Excerpts from emails sent home.
To Greg:
Hey Dad! I miss you a lot. I remembered today when said a few weeks ago that I would miss whatever goofy thing I had just rolled my eyes about. I really do miss you. Thanks for your example to me, Mom, and the rest of the kids. I'm not sure if the talks given at the MTC are published or what. I would just google it since your'e allowed to do that back in St. George. Also I know you know the story and video of the current bush, but I felt impressed to ask the family to watch it with new eyes and really try to get something out of it through the Spirit one more time. I've seen it three times since arriving here. A thought that came to my mind after watching it was that we aren't always cut down like the bush until we allow ourselves to be. We taught a member lesson to a woman from Buenos Aires and it was much different than anything I've heard here haha. It will take some adjusting once I get out in the field. I really hope I have a good trainer. We have two teachers who we meet with regularly and there are a couple others that we see every now and then. Both of our regular teachers teach very well and with the spirit. The teacher who is with us the most is very happy and encouraging all the time. Thanks to you, and the fact that our whole district is going to Argentina, she arranged for a teacher who went to Buenos Aires to come in and teach us about the accent and now we are all speaking with it, more or less. I love you Dad. Also my companion Elder Asplund said that he knows an Elder in Cordoba and the old mission president allowed any uplifting music (including Disney songs). Please be generous with the songs you put on haha. I can always delete or simply not listen to a song if it ends up violating the rules. Thanks so much for all you do. Keep turning outward rather than inward. That was the principal council given in the devotional I recommended. Study Christ in the New Testament and look for the ways he reacts to different situations, like when he healed the guard's ear that Peter cut off after. Pray and read the scriptures. Also I realized that my patriarchal blessing says that I will come forth on the morning of the first resurrection as long as I am true and faithful. This is the same wording that Brother Tucker gave to me. He said to be faithful to my wife and true to my children. Thanks for your continual support and example.
To Mom:
Hi Mom! I miss you guys more than I ever thought I would. Also thank you so much for the package and note. It was really nice for me to see something from home. The hardest thing about the MTC is that I never get a second to breathe. Even on P-day I have to be hurrying from one thing to the next or it won't all get done. Despite my hard work, I still don't usually get done with all of the work and pre-class work they give us because nearly every second of every day is filled with one thing or another. I would stay up to do it, but that's not allowed either haha. I'm enjoying it though...
My testimony of the Book of Mormon and the temple and missionary work are all increasing. My companion [and I] are complete opposites. He has five older sister and one brother who are out of the house and one younger sister still with him and his parents. His favorite artist is Taylor Swift and he couldn't believe that I couldn't come up with a single One Direction song that I liked. I'm still adjusting to being with someone every minute of every day. I'm not even going to do this with my wife haha...I understand that I can be pretty stubborn when I think I am right so I try to back off when I sense an unimportant disagreement coming on. I'm also going to try to pay more attention to helping him learn Spanish rather than worrying so much about myself. I appreciate your letters. I've been thinking about both sets of grandparents and I'd like to think that they are urging me on as well. Please keep sending anything you feel prompted to share with me. I love you and Dad so much. Thank you for getting me to where I am as a person. I pray that our family will grow closer and closer every night.
There is a website called Dear Elder that can get me any letter you want to send within a day. I'm not 100% sure how it works but I'm pretty sure it's free and you just type it up on the website, submit it, and they deliver it to me on paper the next day. That would be helpful for long letters or talks or anecdotes because I have a very limited time to email and reading may or may not count towards that time depending on whether you ask me or my companion haha. His name is Elder Asplund. If you guys want to pray for him you can. I love you Mom.
To Matthew:
It sounds like you're having a fun time in school Matthew! That makes me so happy. Keep working hard. Always remember to be nice to Anna and Will and listen to Mom and Dad. Give lots of hugs! I love you bud
Love,
Spencer
