I'M HALFWAY THROUGH MY TIME AT THE MTC!

Hola everyone!!!

To Answer Mom's questions:

1. I´m still healthy and alive!!! I´ve been blessed from getting sick and have been able to remain healthy, optimistic and excited all the time (which sadly is a unique thing here these days, I don´t know why but a lot of missionaries here are having depression, homesickness, getting sick).

2. Yes, all of the North American missionaries are going to Uruguay. Every other group goes to each mission... For example: the district older than me leaves for Montevideo West on Tuesday, then my district leaves 3 weeks later for Montevideo, then the younger district leaves 3 weeks after that for Montevideo West, and the new group coming a week from today leaves for Montevideo 3 weeks after that, and so on.

3. My companions are Elder Lancaster (from Syracuse, Utah) and Elder Taylor (from South Haven, Mississippi), and we are getting along alright, but it´s hard at times because of how very different we all are.

4. I don´t start working on my Visa until the last week of my stay at the MTC(I think, but not sure... I haven´t heard anyone talk about it here, so I´m really not sure).

5. I believe I can send you my memory card if I tape it to the inside of my letter (and thanks again for the pictures and the corbata fea materials :)



This week has been the best one yet!!! Some fun things have happened here with this group of missionaries. I´ve really gotten the chance to become good friends with many of the Latino missionaries from this group (Elders Hurtado, Barrios, Rios, Arruas, Arancibias, Padilla, Quintero, Hermosilla, and about 5 others) They all know my name and invite me to sit with them at lunch and dinner every day. One of the Latino elders (Elder Hurtado) started calling me Apóstol (which means Apostle) and the ¨next general authority¨ and it caught on with the others too, so half of the Latino missionaries call me Apostle Gardner (I don´t know why, I think it might have to do with the fact that I´m smiling all the time).

I also had a really cool spiritual experience with one of the Latino elders here just yesterday... I noticed that Elder Hermosilla seemed down on himself and really depressed, so I talked to him after class yesterday and I felt impressed to encourage him, so I started talking to him and I said something in Spanish that I can´t exactly remember, all I remember is that I was all of a sudden speaking near flawless Spanish and bearing my testimony of how I knew he was called here for a special reason and he didn´t need to worry about his past but focus on what he needs to do here and what he has been called to do as a servant of the Lord. Next thing I know he´s in tears and starts telling me about his past and how he didn´t have the urge to serve a mission until just lately and how it´s been hard for him because his friends were calling him weird for wanting to serve a mission all of a sudden, that I had just said exactly what he needed to hear at that moment. I know that it wasn´t me who said those things it was the spirit, because with my level of Spanish I would have never been able to give advice and comfort someone on my own!

Proselitismo was awesome this week!!! We talked to more people in one day than any other proselitismo before. I felt the spirit very strongly and we have 3 teaching appointments (or in Spanish "citas") for next week. The one I see the most potential in is Hugo Arrondo, who is the father of a family we met on Saturday and started talking to him about the gospel. We found out that he has some LDS friends and that he didn´t know what church to believe because he didn´t know how to tell who was telling the truth, so we explained about the Holy Ghost and gave him a Book of Mormon and challenged him to read it and pray about it. He said he would and that we should come by next week to teach him more. Hopefully he´ll be home when we come by next time because he said he works most of the day.

I love my new area for proselitismo for these next 2 weeks and it is really beautiful here and the weather is great! Well, my time here is short and I must depart once again to resume my service to the Lord. Until next week!

Adios Familia y amigos.

P.S. I am sending a letter to Mason and Colin today so it will be there in about 5 days or so.