Day 15

EL DON DE LANGUAS ES VERDADERA!

(THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS TRUE!)



Wow! What an experience today! It's so crazy how the Lord blesses us with such amazing gifts!  I love this Gospel and I'm grateful for my opportunity to serve!  I can also say that each day here, gets a little bit better! Today we had a pretty chill schedule. We didn't have to be in church clothes until 12 so it was super nice to be in gym clothes for half the day! We had personal study so I dove into the "Missionaries Purpose:Chapter 1"! I learned so much and it made me feel so proud!  I am truly called of God! I'm so excited to serve! I know there will be challenges along the way, but I am going to do my best to overcome them! I'm really thankful for you guys because I know you guys are "pushing" me when I feel like something is too hard to overcome! Something crazy happened today. We were having gym time and the gym was closed so we went to the field across the street so we could actually have some type of exercise.  We (me, Fewel, Whittier, and Lyman) were all playing Frisbee and E, Mulestein, Slighting and Thompson were playing soccer.  I was throwing the Frisbee when I see Mulestein collapse! I run over there to him and all the other people playing Frisbee follow me.  I go ask him if he was okay and he was almost in tears, shaking his head no and grabbing his knee.  A nurse runs over to him (who watches us so nobody gets injuries) and starts moving his leg and he is having trouble doing so.  Story goes; 6 months ago Elder Mulestein tore his ACL and got surgery for it then was cleared by the Surgeon that on the 6th of July, he is cleared to play sports.  Today, we think he re tore it and might have to go get surgery again. :(
If he gets surgery, he would probably not end up coming back out because he hasn't really enjoyed his experience so far.  So tonight we gave him a blessing as a district and blessed him that everything is okay.  Scary Stuff!  But something happy: I WAS BLESSED WITH THE GIFT OF TONGUES!
 We were teaching our "investigator" Reynaldo and it was our first "visit".  We began talking about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. We got like 2 minutes into the lesson where I just went off about Prophets and Families and how they both are blessings in great Spanish!  I don't even remember what I said.  The spirit was so strong! So Crazy!  I already see amazing miracles happening here! I love and miss you all!
Love, Elder Garfield

P.S.
The lesson ended up being 13 minutes with a 30 % contribution from E.

Day 14

THE GOSPEL ANSWERS PRAYERS!

 Today has been so wonderful to me! I love this work so much! I'm so grateful for my loving support back at home and my Dominicans waiting for me to leave, I even feel their prayers! I'd like to start off about today by saying without The Gospel, I'd hate to even THINK where I would be! I can feel great blessings raining upon me! I wouldn't be anywhere else (besides the D.R. :()!

Mom, I'm really upset that they don't want us to leave! I mean, the sooner we leave, the quicker we get to save some Dominicans! ;) I really can't wait to go! I already love those people! During scripture study today, I was pondering on the lessons in Preach My Gospel, and I ended up on the lesson about how God calls Prophets. I read Mosiah 8:13-18! Please read Mosiah 8:18! It's so powerful! I got so much missionary pride to know of the authority and power I posses! Really though, read it! It strengthened my testimony on Prophets and who they truly are! I'm a man called of God and I posses the strength and power to perform miracles! It's so crazy! I can be sure my testimony is strengthened even more than it already was! Even though some things are tough here (waking up reminds me of Coop, going to bed reminds me of Mom and Dad, reading my Scriptures reminds me of Braeden because The Scriptures are made of stories of men, all the Hermanas remind me of Kylie because they are just to darn cute and I want to hug them all, my district reminds me of Justin because they have all became such good friends (except E, he is getting better though) And even though they are now my good Friends they will still never take Justin's place <3 I love Justin, I really hope he can get out here soon, it will be so good, and finally, my branch president's wife reminds me of Jill because I fell in love with her right when she shook my hand!) My spiritual experience for today was we taught a new "mock investigator" today and I truly received the gift of tongues because not only did I say a sentence correctly, but with some speed! My "investigator" was impressed! Dad, my last letter (day 13) said I had problems recognizing The Spirit, well... I prayed for the gift of recognizing The Spirit and it came by the way of when I was teaching, I forgot what I was going to say then E picked up from there to the point that I could remember what the next part of the lesson was! You are so right when you say "when The Spirit shuts up, you shut up" Our lesson went fantastic by the way! Well I love and miss you all. Talk to you on P-day!

Love, Elder Garfield





Day 13

I HAVE BEEN HUMBLED!
My experiences today have shown me my areas of weakness and I am now determined to work hard on those things. I guess I'd like to start off with a subject kind of off topic but I have so many thoughts about not leaving the MTC (provo).  I really think they are going to make us stay the whole 6 weeks :(
It sucks because I want to feel the Dominican land beneath my feet. I want to breathe in that ocean air and feel the sun on my face. Another reason I want to leave this place is because Elder Sip flies out on Sunday and I'm worried I might die without him. I even began loving his companion (Elder Ebmeyer) Sip says that Ebmeyer is mine and his baby if we ever had a kid because he is tall and round like me, and freckled and fair like him. Tyler Jaros comes in and I'm going to be sure to take him under my wing because I envy the English speakers (so does everyone else in my district) Thanks you so much for the letters! I love reading how you guys are and how everything is going at home! You guys are my inspiration and I love my family so much! 2 things: Dad, that's crazy about the flooding! I can't believe that Cedar has got so much rain and it's good to know my DQ ladies still care about me! P.S. Taylor Davis wrote me! :) Keep sending motivational stories/quotes, they help!
Mom: Please continue to email and Dear Elder me, I love letters! Don't be mean to Reggie, he is just a chi-chi-wawa. Also mom, continue to pray but don't worry. When you worry, I worry! (you can still continue to say you miss me though, I enjoy that!) The reason I am humbled can be explained in 3 letters; TRC. Training Resource Center was my nightmare this last weekend. Real members of the local LDS church come and we teach them lessons... In Spanish! Most of them are fluent in Spanish and 1/2 are white so the other 1/2 is super intimidating! We taught a man and a woman, both for 20 mins! The first lesson went pretty horrible, we just testified the whole time about profetas (sorry, Spanish) He said we have wonderful testimonies but need to look people right in the eyes when we talk. (which is hard to do when you think about it in Spanish) The woman only knew Spanish... She said we brought The Spirit but need to get to the point quicker. When we were done, I was so inspired to teach the woman about a principle on families but it was too late! Dad, I need help recognizing The Spirit earlier, any hints! Well I'll prepare better for next we and miss you all! Buenos Noches!
Love, Elder Garfield!

P.S. Tell Coop, Braeden, Whit, and Kylie to either Dear Elder or email!! I forgot to share my experience yesterday (Sunday, 28th) Me and E taught our district and our branch presidents assistant a principle on The Book of Mormon. My testimony thrived and I ended up bawling about how amazing of a book it is. The assistant after said he loves my testimony and was grateful for it! So awesome! Love you!

Day 12

Mi Familia! I love you guys so much! I'm so thankful for you guys! Today makes me think of home cause I spend every Sunday with you guys but on the other hand, I get reminded every Sunday why I am here. I love this work! You guys are what I put in my head to help me work harder and to push me to learn more. I love what I am doing! I'm a representative of God and I'm so proud. One of my stress relievers (besides letters) is himnos (hymns). My district renamed themselves "Jesus es mi luz" it means "The Lord is my light or Jesus is my light". You guys know the song! Well it's been stuck in my head all week! It's honestly true! In times of darkness, Jesus is our light! And when I am feeling down, I always remember that line from that one hymn "we THINK our lot is HARD" IT'S SO TRUE! I know I'm doing hard things, some of the stuff I am doing is incomprehensible by most men but I have a solid foundation that this church is true! I've learned so much over the past week! We did our lessons in English and I KILLED it. I just need to learn Spanish! My last 3 dreams have been either about Dominican people or the D.R. itself. It excites me! I love how I got called to such a cool place! I couldn't think of anything better! I love this church! Tonight for our Sunday night film, we watched "Legacy". Although I've seen it before, I felt The Spirit so strongly and I felt like I needed to fulfill my "Legacy" and bring my Dominicans unto Christ. Homesickness usually only happens at bedtime and waking up. Please continue to email and send letters. I don't think they are letting the D.R. Missionaries out of this prison early :( I honestly think we are staying in Provo this whole time ;( I hate knowing that right after I leave here, I think I'm going to be so unprepared out there! I guess we will see. But I guess on P-day, E emailed his family and told them to meet him at the temple for the temple walk (SCREAMS DISOBEDIENCE) I was SO disappointed in him! Our zone leader kind of let him have it so I didn't say anything. I know, if you guys appeared at the Provo temple, I'd be so grateful to see you, but I have practiced almost EXACT OBEDIENCE so far, I don't plan on changing that. I've been so upset with him lately but I think there is a reason for it! When I worked at DQ, I'd get in the face of everyone who was lazy, and let them hear it! But since yelling and contention with your companion is a major sin, God gave me Elder E to learn acceptance. Although I still have a long way to go and I still want to punch him in the face everyday, if I can just take him for a couple more weeks, I can do it again on my mission. (Dad, I really hope we don't have the same situation with our crappy companions where I am E's companion again! I'd be very upset! 2 more things dad, thanks for helping me learn the concept of exact obedience! Finally, I guess there is a Sister B who works at the MTC, isn't that your weird companions last name?) Watching Legacy tonight almost brought a year to my eye (nothing new, I almost cry everyday) The Mormon's were fought against so harshly! It like disgusts me that the truest Gospel on this earth was fought against so bad! I think they fought it because if they didn't, they'd be converted too! My Spanish this week has gotten a tad better. I've learned and memorized a couple new words that will help me out in my teaching. I am dying to learn this language so bad! I put the team (me and E) on my back in our mock investigators lessons and we struggle but we get our point across. I don't think I'll get it all until I enter my country! But again, Legacy made me think a lot about how much people fought for and against this church. I've became very knowledgeable about so many church facts that I feel like if I would  have went English speaking, I would already have the whole state of Utah converted but I know I have so much more to learn! I found out today I will (hopefully) be able to watch October General Conference in D.R.! I don't know how quite to feel about it yet but I sure can't want to hear what The Prophet has to say about missionaries! I love my work and can't wait to leave prison (Provo MTC) and be with mi gente! (Remember, the "g" makes an "h" sound!) I love you all and am looking forward to talking to you in the airport! I miss you and tell Reggie, Deuce and the goats I miss them. Love you guys so much! Buenos Noches!
Love Elder Garfield

P.S. "I broke up with my ex-girl, here's her number...... psych! That's the wrong number!" I think I almost peed when remembering that. Hopefully you guys miss my weirdness just a little! I love you guys!

Day 11

Well I had a great day today! It seems as if everyday, I learn something new and exciting about the mission experience! I love that I am here to serve others and that knowledge hungers me to learn more ! We woke up at 6:15 as usual, (I've decided mornings here make me the most homesick because I wish I was waking up in my house, next to Coop :( ) and got ready in our church attire. We had early class after breakfast so it wasn't too enjoyable. We ate French toast sticks and they were quite good! We had class after where we practiced (in English) the restoration of The Gospel (the first 8 lessons) and I got great reviews on my teaching (now only if Spanish could come like my knowledge of P.M.G) After we had lunch and I ate a turkey bagel sandwich. So scrumptious! We had class right after (such a pain to go back and forth) where we drilled a lot of Spanish verbs. One of my problems here is I compare myself to the missionaries who picked up language fast so it sucks for me :( but I'll get it sooner or later! Oh p.s I got really upset today because I finally got to talk to Elder Dallin Murphey and he said he thinks they are going to keep us here for the whole 6 weeks. I just looked at him and said oh... It made me angry. I'm the only kid who has faith they are leaving. He had a reason to say it though because a Hermana who came in the same day as us tested up to the advanced Spanish and she is leaving on Wednesday of this week. (the 31st) I have mixed feelings about leaving here now. I want to get down there because once I'm down there, I don't have worries! But either way, Spanish will be difficult. I want to leave by next Sunday (The 4th) because that's when Elder Sip leaves :( I am starting to love my district here but would leave in a second if given the opportunity! Did Elijah get to email every week in the MTC? How is he doing now? Any new stories? I shared the one about his blessing to my district and they got so jealous! I want to see my Dominicans! I miss you guys so much and hopefully I leave soon so I can hear your wonderful voices again! I've gotten less and less homesick the last couple of days but that doesn't mean you guys can forget about me! ;) I love and miss you all! Buenos Dias! Elder Garfield

Day 10

FAMILIA,



Today has been a great day! We had so little to do it was nice to not feel rushed like always! We started the day at 6:15 as always! We got showered and got ready for the day! We went to breakfast where I had biscuits and sausage gravy (which is probably my favorite breakfast item here!) We had language study after breakfast which gets more difficult everyday but I can handle it. After language I had gym which is always something to look forward to when you spend so much time in a classroom! I played basketball with some kids going to play for BYU after their mission. (they are good!) We got back to our room then took another shower to get ready for study again. (It's a tiring rotation; study, gym, study) In class we learned more about the meaning of us being missionaries and what we have to look forward to with out investigators (I forgot how to spell that word unless that is right) We studied as a district and we did our best to learn more on Spanish sentence structure (It's super difficult) We went to lunch after 2 hours in the classroom! We had chicken sandwiches which were so dry. (DQ should cater to the MTC, I wouldn't mind a blizzard on occasions either) we returned to class after we got mail (Thanks for telling me about the calling card, I think I might purchase 1 tomorrow or Monday) we did Spanish vocab which is all said in Spanish so it's hard understanding sometimes. We met our new teacher for 2 weeks, Brother Beck from Morgan, UT (he says there are Garfields who live in Morgan!) He gave us tips about speaking our mission language better and he took out whole district aside and got to know us. He was very interested about my testimonies on family. He enjoyed that I cared so much about you guys and said it's the best thing for both me and you guys that I'm doing this and that made me super proud. Anyways that was my day but I have some other things to talk about. Is it bad that I want to get to the D.R. so bad? I am enjoying my experience here but I've daydreamed about my next 2 years down there and it never ceases to put a smile on my face. (Maybe because I think of Mom and Dad when I think of the Islands) I love my experiences here and can't wait for what my mission has to offer. I love you guys so much and I miss you tons!
Love, Elder Tyson Garfield

P.S. No word about my Visa or flight plan here :( I want to get down there soon!

Day 9

I can probably say this has been my best day at the MTC so far! I woke up at 6:15 but layed in bed until 6:30 because it was our P-day! I got showered and got back in my P.J.'s because it's a no church clothes day! After showering, we got breakfast and I ate a little because I ate a ton of food that you guys sent me in this wonderful care package! (really, I'm grateful for these snacks!) We went and did our laundry and I was so nervous! I asked like every one's opinion on what I should was things on and what I could dry with other things! But I was mostly excited for email! I was planning on emailing mom right at 8 because that would give her time to get ready for work! We were able to email back and forth which made me feel so much better! Plus I had like 10 emails from other family members! I really am beginning to be happy here! I got 3 letters today! 1 from you guys with my star (thanks so much for finding it!) 1 from your postcard from Durango! (wish I could've came with, looks fun!) and one from a certain sister Kelsey Dix.. :) I was so excited to get it! I showed it off to everyone in my district and they were so jealous! After mail I read PMG (Preach my Gospel) and a couple scriptures. It was so nice! Me and Elder Slighting (me and E went on companion splits so he could sleep) went on a walk and we talked a bunch! He is probably one of the top 3 kids in my district! He reminds me of like all my friends mixed into one! To bad he is going to Salta, Argentina! :( He makes me laugh so hard about stupid things and he is picking up Spanish so quickly. After out walk we went and told Elder Fewel (our district leader) to go get our Dear Elders (mail and Dear Elders come at different tines of the day.) He brought back 11 letters total. As he was looking through who they were for, his jaw dropped. He handed one to himself, two to Elder Ellerdsen and EIGHT to me! I got 11 letters today! Thank you guys so much for the support!! We studied our Spanish the rest of the night! Thanks for all the letters and keep them coming! I love and miss you guys so much! Can't wait to call you guys! Keep your phones close! -Elder Garfield

P.s. Homesickness is going away more and more each day but I'll never stop missing you guys! Love you all!

Day 8

Well, I can say today has been one of the best days yet! We woke up at 6:15 (as always) and got ready for the day! We went to breakfast and it was good as always! I love how I already am on a schedule already. I saw some of the future mission presidents which made me think of Sister Douglas who then makes me think of my mom.. I don't think I've still gotten over the homesickness.. Well today in class, me and E got 1 on 1 time with our teacher because me and him have been having troubles teaching out investigator! :( We got help and it was really nice to get tips on the good ways to teach. We had lunch and I ate some of the candy on the way there (the package of salty "snakes" you sent me) I look at that box everyday and just smile! Today we taught out investigator about how Joseph Smith restored The Gospel and we actually got him to understand most of what we were saying! Spanish is difficult but I am going to keep working hard! (I wish I didn't forget everything from Mrs. Duncan) I took a lot of pictures today with a couple of my friends and I saw Ryan Hulet! It made me so happy to see him! Nelson gets his flight plans tomorrow and flies out next Sunday :( I hope the same happens to me! I want to get down there already! And I want El Don de lenguas! (The gift of tongues) I also want a new companion... Dad, you know how you had that one companion in the MTC that you hated? I'm there right now. He is so lazy and he uses my success just to get him through the days. All the other companionship's in the district are learning Spanish 2X as fast as us. I know that when I get to the MTC, it will be harder but I will tell the MTC pres. I am not going to have him as my companion. Well I love you guys SO much. I miss you more and more everyday! I hope everything is great down there! Mom, if we leave sooner then expected, I am going to have The Mission President call you before I leave! I love you guys so much and miss you all!
Love, Elder Tyson Garfield

Day 7

1 WEEK!

 

It's actually gone by quite quickly! I hope that you guys are doing great! Today was so-so but better than most days! I still miss you all and I know that won't change so be sure to send letters and please keep sending prayers! I love you guys so much! Well today... me and Elder E woke up at 6:15 and we got showered and ready as usual. (It's becoming a routine already!) I started off my day by eating breakfast then recieving your snack package! I loved it! Thanks so much! I am in candy heaven here! We had class right after breakfast where we prepared our lesson that we were going to teach our investigator! We taught him about how The Scriptures contain Prophets who guide us! The Lesson went maso-menos (so-so or/ more or less) He asked about Joseph Smith and the best way I could answer him was he was an elect man of God and he had faith in God (let me remind you this was in Spanish!) I improve everyday with my Spanish! I have been hoping all day that I would get called to the traveling office to find out if we were leaving soon but nothing happened. Anyways, after our lesson, I got another package from Pam & Mike Smith (tell them thanks!) It was a box of Krispy Kreme dougnuts (muy delicioso) but please, I am good with food right now! Please continue to send packages if you want because they make me so happy to recieve them! We then went to our Tuesday Night Devotional (sorry, spanish ruins my spelling) We had all the missionaries from the west MTC and the main MTC in the Marriot Center! It was awesome! The topic was on how we need to be close to our companion (easier said then done...) and how e need to work until our time is done. I loved it! All I thought about wasw you guys and my Dominican people and how I'm so torn between missing home and so excited to finally get to serve! I email on Thursday and can't wait to talk to you guys! I love you so much! Love Elder Garfield

(p.s I've sent 3 letters before this one and I want to know if you've received them. Please Dear Elder me if you have recieved my past 3 letters! Plus, tell people to email me on MYLDSMAIL ONLY!! I need email adresses! I love you guys so much and I miss you! Talk to you soon!)

Day 6

THE SPIRIT IS REAL!!! Wow! Today has been a roller coaster! I'd like to thanks everyone back home for the prayers and PLEASE keep them coming! Today has been so amazing and so hard in just 16 hours. I guess I'll start out with the first couple of hours... Today's schedule is amazing! From 7-11 we got to be without church clothes! (I know, it's only been 6 days but church clothes get boring) We had breakfast at 7 and at 7:30, we got to do 1 1/2 of service in our building (which I love and it's only my first time...) After service it was gym time and I was so stoked because me and Elder Fewel played ball together and got to talk about life. Elder Fewel is honestly my best friend here (besides Elder Sip, Elder Le Beau, Elder Echohawk (forgot to tell you I saw him!), Sister Dawson, and Elder Alec (don't know his last name)) He brings The Spirit with him everywhere and knows so much Spanish. After gym, we had personal time and while Elder E slept(usual occurrence) I read the scriptures! Elder Le Beau told me that if I wanted to get over my homesickness, I needed to read in Genesis and about Lot and his wife. Elder Le Beau said that by being homesick, I am being Lot's wife. (p.s you need to read the story to understand) I thought it was pretty funny! So around 12 we started class and it began really great! We dove into out propose of being missionaries and we prepared out Spanish lesson about The Plan of Salvation for our "Investigator" I prepared my part of the lesson and wrote it down with bullet points (p.s I've been doing pretty well with Spanish that I can write some thing's in English, and say it in Spanish but I am still far away from being "good") We practiced Spanish for an hour and after class, we ate dinner and it was good as usual! We went back to class for more study time so I perfected my lesson. When we began teaching our "investigator", he asked "how do we know that the Plan of Salvation is true?" (en espanol) my mind went blank! I stumbled in saying through God and prayer then a light went off in my head and I said "El LIBRO DE MORMON!" He asked what that was and I said we will bring it tomorrow (we teach him everyday except Thursday (our P-day) and Sunday) We got him to commit to prayer to know our teachings were true. He actually said the closing prayer for us, it was so cool! After returning to the class, we went and got mail and I got your letter talking about the picture from Carolyn and how it was good to see me smiling. I started bawling in front of my district and they just looked at me. I just told them how much I've missed you and how hard this experience is. Mom, I'll be honest, my experience here has been 50/50. I've smiled, laughed, cried, and frowned about evenly. While I was crying, Elder Thompson came up and said "I feel the same way Elder." It made me feel better. Last night, we watched a film called the "Character of Christ" By David Bednar. IF you can find it, watch it! I promised myself after last night I would not worry about you guys at home... well it didn't last very long. To make me feel better, Elder Fewel made us watch "The Strength in Hope" (or something close to that) By President Uchtdorf. I started to cry even more (if you can find that talk, watch it too!) That talk was honestly what I was feeling this whole day. If I can hope to make it these next two years, God will make up the rest. I am hoping that these next couple of weeks will go by speedily! But after the video, we all just gathered around while I spilt my guys about this gospel. All the Elders said The Spirit was so present while I talked/cried. Mom, please write me as much as possible and please email me as many times as you can while you can! I could be leaving for the MTC in DR any day so stay close to your phones at like 4 a.m! I hope you get this before I leave! Please, do your best to keep your phone close so when I am able to call, you can talk to me! I will call you as much as possible while I can before I fly to DR. Mom, also please tell everyone to either use Dear Elder or my LDS mail because I can't use Gmail. Dad- Write me as much as possible too! I love you so much and I really miss you right now! Coop- Hope football is going great! Follow the example of your parents and write me! I have so many stories to tell you already! Kylie-I miss your hugs and kisses! I wish I could be hugging you everyday! B and Whit- Keep sending prayers, I can feel them! Please write me! I miss you guys and Paezlee! Rest of the family- Send prayers!; I need them :) Again, please don't send food, the Provo MTC provides enough but please send letters, Dear Elders, or emails to MYLDSMAIL! I love and miss you all. Mi testiomonio- yo se que el Evongelio es verdadero y Jose Smith es un profeta verdadero y yo se la iglesia de Jesucristo es verdadero. Yo se que las escriptorias es inspirado y El espiritu de Dios es en huestros corazones! El el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen! Tell everyone to email me their emails so I can email them back! Tell them to send as many as they can while I have it! Tell Justin I love him, I wish he was here to be a hooligan with me! Tell him to email me too!

Day 5

Today was probably the best day yet. You guys probably worried about me in my letters the past few days. I don't think I have done anything this hard ever.This doubles The Grand Canyon in difficulty! There are times where I think about going home but something keeps holding me back. I can honestly say I feel everyone's prayers and I am so grateful for all of the support. My homesickness hasn't really gone away but I'm learning to love this place. I love every one of my family members! Today...we had sacrament meeting at 7 and that was amazing! After, we had language study until 11 then we had priesthood meeting which was pretty awesome! (I was sad during both of these because it reminded me of my mom and dad) but we went back to get interviews from our Zone Leaders who are two companions going to Chile and leaving in 1 1/2 weeks. I bawled to them and asked if it gets any easier and they said yes. One of them suffered from homesickness pretty bad and he made me feel better by knowing that it can be better from here. My P-Day is Thursday so please give me a list of email addresses of the family after. After our Branch President taught our district a lesson about obedience on a mission and answered some of our questions. I asked him about Visas and he said it can come at any time (which sucks). (P.S. I have been living out of my suitcase because i don't want to unpack here) (P.S.S.Don't send food or candy, I have enough to eat here!:)) I was still pretty homesick after we talked to our Branch President so I just studied spanish. This is where my day got good! Some Hermana's (Sisters serving spanish missions)came in the room and asked us if we have any questions. Elder Mulestein (P.S. Everyone except me and E are going the the Argentina Salta mission)asked if it gets easier (meaning homesickness) from here? One of the sisters said "yes, I promise you after today, you will get a little homesick but you just need to lose yourself in the work". i know I've been told that before but it meant something to me today. I wasn't so scared of spanish after that! I was confident I was going to learn it sooner or later! After we talked with the Hermanas, we took our temple walk (we get to walk to the temple every Sunday at 2:30)and I think it was Heavenly Fathers way of showing me why I was here. I almost started crying because all I thought about was you guys but the spirit filled my heart and all I thought about was all of the Dominican people I was going to help and how much they need me. Another prayer of mine was answered because I saw Elder LeBeau (he told me you saw the picture of me and him and Alec), Elder Craven, Sister Dawson, and Elder Sip.(P.S. Elder Sip is my counselor here. He is honestly 1/2 of the reason I stayed). I almost started to cry when he ran up and hugged me. I already love my Dominican people already and I don't even know them yet. I've felt the spirit more in here more than ever today. I'm just bawling writing this letter in my room as Elder E sleeps (usual occurance) but Mom, as soon as you get this letter, email me and DearElder me your email so I know who to email. Dad, thanks for always having the priesthood. It means a lot to me now! Coop, keep working at football. Tough things are only making you stronger. Ky, you're such a strong sister and I hope you are a lot happier than me (you should have locked me in your closet! B and Whit and P, I hope you guys are great and I hope the baby is good! Mom, please email me or DearElder your address! I love you mommy and miss you so much! Pops, I miss your counsel and help in life, I love you so much! Coop, I miss you Bro! Love you! Ky, all my companions think you're a babe! Love you! B&W, stay strong and know I always love you! I will be emailing Thursday! Yo ustesec (?) amo! (I think that's how you say it!) Yo se que el evangelio es verdadero y yo se' Jose' Smith es un Profeta verdadero y estoy agradecido por mi familia! En el nobre de Jesu Cristo! Amen Love You Guys! (all over the pages of this letter were dried tear drops that he had labeled as such)

Day 4

Today was pretty tough. I kinda just wanted to cry the whole day. I miss my family so much. But I can see that my spanish is improving and I can tell the spirit is helping me. I woke up just like everyday and went to go eat breakfast. Right after breakfast, we had to go study for our lesson that we were teaching an hour later to an investigator. I was doing my best to get my spanish down and I felt so confident! WE got into the room where we were teaching the investigator (ps. if you havent got it yet, this investigator is actually a teacher and is acting like an investigator.) Our lesson didnt go very well. I forgot a lot of words on the spot. We got him to pray tonight so hopefully he felt something. WE had 4 hours of study time so I studied so much on spanish. After studying, we went to dinner. After dinner we had our gym time which was actually pretty fun. E was again tough to handle today and that just makes things harder for me. After we got back into our church clothes, we studied spanish as a district and that went great! I am hoping sunday is all its cracked up to be. I love you guys! Elder Garfield

Day 3

I think the best way to describe today is homesick. The only thing I have thought about today is the family. I am going to pray with all my heart tonight that tomorrow will be a better day. Elder E, my companion, has been tough to handle. I feel like he doesn't try hard enough to help me teach the lesson or to learn spanish anyways. About my day... I woke up at 6:15 and got showered and got ready. We ate breakfast and it was delicious! I loved it! We checked our mail after breakfast and I got the letter from my family and I loved it! It kinda broke my heart a little not to be with you guys but I have a duty now. I went to class and we had to get ready to teach our first investigator Rafael. We took all of our study time just to prepare the lesson. When time came, I got so nervous and I didn't know what to do. Me and E entered the class and began teaching and I froze. I forgot everything I wrote down. It sucked so bad. We teach Rafael again tomorrow so I am hoping we do better. I love this work and I'm so greatful to serve.

Day 2

Me and Elder E woke up at 6:15. I was actually up and ready to go at 6:45. We went to breakfast and ate, then went to class for 3 hours then went to another Mission seminar about people and our purpose. We then went back to class where we prepared for our lesson with our first investigator tomorrow! Me and E know a little bit and are hoping we have the spirit with us tomorrow to help us teach the lesson. Im writing after dinner and we ate fajitas! They were muy delicioso! We are about to have interviews by our branch president. Tonight we will decide who our District leader is and I'm pretty sure its Elder Fewel going to Argentina. He is 20 and really good at spanish! Well today has been a pretty great day so far. We just got back from meeting with our Branch President and he is so cool! His name is President Dittmer and we also found out who our District leader is! Elder Fewel ( i call him papa)is our Zone leader and Im glad! Im really missing home today but I'm going to pray that my homesickness will leave so i can serve my mission. Can't wait for my further adventures!

Day 1

Dear Mom and Dad, WOW! Thats all i can say. I love this place so much already. I have felt the spirit so much! I'll tell you about my day here and what has happened to me! So I arrived to the Provo MTC around 1 pm today. I was so nervous and it was all going so fast! My host took me to a couple places to grab some needed material and showed me to my dorm. Its just a small room with 2 bunk beds but its a humble abode for sure! We dropped all my luggage off and I was shown to my classroom! My teacher (who I dont remember his name) was speaking spanish as I walked in and other Elders were already there. I found out after I walked in that me and my companion are in a room full of people going to Argentina. My teacher then walked me and the other 2 Elders to the computer lab where we had to watch a movie about what we have to expect here at the MTC. When we finished, we went back to the classroom. After like 10 mins, my companion walked in! His name is Elder E. I was like "yay"! I was excited because I thought he knew spanish... I was wrong! After class, we went to the cafeteria to eat dinner where we had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes! It was delightful. I loved it! Me and Elder E had ice cream after and it was really good! After lunch we went to this thing called Wednesday Night experiences which was amazing. I loved it! They bring real investigators and we teach them as real missionaries! I met a kid named Elder Ford going to Seattle Washington and he was way cool! But back to WNE. These 3 investigators all had different problems in their life and we had to do our best to help them. I thought of awesome scriptures but didnt share. :( I forgot to say i saw Clayton and Austin Adams today! They look like real Missionaries! But after the experience thing, we went back to our clasrooms and met our zone leaders! They are cool people! Me and Elder E then went back to our rooms and now we are writing in our journals. Well im about to go to sleep! Hope everything is going great there! Love you so much! Love Elder Garfield

The Bigger Day

So we found out on Friday that Tysons visa hadn't made it here yet so he would be going to the Provo mtc. He was disappointed but when he realized he might get to see Sip he calmed right down. He got set apart on Monday night at 8 and we left on Tuesday the 16th to head to Provo. We went to dinner with Tom and Amber and Trey and went to Scheels to check it out. We stayed at the Sleep Inn in Provo. On Wednesday after breakfast at kneaders, we drove up to the Temple and took some pictures and visited until it was time for him to go. We dropped him off at the curb and none of us even cried. He was so excited to start and I told him I wouldn't cry. I am sure I will cry plenty in the next 2 years. We are so proud of him and cant wait for our first email.