Week 22

It was great to talk to you yesterday, it sounds like you are all doing well. Thank you for all the gifts and cards that you sent. Well, the letter this week is going to be short because I pretty much told you what happened this week but it was a great Christmas despite not being able to spend it with family. I feel really good right now, I am not homesick at all and have a good "innerpeace" right now. I'm doing well and I always am happy despite being tired and exhausted a lot. I still have a lot of challenges and difficulties, but I have to much to be grateful for to get down. I can't believe that I turn 20 this week! Thanks for the bday emails. I kinda forgot about my birthday and haven't told anyone so I need to get on that so we have somewhere to eat that night. This week we have another exchange and then my birthday is Thursday and then new years eve, I'm not sure what's happening that night but should be fun. The work has slowed down since we've been so busy with all the meetings and with Christmas so we really need to work hard this week to find people. We are working hard to get Diego to be baptized on Jan. 8 with Breise but it's not looking to good right now. Diego is so awesome, I want him to be baptized before I leave because we've been working with him so long but not looking to promising right now.

Sounds like Christmas was fun and you played ALOT of games. That's good that you have a little time off work to relax and spend time with everyone before they all go their separate ways again in a week. I Hope that everyone got everything that they wanted and you got the best gift this year, your becoming grandparents!! Thats so exciting!

Spanish Christmas Card

Hope you enjoy the card! And have a great Christmas. I'm excited to talk to you all on Sunday! Wish I could be there, but being here at the moment is better. Thanks for all the love and support that you give. Just want you to know that I'm doing great and that I love you all and miss you tons.

Week 21

Sounds like your doing great getting ready for all the Christmas activities and having everyone coming back into town. It was a fun week this week. We taught a lot of lessons and are seeing a lot of progression with our investigators although our baptism for the 30th got cancelled. The easy part is getting people to agree to get baptized but the hard part is getting them to church! We haven't been finding a lot of new investigators but we are working hard on getting people prepared to be baptized on Jan. 8. Right now we have one solid person but we want to have three people baptized that day. That would be awesome because I am pretty sure that I'm getting transferred on Jan. 11 so that would be a good way of leaving Reedley. This week Elder Malo was gone for two days at some leadership training so I had two elders come to Reedley for those two days. It was fun and we got a lot done but being in a threesome is just very awkward. So this upcoming week there is a lot of fun things happening. Tomorrow we have our Christmas party so the whole south of the mission is getting together (80 or so missionaries) and we are going to watch 17 miracles again and do some fun stuff. And then on Christmas Eve we are getting together as a zone and watching kung fu panda 2 as a zone and then were going to Diego's for Christmas Eve. Then on Sunday, we have just an hour of church and then were going to a few members homes so were well taken care of. Thanks for all the packages! I haven't opened any of them yet (waiting for Christmas) but I'm excited! Well thats about it with me this week, have a good week off and look forward to talking to you this Sunday!!

So the jacket that the member gave to me I think is for keeps so don't worry about sending money as I will not need it soon as the weather will warm up. Right now is long sleeved weather but when the fog comes in, its a lot colder. So with the phone call, it will probably be around the afternoon but I'm not sure exactly what time. Well, excited to talk to you this weekend, love you and miss you

Week 20

So don't have much time to email today because we got stranded at the mall for a couple hours. It was a good week and trying to keep busy all the time which has been hard because its too cold and no one is outside when we bike around. We probably only talk to 5-10 people every hour so the work has slowed down a bit. I can't really remember what happened this week but it was good. Today went shopping in Fresno but couldn't really find anything I liked, I only ended up getting one tie which was a disappointment but everything was too expensive. Nothing special really happening this week, our baptism got cancelled because the mom wouldn't give permission but we will see if we can reschedule her date. Still getting fed and have dinners lined up for Christmas eve and for Christmas so shouldn't be too bad. With the calling thing, I have 40 minutes to talk, so next Monday will finalize a time to talk but will probably be around late afternoon your time. So I don't know what the whole spam thing is all about, but just ignore them I guess. Sounds like you had a good week and a great ward Christmas dinner with a lot of people. We only had about 80-90 people but it was still good. Hope that your having a good week and hope that everything goes well with everyone being in town, it will be fun to play all those games especially the couple game night that is happening. I know there is other stuff that I wanted to talk about but don't have any time so will have to wait til next week. Love you and talk to you soon.

Week 19

So another great week. The work is really taking off thanks to the members. We are working with a lot of part member families right now and are hoping for another two baptisms this month. We also have Breise in January before the next transfer so were finding a lot of people that are ready to accept the gospel. We had Josefinas baptism yesterday and it went pretty well but it was kinda stressful because most people showed up late and then a person that said they were doing a talk didn't show up so no baptisms so far have been easy. Also, the elders we asked to fill up the font only filled it half way so Elder Malo had a challenge but he did it but after she came up so she was choking so Elder Malo and I don't want to baptize the next person because we nearly drown them! Sunday night we came back to Reedley and watched the Christmas Devotional. After that we had two dinners so it was a good day. This morning we played basketball with some elders and members so it was good to get a good work out but I can't touch the rim anymore so I think I'm going on a diet, I weigh like 175 now so I've put on about 10 pounds so far. So the weather around here has cooled down which is nice, it gets in the 30's at night but nothing below that. Oranges are being picked next week so were excited to get a bunch of oranges straight off the tree. I really hope that I don't end up like Laura and be in my first area for a whole year. I'm glad that I'm here another transfer for all the baptisms and we are treated so well by the members.

Only a couple weeks until Christmas, I'm excited to talk to you all. So I think that I have 45 minutes to talk so not much time and no skype I don't think. Have a good week and will talk to you next week. Love you and miss you all.

Week 18

Hope that you had a good thanksgiving holiday. So we got news about transfers on Friday night and I'm staying in Reedley again with Elder Malo. Wasn't really expecting to stay another transfer here, especially with Elder Malo, but will be here for at least another month and a half. So I have yet to experience what getting transferred feels like and what a different area is like. The good news though is that we have a lot of planned baptisms that I thought I wouldn't be at that I will now. This upcoming Sunday we have Josefinas baptism, she asked that either Elder Malo or I baptize her and the other do the confirmation. I don't really want to be the one baptizing her because she is a bigger lady and she is pretty afraid of drowning so it's a one shot deal with her and I take a couple times to baptize them. So this week I need to learn how to confirm someone in Spanish! On Thursday we went to play at the turkey bowl and that was a lot of fun we had 7v7 and we played for two hours, but I have never been so sore in my life, I'm still feeling the effects of it! At 1 we went to a families for dinner and then we had another dinner at 5 and 7 so we got fed really well. Also got to watch 17 miracles, it was really good but I think that I liked it because I haven't seen a movie in so long. So, still a little surprised that I'm staying in Reedley another transfer but were going to make it a white Christmas (of baptisms!!).
I heard about the Ravens game cuz I was getting trash talked all week about how the 49ers were going to kill the ravens but everyone is quiet now that they lost.

Week 17

Great to hear from you, sounds like your getting ready for the holiday season. My week was good! We are starting to teach a lot of new investigators and are teaching a lot more lessons each week. I feel like this week has been the turning point for my Spanish, it's gotten a lot better recently because I refuse to speak English anymore, it's hard but it will be worth it. This past Saturday we had our ward thanksgiving dinner and it was really good, they were a lot of people (a lot more than at church) and we got three investigators there. Josefina is looking good for the 4th of December which we are excited about. Diego was also there but he kept on asking where all the young people were, we are still struggling to find a friend in the ward for him, I don't think he's going to progress unless we get someone young to fellowship him. Last night we got a surprise visit from President, when we got dropped off he appeared out of the woodworks and ambushed us. He was doing a BYD for our ward and he came after that. So from 9-11 last night we were talking about the area and then he interviewed us individually, it was good to talk to him about some things, my interview with him lasted a little over an hour but I got some really good instruction and advice. This week is going to be a lot of fun. We have some promising investigators to teach and then on thanksgiving we have the turkey bowl in the morning and then we have three families feeding us on thanksgiving so were set. That's cool that you watched the movie 17 miracles, it's funny because thats the one were allowed to watch for thanksgiving. We can't go out on thanksgiving unless we are at a members so we will just be eating all day which will be fun. On Saturday we have transfer calls so will be finding out if I am leaving. I think that I'm leaving so it's sad to leave because I love the members and our investigators but at the same time I think I need a change of scenery as I have been here for 4 1/2 months. Well, thats about it for this week! Well thanks for all the emails and support that you give me. Hope that you have a good thanksgiving and black Friday. Love you and look forward to hearing from you next week and talking to you in a month! Miss you all.

Week 16

Great to hear everything is going well back home. Things are going good with me. On Tuesday, I went on an exchange to Selma with Elder Cruz which was really fun but it was super cold. They are in an all bike area so we were just biking all day. I didn't think that California got cold, but it unfortunately does not just have palm trees and beaches! On Saturday we had an emergency exchange because there is an elder in our district who hates his companion and is considering going home so he came to Reedley with me. I get along with him but he is lazy so that would be frustrating dealing with that all day. On Sunday we had a couple of investigators at church. Breise was there again, so that is 5 straight weeks of coming to church but our lesson the other night backfired on us. We told her to pray for a date to be baptized and we were thinking she would say next week or in two weeks but she said January 8 so that was kind of depressing because shes set on that date now. Now I know in the future to never try that again, it sucks because we've been working with her so long and I probably won't be in this area in January. We also had our other baptismal date for December 4 come to church so she's looking solid for that day. Besides from that we've just been talking to everyone we see and teaching our other investigators.

Week 15

So the weeks are really starting to blend together and I forgot all that has happened this week but last Monday we weren't able to to missionary stuff so we went out of town with Diego to a really good Mexican restaurant. It was a lot of fun and he was excited to take us because he was bored since his wife was stuck in Connecticut because of the snow storm. On Tuesday, we had an exchange and I stayed in Reedley with Elder Castillo who I've already been on exchange with twice before so it was awesome. We committed two people to be baptized for the 27th of this month so hopefully they are ready for then. The weather has really cooled down and its jacket weather, I didn't think California got cold, so that was a surprise to me. All I had was my rain jacket so a member gave me a really nice jacket so hopefully he doesn't ask for it back. We biked during the days this week and we talk to everyone but its been really tough because we have had no luck with that at all. So its been a bit discouraging considering we've talked to about 100 people and not one has even shown a bit of interest. On Saturday, we went to the funeral for the sister in our ward that passed away, it was the first funeral I have ever went to so that was interesting. On Sunday, we only got one investigator to church but she went up and bore her testimony and said that she is no longer waiting for her dad and wants to be baptized. We went over last night and she prayed about a date to be baptized and she told us to come back tonight so I'm excited to see what she says. I hope its before November 30 because I think that I will be transferred at the end of this transfer and I want to be at the baptism. That's about it for last week.

week 14

Happy Halloween!! So this week has been pretty good. On Wednesday we had Elder Kolliker of the Seventy come visit us and it was pretty good, he basically taught that we need to have our investigators at the temple a week after they are baptized and that we need to kneel with our investigators and if we do that our baptisms will double. Thats a great promise so we have been kneeling with our investigators needless to say. The rest of the week we have been trying to find new people that will progress so we have been biking a lot but has not paid much dividends so far. My legs are killing but it makes the day go by faster. On Sunday we had two investigators at church, we had Breise who we just started teaching and she can get baptized this month so were excited about her and then we had Carly who is 11 and were going to baptize her too. Diego didn't come to church this week because his wife was in Connecticut with her sister but he said he wants to be baptized but doesn't want to cause tension in his family because his family are JW's. I gave a talk this Sunday about general conference so that was cool ( I didn't use any notes for the first time). We had a linger longer after church but it was a full on meal so that was different compared to the usual snacks that we have. Today we went to Sequoia National Park and that was so cool, we finally did something on preparation day. We saw the biggest tree in the world and the third biggest tree in the world today, the trees are beyond big. I'll send some pictures next week. A member took us and we invited four other missionaries so we had a good time but I'm tired now. So tonight we aren't allowed to go out since it is Halloween, we either have to stay in our apartments or go to a members but we can't move the car or go out on our bikes so we will go to someones and play some games or go out to dinner so that should be fun. This week there is nothing really happening so were just going to try and find new investigators.
Thanks for sending the packages, the food is appreciated. That's good to hear that Jeff is going on a mission. Sorry I can't respond to much but I don't have much time, we got back late from the park and we have to go to our apartment now because it's nearly 6 but sounds like everyone is keeping busy and having a good time. Appreciate how good our ward is and how many people we have because it is so much more fun and is a more enjoyable experience going to church. Well got to go but look forward to talking to you next week. Love and miss you

Week 13

It feels like a long time since I last wrote and I'm now trying to remember all that has happened. So two Sundays ago, we only had one investigator at church and ten people said they were coming so that was disappointing, but the one person that did come was Diego!! I've been working with Diego for three months now and were finally starting to see some progress so despite every not showing up besides him, I was extremely excited. After church that Sunday, we were invited to Diegos for a bbq with all his in-laws family (who are members) and that was a really good time and really good food. I'm learning how to make a lot of Mexican dishes from all the Spanish ladies in the ward so Elder Malo and I made some Mexican food for lunch the other day and it was really good surprisingly. On Monday we went over to bishops and he gave each of us three big steaks so I guess bishop isn't sick of me yet. Also on Monday, transfers happened and Elder Flores, who is in the area next to Reedley left which its sad because we got along so well. So this week has been a week of physical labor and bad news. So on Wednesday, we went to a members to do service and when we got there we found a tower of 96 hay bails to be moved. I never want to move hay ever again, each one weighed between 100-120 pounds so that was defiantly not fun but was a good work out and we got taken out to lunch so it's all good. Then on Thursday another member wanted service so we went over and cut his palm trees and that took a good 4 hours. So I don't know if I have told you already but Reedley is a super old ward, there are 0 nursery age kids and 5 in primary and for the 3 months that I have been in Reedley I have only ate at someones under the age of 60 once, and we get fed every day!! It's a old ward but it's awesome. So a sister died this week from cancer and then a brother in the ward got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer yesterday and every else is suffering from something or another so the ward is shrinking. So the work is slowing down a little as were struggling to find people who are serious, but this week we committed Vivian (Glorias niece) to be baptized on Nov. 27 so hopefully she will make that date. Besides from that we have Diego who we are going to commit. On Sunday we had stake conference and it was good but no investigators came because it was too far away. And then this morning we went to Bishops as usual but we also picked pomegranites (that's not how it's spelled) so I was up in the tree picking those and then we squeezed them to make pomegranite juice so that was a cool experience. Elder Malo and I get along great but he's not really interested in being obedient but I'm just going to do all I can and encourage him but it's not worth getting in a fight over so I'm just going to let him decide for himself, it's just a shame because he doesn't feel like a missionary with the way he acts and doesn't really teach with the spirit. This week we have the seventy coming on Wednesday and that is all day so that should be good and then going on exchange with the zone leaders. Should be a good week as people have said that their going to be at church so hopefully this is the week we can have ten at church!!

Sounds like you guys are all constantly on the run!! That's good but I'm glad that your not investigators because you would never have time. That is something that we have been struggling with the past couple weeks, no one is ever home or are too busy! Sounds like Laura is getting used to normal life although she is going out with the sisters. I didn't know we still had sisters. Also I won't need money because the 135 is enough for the whole month. Thanks for sending the blessing and also the package, I'll probably send a package home when I get transferred so I have less stuff to haul around.

Oh one more thing, I read the book you sent me, Joseph Smith, A Rough Stone Rolling...wow what a great book, I have never read a better book in my life. What a testimony builder, there was so much stuff in there that answered so many questions that I had that weren't answered anywhere else and so much interesting stuff.

Week 12

This letter won't be too long since this is the second time your hearing from me this week. We got transfer calls on Thursday night and I'm staying in Reedley with Elder Malo so no big changes for me this transfer. I'm glad that I'm able to stay because we are seeing a lot of progression with our investigators and we should have over ten investigators at church tomorrow. If they all show up! We are working really hard and were finding a lot of new people to teach despite the town being a ghost town during the day because everyone is working. Were teaching a lot of people but no one has a baptism date right now because they all have some excuse, but that's what were going to work on this week.

I can't think of anything that I need in my package which is sad but I'm amazed at how little I have compared to everyone else but I want to keep it that way. I'm going to send a package home with some stuff in it that I don't need or can't have. Well my emails are getting shorter and shorter every week since everything is pretty much the same. I'm really getting used to missionary life and the more I enjoy it. I hope that you have a good week and will talk to you in a week on Monday.

Week 12

This letter won't be too long since this is the second time your hearing from me this week. We got transfer calls on Thursday night and I'm staying in Reedley with Elder Malo so no big changes for me this transfer. I'm glad that I'm able to stay because we are seeing a lot of progression with our investigators and we should have over ten investigators at church tomorrow. If they all show up! We are working really hard and were finding a lot of new people to teach despite the town being a ghost town during the day because everyone is working. Were teaching a lot of people but no one has a baptism date right now because they all have some excuse, but that's what were going to work on this week.

I can't think of anything that I need in my package which is sad but I'm amazed at how little I have compared to everyone else but I want to keep it that way. I'm going to send a package home with some stuff in it that I don't need. Well my emails are getting shorter and shorter every week since everything is pretty much the same. I'm really getting used to missionary life and the more I enjoy it. I hope that you have a good week and will talk to you in a week on Monday.

Week 11

Good to get your emails this week. It has been a good week. Were starting to find more investigators to teach, Reedley is a ghost town in the day as everyone is in school or working in the fields so all of our investigators are through the members and investigators that we already have. We started teaching Glorias niece who lives with her and she is considering being baptized so we will set a date with her for early November. Church was kind of disappointing this week as we only had one investigator at church but two others said they were going to be there but never showed up. We have a pretty good teaching pool right now. This week was pretty usual but on Saturday we had interviews with President Gelwix which was really good. He asked me if I would be fine staying in Reedley next transfer and I told him that I would so he said that he would do all that is in his power to keep me here. He is a great motivator and always makes me want to do better. He also knew I was a Ravens fan and told me that Haloti Ngata is coming in March for a fireside and that he is going to let me call him to talk to him so that should be sweet. Haloti was a player for President Gelwix at Highland high (have you seen President Gelwixs mormon.org video?) So the meeting was really good and I just checked my email from him and he told me that I was one of his mission heroes and the whole email was really nice so I appreciated that. I love having three hours each day to study, I am learning so much from just reading the Book of Mormon every day and from Preach my Gospel. I feel like I'm growing spiritually just in the short time that I've been out. My Spanish is getting so much better but it's still a struggle since I'm teaching half English and half Spanish, I hope I go to an area where it is just 100% Spanish, I think that would help me out the most. Elder Malo is great but he's getting more disobedient each week so I'm constantly correcting him but we get along well enough. My next preparation day is Saturday because salt lake messed up the flights and instead of transfers next Wednesday its this Monday so I won't have a preparation day next week but I will get bishop to let you know if I'm getting transferred or if I'm staying here. I'm pretty sure I'm staying but things can always change. That's about it for this week, I can't believe that transfer time is here again, time is going by so fast!

Laura comes home tomorrow!! It's weird to think that she is home tomorrow and no longer a missionary. I hope that she makes a pretty quick adjustment. I heard that Steve Jobs died this week, that's so crazy, he was only 56! I imagine that their stock dropped big time. So someone told me that Bank of America is going to charge $5 a month just to have a debit card with them. Is this true? If it is then I need to change banks because by the time I get home the $200 that is in there will pretty much be gone. I haven't had to use any personal funds yet and don't think I will ever have to since I always have extra money at the end of each month. I stayed awake this week so maybe it was just a rough week.. Have a good week and enjoy Laura for the 3 weeks that you have her. Miss you and love you tons.

Week 10

Another week has passed quickly and the weeks now seem to blend together so can't really remember too much of this week because their all so similar. I had an exchange this week with an Elder who came to be with me in Reedley and it was so much fun, I wish I had him as a companion! We are both pretty new so our Spanish wasn't that great but that's the best way to learn is when both aren't really that good because it forces you to say stuff. This week has been my clergy week because all we've done pretty much is go and give people blessings. We gave 5 blessings because everyone is old or sick in this ward so that was cool, I gave two of them so that was interesting because I have never given one before but it went well. My first blessing was better than my first baptism, thats for sure! We also had conference so that took up a lot of time but in between each session bishop fed us so it was good. He's fed us like 4 times over the past couple days so I guess he's not getting sick of us and I heard he called you, he's awesome. We only had 4 other people in the building during all the sessions since everyone watches it at home these days and no ice cream social as there was only about 10 people at priesthood session, Our investigators are continuing to progress so hopefully we get a few people baptized before the end of the transfer which is in two weeks. I've been struggling this week with physical strength, I'm tired all the time, if I sit down anywhere, I'll fall asleep. I fell asleep in two lessons this week, I try and stay awake but physically I can't keep myself awake. I'm not sure there is much I can do about it since I have to wake up at 6:30 each day and can't go to bed until at least 10:30. I just wish I could stay awake because it's embarrassing that I go in and out of sleep during lessons. I need like an adrenaline needle that I can stick in me when I'm falling asleep! That's about all that happened this week, nothing too exciting. This week there is nothing big happening, just another exchange and we have transfer calls in less than two weeks and transfer calls are like Christmas, so I'm looking forward to what happens with that.

Week 9

Thanks for all the emails this week. So this week has flown by. On Tuesday we had specialized training all day which was about ATM, which is Awake the Members and how to get to know members better and getting referrals, I think that it's going to work pretty well so it was a good meeting it just went too long as usual. It sounds like Laura might of got the same kind of training. So this week, nothing exciting really happened. We are struggling to find people that will even hear us out so thats tough. We have a few solid investigators that we are teaching but none have baptismal dates so we need to really work on that. We got a referral this week, her name is Josefina, she's in her 60's, and we met with her on Saturday and she is so nice but she's had a rough life. She was raped by her father when she was a child and no one believed her, not even her own mother, and her mother hated her, and she never got married because of what she went through as a child. There was a bunch of other stuff too but it was really depressing but she is the sweetest lady and she came to church on Sunday and I know she is going to get baptized soon. She loved church and the people so thats really exciting. We also had Steven at church on Sunday and he wasn't a big fan, he is used to loud music and jumping around and our church is defiantly not like that so I'm not sure whats going to happen with him. Diego didn't come to church again but were going to keep working with him because he will be such a great member when he's eventually baptized, he just needs to come to church. We have a few other people were working with so were doing a lot of teaching but we had a lot of appointments this week fall through which is a little depressing but hopefully this week is better. I just read my letter from President Gelwix and he was telling me how hot my area is, so hopefully that means that I get to stay another transfer! This upcoming week I have an exchange and I get to stay in Reedley and a missionary I really like is coming here so I'm excited for that. The trip to the vineyard to roll the grapes got postponed so were going to that tomorrow night if we can get an investigator to go. I can't think of much else happening this week besides General Conference which is going to be awesome. I didn't realize that Laura is home in two weeks! Thats an exciting time although from her letters it sounds like she has mixed feelings and shes going to be weird. Glad to hear that you got the photos, will send more soon, its easier to mail them than to upload them because the internet is so slow.

Week 8

So Gloria got baptized yesterday!!! It was an awesome experience and will never forget it. So we did all the normal baptismal service stuff and then when it came time for the baptism I had no clue what I was doing because I expected the card with what to say to be there but it wasn't so I was trying to remember how it goes but that wasn't the real issue. The first attempt was tough, I knew what to say but Gloria was a stiff board and her elbow came up and she forgot to plug her nose so she came out of the water choking so had to wait like a minute or so to wait for her to stop choking to do it again, it was defiantly not how I imagined my first baptism going but can only go uphill from here. The second time went better and she got baptized so its all good, defiantly will never forget that baptism. The other people were working with right now is Diego who is awesome and said he's going to be baptized he just needs to come to church before he commits on any date so hopefully that is soon. We started working with someone called Steven who lives in our apartment complex, I went with him on Tuesday to play basketball at the church and he really enjoyed that so now he has people that he knows. He asks a lot of questions and is really interested in the gospel, he has a solid foundation and good morals so he's easy to work with. We taught him the Plan of Salvation last night and he really appreciated the lesson, he kept thanking us for the "new insight" so I think its all starting to make sense to him now. We have a few other investigators that were really working with who also can get baptized soon so this area is doing really well despite how hard it is. Also this week, Elder Malo was gone for two days at some leadership training so two elders came to Reedley and we had so much fun and got a lot done which is the best combo. The seventy postponed his tour of the mission until October so didn't have that last week. This week I'm going on an exchange with the Zone Leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday. We have specialized training all day Tuesday so that should be fun. On Saturday I'm going back to the vineyard because we have to roll up the grapes that we picked a little while ago. That's about it for this week, time is really starting to fly and am enjoying myself more and more each week as I get used to mission life and have a good companion.
Elder Christian

Week 7

Thanks for all the emails this week, I've never gotten so many emails! So Elder Malo has joined me in Reedley, he is awesome, he is originally from Mexico City but now lives in California so he's not too far away from home. He has been out for 8 months, he joined the church three years ago so it's cool to have a recent convert as a companion. He is super nice and I am so glad that I have him as a companion because we are having so much fun and having more success than last transfer. He is also helping me a lot more with my Spanish which I really appreciate. This past week has been good. We had transfers on Wednesday and bishop took us out to lunch at the Chinese buffet. On Saturday we went to church grape vineyard an hour away where we picked grapes which will become raisins, it was a new experience but not that exciting...I feel bad for all the field workers who do that all day every day, thats got to be tough. After grapes we went to In n Out, we walked in and a guy gave us a twenty dollar bill so we got free lunch and some extra money. This week we've been treated really well, five members took us out to eat which I don't mind at all. So Glorias baptism is this Sunday and she asked me to baptize her so I'm excited for that, a little nervous because I've never done it before but it will be cool. We are also working with a 13 year old girl who is going to be baptized on the 25 so hopefully that all works out. We are also working with Diego who is my favorite investigator, he loves the missionaries and said that he is going to be baptized, he just doesn't know when so hopefully that its soon. This upcoming week we have a seventy coming to visit and on Sunday its Glorias baptism so this should be a good week.. Thanks for the update on the ravens, all the members let me know last night that the ravens won so I was really happy, especially because it was against the Steelers and we crushed them.

So it sounds like life is going to get a little more crazy now that your bishop. As soon as you were getting in a good routine and things were getting relaxed, they called you as bishop. It sounds like that is going to keep you busy for the next 5 or so years. Thats cool that Alan Cheung is in the bishopric, he will do really good. How big is the ward now? Church is keeping you busy so I guess the quote is true, "The gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable" That's crazy that in less than a month that Laura is going to be home. The weather here isn't as crazy as your having over there, its sunny all day every day but it sounds like your having a lot of rain.

Week 6

So we got transfer calls on Saturday night...and I'm staying in Reedley but I'm getting a new companion, his name is Elder Malo and I don't know much about him but he's been out for about a year and he's Mexican so that should help with my Spanish a lot. So I'm happy that I get to stay here in Reedley because I'm used to everybody here and how to get places but I'll be making all the plans because he doesn't know anything about this area but it will be fun. Transfers are on Wednesday so next pday I will let you know how he is. I'm a little surprised that I was kept here because they normally keep the older missionaries in the same spot and move the younger ones around but I'm happy right here. So this week was kinda like the other weeks and everything blends in but the area is really progressing and our teaching pool is getting a lot bigger so we always have something to do. Friday I went on an exchange and that was fun, I really got along with the other elder, he was pretty new to the mission too and I think that's why we got along, all the older missionaries are just in the routine and boring, I hope I don't get like that. Saturday was transfer calls and the district I'm in is getting a lot of new faces but none that I know. Today we went to the swap meet which is a ghetto Mexican flea market kinda thing, and that was fun, September is going to be a really good month, I think there is going to be quite a few baptisms this month which is really exciting. So right now I'm doing about 50/50 Spanish and English teaching and we teach about 25 lessons a week so we never tract. We still are getting fed pretty much every night and have a team up but Elder Malo and I am going to take it to the next level!! It's still hot and in the 100's every day, hasn't rained yet but it never rains from like may to October so I shouldn't expect any for a while. I have the nastiest watch tan, I'll have to take a picture and send it to you next week because its sweet. My feet are getting better now that I have the cream but they still burn and itch. That's about all that happened this week, I met my new companion on Wednesday so I'm excited. The hardest thing about the mission is giving up football and sports and not being able to watch movies but they will all be there when I get back, it's just every time we walk into members houses they are watching football and my heart sinks a little because I miss it so much, it sounds lame but its the truth.

Week 5

It was good to get your emails, although it sounds like mother nature is being too kind to the east coast with earthquakes and hurricanes. People in the ward told me that it turned out to not be too bad of a hurricane, how was it in Baltimore? It sounds like the weather is adding a little excitement to your week but besides from that it sounds like your keeping busy.

So since Wednesday, I had an exchange in Reedley and an elder came down with me and it was good, I just think these exchanges happen too often but it's only because my companion is the district leader so hopefully they slow down a little after this week. On Friday to Sunday we had a thing called special ops where the priests in the stake go with the missionaries and teach with us so that was fun, I had to do all the talking in Spanish so that was good even though he was kinda weird. I thought that was a good idea and that our stake should do that because it gives the priests an opportunity to see what missionary life is like. So Sunday was a disappointment, none of our investigators came to church and Gloria postponed her baptism to next Sunday cuz shes out of town so it was kind of a disappointing week but were finding a lot of people so this week should be better. Thats about all that happened from Wednesday to now but this week should be a good one. In a couple hours we have zone activity and were going to play dodgeball so that should be fun. And then we have a week free of meetings so we will be able to get a lot done this week. And then on Saturday we have transfer calls so I will find out if I'm staying here or leaving so I'm excited to see what happens. Our area right now is going to be split by the sounds of it because they are looking for an apartment in our area so we might lose half of our investigators if that happens but I will let you know next Monday. So I don't know if I have told you but my feet are all messed up and they have been hurting for like 3 weeks so I went to the doctor on Friday and found out I have some sort of fungus on my feet, he said its because I sweat and walk in it all day which makes sense but I got some cream so hopefully that fixes it because its nasty. Thats about all that happened last week and what is coming up this week, I'm so excited for transfer calls, whatever happens I'll be happy with.

Week 4

It was great to get your emails and read them since it's been a little longer than a week since my last p-day. So this was a pretty good week, my talk was good in English sacrament and then this past Sunday I talked in Spanish sacrament, not sure on some of what I said but they said it was good so I'm guessing it made sense. I guess I better get used to talking a lot on my mission so I should start saving my talks instead of throwing them away. I haven't been doing actual missionary stuff since we've had some meetings and all these exchanges. The trainer/trainee meeting was good and it was really good to see everyone from the MTC and find out where they are and how their doing in their areas. Some said they hardly get any dinners or team ups so that makes me appreciate the ward a lot more for helping out the missionary work even though its a small ward. I went out with an Elder this week from my district and that was a lot of fun, this is his second transfer so he's not much older than me but I felt a lot more comfortable with him and I was talking a lot more since he is new too. The next day I went on another exchange but this time with the zone leader and that was really good. He was a lot of fun and will make a really good trainer since he really involved me and helped me a lot with Spanish. So, Gloria is still planning on getting baptized this Sunday so I'm really excited for it and she passed the baptismal questions so I think were good to go. David won't move out or marry his girlfriend so that's on hold for now. That's pretty much what has happened in the past week. This week I have another exchange but this time I stay in Reedley so I'll be in charge so that will be fun. Next p-day is on Monday so that's only 5 days away till my next email.

Week 3

I'm glad you got that text from the member because I thought I wouldn't have any emails to read so thats good that you got that.

So this week was really good. It went by really quick probably because were working so hard, the whole day just flies by. So on Friday night we committed David to baptism, he's been investigating for about a year but he's finally committed so he's planning on getting baptized on September 3 but he's got to get married so we need to get on that. On Sunday night we also committed Gloria to baptism. She is in her 40's and is a caretaker for one of the older members in the ward so they referred us to her and we have only taught her twice but shes really excited to get baptized. She is from the Philippines and speaks pretty good English but we have to teach very simply because of her limited vocab but I'm excited because she is getting baptized on August 28 so we should have two baptisms before the transfer. It's awesome to finally see results from working so hard, the previous weeks no one was progressing so its nice to finally see our hard work pay off and were excited for our other investigators also. Zone conference was good, our car was so clean that we got 50 extra miles so thats an extra day of not riding bikes! But the actual conference was good, President gave a lot of good instruction. To sum it up he wants each companionship to baptize one person each month but starting on January 1 he wants the mission to get 2000 baptisms next year and the mission gets about 1000 a year so he's really planning on taking this to the next level. So it looks like were going to have to baptize 2 people a month next year so thats exciting. About the whole transfer thing, the next transfer is September 7 so were half way through this one but I think that I will be step trained by Elder Glowa next transfer and then stay in Reedley after he leaves so that would be awesome and I hope that happens. President also challenged us to read the entire Book of Mormon by Christmas eve so I guess I will start over and read it through by Christmas. Oh, also at zone conference the new missionaries share their testimonies so I had to do that but it went well and then on Sunday I had to give a talk but theirs only about 70-80 people at church so wasn't too nervous because their wasn't many people. None of the people in my zone are from the MTC so that kinda sucks but eventually I will be so I'm looking forward to that because I would be companions with any of them and be very happy. We have trainee/trainer meeting in Fresno on Friday where we all go and get instruction so I'll see everyone from the MTC so it will be cool to see how everyone is doing. And then on Monday to Wednesday I'm doing an exchange with the zone leaders so I'm going to be with one of the zone leaders in their area which is about an hour away so that will be cool to do that and then on Wednesday were going to temple so that is going to be our Pday next week. Sorry for the confusion, I thought it was this week but I got the weeks mixed up so you won't hear from me until next Wednesday. My companion is the district leader so he has to go and do an exchange with each companionship at least once each transfer so this week and next week he is going to their area and I stay here so that should be cool to kinda be in charge of what happens. Besides from all this, we've been working hard trying to find people to teach and get our investigators to progress. I'm liking it more and more as each week passes and I know that things will get better. Things are becoming more enjoyable as I keep myself busy and give myself more responsibility.

Week 2

So another week has passed and it has been a pretty quick week as we have been kept pretty busy. We have been doing a lot of teaching this week and we have quite a few investigators which is exciting. We have like 6 serious investigators right now that have the potential to be baptized but I can't tell if they will take the next step. I haven't done any tracking because we always have things to do, whether it be teaching or visiting less actives or part-members so that's good we always have something to do. We haven't ridden our bikes much this week which is good because its super hot out this week and humid. I have to do all the driving because my companion is Canadian so he doesn't have a license. We have done a lot of service this week, I think we have done like 7 hours of service so thats been good. So I give a talk this Sunday in church about Faith which should be alright because theirs only 80 people who come to sacrament and most of them are old so I shouldn't be too nervous. I guess in a small ward they need people to speak quite often so thats why they got me. We have zone conference this Thursday so we spent like 2 hours cleaning the car because it needs to be like perfect and if its not they take away miles which wouldn't be too good. So I'm looking forward to Zone Conference because President comes and gives us instruction which should be a good change of pace. I'm not quite sure what it is but will let you know next week. Oh, we have our quarterly temple trip on Wednesday so that is going to be our P-day so I won't email you until next Wednesday instead of this Monday. Thanks for the extra white shirts, I defiantly needed more short sleeve shirts and thanks for getting that clock, hopefully this one works better than the last one. I've realized that Pdays aren't too fun as most of the time is just doing chores like laundry and cleaning so hopefully I will find ways to do that quicker when I have a new companion because I think that we could be a lot more efficient than we are right now but it's not really my place to say anything yet as I have been out less than two weeks but their are defiantly things that I would do differently in all facets of what we do but right now I'm learning as much as I can about the things I do like and I don't like so that I can be more effective. We were doubled into this area so he didn't live there before and he's really clean so the apartment looks good now, I'll take a picture this week and send you a bunch of pictures when we email from the family history center. We have ac so thats nice when we get home. The sequios are only 30-45 minutes away so hopefully a member will take us out sometime this transfer because we can't take our car out there. I love this area, the members are so nice, and feed us at least one meal a day and we have a team up every night which is so good for a ward so small. I think that I will be transferred out of this area after this transfer which kinda sucks because I'm just starting to feel comfortable here and finding my way around but we will see in a few weeks. I want to be more involved and I'm slowly becoming more involved which is when I feel great but its times where hes doing everything and not involving me that I feel down.

Week 1 In the Field

So I'm officially in the mission field. I am in a town called Reedley which is like 30 minutes south of Fresno and I have quite a big area to cover, I cover the cities of Reedley, Dinuba, and orange cove. Their kinda ghetto in parts but other parts their nice so have a bit of both but its not a big city at all. They all have 20,000 or less people in each one but still quite a big area. The ward is awesome, we went by all the members this week just so I could meet everyone and they are all so nice and we get feed at least once a day despite the size of the ward. They get about 80 people to sacrament and 20 of those are Spanish so they all have headsets and listening to the translation so I wear a head set to listen to the talks in Spanish just so I can learn faster. Thats cool the bishop called, he's super nice and has had us over for two good meals already. So when I arrived on Thursday night to my apartment it was probably the dirtiest apartment I have ever seen, dust on everything, dishes out, never been vacuumed and was just a mess so we spent all today cleaning and it looks a lot better...it still is super ghetto but at least its clean and liveable now. So we have a car and we get 1130 miles a week to drive so we bike a little each day for a couple hours and its miserable on the bike, it is so hot and I am just covered in sweat and is so gross but I'm getting a sweet tan so it's worth it. We get yelled at a few times a day which is funny, they call us the "church people" and theirs usually a few cus words to accompany that phrase but for the most part people are nice. There are parts where it is little Mexico and its crazy because you wouldn't think we were in the U.S. cuz kids are running around naked and is just a lot different. I teach in both Spanish and English, its about 50 50 in my area so we get to teach in both but its hard to understand the Spanish people because they speak so fast but I'm improving. My companion is Elder Glowa, he is from Montreal, Quebec and goes home in 2 transfers so I might be his last companion if we are together for two transfers. He is a good companion and is slowly easing me in but he hasnt really helped me with my Spanish. We get along most of the time but he is not my first choice in companion but hes a good example because he follows all the rules and is teaching me a lot. He pretty makes up all the schedule so at night during planning I dont really do anything so I'm excited for when I am able to contribute to that. All in all hes a good companion and we work hard so thats the most important thing. Our mission is a little crazy with the rules, we can't wear any paisley ties. Thanks for the package with the food, it came to use because we had nothing to eat that first night so that helped a lot and I got all the packages so were good. I was kinda send pics but I'm at the library and it is taking forever to upload so I'll send them another week. So teaching has been going good and we have really good investigators that are super cool and hopefully there will be some baptisms soon, although no one has a date their are some on the horizon I think.Oh, the fruit here is amazing and all the members give us stuff so its awesome, and everyone has a garden here, it reminds me of the one we had in Trail and everything is so good. I know theres a bunch more stuff to tell but I can't think of it right now.

Arrived at Fresno Mission

I’m here in Fresno and safe. We got here and got picked up by president and then he sent us out knocking doors and that was funny because some guy was bashing on us so that was awesome but we got a few addresses and numbers so that was fun but they told me to keep it brief and tell you I made it safely…my pday is on Monday so I will fill you in on Monday. Oh its extremely hot over 100 so I'm sweating a lot.

Leaving the MTC

I am leaving the MTC in like 15 minutes but I thought I would send a quick email. I'm excited to talk to you guys today and I should have about an hour to talk so thats good. hopefully I can figure out how to use a pay phone since I've never used one before. I can't believe how fast these nine weeks have went, seriously the fastest nine weeks of my life! I've seen some of the greatest, and most intense parts and comb overs I've ever seen, it's been wonderful. This week has been awesome, can't remember much about it but the salta people left on Sunday so that sucked to say goodbye to them because I was very close to two of them in that group but after the mission I will defiantly hang out with them cuz their awesome. Now its the Fresno peoples turn to leave, we have 19 people in our travel group, 12 Spanish and 7 English, I think thats a lot of people to be going to one place at one time so I think the work in Fresno must be doing pretty well. I have learned so much at the MTC and am grateful that I got to spend nine weeks here because its really not all that bad, its a very spiritual place and I have grown so much on my mission already. Something I learned this week was that the mission has a two-fold purpose, one to bring others unto Christ but also for the missionary and I have seen myself change quite a bit over these past few weeks. Well I better go cuz its time to check in at the travel office and I get to talk to you guys in a couple hours so we can talk about things then.

MTC Week 8

I'm so close to being out of here!!! I got my flight plans this Thursday and I leave the MTC at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning and my flight is at 12:40 p.m. so I should have a while to talk to you. I got your phone card with 6 hours worth of talking so that should defiantly be enough cuz I'm thinking I'll have about an hour or so to talk on the phone which is exciting. I'm also looking forward to being in the outside world after two months of being stuck in the MTC and seeing nothing of the outside world which will kinda be weird. Oh don't send out anything else to the MTC because I probably won't get it since Monday is a holiday here in Utah, so I probably won't get any of it and same with the dear elders. So this week has been a really good one because I'm cramming in a lot of last minute Spanish stuff and although I feel pretty good about Spanish now, I know that as soon as I get there people will talk so fast and it will be hard to understand but I pray that I'll be able to understand what their saying so I can help them even if I can't say things that I want to yet. So the Spanish all in all is good and I feel like I know a lot of Spanish if its about the gospel! Were wrapping up our class time and the teaching has been going really well and I've noticed that even if I can't say what I feel I can kinda get around it and use the vocab I use but I'm excited for the day that I can say what I feel. So this Friday I have in- field orientation which is a day all about preparing for the field which is exciting because they have a lot of cool people that teach it and that means that class is over with!! I haven't been able to go the temple because it is still closed but thats fine because we get five hours of personal time where I can do whatever I want which is awesome. My time at the MTC has been so fun mostly because I got an awesome district that all get along and no weirdos so I'm thankful that the time here has been a blast. These past few weeks have also been great because I've learned so much more about the gospel and has been a very spiritual experience and time of growth spiritually speaking.

MTC Week 7

So I was hoping that I would be able to email you after I got my travels plans but they haven't come yet so I'll probably get them tomorrow or Friday at the latest which is super exciting because then I know how exactly how long I have left but it defiantly is under two weeks now which is exciting. This week has been super boring since class is getting to the stage where the teacher can't help much anymore and it's up to us now to learn all the Spanish before we leave. The whole MTC is going through a deep clean so the gym has been closed for the past week and this coming week but its alright because I just go out outside and play soccer which is a lot of fun and am getting a nice tan from that. The temple is also closed for a deep clean so we just have an extra 4 hours to do stuff instead of going to the temple on Wednesday which is good and bad at the same time. About sending packages, it would be good if you sent the next one to Fresno because I 've collected at least 20 pounds of Spanish books and such and I leave soon so I wouldn't want it to arrive here after I leave

week 15

So the weeks are really starting to blend together and I forgot all that has happened this week but last Monday we weren't able to do missionary stuff so we went out of town with Diego to a really good Mexican restaurant. It was a lot of fun and he was excited to take us because he was bored since his wife was stuck in Connecticut because of the snow storm. On Tuesday, we had an exchange and I stayed in Reedley with Elder Castillo who I've already been on exchange with twice before so it was awesome. We committed two people to be baptized for the 27th of this month so hopefully they are ready for then. The weather has really cooled down and its jacket weather, I didn't think California got cold, so that was a surprise to me. All I had was my rain jacket so a member gave me a really nice jacket so hopefully he doesn't ask for it back. We biked during the days this week and we talk to everyone but its been really tough because we have had no luck with that at all. So its been a bit discouraging considering we've talked to about 100 people and not one has even shown a bit of interest. On Saturday, we went to the funeral for the sister in our ward that passed away, it was the first funeral I have ever went to so that was interesting. On Sunday, we only got one investigator to church but she went up and bore her testimony and said that she is no longer waiting for her dad and wants to be baptized. We went over last night and she prayed about a date to be baptized and she told us to come back tonight so I'm excited to see what she says. I hope its before November 30 because I think that I will be transferred at the end of this transfer and I want to be at the baptism.

MTC Week 6

So another week has gone by and moving into the seventh week here at the MTC. It's crazy how fast time goes here. This was a good week. On Saturday night we had a special July 4 celebration and it was really well down. We had a good speaker, sang some songs, had a cool video presentation on all the missions around the world and its crazy that there are so many missions now! After that we were able to go watch fireworks which is a treat because it was at 11:30 and we normally have to be in our rooms by 9:30 so that was cool. On Friday one of my two teachers left to go home because his family is having health issues so that kinda sucks that he left because he knows us really well and we now just get subs that don't really know us or where we are at with our Spanish but it keeps things interesting because every teacher is different. On Sunday night we had Jenny Oaks Baker at our fireside who is Elder Oaks daughter and this was a different fireside because she gave a talk but every 5 or 10 minutes she would play a song on the violin which was really cool because she is very accomplished and used to play with the National Orchestra so she was really good. My studying has got a lot better and I really enjoy the personal study time because I learn so much every day and I know have a lot of good notes and scriptures for my lessons. My Spanish is coming along but I'm getting more nervous for when I leave because I will have to teach people for real in Spanish so I hope I learn a lot more in the next 2 and a half weeks. I can't wait to get out of here because my back is starting to give me problems because I'm sitting down for over 14 hours a day with only getting 50 minutes for gym each day so I can't wait to get out in the field and be on the move all the time.

MTC Week 5

Another week has flown by already but it was a good one. This past Friday night we got to hear from Elder Bednar in a special Friday night fireside and it was really good, it was about being a "Preach my Gospel" missionary. I got really good seats, probably about 25 feet away so that was cool. After the fireside we were able to meet with our mission president and he made a good first impression because he brought ice cream sandwiches which was nice (The little things mean a lot when your in the MTC). We had a camera crew from the church in our meeting and its going to be on lds.org sometime this week and then in a month or so its going to be used in some church production so I could be a movie star here really soon. The meeting was really good and you could tell how much he loved us because he told us that he has been praying for each of us by name since we got here and that meant a lot. We just all shared our testimonies and told a little about ourselves so that was cool. He then asked what he and Sister Galwix could do for us and everyone was saying a bunch of stuff and then when it got around to me I told him the food has been tearing me apart and then told him I want to go out for a steak when I got to Fresno so he promised he would take me out for a steak and that worked out well cuz it was a joke but looks like I get a steak out of it. He promised everyone he would do anything they wanted and you could tell he really meant it and you can sense that he was a genuine guy and he asked from us is to work hard and never lose his trust. After the meeting we just talked for an hour because he really likes to talk and it sounds like you also got to experience a little Galwix. Thats so awesome that you were able to talk to him and I'm so glad that I got him as a mission president. I wasn't sure why I was called to Fresno and even when I entered the MTC I didn't know why I was called to Fresno but I now know why I was called to this mission, and thats because of President Galwix. We took a picture with him and I sent that today so you'll get that soon. His wife is super nice too and I feel so lucky to have a Mission President that cares so much about his missionaries and I'm lucky that I was here while he was because everyone says that the Mission President is always closest to the ones who were at the MTC with and because all my two years will be with him. I can't believe how fast time flies in the MTC, it's been 5 weeks already so that means I only have 3 and a half weeks left and thats a good things because I'm eating the salads and wraps now which means its time to go. My Spanish is slowly progressing but I know that it takes about a year to be completely fluent so I'm just going to keep working at it. I got an email from president this week so I'll print that off because it has all of his notes from his meetings with the apostles so I want to read that. Thanks for the Doctrines of salvation, I love to be able to read those at night and I have one more book that I want but I'll send you the title next week.

MTC Week 4

So this week has went by so quick yet again and I'm struggling to write a journal because nothing that interesting ever happens so when I hit the field it will probably be more interesting. All the mission presidents came today so theres security everywhere and we can't go in certain buildings because theres apostles and important people here which is a little different than usual. We have a special devotional on Friday that is two hours and theirs a rumor that the prophet is speaking so hopefully that is true but even if it isn't it will be a few apostles. And then on Sunday we have another special two hour event so it sounds like were going to hear from some cool people this week. Also on Friday we went to spend two hours with our new mission president and since theres only ten of us going to Fresno it sounds like we will really get to know him pretty well. We hope he takes us out to some steak place because this food is tearing everyone apart. So these next couple days are going to be fun because its something new and out of the daily routine that we usually follow. This past week has been the same kind of thing, just studying and nothing too exciting to report. My studying is getting a lot better and I can really see my knowledge in Spanish and in the gospel growing every week. My Book of Mormon reading is going really well, I'm in Mosiah now and reading has been so good because it has given me new insight and has helped me spiritually. Our district is still struggling focusing which is a shame because theirs people that want to goof off and then theres people who want to study but we have to stay in the room so theres a little contention about that. I love the MTC some days but get sick of it on others but I love the mission so far and can't wait to hit the field. I would also like the book, Doctrines of Salvation. I've heard good things about it so I really want to read that.

MTC Week 3

This week went by really quick and I don't have anything amazing that happened this week, especially because all the days seem to blend together now. Our Tuesday night devotional was rumored to be President Uchetdorf and we all got excited and lined up an hour early to get good seats but it ended up being the Primary President so that was disappointing but it was still good. We haven't had any apostles or first presidency yet which is unusual but next week is when the mission presidents come to get trained so hopefully we have some good speakers then because the devotionals and firesides are defiantly the highlights of the week. The Spanish is coming along I guess but my companion still is struggling so most of the work is on me during the lessons so thats really tough to do all the talking while he just sits there but we get along great so overall its good. Two new districts come in later today so that is exciting because a district just left on Monday and the two new districts combined have 8 sisters and 14 elders so that should level out the testerone level a bit. I started reading the Book of Mormon on Sunday and I want to read the entire thing before I leave so will have to read about 18 pages a day but I got some other guys to do it with me; I'm excited to do this. It will be tough because we don't get much personal time because it's always language study. We also had a "come to Jesus" meeting in our district this week because one of the guys in the district wasn't happy about some things but it was cool because everyone got everything off their chest and there was a lot of crying in the room so that was defiantly a new experience. Thats about all the cool stuff that happened this week really.

MTC Week Two

This week has went by so fast probably because I never know what the day is because every day is the same routine so the days are blending together which is good because that makes the time go by a lot faster especially when your in a classroom all day doing nothing but Spanish. This week was kinda bi-polar, I had a lot of good days but had a couple of bad days which are bound to happen. I don't really like my two teachers, they are kinda weird and I just can't relate to them at all so its tough to listen to their ideas and opinions about missionary work rather than out of the book. Besides from the six hours of classroom instruction with teachers, the time has been really fun and I learn so much more when I'm studying without a teacher. My Spanish is getting better and I can know say a lot more phrases to get to know people and just have small talk. It's been hard this week because we've been doing a lot of fake door contacts and my companion does not know any Spanish so I've had to do the whole thing in Spanish while he just stands there so its tough on me cuz I have to do it all but it will just make me learn a lot quicker, its just a little stressful right now. One of the elders from our district left last Wednesday night so now we have 11 elders in our district instead of 12. And then this past Sunday another elder left from our zone so its weird to see all these people leaving. It's crazy to think that I'm already done 25% of my time at the MTC which is so exciting because I just want to get to Fresno to do it for real instead of teaching lessons to our teachers. I see Jake Walker a couple times each day cuz he's on the floor above me and we talk quite a bit when we are doing laundry and stuff so its cool to see him all the time.

MTC Week One

It's been great to get all the packages, letters, emails, and dear elders over the past week, its defiantly a highlight to get some mail. I hope I can respond to whatever you say because I only have 30 minutes. So I heard you finally got my letter I sent on Thursday, it took forever to get to Baltimore but glad it got there. It's amazing how busy they keep you here, theres seriously no time wasted throughout the whole day which is crazy. I know you got my letter so you know about the first couple days but the days have started to blend together because I wear the same thing, do the same thing, etc. I kinda feel like cattle here because we wake up, go eat, and then go study, eat, study, and then eat again so we don't move much and they are really fattening us up. The food is decent at best but its about quantity here instead of quality so I'm full after each meal at least. The Spanish is coming along well, I pray in Spanish and know how to bear my testimony in Spanish so its cool to see the progress every day. The firesides and devotionals are really cool and its awesome to see a couple thousand elders in one room and you can really feel the spirit when you have that many people singing, especially when all the songs are about missionary work. We do a lot of teaching to fake investigators that are paid to come in so we can teach them, its hard not to laugh during some of them but I guess their good practice. My p-days are on Wednesdays, just letting you know. I was falling asleep the first couple days during personal study but I'm in a good groove now so I'm staying awake. We have 30 minutes, five days a week to exercise so not much time, I've already gained five pounds so I hope the scale was off. My companion is really cool and the district is really awesome, their all really good guys and we have a lot of fun and are always laughing...maybe were having too much fun! Were about to go to the temple so that should be a good experience. My departure date right now is the 27 of July so we have 8 weeks left after today. The short time at the MTC has been so good so far, my testimony is growing everyday as our learn more and more and I'm excited to get into the field to actually teach the people. I'm very thankful to have been taught how to work hard and this has been a blessing because this is hard work and theres so many things to learn all at once but I know that it will come together. I know I'm forgetting some things but my time is up so I'll have to remember them for next week.

MTC Day One

This is the first letter I've written since becoming Elder Christian. Its Thursday morning and I just got back from personal study time and Im already struggling to stay awake but everyone was doing the same so its all good. I slept most of the flight so that was good and I got straight off the plane and onto the shuttle so that worked out well. I was nervous to enter the MTC because the six other guys on the shuttle were anti-social but when I walked in, the first guy I met was one of the Swainson twins from Red Deer so that was kind of random. Theres been no down time since I've got here and am constantly on the move from class to class. My district is really good. We have 12 guys and seven of them are coming to Fresno so I'll know a bunch of them really well before I get to Fresno. My companion Elder Ryan Peterson from Driggs Idaho is super cool and we get along really well, the only downfall is that he's 6'8" so he looks like a giant compared to me. The other companionship are really cool so we have a really fun room compared to the other rooms in our district. We stayed up late talking and were already really close so its good to have some friends because it makes the time so much more enjoyable. We had a fireside last night and it was great because there was a great sense of unity and camaraderie especially while we were singing the hymns. My p-days are Wednesday so I wont's be able to send or check my emails til Wednesday.

Airport

May 25th. From Baltimore to Salt Lake.

7am Flight.

Needing to be there an hour early, we arrived at 5:20am. Feeling very relaxed.
And feeling sad...
Walked into the airport. Went down to the baggage check in. The line...was approximately a mile? Maybe 800 people? Approximately speaking. It was absolutely crazy. Only getting through about a quarter of the line by 6:30. Having to be pulled out of the line- to enter a new Salt Lake flight line. Being about the 5th group in that line we got to the desk at 6:55.
Rushing to make the flight. Quick farewell picture. And onto security. The last waves, but not for the tears (Alison :) ). Elder Samuel Christian is off to the MTC.
See you again in 2013.

Farewell

Missionary Cake (Made by Sister Blood- in the Winters Run Ward)

Week 6

So we got transfer calls on Saturday night...and I'm staying in Reedley but I'm getting a new companion, his name is Elder Malo and I don't know much about him but he's been out for about a year and he's Mexican so that should help with my Spanish a lot. So I'm happy that I get to stay here in Reedley because I'm used to everybody here and how to get places but I'll be making all the plans because he doesn't know anything about this area but it will be fun. Transfers are on Wednesday so next pday I will let you know how he is. I'm a little surprised that I was kept here because they normally keep the older missionaries in the same spot and move the younger ones around but I'm happy right here. So this week was kinda like the other weeks and everything blends in but the area is really progressing and our teaching pool is getting a lot bigger so we always have something to do. Friday I went on an exchange and that was fun, I really got along with the other elder, he was pretty new to the mission too and I think that's why we got along, all the older missionaries are just in the routine and boring, I hope I don't get like that. Saturday was transfer calls and the district I'm in is getting a lot of new faces but none that I know. Today we went to the swap meet which is a ghetto Mexican flea market kinda thing, and that was fun, September is going to be a really good month, I think there is going to be quite a few baptisms this month which is really exciting. So right now I'm doing about 50/50 Spanish and English teaching and we teach about 25 lessons a week so we never tract. We still are getting fed pretty much every night and have a team up but Elder Malo and I am going to take it to the next level!! It's still hot and in the 100's every day, hasn't rained yet but it never rains from like may to October so I shouldn't expect any for a while. I have the nastiest watch tan, I'll have to take a picture and send it to you next week because its sweet. My feet are getting better now that I have the cream but they still burn and itch. That's about all that happened this week, I met my new companion on Wednesday so I'm excited. The hardest thing about the mission is giving up football and sports and not being able to watch movies but they will all be there when I get back, it's just every time we walk into members houses they are watching football and my heart sinks a little because I miss it so much, it sounds lame but its the truth.

Mission Call

After months of waiting and checking the mailbox daily. Samuel received his mission call. But it was sent to the house address (in Maryland) instead of at school (in Idaho)...where Sam was.



Luckily with modern technology. We were able to skype (video calling) Sam.



Sam was able to announce to the family the news!

Samuel Christian is going to FRESNO, CALIFORNIA. SPANISH SPEAKING. Reporting to the MTC 5/25/2011