was seriously about to cry. i think it was because of the stress and not because it was that good. i also finished off the the mountains to climb one. muy triste (very sad)

also i didn't have any of the names of the district memorized until today haha

in the pictures not the temple one. there is elder fratto. he actual chose to go home. he was a convert, and i think that the mtc was exceptionally hard for him. we all had a hard time when he left.

i love my district 

they are

elder shearer from layton utah

elder langford tucsan arizona

elder eddington mi companero pleasant grove

hermana soelberg idaho falls idaho

hermana smith from AF

hermana christiansen Lehi

herman harkness she gave me change today to buy a pbj because i was complaining so much about the food. she's also from Utah, but we don't remember where from.

on that not the food is getting better, but maybe that's because i am progressively losing my sense of taste 

today we taught our first investigator. it went okay, but it was freaking tough. the elders and hemanas were freaking out when they came out, and when i went in it wasn't so bad. I went last with elder eddington. I did most of the talking because elder eddingiton froze.  i tried repeatedly to get him engaged, but it's tough.

 I think one of the most important things for me to do right now is to help him speak. if i didn't say so before, he's the district leader, and he isn't the most vocal. don't get me wrong he's a great kid, but not an awesome leader. i think that's why they chose him, to help him learn.

april 28 

today was a really sad day because we had o say good bye to elders call, witton and others, and because we didn't get to say goodbye to one of our own. elder fratto checked out. i'm still confused why. he was doing so great, and i feel terrible that he being a convert would come so far just to tun back. today was a good reminder that everyday is sacred. 
we listened to both elder bednar and elder stephen allen.  i wrote a ton of notes, but you don't get to hear them cause i left them at my apartment. elder bednar talked all about turning to others like Christ did.

april 29 

the most important thing is to turn outward. we need to stop worrying about our language skills, which are important, but the most important thing is our investigators. after teaching a semi good lesson, we came to the conclusion that we really sucked because we didn't teach esteban. we taught a lesson. so the goals i have made for myself are magnify calling. 

line upon line precept upon precept, bring weaknesses to god and take his yoke, through god i can to all things. i need to believe this more.

it occurred to me that i am not turning towards others. this is a huge problem and after the talk by bednar i want to change a lot anyway. the first thing i need to do is stop worrying about the language I need to work on feeling the spirit and learning the gospel.

april 30

today was a very different day. our lesson with esteban went very well. it was powerful when esteban asked if we knew joseph smith was a prophet, and i bore testimony. it was POWERFUL crazy powerful. we even committed him to pray. awesome . the lessons i have learned really have helped be to be better and less fearful of sharing the gospel. I just focus on the love i have for others and not my own selfish desires. also i am killing spanish so yea i'm cool. and yeah just so you know the elders are so close here and maybe that's why i just go with the brasa me -ing (hugging).
 anyway that's all the time i have. i love you all.

hasta semana (until next week)

may the force be with you

love CalDon