Week 2: Our First Baptism

What a week! Mexico is crazy and I still kind of can't believe that I'm actually here! I'm starting to adjust to things pretty well now, but it's still a lot to take in. But I'm loving it and trying my best to learn the language so I can actually talk to people. That's the hardest part about being here is not being able to communicate with anyone but my companions. I want to participate in the lessons and I usually know what they're saying, but I just don't have the words to reply. I'm learning a ton about how to be a good teacher by watching Elder West, he's really good! He has been assistant to the president for the last six months, so he's super excited to be back out teaching. 

We had our first baptism this last weekend! They have been investigators for a while, the rule is that they have to come to church five times before they can get baptized because of how many people were getting baptized and going inactive. It used to be two weeks before they could get baptized, but our ward only has about 30% attendance... So we focus a lot on reactivating. But on Saturday we baptized Christopher and Cindy! They're awesome and have a little son that's about 2 years old. Cindy asked me to baptize her and it was probably one of the most gratifying moments in my life right after she came up out of the water. She was someone that really needed the gospel, she has had an incredibly hard life and it's awesome to see her find peace in the gospel. After we came out of the font she broke down crying, it was one of the most touching things I have ever seen. I'm so grateful to have had the gospel my whole, and I'm so excited to be able to share it with people like Cindy. 

For the baptism Elder West, Elder Huefner and I sang a song and I played the piano. It was really nice being able to sit down at a piano again, I really miss that from back home. We did OK, but I'm sure it seemed great to everyone there, because seriously... everyone here is tone deaf... not even kidding. It's actually pretty funny in sacrament meeting, the first week there wasn't someone to play the piano, so everyone just sang the words with random notes and it sounded horrible. The bishop was up on the stand plugging his ears, it was really hard to hold back the laughing. Anyways, the mission president and his wife came to the baptism and she recorded our song when we practiced it before. She said that you can friend her on Facebook Mom and see it there. She said she also has a blog for our mission! Speaking of the mission president, he's awesome! He really cares about the missionaries and will do everything he can to serve us. After the baptism he took us out for tacos, let me tell you, you haven't had a taco until you've had one off the street in Mexico! I had 9 of them... and they aren't the smallest tacos ever... I bought a scale today to start tracking my weight. 

The other food that I need to be careful about not eating too much of is pan (bread) it's everywhere! and it isn't just plain bread, it's more like pastries. it's super cheap and there are people riding bikes full of pan everywhere selling it. It's super good, but I need to be careful not to eat too much of it or I'll come back a lot heavier than I came here. 

We did find someone in the ward that is a health food specialist! when we visited her I noticed her shelves stocked with different grains. I asked about it and she went off talking about everything. The funny thing is that even though it was in Spanish I knew pretty much exactly what she was talking about. It was all so familiar! I got super excited and convinced my companions to go on a month long diet of grains for breakfast! She's putting it all together for us and we start on Wednesday! I'm super excited! We'll see how my companions handle it. 

So... our bishop here is a bit crazy... Pretty much every single person that we visit who is inactive says they don't come because of the bishop... In church in sacrament meeting he starting chastising the ward for being wicked (these are the most humble people that I've ever met) and then he read D&C 121 16-21, which is where the lord is basically condemning the people that were persecuting Joseph Smith. It was... Interesting. But it just means we have a lot of work to do in helping people recognize why they really should come to church. 

On Sunday when we were walking out of a meal with a member a guy ran into me as I stepped out the door. After I recovered I apologized, it was then that I realized that he was totally drunk. He couldn't walk in a straight line for the life of him, he was trying really hard though. But I really shouldn't have been surprised. There are drunk people everywhere and it's pretty common to see people snorting cocaine. They all like to try speaking to us in English when they're drunk or high, but then we respond in Spanish, they get a confused look, and we keep walking. 

As I've been adjusting to the life of a missionary, and the life in Mexico, there's one major thing that I've started to realize. I can be an obedient missionary, follow all of the rules, study hard, serve, do all the missionary things that a missionary does and serve the Lord with all of my might and strength. But if I choose to serve him with all of my Heart, might, mind and strength, then he can truly make me an effective missionary. After all this is his work not mine, if I put myself in the Lords hands to do his work that's when I'll be able to truly do his work his way. And only when I put myself into his hands will he truly be able to help me progress and grow. In order for the Lord to work on us we must give ourselves up to him. He cannot work with that which he does not have. I see that as we teach people who are not willing to put their trust in God. When they withhold themselves from God, He cannot force his blessings upon them. We must act in faith, for it is after the trial of our faith that we shall know. The Lord isn't going to give us the blessings first to convert us, we must first go to him acting in faith. 

All in all it has been a great week! I'm learning and growing so much every day! This week seemed to fly by! I hope everyone is doing well back home! I can't wait to hear from you! Thank you for all of your support and love. I pray for you often. 

Love Elder Twede

christopher and cindy!

The taco stand! it was amazing!

from my roof

Week 1: I thought a lot happened in the MTC!

Oh man... I thought a lot happened in the MTC! It's crazy here! I still don't think that it has fully settled in that I'm in Mexico. Life is sooooo different. It's all very humbling. 

So on the plane flight over I sat with another missionary from my zone named Elder Parker. There was a Mexican lady that sat next to us and she could speak English. When she first said something to us in English Elder Parker and I looked at each other knowing that we were both thinking the same thing. I said a quick prayer and we started to get to know her and asked a ton of questions. We eventually started to talk about religion and found out that she was Catholic. I introduced who we were and started to talk about our beliefs. When I asked her if I could share a scripture from the Book of Mormon she quickly said ''no'' and there was a bit of silence after that... I then started to talk about why we were going to Mexico and how excited I was to share the gospel. As we continued to talk about how excited we were about dedicating two years of our lives to share the gospel she started to ask more questions. She kept saying that we were both so happy and seemed sincere about wanting to share the gospel not because we had to, but because we wanted to. We eventually got her to hold the book of Mormon, then we had her read the introduction, then a few scriptures. It was amazing to see how the Spirit guided the conversation and the obvious change that happened in her. At first she didn't want to have anything to do with the Book of Mormon, but when we told her that she could keep the book, she was thankful and kept asking if we were sure she could keep it. This experience sure got me excited to get into the mission field. 

When I landed in Mexico I quickly realized that it might be a while before I have another teaching experience like that because I really can't speak Spanish... It has been really hard not being able to communicate with anyone here. But I have a great trainer named Elder West and I'm still with my companion from the MTC Elder Huefner in a trio! Elder West leaves for home this December and speaks really good Spanish, sometimes it gets discouraging when we talks to us and both Elder Huefner and I sit with blank faces... But I continue to try my best to have faith that the Lord will provide a way for me to learn the language. Because I know I'm incapable of learning it on my own without his help. 

The living conditions here are crazy... It has been the most humbling experience to walk into some of these homes, if that's what you can call them. Some of them are more closets. One member that we visited brought us into his home which was just big enough to fit a bed and a tiny chair. He cleared his bed off and we taught him while sitting on his bed. I can't tell you how many times I've walked out of a home holding back tears because of their living conditions. Last night we visited a single mom with two daughters ages 13 and 9, they live on the second floor of a cinder block building with a tin roof. We threw little pebbles on their roof to knock. Their house was two rooms hardly furnished. When we sat down on their little couch and they pulled some chairs up to listen, I had to fight the tears back. I imagined my younger sisters living in those same conditions and I have never wanted to help and serve anyone that much before. I tried my best to convey that as I bore a simple testimony in Spanish. I really want to learn Spanish as fast as I can, because at that moment I couldn't tell them what I wanted... 

There are dogs everywhere! seriously. On the roofs, in the streets, under the cars... everywhere. It's pretty sad because they obviously don't have anyone to take care of them, most of them limp because they've been hit by a car or something. Oh yeah and the driving here is insane! Red lights are just suggestions that most people don't pay any notice to. Crossing the street is risky, but we do it a lot. 

I spoke in church on Sunday! I actually did alright I think. I spoke about prayer and how it can bless our lives. It was pretty simple, but that's all I could do in Spanish. The ward members that are active are amazing! They're all super nice and help out a lot! But there are only about 40 of them... We have a lot of work to do. Inactivity is a big problem here. 

We were visiting people with a member when a truck drove by selling batito de pollo (chicken feet) yep... I've had chicken feet already. It didn't taste bad, it was mostly the thought that almost made you throw up. The way you eat it is stick one of the toes in your mouth, it falls off at the joint, then you move it around in your mouth until all the flesh falls off, then you spit the bone out. Simple..... I'll have to do it again so I can get pictures. yippee…

Sorry that I don't really have a spiritual thought in this letter.. I just had a lot to talk about! I'll try to include something spiritual next week :) I love you all so much! Thank you for your support. Serving a mission truly is a honor, it's hard work and stressful at times, but it's worth it! I just can't wait until I can participate in the lessons more and teach. 

I love you,

Elder Twede

p.s. 

I do get dearelders here! So feel free to send as many of them as you want! That way you can be sure that I get what you send :)

studying by candle light because the power went out. I don't know why it looks bright outside... but it wasn't.

Up on my roof. oh and by the way. my area is called Santo Cruz Meyehualco. It's the very edge of the mission. I'm actually in Mexico city where I'm at. 

I don't take many pictures outside because I'm scared to take my camera out in public... but I did take this one on a bridge when no one else was around. 

Bringing our laundry back from a members house. we were lucky enough to find someone that has two washers! So we didn't have to do it by hand! but we still had to hang it out on our roof to dry.

MTC Week 5: "Describe Him to Me"

Wow! Only 4 days left in the MTC! I can't believe that it's almost over already! And it's basically only 3 days left because I have to leave at 3:30 in the morning on Monday. I hope that I'm ready to be out in the mission field. I really have no clue what to expect, my life is going to be so different next week. The MTC is all going to feel like a dream kind of like most of life did when I got dropped off here. 

I got my travel plans last Friday and I've been super excited to get out there since then! My desire to serve has grown so much since the first day I set foot on the MTC campus. The more I learn about Christ, the more I can't wait to go share the gospel with the people in Mexico. This week has been a great week! The language is really coming along; it's surprising how much you can learn in only 5 weeks when you have the spirit helping you! I've learned so much spiritual stuff that it would take all day to write it all... But I'll at least share one thing with you :)

As a missionary I do a lot of self-inspection and evaluating to see where I can improve and be a better missionary. This last Sunday we had the chance to watch The Testaments movie. While watching the movie I did a little self-evaluation on my desire to know Christ. The father in the movie that goes blind (played by Brother Macy), I believe his name was Helem or something like that, I love his example as a person who has a pure desire to know Christ. His faith was exceedingly strong and he's an example of what's said in 2 Nephi 25:26 "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ". Seeing his example of faith and his rejoicing in that which he could not see made me reflect on my own desire to know Christ. 

My favorite part of the movie is when Christ is among the Nephites and Helem can't see him because he's blind. As he stands by his son’s side, he pleads with him to describe Christ to him. I can't really describe exactly how I felt when I watched this part except for humbled. I'm given so much in life, yet do I have the same determination to know Christ? When Helem got as close as he could to Christ behind all the crowds he didn't stop and say "that's close enough." He still desired to know more. His plea to his son to describe Christ shows how he had a constant desire to come unto Christ. 

At this point in my life I am the closest to Christ I have ever been. But, like Helem, do I ask "describe him to me" even when some might say that I'm close enough? The only way we can come to know Christ is if we have a constant desire to seek him in our lives. 

I encourage everyone to never stop seeking Christ. Make it the priority in your life to know him. Have Helem's courage to act on your faith and gain that passion and desire never say that you have come close enough. 

I love this gospel and this work! Nothing else in this world can bring so much joy and peace in life. I can't wait to bring it to the people in Mexico! 

Elder Twede

This new camera is awesome by the way!

My classroom

That was quite the storm right before the BYU game!

I had to do it.. because it's just classic!

not really as good as Bryce's... but maybe if you cropped it it would look a little better :)

I try to eat healthy!

My district picture before our hair cuts. I'll have an after picture later today :)

MTC Week 4: I've loved this week! Trials and All

It's amazing how much can happen in one week! On Friday I flew to Vegas to sign for my visa, that was quite the adventure! I was supposed to be at the travel office at 4:30 in the morning, I woke up at 4:38... I have never changed so fast in my life! I was up, dressed and down at the office in 2 minutes. 10 of us Elders were shuttled to the airport and I flew for my first time! When we arrived we were picked up by an old guy that took us to the UNLV Institute where he then started to talk. And talk. And then talk some more... He started out by drawing a green arch on the white board, and then asked us to tell him what it was. After about 5 minutes of guessing, he told us in a disappointed voice that it was the fertile crescent. Seriously. It was just a green line. We were asked ridiculous questions like this one for the next 3 hours. He finally took us to the Mexican consulate where everything was in Spanish and I couldn't understand anything, that was an eye opener of what I'll be experiencing in only 11 days! After we signed for our visas we went back to the Institute where he continued to talk for another 3 hours. Over all it wasn't a bad day, but I probably wouldn't want to do it again..

On Sunday I had the privilege to say the closing prayer for the devotional! I've never said a prayer in front of over 3000 people! It was a very cool experience. I had to try very hard not to say anything in Spanish, it had been a while since I had prayed in English. Speaking of my Spanish, I'm finally really feeling like I'm starting to catch on! I can teach most of the lessons pretty well. I'm still very slow, but I get the words out eventually. Last night while sitting in class my teacher was speaking Spanish and I understood every single thing her was saying! And I didn't really have to translate it all into English in my head! It was one of the coolest moments I've experienced yet!

Yesterday on Wednesday my district was chosen to help host the new missionaries coming in. It brought back those vivid memories of the day when I got dropped off. I really enjoyed being able to be the first person that some of these Elders met at the MTC. It's funny how in only 4 weeks I feel like I've experienced so much and that these Elders seem so young, when in only 11 days I'm going to be the "youngest" one in the field. 

This has been an interesting week with my district. As district leader now, I've started to feel responsible for how the time is spent by the other Elders in my district. I've tried to be gentle in the way I tell them to stop playing with all the study time, but it has progressively gotten worse to the point where most of the Elders wouldn't ever study. After hosting yesterday the Elders met back at our rooms. We were supposed to hustle back to our class to teach a lesson, but they wanted to pretend that hosting was taking longer than it really was. It took me 30 minutes to get them out of their rooms and they dragged their feet the whole walk over to class... (30 minutes may not seem like a whole lot, but on a mission it sure is!) I was called a few things and one Elder even let me know how much he disliked me for always being a stick in the mud. (stick in the mud is nicer than what he actually said.) I was feeling pretty down when we got to class. We taught our lessons and our teacher Hermana Luna left us to do our personal study. Again nothing was accomplished during the time. That night when my other teacher Hermano Byrd came I pulled him aside to talk about what was going on and to ask for advice. This was the turning point in my day. As we discussed what was going on he reminded me that I'm a representative of Christ, as such, I'm going to experience some of the things that Christ did. Such as being disliked for trying to do what's right. Ultimately all I need to worry about is my standing with the Lord. I'm just grateful that Heavenly Father loves and trusts me enough to experience these things! Because I have already grown so much in just these short 4 weeks. I absolutely love the work that I'm doing here! The more I study the gospel, the more I realize how everything in it points to Christ. The more I understand about Christ, the more I want to serve him. It's a wonderful cycle :) 

Really the main thing that I've learned this week is that we don't live the gospel for the blessings, some people might and that's a good place to start. But we do it because we love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. In our Tuesday devotional one of the 70 spoke and he talked about how even the Savior asked his father if that bitter cup could be taken from him. But, out of his love for his father, he was willing to follow Gods will. Not because of the blessings that he would receive after, but because he loves his father. I've learned that if I teach principles, say the word of wisdom for example, by saying "if you follow this commandment, you will run and not be weary, walk and not faint." but what if they have health problems after. Will their faith and testimony be shaken because they didn't receive the blessings the way they wanted? It's possible. There's a reason that faith in Christ is the first principle of the gospel. When we have faith in Christ, we don't keep commandment just to receive the blessings. We keep them because we love him.

Overall I've loved this week! Trials and all :) Thank you for all of your support and letters! I ran into Saralee Dunster yesterday! I came this close to reaching out and giving her a hug... You'd think that after 4 weeks I would have that drilled into me by now.. I think it was just because I normally give my cousins hugs. But you can tell her family that she looked great and had a big smile on her face. 

Elder Twede

at the Vegas airport!

couldn't be happier to be a missionary!

My district with our teacher Hermana Vawdrey on her last day of teaching us

Hosting the new missionaries! such a great time!

MTC Week 3: I'm getting spoiled

Here at the MTC each day blurs together with the others because it's basically the same thing over and over. But I'm really starting to love it here! It's amazing how much you can learn when the spirit is present! I can understand a lot more Spanish than I can speak, but I'm still surprised at how much I can speak when I teach lessons. Really as far as writing about what happens here there isn't much. My schedule usually goes something like this. Breakfast at 7:00, An hour of personal study, an hour of language study, an hour of gym, lunch, 3 hours of class, an hour of additional study, dinner at 4:30, another hour of language study, another 3 hours of class, then I return to my room. As you can see, there's a lot of study time! But I'm sure everything I do now, I will be very grateful for once I get out into the field!

This last Sunday I was in for a surprise. I got called as district leader. It was similar to how they used to do it back with Brigham Young, where he would just call names in the meeting and tell them what their calling was in front of everyone. But basically all that it means is I get to go to some extra meetings on Sunday and pick up the mail every day.

On Tuesday we were privileged to hear another Apostle speak! Neil L. Anderson spoke at the Marriott center! It was really cool to have the chance to be in the same room as an Apostle again! I feel like I'm getting spoiled with already hearing two of the twelve speak. He talked about how important it is to love while doing the Lords work. One of my favorite quotes from his talk was "we sacrifice for the things we love, and we love the things that we sacrifice for." Being on a mission I have learned what I truly love in life. The Gospel comes first on that list, I truly love this work and I can't wait to get to Mexico to share it with the people there! My mission is a manifestation for my love of the Gospel.

My other favorite quote from that night was "blessings come after our trials." My last two weeks ring true to those words. My second week in the MTC may have been one of the hardest weeks of my life. Getting sick, feeling overwhelmed with the language, and feeling completely emotionally drained. I was facing some very difficult trials during that whole week. But I can't deny that because of those experiences the blessings have been pouring out this last week. I'm starting to recognize that in order to receive great blessings, we must endure great trials. It all comes back to the principle of opposition in all things.

Some exciting news! My visa came in! Guess where I have to go get it? Las Vegas. yep. I have to fly all the way down to Las Vegas tomorrow just to sign for my visa. But I'm actually pretty excited! It will be nice to do something different for a day, especially after doing the same thing over and over here. Plus it's going to be my first time flying! I just.. wish it could be some other place rather than Las Vegas... But I'll just count my blessings :)

Thank you for all of your support and love! I can feel your prayers and they are a great strength to me. I love you all and pray for you all back home every day. 

Love,

Elder Twede

Trying to figure out the order of the 8 dearelders I got that day

Elder Huefner and I played chess today. I barely won.

The corner desk is mine. I spend so much time sitting there.

My district from left to right. Elders Kurshaw, Rushton, Darcy, Huefner, Me, Bradshaw, Rolph.

You probably recognize this really well! Home sweet home.

MTC Week 2: Rely on Him

Where to start?...

So much can happen in a week on a mission! And I'm only at the MTC, I can only imagine what it will be like when I'm out in the field! I have learned some very valuable lessons this week. Things that I will probably being drawing from for the rest of my life. To start, I've been having a really difficult time with the language. For those that know me well, you would know that I don't like to do things in front of other people until I know that I can do it perfectly... It's the same reason I didn't say any words until I was 5 years old, and then one day I came out speaking complete sentences. Well, I've had to teach lessons in Spanish while here at the MTC and I don't know Spanish. You can imagine how I respond to that kind of situation... Lot's of stress... This leads to me getting really sick. On Monday I was getting so bad that my Spanish teacher sent me back to my room to sleep, I slept for 6 hours and had a pretty high fever. I was really worried that it was going to turn into strep throat again and that just made me stress even more. By Tuesday I was feeling a bit better and went to class, but I was still feeling over burdened with stress and was having a hard time focusing. I went in to teach a lesson to a new investigator and I couldn't think of any of the Spanish that I had prepared for the lesson and I came out feeling completely discouraged... I was feeling very hopeless and felt that I wouldn't ever be able to learn the language. Just when I started to hit bottom, and felt that I couldn't go on, the Lord knew I was ready to be taught the lesson that he had been preparing me for the whole week. My teacher started to pull companionships out to talk and see how we were doing. I talked about my struggles just a bit to make them known, but not admitting that really I didn't know if I was strong enough to move forward. My teacher then pulled out a scripture that I have no doubt was meant for me. Ether 12:27... It talks about how the Lord shows us our weaknesses and and if we humble ourselves he makes those weaknesses strong. I realized that I was still relying on my own strength to do this, and I am in no way strong enough to do this work on my own. The Lord had been humbling me so that I would see the need to rely on him throughout these next two years and for the rest of my life.

But that wasn't the end of it. 

That evening we had our Tuesday devotional and we had to go two hours early for choir. Now this choir director knows how to teach and he always weaves in an amazing spiritual message while we are practicing the song. In his little lesson he talked about we are here to help the Lord. This is his work, not ours. We are completely incapable of converting others on our own, we must constantly rely on the Lord to enable us with his power to do so. He then talked about the process of refining steel and how when the rocks are heated up and the metal is separated from the extra useless rock. It's the same concept for us. When our life gets heated up, we start to release those things that make life hard such as sins and things that hinder our ability to draw close to God. We in a sense, separate the good metal from the useless metal in our own lives. Again I was taught by the spirit in that moment of what I had been experiencing this past week was all for my benefit, and in the long run will make my experience as a missionary much more successful and enjoyable.

As for now, I'm doing much better! I still get stressed a bit.. but it's at a healthier level that drives me to work harder. I still have a bit of a cough, but that's the extent of my illness at this point. I continue to have a constant prayer in my heart for everyone at home. Your letters are a great support and strength to me and I look forward every day do hopefully receiving something in the mail. I love you all so much and can't thank you enough for your love and support while I'm on my mission! I know that this is where I need to be, no matter how hard it gets, I know that I can always rely on the Lord for strength. Sorry that I don't have many fun stories to tell, as far as things go in the MTC it's pretty much the same thing day in and day out. Hopefully once I get out in the field I'll have some fun stories about the adventures I have in Mexico :)

I love you all,

Elder Twede

MTC Week 2 Q&A

Well, no official email today from Elder Twede but he did send me a message in reply to a letter I sent recently.  He answered a list of questions I sent him so here they are.

      

I got your DearElder yesterday and you asked a few questions. So I'll just answer them right here :) 

I am in the old residence halls on the MTC campus, which I hear the new west campus has much nicer places... They say that have their own kitchens and a couch! They're like private apartments! But I'm still enjoying my place. 

I haven't found anything hidden in my room... I did look though. The other Elders in my district are making an MTC survival guide that they're going to leave behind in the room though!

Mi Companero es Elder Huefner. I think I wrote about him in one of my letters to the family... but it's hard to remember everything that I write... It could have been in something that I sent to Madi...

 I haven't had any dreams about being out in the field as a missionary yet... but I do dream about being in the MTC all the time.

No one has taught me a lesson randomly yet... I don't know if they really ever do that now? They have us teach the teachers a lot as they act as investigators, and they bring people in for us to teach. But I don't really see many missionaries teaching other missionaries... They probably do though; I'm just always inside...

I actually haven't completed all of the fundamentals in Preach My Gospel yet... for now it's mostly language study. Sometimes we'll practice teaching a lesson in English and it's soooo much easier! The Spanish has actually been kind of a struggle for me... I hope I can pick it up in 6 weeks! English speaking missionaries are only here for 11 days!

I do make my bed every morning.

I guess you could call it janitor duty... If you're referring to service time. 

I've played some 4 square, no soccer, mostly just basketball.

I don't know if I'll ever beat the push-up record...

I only have two tags and I haven't lost either one… Was that a common thing to happen to missionaries?

I'm not really sick of the food... but the food has made me sick... I was even trying to eat healthy! But I do love the wrap bar! I go to that every time that it's open. And that bar that you talked about that had Mexican food on it, My district always sits over by that. It isn't a Mexican bar; it's just leftovers from the last meal. But they do seem to always have rice.

Well that's all of them! I hope I answered the important one ;) Thanks for the letters though! I finally understand why they acted the way they did in the best two years movie when they got mail ;) kidding... well.. kinda.. ;) sometimes I do feel like Elder Van Pelt (or whatever his name is...) I got so much mail the first few days and no one else was getting any! One day I got 8 DearElders! It's crazy too because it just prints them all out together and adds the next one onto the other on the same page and continues on another page... so I have to piece them all together like a puzzle. 

Anyways…

I hope life at home isn't too crazy right now. As for life here, I guess the Spanish is coming along... It's hard to tell. But I do know more in these two weeks than I did during two years in high school for sure!  

I'm looking forward to your next letter!

Elder Twede