EMAIL 4/10/08

I LOVED reading your email!! You keep telling me I´m a great writer but I think I must have gotten that talent from you. Customs was not bad at all. we stood in line for probably 45 minutes or so, then we got up to a person behind a window, he looked at my passport and that was it. Pretty exciting huh. I´m glad you liked my letter from the plane. I never finished it because I emailed you about everything else, so I´m sorry it ended so abruptly. You guys are so fun to track my flight. I love that you did that. I´m excited to get my letters. I sent mine a week ago so i guess i will be getting yours by the next p-day. I´m glad it only takes about a week for the mail to get here.
I don´t know for sure when I will be leaving the MTC. So far the two groups who left here left on a Tuesday morning. So I´m guessing I´ll be leaving 3 weeks from last Tuesday. Pretty exciting huh? All I know is that I will be taking a train. As far as what I do from there I have no clue. Time is flying by. I´m so glad it´s going fast for everyone at home too. Everyone said the first couple months would drag for you guys, I´m so glad they aren't.
Tell Madi Bien Hecho on her publicity stuff. I remember when Bro. Ritchie said I had done a good job. I wanted to cry too. That made me feel so good! Tell her I´m so happy for her and proud of her. I flippin´miss that girl. I had a dream about her and it made me want one of her amazing hugs. I didn´t realize how much I´d miss my friend. I miss you all, but I´m really not homesick which is a blessing. The only time I do get homesick is when I say my prayers at night. Other than that i´ve been fine. Madi would be an amazing missionary. People would love her and they would listen to her because she would genuinely love them. The world would be blessed to have her.
I´m so excited that Maggie had her kittens. No more ornery pregnant lady walking around. How many did she have? What do they look like? You have to send me a picture! How does max feel about the kittens? Have you introduced them yet?
I´ll have to take some pictures today of the MTC area. It´s pretty cool. When I walk out of the MTC doors the temple is just to my left. Straight ahead of me there is a stake center, but it doesn't look like one. The MTC has everything in it. I think there are 7 floors. The 6th floor is the cafeteria. The 5th floor is the residence floor for both elders and sisters. There is a door in the middle that is locked. Elders on one side, sisters on the other. Actually the whole building is that way. The elders always use the stairs on their side and we always use the stairs on our side. The 4th floor is where all our classes are. I´m not sure what is on the 3rd, 2nd or 1st floors. I know there is a distribution center and there are also rooms for people who have traveled here to go to the temple. So we always see members walking around who have come up for a few days. I don´t think there is a visitors center unless it is in the MTC as well. I´m really not sure. I don't know where the Madrid president lives. He came to speak in sacrament meeting though. He seems pretty nice. The MTC president, President Hill, and his wife have a mini apartment room on the 6th floor of the MTC. I love him. He is soft spoken and very sweet. His wife is a sweetheart too.
Hermana lindley and I are getting along great. I really love being her companion. Our whole district gets along great. Much better than any other district I think. The Spanish is coming. I do much better at the park than I do in class. The spirit is a great help.
The park is so cool. It was even better this week. We talked to a lot of people again. There was one couple we talked to who looked very sharp and were very nice. If i remember right, they believed in God but not a specific religion, they might have been Catholic but I don't think so. We talked to them about the church a little bit. They kept saying the respected the church but weren´t interested. The husband brought up how there were many churches. And I was like, I know, There are many churches but which one is right? How can we know? Then my wonderful companion for the day, whom I actually really like, for some reason changed the subject. What? ...I don´t know! Perfect opportunity to testify about Joseph Smith. Well after 5 or 10 minutes of talking about families our conversation was kind of wrapping up so I just said, "Can I tell you about someone who is very important to me in my life?" They said yes so I told them about Joseph Smith. I gave them the first vision. I could feel the spirit and I think they could too. They weren´t too sure about Joseph seeing God and Jesus Christ but we left them with a pamphlet about the entire first lesson which is about the Restoration. I hope they read it. They were such nice people. I loved talking with them. We also talked to a lady with a big black lab. She was so nice and friendly. We tried to give her a Book of Mormon but she already had one. So we invited her to come listen to the prophet. all the members came to the stake center by the temple to watch so we told her where it was and that a prophet would be speaking that night and she said she would try to come. My favorite person I met was an old man in a wheel chair. His name was Senor Santa Maria. He was so nice. I loved him. I have to explain a little bit first. At 12:00 all the missionaries meet at a fountain and sing a few hymns. Then we all take the metro back to the MTC. Well after singing our hymns me and a couple elders were talking to a man who was learning English. He was a little long winded and everyone had to wait for us before they could leave. But we talked to him anyway and left him with a pamphlet and invited him to conference. Well on our way back through the park I said hello to this man in the wheel chair. He said hello back and started to speak with me. He told me a little about the park and was just so friendly. I told him i was a missionary and offered him a pamphlet about the restoration so he could learn more about the church. He said he already had one. So I pulled out my Book of Mormon. I told him a little about it and offered it to him. I told him it was a gift and I´m sure I testified about how it was important and would bless his life. He thanked me and he took it. I was so happy. For some reason he has been on my mind all week. I really hope he reads the Book of Mormon. Maybe the lord will bless me to see him again this Saturday so we can teach him some more. The teacher was a little annoyed at first because everyone had to wait for us, but when I told her we had given him a Book of Mormon and that he seemed happy about it, she was happy too. I had felt bad for making everyone wait, but after he took the Book of Mormon I decided sometimes, people can wait. For him to find the Savior is much more important than lunch time.
I love going to the park. This week my we are the oldest missionaries. We will be the Senior companions at the park. That should scare me but it doesn´t the lord has blessed me every time I´ve gone. Hermana Tolman who was my comp. at the park wrote in my journal that I was "fearless". I know that´s not true, But somehow at the park when I´m talking to people about the gospel she´s right. I´m not afraid. God answers my prayer for courage strength and boldness. I am so greatful for that miracle in my life. It´s amazing. It´s like that scripture in Timothy. For god has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power....
Well i´m running out of time again. Tell Brittney and Kim Congrats! I am so excited for them. Did I tell you Carson made me a card. I hung it up in my room. The one from Daniel is hanging up too. They are so cute. I am so excited Kim is having a girl. How fun for her.
Tell Tanner I bet he did great on His program. I wish I could have seen it. I miss him. He is such a great kid. Tell Dallin I´m super proud of him for winning his debate. He is so smart. I am so excited for him. Tell Hayley I love her and I miss her. I want to see pictures of her calif. trip. Tell Kade I love him and I´m proud of him.
I love you both so much thanks for being such a great example. I love you so much. Have a great week!
Love,
Morgan