Getting used to the new district

With the (old) district

Hola familia!

Hey everyone, I'm having a great time at the MTC. We're in the new district now, and we have changed rooms and everything. We are now on the third floor, which means going up and down the stairs about ten times a day! Someone asked me about the bunk beds. I am in the bottom bunk and Elder Anderson is up top. Here are the names of the elders in my new district: Elder Moncur (District Leader), Elder Carr, Elder Luze, Elder Davenport, Elder Taylor, and then of course the original four (me, Anderson, Vanderholm and Wolff.) My new district is not as fun as my own (old) district and they don't have the same sense of humor. Just the same, I love my new district because they are very nice! Very nice so they're cool.

My new teachers are Hermano Hadley, who went to Uruguay on his mission, and Hermana Allen, who went to Florida. I miss my old teachers a lot, but our new teachers are still good. Both are very spiritual teachers, although Hadley is my favorite because he's a very powerful teacher and can explain a lot of deep things. Allen is my favorite teacher for the language, though. She is also a teacher at BYU for English and Spanish, so she knows the languages and grammar VERY well, so she can explain it really good!

The Spanish is still going great, although it seems the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know! I'm also learning as much English as I am Spanish, because although I know how to speak English, I don't know the reasons why I speak that way! In other words, I'm learning all the grammar terms and rules in English, so I can translate them over to Spanish. Dad, what did you find as an effective way to learn Spanish on your mission? A lot of our learning is during personal study time, so I'd like your suggestions on systems that worked well for you so I can give it a try.

The "dearelder.com" site's printer was broken from Monday or Tuesday until today, Friday! As a result, I am now getting tons of letters you wrote/sent days ago. My whole district was sad every day about getting no mail, but we knew something was wrong because NOBODY was getting any mail. I might even get more letters later, because they got so backed up, and are catching up now.

I want to thank everyone for everything you are sending me. Mom and Dad, I got the package you sent and everything was great and much appreciated. I even took a picture of all the treats! They were wonderful and I enjoyed them for a long time. Thank you to Nana and Papa, also, for sending me a letter and the care package! The food was delicious, and none of it was damaged when it arrived. I still have some Oreo's I'm saving. Thank you, Aunt DeRonda and Uncle Brett for the care package. I know I loved the Krispy Kreme and so did my whole district! I love getting packages and hearing from you all! Tell Holly and Scott that I said thank you for the letters, and please tell the Hubers that I say thank you for taking the time to write me and send the Christmas card, and tell Mike that of all the missionaries here, the Argentinian elders are by far the best missionaries! Also, tell Ben Driggs I said thank you for writing me and filling me in on what's going on in Aspen Hills Ward. Tell him I'm doing well and am in the "this is awesome camp!" (He'll know what I mean.) Also, tell Cameron I got his letter as well, and that I wish him well! And Aunt Stacey, too! I know that I am forgetting to thank some people, and I really do apologize for it, but believe me, every piece of mail or package I have ever gotten gives me great joy!

And rest assured, all your packages and letters are getting to me. Just as a reminder, my new address is "MTC Mailbox #216." Everything else about the address stays the same. Do not worry, however, if you have sent me some things to #151. It gets redirected to me. The MTC staff knows and understands transfers, so I will still get all your mail even if you've accidentally sent it to the wrong mailbox. In fact, I've gotten a few letters that were just addressed to the MTC without any mailbox.

There are a few things I would like you to send me if you can. I need more stamps and envelopes, and I would really like some balls, like the racquet-ball type of ball or like the "wall ball" type. Just a simple 3-pack would make me very happy!

The MTC is a very spiritual place as I've mentioned before, but especially the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) and the RC (Reference Center.) Yesterday we contacted the investigator ( it is a teacher pretending to be an investigator so that we can practice) for 20 minutes in Spanish, and then taught the second lesson (Plan of Salvation) for 40-ish minutes in English. This was our last lesson that we will give in English, because the next lesson will be the first lesson in Spanish! During the lesson we taught yesterday, our pretend investigator asked a lot of questions, so rather than just teaching the lesson, we helped address her concerns. In fact, we didn't even get to the lesson, but we answered all her questions very well. She tried to stump us by asking all the hard questions, which really aren't hard, but most people have just never taken the time to study them out and find the answer.

I've done well in the RC also, and helped a lot of people with their questions, and have sent the missionaries to visit and also sent out DVD's and Book of Mormons to many people. Next week I think we might starting taking chats and calls in Spanish, which means I probably will regress a bit on all my success!

Today we went to the temple and I did sealings with my companion. It was awesome.

The MTC is looking very Christmasy. The decorations are very nice and pretty much every tree is decorated with lights and all kinds of things. It's kind of like Temple Square, with tons of lights and a manger scene, and they keep adding to it daily!

I'm glad to hear that Thanksgiving went well for everyone. You asked me some of the things I needed and/or wanted for Christmas, and honestly, all I really want is to keep hearing from all of you! I hope everyone is having a great holiday season, and I wish you all the best!

Please send any family pictures you may have. Know that I love you both and I appreciate all you do for me, have done, and will do. I love you and look forward to hearing from your daily letters.

Love, Eric

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