Mason's letter -- October 19, 2009

Hola familia!

How was everyone's week? Did Ky have any volleyball games? Did mom save any childrens' lives? Did dad...facebook while at work? Just kiddin on that last one.

Well this week was packed full of a ton of Spanish Spanish Spanish. Last Wednesday is the last time for 2 years that I taught in English. We start teaching in all Spanish this Wednesday! I am actually way excited about it. I wish we had just started teaching right from the start in Spanish. That's what would've happened if I would've been put in the intermediate class the first day. I never told you this but the guy gave me a little test and said "well I could put you in intermediate, but lets just do begginner." So whatever I guess it was for a reason haha.

So I've gotten pretty good at teaching the 1st lesson in Spanish. Everyone else in my district has made little scripts and stuff for their lesson but I wanted me and my companion to not do that so we could teach 100% by the spirit. So we just learned all the vocab and grammar rules and we just free style it everytime, saying what we feel we need to say. This might not be as grammatically good as everyone else's lessons. But, we think in the long run it will help to not just recite off some memorized spanish phrases...I mean that's why they changed it from the "discussions" to Preach My Gospel, right?

Anyway so my mind is about to explode from it all, but it feels good.

This week has been one of my best weeks here I think. First off on Tuesday E Anderson and E Rawson finally got to move down into our room. Me and E Jackson have basically been by ourselves since our roomate went home because his comp that lived with us would always just "sleep over" at his friend's apt. Haha. So he finally left and those 2 moved down. So it's been fun.

The TRC was also good this week. it was my last lesson in English so I wanted it to be just awesome. This week I've really concentrated on teaching with the spirit 100%, so I went in not thinking about what I was going to say or what scriptures I was going to use. Usually we have a set plan, but I've learned that the spiirit cannot teach if you have a set plan. So we just went in with a little outline. So the "investigators" started just throwing out tough questions and everytime I would have a prayer in my heart to find the answer and just about everytime I would thumb through the scriptures and find the perfect story and think of a perfect way to answer. We basically nailed it...well the spirit nailed it I guess.

It is kind of hard to teach by the spirit here because you know the people you are teaching are "fake" and not really investigating the church, so it's kind of hard to learn how to do that here. But I'm trying my best and I think I've learned a lot.

The RC wasn't as good as last week. we once again got some inappropriate chats and once again I got some black ladies from Georgia to yell at me. So all in all it was a solid experience. One lady I called from like Mississippi talked for like 15 min about her new Bible that is written in like ebonics or rap words so she can understand it. She even read to me out of it--very interesting. Anyway I tried to get her to take the BOM but whatever I would say she wouldn't accept. So she finally said that one day she will be ready for the Mormons and when that day comes she will call ME! Anyway it was interesting.. Her name was BUDDY BUDDY. Dont ask me why? I did end up placing 2 BOM's with missionaries though.

Not much else has happened. E Milligan got out of quarantine. Oh I've seen and talked to Brandon Davis a lot. He lives on my floor so we have talked a bunch. Word on the street is that an Apostle is coming tomorrow for our devotional, we think its Elder Oaks. so that could be cool.

Questions for mom: when you ever get around to sending another package could you send me my light light blue jeans.. You know the ones you think are ratty. I just miss those things. Also can I just wash my suit pants in the washer? I think they are the same as all my other pants from Kater Shop. Oh and by they way 2 pairs of my pants from the Kater Shop ripped a little, so I have to go get them mended this week. Hopefully that's not a sign that they won't last in Honduras.

Well we are over the hump here and going downhill in the MTC. The weeks just get faster and faster. Everyday my testimony grows and everyday I learn so much more. I cant wait to get out and start serving the Lord! I love to get to study the scriptures pretty much all day. I've never really appreciated them like I do now. I wish I would've realized how important they are in our lives.

I love this gospel so much and am so grateful to be a part of this amazing work. I'm amazed at how much the Lord has already sculpted me into the tool he wants me to be in His hands. I have a lot of work to do and a long ways to go however. But life is great. I love feeling satifyied at the end of the day knowing that this is where I am supposed to be and this is the path I am supposed to take. I hope I can become an efficient and successful missionary, and I will with the Lord's help. I can't do it without Him

I hope you all have great weeks and I love you all. Thanks for all your love and support.

Elder Mason Hanks Cardon