Week 1

Hola!

Mom, did I make you check your email thinking it would be Skylar? Well guess what, Monday is my Preparation Day too :) I lol thought lol you lol guys lol would lol think lol this lol is lol funny lol haha jk rofl jaja.

I'm gonna answer mom's questions first. Yes, I already saw Elder Tyler Smith, I saw him my second day here.  It was really weird because I couldn't call him Tyler, it was "Elder Smith".  He's leaving on Wednesday, just fyi.  Secondly, I'll get into more detail, but the first couple days were pretty rough. And mom, could you send me some more stamps? I think I'll need more than that. And also send a beanie or something, walking outside is so cold! And I'll send pictures next week.  Oh, also, could you send me the sheet music for musical numbers? I know that my redeemer lives, and the EFY thing, Armies of Helaman and something else.  I already had to play a musical number in sacrament meeting, so I need music...

Alright, so you guys dropped me off and I saw a bunch of friends as I was walking up and into the main building, it was awesome to be welcomed by so many people.  I got my nametag and went to get my books, they gave me probably 10 spanish books, an english Preach My Gospel, and a water purifying water bottle.  We took it to my classroom (less than a half hour after arriving) and the teachers were already speaking Spanish. Total Spanish immersion right from the get-go.

Everyday consists of about 6 hours of studying, and 6 hours of classroom stuff.  All of the classroom stuff is in Spanish. Our teacher went to Argentina on her mission, so she says the ll's weird, Mom knows what I mean, so we make fun of our teacher (Hermana Collette).

Other than all of the studying, we already got to teach an "investigator".  That was day 2 and day 3.  The only thing is, it was all in Spanish, and we had to teach for a half hour. It was so hard, but the Spirit was there and the Gift of Tongues helps so much. It helps so much in fact that I can already pray and bear my testimony in Spanish.

I have two companions here, Elder Johnson and Elder Ritchie. They are pretty cool and like I said, I'll send pictures later.  Our district has 10 people in it. 7 Elders and 3 Hermanas.  All but 2 of us are going to Costa Rica.  Of the other two, one is going to Panama, and the other, Elder Bananie (bon-on-yay) is from Guadaloupe, speaks 4 languages (French, English, 2 Creol) and is going to Paris... Spanish speaking!  He is a way cool guy, he's pretty hilarious.  Our district is District 1, the first district of the MTC!  And we are a part of Branch 1, branch 1 consists of 5 other elders, but we are supposed to be getting about 12 more people this week! One elder, Elder Parkinson, is way hilarious, he's taught us how to have fun, because it feels like forever in here.

We were told that this week there would be about 600 missionaries coming in, 270 of which are sisters, it's gonna be packed around here.

For anyone coming in soon, the food is good, so don't worry.  Also, get ready to get close with people, real fast.  You will feel super awkward the first day, but then you will learn to not be embarrassed by anything.  Also, if you are learning a language, get ready to be immersed in it.  It's pretty hard, but don't overwhelm yourself, you can do it. Also, like my brother said, the days feel like weeks... it's totally true, but when you look back on it, it seems to go by really fast.  You will make so many new friends and it'll be a blast.  Listen to what others tell you to do and you'll learn a lot more quickly.

Yo se que esta iglesia es verdadero.  Yo se que Jesucristo es mi hermano mayor y que Su expiacion es para todos.  Yo se que Dios es mi Padre Celestial y que El es amaroso.  Yo se que Thomas S. Monson es un profeta. Yo se que el don del lenguas ayudame. Me encanto ustedes todos. En el nombre de Jesucristo, amen.

P.S. thanks for the food :)