FIRST LETTER HOME

Dear Family:

I made it to the MTC (or CCM as it's called here)! Although no problems occurred on my travels, it was quite an adventure. I made it to Dallas comfortably well, then got some help from a member at the airport to find the next gate. When I got there I had to wait for about 1-1/2 hours before boarding, but it wasn't too bad because I had 4 other elders and one hermana to talk to.

There are 6 people total in my group here at the MTC. Me, my companero Elder Lancaster, Elder Pike, Elder Taylor, Elder Parry, and Hermana Hite. They are all really cool! We are all from Norte America. Out of the 37 missionaries that reported here today, we are the only 6 from the U.S. and so it makes it difficult to communicate with the other elders who ONLY speak Spanish. There are about 20 or so of the 50 residents of this MTC who can speak some English along with Spanish. I ran into Elder Thornton at lunch today. His Spanish sounds pretty good, so that gives me hope.

The plane ride here was a little cramped and I didn't get much sleep, but it made me realize how big the earth really is! 10-1/2 hours of one flight takes you a long way. We flew south over the Gulf of Mexico, then over Cancun, over Nicaragua, down the Pacific Coast of South America, and then east to Buenos Aires. Getting through customs was difficult with the little Spanish I knew, but I made it through all right.

My P-Day is Thursday so I'll be e-mailing on Thursday from 12:00-12:30 my time.

Elder Lancaster and I room with two missionaries who know absolutely no English. That will be an adventure this week trying to communicate.

It's very humid here. I felt it the second I got off the plane. I'm really excited to be here and I can't wait to start learning Spanish.

Love you all! Adios.

Love,
Elder Gardner

P.S. It's better if you send me letters through the pouch. Please help spread the word.