15 Aug 2010

Hi family! The computer is dumb and just took like half my time away so I will try to type fast.

This week was awesome. I've always heard to "make it to Sunday and then it will go fast"
Completely true. I woke up Monday morning and suddenly it was Friday and Saturday again.

Speaking of Friday, Camille may have told you there were firetrucks and sirens and stuff at the MTC. It was Friday the 13th, and on my way to breakfast I saw everyone standing outside. Come to find out, the fire alarm had gone off. Sister Decker said she saw a jammed toaster and some black toast right before the alarm went off. I was irritated because I was hungry, and we were about to miss our teaching appointment. But, 45 min later we were able to go and eat, and the TA people said they'd made a mistake and ended up bumping us back an hour anyway, so it all worked out.

We had a fireside last night all about music. Three composers of hymns came in to speak about the hymns they have written. The final speaker was Newell Dayley, who Camille might remember, was one of the men that helped our Jazz Band when we did the MENC project. He wrote Lord, I Would Follow Thee. The two others were Thomas Durham and Stephen Jones. Most of the missionaries I could see were bored out of our minds, but us musicians were fascinated and had our hymnbooks out the whole time. Elder Cathcart (of another district. He will depart for Fort Worth tomorrow) and I were just eating up everything they said. He is a lot like me, except from AZ. He is a percussionist, loves music, and he played baseball in high school and is a big Diamondbacks and Padres fan. We have a very fun zone. Some missionaries left at 3am this morning to West Indies and South Africa. The South Africa missionaries are on a 36-hour journey to Cape Town. I do not envy them.

I am learning a lot here. We study as much in 15 min as normal people do at home in a week or two. We are cramming our brains full of teaching goodies, and learning how to concentrate on investigators' needs. We teach people, not lessons. I love it here. The Spirit is almost always very strong. Some days you just don't have it though, and you have a "stupor of thought" feeling all day. It's awful! I hope I have as few as possible days like that in the field.

I am glad everyone is doing well. My time is running out because the computer is dumb. I will handwrite again whatever else is left to say. I love all of you very, very much. Your support is awesome. Keep sending letters. The MTC is a wonderful place, but a very hard place to be, and letters are a huge morale boost.

Also, send my camera card so I can send pictures back with some explanations.

The Gospel is True, and God loves you all.

Elder La Follette