Familia!!!
So first of all I relized that saying bienvenidos is innappropriate considering that means nice to see you/welcome...but it's ok! So another week in la CCM has come and gone. Funny how the days blend together. The highlight of this week is that I was called to be the new District Leader this Monday. Life here is funny because literally we do the same thing every single day of the week. Lots of class, lots of study and lots of food.
First off the food is either getting better or I'm getting more used to how bad it is...Hopefully it's the first but I expect that it's more the last. So people ask if I've gained weight and the answer is technically yes. Three pounds. Not a big deal right? Right, my companion on the other hand loves the food and has since the first day (I don't know how) but he does and as a result has gained about 15 lbs! I mean you can't blame him because we never do anything that could prevent it. Last Thursday however, we ate at the temple. Let me tell you Temple cafeteria food is AMAZING compared to MTC cafeteria food! There is a high probability I'll eat there every Thursday from now on!
So mom I was happy to hear from you and to receive the package from you the answer to your question about my clothes is yes. I gave a bunch of things, especially sweatshirts, to Kenzie so I'm sorry I didn't let you know about that. I'm so excited for Spencer and for Peter I'll be a veteran by the time they get here the 18th of next month and will be super wise. It's a good learning experience but I feel for someone learning Chinese and being here for 3 months.
I'm glad things at home are going well and that everyone is healthy and doing well. The MTC is a small place with a lot of missionaries and due to the season there is a lot of sickness that spreads very quickly. Luckily I have been able to stay healthy and none of that has happened to me. Elder Irwin who was in our room however got it bad and was throwing up horribly Tuesday, the day before he was supposed to leave to his mission in Columbus. Tuesday night his companion gave him a blessing of healing and I got to stand in the circle. It was neat. I have never had the opportunity to stand in on a blessing. There is true power in the priesthood and it was a really neat thing to be able to be a part of that personally. There was no immediate miraculous healing but I know that he will be watched over and it helped strengthen my testimony of the power of the priesthood.
This week in our devotional the choir, myself, sang Away in a Manger. It was such a pretty song! It's fun to do the choir and to be involved in it even if it does just get me out of class;) The speaker on Tuesday was sister Elaine S. Dalton. She gave a wonderful talk on spiritual gifts and their importance in our lives. She spoke about the endowment and patriarchial blessings as gifts of the spirit and how they can help to guide our lves. Her talk was really wonderful and made me think about how sacred these gifts are and how we need to seek them.
So yes the spirit is strong here but I'm still a goofy 19 year old kid. For example Elder Hicks and I taped our noses up like pigs and walked around making fun of people so that was fun:) It's important to have fun with this I've found otherwise it's just miserable and as great as the scriptures are I'm not very good at reading it them for 2 hours at a time...
So in terms of Christmas, it doesn't feel like it here honestly. But I will not be calling and the post office will close on the 23rd so if you want to send me anything, and I know lots of people will;) it will need to be here before then. In all honesty Michael was right and I would love CD's. A walkman with some computer speakers or something would be FANTASTIC. But other than that just send some love and I'll be satisfied.
So in terms of new missionaries coming in I have seen Andy Christensen a bunch, Jake Peterson and Brad Beck are both on my floor. Also, my friend Justin Jeffries came in yesterday and is on my floor for studying. It's fun though I've made a lot of friends with kids from Bingham since Elder Hicks is like me and knows a hundred people here. Vince comes in next week though and I'm praying he gets put in our room because our two other elders leave this week so cross your fingers everyone.
On a sad note Elder Forrester and Elder Fiaui from our district left on Tuesday. It was sad cause they were both such good Elders and had become such good friends to all of us in the past month.
I'm glad that Elder Petersen likes me cause he's a good Elder and we get along really well despite our differences. He is funny and I'm glad he's my companion because he's helped me accelerate my Spanish and I've helped him come out of his shell a lot! It's good and we continue to teach pretty well. I luckily haven't said anything too stupid in any of our lessons yet so everyone keep your fingers crossed;)
Thank you mom and Kenzie for the packages this week I LOVE to receive packages and letters it is so freaking awesome. I love my brothers and sisters and have loved hearing from Jen and Kylan, Jayson and Julianne, and Jason and Courtney! I'm trying my hardest to write everyone back but sometimes it's hard cause we don't have a ton of time even on P-days! But know that I love to hear from everyone and feel so blessed to have so many examples to look up to.
Mom and Dad good luck with work this week. I love you both so much and pray for you every single night. I'm so thankful for the sacrifices that you are both making to help me be here right now! God Bless!!
Much Love,
Elder Andrew Hawks
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