Week of April 6, 2010

Dear Family,

Just so everyone knows, I'm trying to send this letter to the house, teresa and Dad, but I think I have dad's email wrong because I keep getting it kicked back. This week was pretty awesome, because I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS! woohoo. I am leaving this coming monday the 12th of April. I report at 4:30 pm and we go to SLC airport. My first flight is at 7:49 PM, so I might have a chance to call you while I'm in the airport before I leave, but also I land in LAX at 8:44 PM and I have 3 hours in LAX before my next flight, so I might be able to call you then too. So be around the phone 4/12/2010 around 7 pm and around 9-11:30 pm. Yeah we are allowed to call from the airport. I'm gonna buy a calling card at the bookstore before I leave so I can call you. The next flight is from 11:55 PM to 5:40 AM and I land in San Salvador. I guess the mission president comes to pick you up, so You are supposed to try and make a really good impression on him when you first see him in the airport. Its really cool. I'm pretty sure I got my visa, ususally if they don't call you in to the travel office then that means you have it. I think I'm okay. The Mexico Elders seem to be having a lot of trouble right now getting visas, so they are all stressed out about it, and they have to keep going with groups to the consolate in SLC to get the visas approved. I guess I'm the flight leader for my group. I think its because they pick whoever has the most language experience, and then they go alphabetically lol. Almost all of the missionaries I have heard of going to El Salvador are beginners, so it should be interesting.

This is like our final week here, and our teachers are making us teach all week intead of having class. I think its way stupid. It wastes everyone elses study time to go find people to do mock lessons with. I really wish we could just have class lol. I don't mind teaching, but Its so hard to either keep the investigators focused on the lesson or to not get distracted because we are with friends. Bleah I dunno. I like teaching in the TRC and the TE which are like where you teach volunteers lessons, or you teach a teacher and recieve feedback. those are good, but this week is gonna be a long week lol.

I got your package! thanks for the stuff, especially the cadbury eggs, those are soooo good. I don't know if I'm gonna get through it all by the time I leave the MTC, but I can always just give it away. I should have enough room in my luggage for all my stuff. I'm pretty sure I will be cool, especially because they let you have a 30-40 lb carry on. Oh btw I got your button extenders, they work fine! sad thing is that they just got a new shipment in of them that same week at the bookstore, so I could have just bought them there lol. I have spent a lot of money at the bookstore getting things I need and stuff. Its cool. and we get 6 bucks a week to spend on whatever. I just got my hair cut today for my departure, so I'm pretty well set to go.

At this point we have taught basically all the lessons, but havent really focused on the commandments or laws and ordinances that much. We usually are teaching the first three lessons the most. There are a lot of things that we have learned from the TE. The teachers told us a lot of stuff about contacting people, inviting them to become baptised, working with distractions and stuff, Its pretty cool. We are finally getting pretty good at teaching in a trio. There are a lot of things that stink about it, but I definitely don't mind being around them, they are both awesome people. Speaking of which, I'm sending you a picture today of my companions and I in front of the temple on our one day of decent weather it seems like lol. I really hate this stupid email system. They lock you into 30 minutes and you have to get everything you want to write out in that time.

I'm really sorry to hear about brother Brackenbury, I will probably send a letter or something to them. They have had a lot of trials these last while. I feel really sorry for Brittney, if you guys see her or whatever let her know I send my support from El Salvador.

Oh yeah I did mess up last week about the not sending me a letter, I was just confused. Anyways I guess you want a spiritual story for the week, So I can just say that conference was really good, I took 29 pages of notes lol! granted it was in a 4x6 notebook, buts still I wrote a loooot of notes. It was really good, I likes all the talks by the first presidency, they were definitely the best. The one by Elder Rasband was interesting too. But yeah so the strongest I felt the spirit this week was in the TRC when we were teaching the plan of salvation, to an "investigator" who had recently devorced and lost his brother. The senario was taht he had started drinking to try and take away the pain of his situation. When we talk about the atonement and Alma 7 about Jesus Christ taking all of our pains and afflictions, it was a very spiritual moment. And I think the investigator was a little suprised, because many times the lessons in there are a little dry.

Funniest thing that happened this week was probably when Elder spencer was putting on his jacket in the lunchroom and accidentally touched a sister's butt to was walking up behind him. The look on her face was SOO funny hahahaha it was really alkward, so we left lol. That kind of thing happens every once in a while and It is just sooo funny.

Anyways, I'm almost out of time, and I want to write some other emails i think, so yeah I love you guys, and next letter you get will be from El Salvador!

-Elder DeVictoria.

Editor note: "I must not edit...I must not edit...I must not edit...." ;)