Feb 26, 2008

Hello again!

Well I haven't gotten your snail mail yet, so I can't comment on your crazy experience in Tampa, but it definitely doesn't sound like fun. I'm looking forward to the reportedly 20 hour flight down to Paraguay. That will be a fun experience I'm sure.

Has it really already been two weeks? The time is just flying by here. The days, like I said before, are the longest days of my life, but they go by pretty fast when you look back. But they're so long that each night when I sit down to write in my journal, I have to get out my planner and look over what we did that day.

We're learning so much its amazing! Its already hard for me to write in English, I have to sit and really think about each word, at least when it comes to words I know in spanigh, because if I'm not careful I start to write the spanish word. You won't notice it because of the backspace, but when I have to write with pen, my notes/letters are full of crossed out blotches.

Elder Legler and I (I tried to put up pictures, but I'm unable to connect a thumb drive to these computers) are doing great at teaching. On Saturdays we have our weekly "exam" on teaching, where people from the area come in and let us learning missionaries practice with them. We're only doing them in english these first couple weeks, but still, we're doing great. Our teacher/evaluator didn't have any negative feedback for us, so we got all pumped up after that experience. I absolutely love my teachers, Bro. Rasmussen, and especially Bro. Sanchez. I look up to him so much, and just pray that I can become the kind of person he is.

We also work in the Referral Center, the place where all the calls in North America for any TV ads or the pass along cards come in, and us missionaries are the employees for it. Yesterday was our first time really getting to use it, because the first time we went in it was all tutorial stuff. Anyways, you would never dream of how busy it gets... I had no idea just how many people responded to those things. They come in bursts, right after a commercial airs. And then the calls just back up so theres like 60-70 calls coming in at once. They have the option to hold or to leave their number and have us call back, so thats what most of them do. So we do a lot of out-calls, but those are fun too. We do most of our out-calls to make sure the people that called in 2-3 weeks ago got the free video or Bible or whatever it is they ordered got there and invite them to learn more. Its great experience because they're actual people and not just members pretending to be investigators.

The devotionals that are held every Sunday and Tuesday night are awesome. Each Sunday its someone from the higher up mission offices, and then on Tuesday its a General Authority of some sort, usually a member of the 70, but I hear Apostles come in fairly often as well. And Sunday nights are extra special, because they're "movie night." After the devotional we get to watch a choice of a number of church films, like "Mountain of the Lord," and what I watched this Sunday, which will make you quite jealous, "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration." Thats the one thats playing at the Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center. Its a great film, and I like getting to see the beginning this time.

The temple trip each Tuesday is great too, the Provo Temple is beautiful, as are all of the Houses of the Lord. Its definitely the period of the week that recharges you for the next week... We are all sooooo tired here, but its amazing.

Yo se que Jose Smith fue un profeta de Dios. Yo se que Dios vive, y es nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo se que Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador, y el profeta hoy es Thomas S. Monson. Yo se que el Libro de Mormon es verdadero, y es la palabra de Dios. Yo se que la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias es verdadera, y tiene el evengelio todo del Senor. En el nombre de Jesucristo, amen.

I love you all and hope that you're doing well!

Elder Dennis