Week 2, in the MTC

It´s still going great Here in the CCM!! To answer your questions, Elder Olsen is from Washington, tri-cities area.  Before high school he lived in Virginia.  When we went to the temple, the session was in Spanish, which was kind of difficult, but it was still great!!!... And yes, I´m VERY glad I´m not driving in Mexico!!!!! Food in the CCM is pretty good.  The meat is really good, and so is the fruit, but the desserts are NEVER what they seem.  The other day they had what looked like vanilla pudding with an oreo in it.  Turns out the pudding was not vanilla flavored, but lime!!! It was really weird.  Also, like I said, I got to invite in all of the new missionaries, and Elder Isaac is actually in my zone too.  Ive found other people I have weird connections with too...like one of the guys from my student ward in Logan is here, and he was also in my institute class. He´s going to New York, Spanish speaking which is cool.  Most of the missionaries here are going stateside actually.  Everyone is either going stateside, to Mexico, or to Chile.  All the latinos are going to different places in Mexico, which is kind of funny.  Also, there is an Hermana who also arrived last week, and I came to find out that she was from Bentonville!!! I asked her about that, and we knew a whole bunch of the same people.  So that was pretty funny.  My branch president also has family who has been living in Bentonville for like 12 years.  He said he visits them regularly, so it´s weird to think that there were probably several times that we were both in Bentonville, years ago.  Thanks so much for keeping me updated on the family!!! sounds like everyone is doing great!!! Have a great week!

I´m also surprised at how well Spanish is coming along.  I haven´t learned anything yet that I didn´t already know, but I´m able to have basic conversations, where I was unable to form a sentence fast enough before.  All I can say, is that the Spirit definitely helps the missionaries.  Also, I gave my first blessing of comfort last week, which was a really cool experience.  I have learned so much this week that I didn´t know before, just from prayer to have personal strength, and realizing powerful things about myself, as well as realizing new things each day about the gospel.  Tomorrow Elder Olsen and I are teaching a real person which is awesome!!! It´s a member of the church who volunteers to take lessons from missionaries at the CCM.  Our lessons so far  have been our teachers pretending to be investigators, but it has still provided awesome experiences.  One of our last lessons was in the scenario of teaching a man who was only taking the lessons because his wife had cancer, and she wanted him to talk to the missionaries, because it would make her happy.  he did not believe in God or religion, but he said he would pray with his wife, and we felt the Spirit so strong, when I asked him about his love for his family, and he said he loved them with all his heart. I told him that God exists, and loves us more than he could ever imagine loving his wife or kids.  I know that God gives us the appropriate things to say, and that we can increase our own testimonies as we say what we are inspired to, in order to bring souls unto Christ.  The Spirit is so great here, and I love it every second.  some days are long, tedious, and discouraging, but prayer and scripture study really helps me to find solace, and I know God loves us and wants to bless us.. If we feel alone, and just want someone to talk to and love us, Heavenly Father is there with open arms.  All we have to do is ask for what we need.  i know so strongly that Christ died for all of us, and that everything in this Church is to bless our lives, because God loves us more than we could ever love anyone.  Love you guys, and talk to you soon! Have a great week!!!

- PJ