A view of part of the campus of the Missionary Training Center
Argentina's flag is just to the right of center in this pictureHello Everyone! You've asked a lot of questions, and a lot has happened this week, so I'm going to go ahead and just start answering the things I have been asked.
First of all, the 4 Dominican Republic elders in our district are leaving to go down to the MTC in the Dominican Republic tomorrow! That would have left my companionship as the entire district. But we just found out that we are being transferred to a new district with a good amount of elders. The new district kids are all going to Argentina, as well!
I love my old district so much and am really going to miss them. We met the new district and they seem nice, but I don't think we're going to be laughing as much. The elders seem like...Star Trek (Trekkie) type kids, which will be a little harder, but I'm sure we'll learn more, because they seem like they are very on-task people.
The new district will mean new everything: a new room, new teachers, people, classroom, schedule, everything! I'll take a picture of my old schedule for you, as well as my new schedule. The old schedule was for Spanish and Italian missionaries. The new schedule is for the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries. I'll also send you a picture of what a typical day on my planner looks like. (Get ready!) But until then, I'll just tell you briefly what happens: Wake up at 6:30, Breakfast is at 7:00. We have MDT (missionary directed training) until lunch at 11:30. Then we come back to class and have either class or MDT again (which can be like personal study time.) Then we go to dinner, come back and have MDT or class, and then go back to our residences, sleep, and repeat! Of course, it's more exciting than it sounds but basically that's what happens. An occasional fireside is thrown in here or there. (Mom's note: Don't worry, I know they have an hour for gym every day somewhere in the schedule! I think he is including it in the MDT.)
My comps (companions) are the bomb. (Mom's note for the grandparents: that is a good thing!) Someone asked me what all of our nicknames are, so here goes: mine is Elder Handsome (because it rhymes with my name), Elder Vanderholm is V-Holm, Elder Anderson is GQ (as in a GQ model), Elder Phillip's nickname is just his name, except we say it like the Argentinian's would, with the i's sounding like ee and with the two ll's making a soft j sound, "Pheejeeps." Elder Grollsky is Groll, Elder Wolff is Elder Lobo, and Elder Ward is just Elder Ward.
One funny thing my comps and I do is when we do a thing we call "companionship inventory", which means that a few times a week, we have a little couples therapy type of thing, in which you tell them how you feel, what you think about them, things we could work on, etc. And it's really quite funny, I'm not sure how it starts, but we all just end up laughing and screaming. Then the whole district comes into our room to get in on the fun. It's supposed to be more serious, so I wonder what the new district is going to think when they see us!
Another funny thing that has happened in my zone is when two elders had a gallon challenge, to see who could drink a whole gallon the fastest. Both of them ended up throwing up after only drinking about half a gallon. We have also had a few waterballoon attacks! I just love my zone.
I'm very excited for Thanksgiving this year, because President Jeffrey R. Holland is coming to speak to us. It should be a very spiritual holiday and I know there will be plenty of food.
We are at the beginning of Week 4 (the first Wed-Sunday counts as Week 1 even though it's not a full week.) We are moving along pretty well. Our teacher, Hermano Rousche, takes his job very seriously and doesn't like to get off task. But one day I said something funny and he almost fell out of his chair laughing. That is like a miracle! The joke would only make sense in the context of a long story he told us, so I won't tell it here. I am going to miss having him as a teacher, because he always gives such good lessons. When we move to the new district, he won't be our teacher anymore.
We have gone to the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) about 3 times now, and I've become a master at teaching the first lesson in English. And just as I have finally mastered it, they are now going to switch us to teaching the lesson all in Spanish! In fact, starting this Monday, all of our classes have been in all Spanish, with the occasional exception.
We just had 700 new missionaries come in to the MTC this past Wednesday. (The MTC can hold 4,200 missionaries.) It's fun that now I can call them "nuevos!" which is what everyone called out to us when we had first arrived. It means "newbies" as in "greenies."
Elizabeth Smart is here at the MTC, and she is going to Paris, France. She is very nice and I'm sure she is going to do an awesome job in France.
Every single day in the MTC is very spiritual. Last night was by far the home run of the most spiritual time I have ever experienced in my life. I won't go into detail, but everybody was crying. I know I have been telling you lots of little funny stories, but most of our time at the MTC is spent on the scriptures and learning and spiritual things.
I'm not sure if I told you yet, (I forget what I've already told you) but because of the fear of swine flu, we cannot shake hands, hug, or touch at all. It was a little awkward at first, but now it's normal. Every time we go to the TRC and we talk to real volunteers from the "outside", they always shake our hands and I feel like they're the weird ones, because they don't know the rules about hand shaking.
My estimated departure date is January 4. A week and a half ago, we met with the visa agent and she had us sign and fingerprint some documents. This means that our visas should be here now, or if not, they will be here very shortly because it takes about two weeks to get it after you sign/fingerprint.
Mom, I'm going to relay on to you some letters that I am hoping to have time to write to other people, and I don't have their addresses.
Don't worry because I have everything I need here. The MTC Bookstore has everything you could ever need, and they are very affordable, because they know we are all broke. I will hopefully be sending you some more pictures soon.
Love always,
Eric (Elder Hanson)
____________________________________________
First of all, the 4 Dominican Republic elders in our district are leaving to go down to the MTC in the Dominican Republic tomorrow! That would have left my companionship as the entire district. But we just found out that we are being transferred to a new district with a good amount of elders. The new district kids are all going to Argentina, as well!
I love my old district so much and am really going to miss them. We met the new district and they seem nice, but I don't think we're going to be laughing as much. The elders seem like...Star Trek (Trekkie) type kids, which will be a little harder, but I'm sure we'll learn more, because they seem like they are very on-task people.
The new district will mean new everything: a new room, new teachers, people, classroom, schedule, everything! I'll take a picture of my old schedule for you, as well as my new schedule. The old schedule was for Spanish and Italian missionaries. The new schedule is for the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries. I'll also send you a picture of what a typical day on my planner looks like. (Get ready!) But until then, I'll just tell you briefly what happens: Wake up at 6:30, Breakfast is at 7:00. We have MDT (missionary directed training) until lunch at 11:30. Then we come back to class and have either class or MDT again (which can be like personal study time.) Then we go to dinner, come back and have MDT or class, and then go back to our residences, sleep, and repeat! Of course, it's more exciting than it sounds but basically that's what happens. An occasional fireside is thrown in here or there. (Mom's note: Don't worry, I know they have an hour for gym every day somewhere in the schedule! I think he is including it in the MDT.)
My comps (companions) are the bomb. (Mom's note for the grandparents: that is a good thing!) Someone asked me what all of our nicknames are, so here goes: mine is Elder Handsome (because it rhymes with my name), Elder Vanderholm is V-Holm, Elder Anderson is GQ (as in a GQ model), Elder Phillip's nickname is just his name, except we say it like the Argentinian's would, with the i's sounding like ee and with the two ll's making a soft j sound, "Pheejeeps." Elder Grollsky is Groll, Elder Wolff is Elder Lobo, and Elder Ward is just Elder Ward.
One funny thing my comps and I do is when we do a thing we call "companionship inventory", which means that a few times a week, we have a little couples therapy type of thing, in which you tell them how you feel, what you think about them, things we could work on, etc. And it's really quite funny, I'm not sure how it starts, but we all just end up laughing and screaming. Then the whole district comes into our room to get in on the fun. It's supposed to be more serious, so I wonder what the new district is going to think when they see us!
Another funny thing that has happened in my zone is when two elders had a gallon challenge, to see who could drink a whole gallon the fastest. Both of them ended up throwing up after only drinking about half a gallon. We have also had a few waterballoon attacks! I just love my zone.
I'm very excited for Thanksgiving this year, because President Jeffrey R. Holland is coming to speak to us. It should be a very spiritual holiday and I know there will be plenty of food.
We are at the beginning of Week 4 (the first Wed-Sunday counts as Week 1 even though it's not a full week.) We are moving along pretty well. Our teacher, Hermano Rousche, takes his job very seriously and doesn't like to get off task. But one day I said something funny and he almost fell out of his chair laughing. That is like a miracle! The joke would only make sense in the context of a long story he told us, so I won't tell it here. I am going to miss having him as a teacher, because he always gives such good lessons. When we move to the new district, he won't be our teacher anymore.
We have gone to the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) about 3 times now, and I've become a master at teaching the first lesson in English. And just as I have finally mastered it, they are now going to switch us to teaching the lesson all in Spanish! In fact, starting this Monday, all of our classes have been in all Spanish, with the occasional exception.
We just had 700 new missionaries come in to the MTC this past Wednesday. (The MTC can hold 4,200 missionaries.) It's fun that now I can call them "nuevos!" which is what everyone called out to us when we had first arrived. It means "newbies" as in "greenies."
Elizabeth Smart is here at the MTC, and she is going to Paris, France. She is very nice and I'm sure she is going to do an awesome job in France.
Every single day in the MTC is very spiritual. Last night was by far the home run of the most spiritual time I have ever experienced in my life. I won't go into detail, but everybody was crying. I know I have been telling you lots of little funny stories, but most of our time at the MTC is spent on the scriptures and learning and spiritual things.
I'm not sure if I told you yet, (I forget what I've already told you) but because of the fear of swine flu, we cannot shake hands, hug, or touch at all. It was a little awkward at first, but now it's normal. Every time we go to the TRC and we talk to real volunteers from the "outside", they always shake our hands and I feel like they're the weird ones, because they don't know the rules about hand shaking.
My estimated departure date is January 4. A week and a half ago, we met with the visa agent and she had us sign and fingerprint some documents. This means that our visas should be here now, or if not, they will be here very shortly because it takes about two weeks to get it after you sign/fingerprint.
Mom, I'm going to relay on to you some letters that I am hoping to have time to write to other people, and I don't have their addresses.
Don't worry because I have everything I need here. The MTC Bookstore has everything you could ever need, and they are very affordable, because they know we are all broke. I will hopefully be sending you some more pictures soon.
Love always,
Eric (Elder Hanson)
____________________________________________
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