Week Three!

A lot of stuff happened this week so hopefully I remember it all. I was called to be 1 of 4 zone leaders in the MTC two days ago. Its crazy but I am super excited to perform this assignment. All the older missionaries left yesterday so it was really sad to see them all go, they were missionaries I looked up too and helped us out in our first few weeks. Im passing along that kindness to the new missionaries. My companion and I woke up at around 3 AM last night to welcome all those who were settling in. I remember how I felt the first day and how stressful it was so we went to everyones room and greeted them and gave them advice. It feels strange because Im like super young and I feel like Im giving missionaries who are wiser than me advice and guidance. Hopefully I can grow as a better leader these next three weeks. Its so much fun meeting new people from all over the world. The new Latinos are awesome as well. Its been super busy here but I feel like I accomplish so much in one day, Ive gained 8 pounds which is awesome haha. We work out a lot but its annoying because the MTC workers keep telling us that their grandmas can do more pull ups than us with just their tongue.  We went to the Lima temple last week and are going again later today. Its a really small temple but man its gorgeous, we went through in Spanish which was interesting. It hit me that Im actually a missionary when we were at the temple and a bunch of little kids pointed at us and said Misioneros!!! I cant really explain how it feels to be on the other side haha. Earlier in the week we had a missionary go home which was really depressing as a district leader but it brought us closer as a district. I gave away a lot of my ties to the Latinos who are now in the field. Theyre so happy with how much they have and I loved getting to know all of them.

We had an Earthquake! It wasnt very big but soo many people have never been in an earthquake before that came from the U.S it was funny. We are all learning how to cut hair so a lot of the nights we have a barber shop going in the bathroom so thats a lot of fun. We teach a LOT now. Im at the point now where I can answer questions they have about the gospel in Spanish but its still very difficult to know every single gospel spanish word, but Elder Wells and I have discovered that we are not there to teach lessons, we are there to teach people. 80% of the time we just throw our lesson plan out the window and teach about what they want to know and off our knowledge of the gospel and Spanish. We had one investigator start crying about how her parents were dead and how she doesnt think God is real because of the trials shes going through. Its crazy how real it feels and how good of actors they are, but its really good for us and very eye-opening. Our room wakes up early to study Spanish and just get a head start on the day, its really nice because its so quiet and you get to actually just sit there and think with no distractions. Theres barely anyone in this MTC but it feels like theres a lot because its so small.

In the pictures Im with Elder Moreno holding a flag from Colombia, with Elder Snyder- He was zone leader before me and he is from Oceanside California which is where I was born so it was nice to have a fellow Californian among us haha. And then my companion and I in front of the Lima temple. Alright well I hope all of you had a great week  and if someone isnt on this list I really hope this gets forwarded to whoever wants it. Have a Happy Halloween!!!!

Alma 53 20-21      Sorry for my grammer this Spanish keyboard is ridiculous and I cant find anything. 

Second Week!

This week was so much better than the last. I'm finally settled in as
district leader and it's been a blast, it's a lot of responsibility when
I feel like a I'm brand new missionary but my district is amazing and
I love helping everyone serve the Lord and do their best. I'm one of
the youngest missionaries in the entire MTC which is so weird to think
about. There's already new missionaries coming in next week which is
crazy we seriously just got here and now we are going to be the old
guys. I study a lot with the Latinos to practice Spanish and we now
have two practice investigators that we teach every day. Its very busy
but very rewarding. One of our fake investigators falls asleep while
we're trying to teach her so its really difficult to try to keep her
engaged in the lesson using Spanish but its crazy how good of actors
they are. It feels so real when we teach them and the spirit is
actually there. The weather here is awesome so Elder Wells and I love
to study outside and its just crazy how much work you can get done in
one day. Every day I feel like grow so much further in learning the
language and the gospel than I did the day before. Not a lot happened
this week besides classes and the normal routine so I dont have a lot
of pictures, but we're going to the temple in Lima today which I am
extremely excited about so I'll send pics next email. Time is already
starting to fly, I'll be in Cusco in 4 weeks!  I hope all of you had a
great week and are using your time wisely.

First Week!

So I´m here! The first couple of days were so stressful I was

overwhelmed and it was just a bunch of crazy emotions. But fast

forward one week and oh my goodness I love this place so much. The

plane ride was extremely long and terrible cause I think all of us

were nervous and everyone just said goodbye to their families it was a

mess. People looked at us so strange in the Atlanta airport i loved

it. One lady asked us if we were models so that was pretty great. 

So, the first day I met my district and my companion they are both

awesome. Our district is like a family and my companion is awesome we

get along so well. That night I was interviewed and got called to be

district leader. It was pretty overwhelming cause it was my first day

and I felt like I was younger than everyone and very inexperienced but

the 3 weekers have helped me out a lot. (Every 3 weeks new

missionaries come in so thats what the older ones are called.)  

I'm doing very well with the language, like enough to where I surprised

myself. The spirit is so strong here and the gift of tongues is so

real. We taught our first "investigator" and it was so cool actually

being able to understand and know what she was saying. Hopefully we´ll

get her "baptized" this week. 

We play a ton of futbol (soccer for you

white people). I tried to play volleyball with the sisters but they

destroyed us so Im not doing that again. The best part of this whole

experience already is the Peruvian missionaries and locals. I cant

even explain how happy and funny they are. I get to practice my

spanish with them because some of their rooms are right next to ours.

Its so awesome to actually know what theyre saying and it gets me so

excited to study more and work harder at the language. In one of the

pictures im standing with Elder Jañez from Chile. Such an awesome guy

he talks to everyone and is always so happy.

 The food here is alright.

Theyre obsessed with rice. Like we have other food but its always with

rice. Sublime ice cream is the bomb though like I really hope its in

America and I just havent heard about it cause I want that stuff when

I get back. The city of Lima is insane I honestly dont think they have

traffic laws here. Sitting in a bus going through that traffic to

interpol was probably the most dangerous thing ive ever done. Theres

cats everywhere, but not like the ones you have in your house, like

when I see one I go the opposite direction theyre terrifying. If youre

wondering what Inca Kola tastes like, imagine a bubble gum soda.

Peruvians are also obsessed with that stuff and Ive grown to like it.

I stashed a bunch of it and other peruvian cookies in my closet after

we went to interpol. 

The CCM is so tiny everyone knows each other.

When we have devotionals we just watch devotionals that happened in

the Provo MTC haha. This has already humbled me soo much. Today we

went to help clean a catholic school for physcially disabled and it

was crazy how humbling it was. I just want to take all these Peruvians

home to America when Im done here. I guess its good Ive already have

so much love for the people. They seriously have nothing but are so

much happier than we are. It shows you whats really important and what

you really need to be happy.  Oh and another picture is of me with

Star Wars chocolate milk wearing my star wars shirt because its

awesome. Alright well I hope all of you had an awesome week and please

let me know how everythings going! If I dont respond just know that I

did see it, I just dont have time to respond. You can ask questions

too cause I really dont know what to write about haha. Ill do my best

to respond to all of you. Have an awesome week!

I'm Here!

I'm here! There's a scary timer at the top right so I can't type for
very long. I'm running on like 3 hours of sleep, we got to Lima at
like 3 in the morning. But at least I made it haha. As soon as I went
through security I met Elder Grover on the same plane so that was
nice. He's like 6ft 8 and has sarcasm like Brother Hall. I think I
just have bad luck with planes. The flight from Georgia to Lima was a
crazy missionary party. I've learned more spanish in one day here than
in two years at Canyon. People here are so much nicer than in America.
Lima looks crazy sketchy but all the people are nice and they jokingly
make fun of us white people so its funny. The MTC looks like a prison
but its really nice, weather here is like Carlsbad. All the leaders
and workers are very nice and they don't speak English at all. All the
Elders who are actually good at Spanish have to translate for everyone
else. I just got my name tag and they made me get another haircut:(
Ok well I'll be able to write a longer letter next Wednesday. Tell
everyone I love them and I'm safe, the next few days are going to be
longgggg.

Being Set apart and saying Goodbye

Sam and Addisons last Sunday good-bye hug from the young men.

 Addison and Mason

"see ya in four years!!"

 Was set apart as a missionary by President Wirthlin and given a tie from President Lindberg

 Don't miss us, we will miss you!  See you in two years. 

October 3, 2016

 Met up with missionaries in Atlanta, Georgia