Week 3: Last Week at Provo MTC

Hello there! It´s good to hear from you! And I hope the IB ceremony went well and everything. I am also upset that I didn´t receive the empanadas... I would have shared with my Argentine district elders! However I did pass along one of the alfajores to Elder Paxman. I sent it through to his mailbox so I don´t know how he enjoyed it, but I am sure he did. (By the way, the keyboard is in Spanish mode and for whatever reason can´t be switched back to English so please pardon the strange characters.)

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I just sent home a package with some stuff I didn´t need. I sent home some books, the tape recorder dad gave me and other things, so you can probably just throw the package in my closet and leave it there and it would be fine, unless dad wants his tape recorder :) Anyway, it cost me more money than I had, so I had to withdraw some money from the ATM, and therefore maybe if you could top off my emergency money? Thank you!

Also, concerning my travel plans, here they are!! I am flying with American Airlines, and I am thinking that I will call you while I´m in Dallas, so I don´t wake you up or anything. So it will probably be like 9 or 10 or so when I call you. I’ll be getting in the DR at about 9:20 their time. Also, to get to Puerto Rico I will leave the DR on Jan. 31 at 11:40 and arrive in San Juan at 12:53, so not a long flight! And I should be able to call you then too! However, my airport phone calls are limited to about 5 minutes, and NO LONGER than 10, so I won´t be able to talk for too long... :( sorry… but I will be able to talk!! :) I am also the travel leader for my group to PR (which is two other missionaries, and one Hermana), but I don´t know exactly what that means just yet.

I did receive your package with the presents, and I am excited to open them Sunday morning! Thank you so much. I will miss you very much that day, but I am excited to be here for Christmas, because the MTC President said that while it won´t be Pres. Monson, he guarantees we will recognize who is speaking to us at the MTC wide Sacrament Meeting! I am very excited for that, but I will be thinking about you and praying for you! Also, I got the newsletter, and it looks great mom!

On Christmas, I won´t be calling, but I will have some time to write you a letter, which I´ll probably mail off Monday before I leave. I will also mail my SD card that day, so when you mail it back you´ll have to mail it to me in the DR.

It´s kind of strange to think about leaving, because being still in Utah, I haven´t really left home, so it will be strange to leave.. and once I leave I will be out of the country for just under two years! It will be strange, but I´m excited for a new challenge!

For Christmas also, I hope you all enjoy your presents, and let me know how it all goes! I´m sad I won´t be there on Christmas Eve, but I know I´m where I am supposed to be. Oh and one more thing, I got myself some cool looking Spanish scripture cases made in Guatemala, and I will send you home some pictures of them on my SD card. So consider that my Christmas present to myself :)

Now speaking of my investigators and the work here, Elder Kerr and I really kind of had a breakthrough with Juana. The Spirit testified of our message, and she said herself that she wanted and needed to pray about our message and about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. It was incredible! She even offered the closing prayer of our last lesson, which was the Plan of Salvation. It was wonderful! I was actually speechless after the lesson. Our other investigator, BJ, is kind of progressing, but not as much as we would like. We teach him tonight so hopefully we´ll be able to make some progress. We feel like he really wants to know, but doesn´t want to try. I think we are close.

I am learning so much here and the language is coming along pretty well. I can teach lessons alright, testify, and pray in Spanish now, so that´s pretty exciting. I hope to keep progressing! Spiritually, I have been learning a lot and I feel like my testimony has grown so much. We have some stellar teachers and they are so great.

Oh, and on a side note, I saw Elder Ulrich and we talked for a while. Turns out, he lives on the bottom floor of my building!! It was pretty cool.

Anyway, it´s good to talk to you, as always, and it is great to hear from you. You´ll have to let me know how the NBA season goes once it starts, and has BYU already played their bowl game? Anyway, you guys are the greatest, and while I do miss you, I am really enjoying it here and I have really settled in here. I love you all so much! Thanks for your support and for your prayers. I hope all is well for you and I look forward to talking to you, albeit for a few minutes, on Tuesday!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Gardner

P.S. If you could send me the address to Clearfield High, I´d like to send a postcard or something to Mrs. Ellis and a couple other teachers. Thanks so much! Love you all!

Week 2: Still in Provo

Well I got all your wonderful emails, and thank you! It's so good to hear back from you and hear all about what's going on back home.
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Anyway, I don't have much time to write or anything (just 20 minutes now!) so I can't quite address everything you wrote to me, but just know that I really love reading all about your lives and I think the newsletter looks great! Maybe send me one just because :)
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Anyway, on to my points. First off, pictures. Here in the MTC I can't upload pictures onto emails, so I can't email any home to you, so I have a couple options for ya. 1. I can mail home my SD card, and you can take all the pictures off and then mail it back. I have others so we can kind of rotate that way. 2. I can print off some pictures in the MTC bookstore and just mail those home to you. Just mail me a little card or something to let me know what you prefer. I hope to have better luck in the field!
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And once again, thank you for the Oreos and the other items I requested :) And I will watch for the next package! Thank you!

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Also, I forget when the IB ceremony thing was. Was it the 9th or the 19th? Either way, tell me how that goes next time, I'd like to know when you get my hard-earned diploma!!

If you are going to be sending any packages for Christmas, be sure that they will get here before the 23rd. The MTC won't be accepting any local packages after that time, and I'm pretty sure you guys qualify as local. :)

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Also, I'm very upset as well that I won't be able to call on Christmas, but like I said on the card, my departure date looks like it will be the 27th, so as far as I know I should be able to call then. If any different, I'll let you know, but as far as I know I should be able to call before flying out. And don't worry about the jacket, I'll be fine. :) I grew up in Utah so this is nothing!

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Another thing, I was walking down one of the hallways here and saw a picture of Pres. Barney as one of the past MTC Presidents! I had no idea that he was once an MTC Pres. That was really cool to see.

This past Tuesday night we were privileged to hear from Sis. Elaine S. Dalton, the General Young Women's President! That was a real treat, and she talked about having a "different kind of Christmas." It will be one of asking for Spiritual Gifts rather than real gifts. It was a great talk!

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Elder Kerr and I have picked up two new "investigators", Juana and BJ. They are just our teachers, but we've been promised that as long as we treat the role playing the right way, miracles can still happen. I think we're really progressing in teaching, and in both our first lessons with them, we were able to extend the invitation to baptism as well as leave them with the Book of Mormon and a pamphlet on the Restoration. It's a really cool learning experience and I really enjoy teaching. It's probably the best time out of the long hours in the classroom. (On a side note, Dad, what buildings were your dorms and classes? Mine are 6M and 7M respectively).
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Over the past few days I've also gotten to see Elders Paxman, Ulrich, Snow, and Durbano! It's so good to see them, and I was happy to welcome Ian and Drew to the MTC. I see Jonny Snow all over the place, which is pretty funny. In fact, I saw him just this morning at the temple! Sadly, today was my last day at the Provo temple until I return home, because it will be closed until next year, at which time I'll be happily in the DR.
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In all, I am glad to hear that you are all doing well. I love and miss you all, but I am happy here. You are the very best family and I wish you the very best! Enjoy the Christmas season and know that you are in my prayers every day.

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Con mucho amor,

Elder Gardner

P.S. I was sick for the past few days with a cold. No fun. But I'm doing better :) Love you!