First Email!

Hola!! Como le va?? Estoy muy bien aqui al MTC!

So as you may be able to tell I am working on my Spanish. :) Form day uno my classes are completely in Spanish! But what better way to learn a language than by immersion?! My companion is Elder Roberts. He's a super chill Tongan guy! We've been able to get along very well with each other as well as with our other two roommates. 

The district I am in is also the bomb! (Can I say that as a missionary??) My teacher could not be any cooler! He really reminds me of a Spanish speaking- John Bytheway! He loves us a lot and we all love him back! We are his first district he has taught before but he could easily have been doing it his whole life! He wants to become a social worker and help abused and neglected kids. What a great example of how to use Christ like attributes in your life! He makes learning Espanol very, very fun.

I have been able to experience two actual missionary lessons and yes they had to be in Spanish. The 'investigator' was a teacher who played a Chilean woman with three kids. Ana Maria! The great thing about her character is that Chileans speak very slowly!! It is still somewhat deficil (difficult) to understand some of the things she is saying we did very well from my point of view! :D

Thus far I can pray and give my testimony is spanish, two great things to use in a discussion! I am continuing to learn more and use it in my daily conversations. The first day we were specifically told, 'If you can say it in Spanish, you are FORBIDDEN to say it in English!' And of course, that was told to us in Spanish. what great work i'm involved in!! 

I have loved my experience in the MTC so far and yes I do really enjoy the food! It is such a great experience to sit with 3000 Elders/Hermanas (Sisters) and sing 'Called to Serve' or 'Praise to the Man' together! We enjoyed a great devotional yesterday and a film of a talk Elder Holland gave at the MTC back when Gordon B. Hinckley was the Prophet. What a great speaker! If you thought Elder Holland got eccentric in General conference you have to see him speak at the MTC! Just a few quotes from him are:

"Salvation is not a cheap experience!"

"You are not at liberty to be disobedient! (As a missionary)"

"It is His work, so you have to do it His way!"

"Don't you dare waste these two years! You will never again get an opportunity exactly like this ever again in your life!"

"For these next two years you will be closer to what an Apostle of the Lord is like, as myself, then you ever will be again."

"Go and astonish somebody!"

- Elder Holland

Everyone felt so pumped for missionary work after that talk including myself! :D I have loved to see so many of my friends at the MTC and know that they are strong in the gospel and out here for the same reason as I am. They really stress the Missionary Purpose here. Mi Objectivo! Invite others to come unto Christ! With the spirit I know that I can 'astonish' someone as Alma the younger was astonished by an angel! I can speak with power and authority if I have the Holy Ghost with me. 'Obedience brings blessings' is a popular phrase here but one i like better is 'Obedience brings power!!'.

Yo se que Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo se que Jesuchristo es nuestro Slavador y Redentor. Yo se con todos mi corazon que ustedes pueden saber si ustedes pregunta Dios en el nombre de Jesuschristo.

I know this was a long letter but really this is shorter than what I could have written about my experience so far. My spanish is not even close to being good but I will continue to press forward! Don't look back when you have started pushing the plow! 

Yo amo a todos!

-Elder Vance