A sprained ankle and breakfast tamales

E. Jones ,E. Packard., E. Carlson, E. ?, E. Budge, E. Mexicali (?)



This week week was pretty was great, and went by super fast! Right after I wrote you on Tuesday evening, David Warren walked in the door behind me. I don't know if you remember him, but we were really good friends, he went to Shadow, and was on the football team with Ryan Lythgoe (who is also coming in 3 weeks) but me and David sat next to each other in seminary all year long. I'm really glad he is here. He is going to Peru, but because he doesn't have his visa yet, he cant get into the Peru MTC Then on Wednesday, I was playing soccer with a bunch of other elders, in the rain, and I slipped, and hurt my ankle. At first I thought it was definitely broken, it hurt really bad, but the doctor lives just next door to us, so he took a look at it and said it was a bad sprain, so it is super swollen and turning purple. The guys in my district gave me a blessing right after it happened though, and I have been able to get around with out it hurting too much. 

Spanish is coming pretty well, although it is really hard. I am  further than all the others in my district, so I'm trying to learn to conjugate into past and present subjunctive, and use it off the top of my head. I'm really good at using conditional, gerund, and past participle, and preterit, but it is sometimes hard to tell when I need to use imperfect. But it is coming really well, and we have tons of really good teachers here. 

Sometimes I get annoyed by the fact that we read so many books, and things about the gospel, when I really just want to read the gospel itself. There are so many, fundamentals, and simple lessons that I feel antsy, and just want to read the Book of Mormon--so I do! I'm trying to read the whole thing twice while I'm here--last night I read all of 1 Nephi.

Yesterday all the Latinos left, after 12 days. Hopefully we get some more today, because they were such good practice. We made pretty good friends with the ones that lived with us. So now there are 300 missionaries here, but I guess after tonight there will be 500! And by the time I leave 1000! I don't know how they are going to deal with all those people, they can't even figure out how to deal with those of us already here. It is hilarious, that everything is still being set up. They are figuring out problems as they come up. President Pratt has only been here for a week longer than I have. People have found out which house is his, and there is a line outside of it, for him to solve their problems. 

Some of the missionaries are not having such a good time. Some of the guys are such weenies, they won't even eat any of the food. they wait outside of the cafeteria every morning and rush into get the little boxes of cereal. They eat five bowls of cereal, and then take two more to their rooms. I hope they are not going foreign. But its all good, because that leaves more delicious breakfast tamales, and oatmeal for me!

It is shocking to me how good Sundays are here. I can feel the spirit all week, and then go to church on Sunday, and feel in 10 times stronger. I have such good friends here!. All the members of my district are so fun to be with, and we all have a great time. The homesick elder is doing a little better, but it still takes him a lot of patience, I'm sure. His companion has to wait around for him all day long. Last Tuesday, he nearly didn't get to write home, because the sick one had to go to the hospital he was so sick. I don't think that missions are for everyone. If you come out as sick as he is, you actually hinder the lords work rather than progress it, because you hold back your companion.