Letters from Argentina: Week 3 in the MTC

August 1, 2015

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the letters and packages. I have a lot of cookies and food and stuff in my dorm. Hopefully I don't gain weight. Actually, I take that back. Me and Elder Sivertsen go hard in the gym. We worked out super hard and are really sore today, but by the time I get back, I'll be ripped. Probably not. But I won't be fat.

This week was another really awesome week, I learned a lot. We were teaching a role play investigator named Gabriel. We invited him to be baptized and he said he was already baptized when he was a baby. He asked if his priest had the proper authority, and we tried to dance around that being baptized is great and all, and the priest had good intention, but the authority wasn't all the way there. Gabriel got out of character and started telling us in Spanish that at this moment, we needed to strictly say NO. I think he has had experiences and problems with proper baptism, and when he got back into character he asked us: Es mi baptizaur por el sacerdocio de Dios? and we both said "no." and he said, "gracias." It was a great learning experience that sometimes you need to be strict, because the gospel is straightforward.

One day this week, I think it was Wednesday, we had to teach 4 lessons. It was a great day! our spanish increased immensely that day, and hopefully that's the amount of lessons I'll teach per day in the field. For one of our lessons we had to share a 20 minute thought with a member in spanish. We told our guy when we got in there we're going to Mendoza and he looked really excited and stuff and we asked him why. He told us he is serving there... right now. He was there for 10 months but then hurt his hip and had to get surgery here. And while he recovers he's volunteering at the mtc. So eventually I could have him as a companion!!! But his spanish was beautiful... So after 8-10 months I'll hopefully be completely fluent like him.

I think my teaching is getting a lot better and spanish too. Sometimes I leave lessons feeling super great and sometimes I feel disappointed.. But I guess that is the point of the MTC.. to train you. But on Fridays (aka P-day Eve) we don't have any lessons, so it's a party. I mean.. fiesta, where we learn spanish.

I can't wait to get to Argentina. It's gonna be awesome. The guy we taught that is serving there showed us pictures of his district. there was one picture where they were cooking up a huge pile of meat on a griller. I want that now instead of the MTCs mushroom burgers that smell weird.

Jeff and Sheri sent me a package with a basketball hoop inside. We ball it up every time we get the chance. All the Elders in my room are going to Mendoza. they are: Elder Agyen and Parker, Me and Elder Sivertsen, and Elder Hakes and elder Neilson (not the one from my district, there are 2). We all get along pretty well. There is one elder in my district named elder Rickeberg. He's really funny. One day we were doing service by cleaning the bathrooms in 1M (the main building). He was cleaning some toilets in the women's bathroom and all of the sudden some Hermanas (sisters) came in. He said he panicked and just locked himself in the stall because he was embarrassed. We always bring that up because we were laughing so hard.

Hopefully you got my schedule with all the stuff I do (in the mail).

More and more missionaries come every week. There are so many, and it's PACKED all the time. Meals take forever sometimes to wait in line. but we just study some spanish while we're waiting. I see tons of people from Bingham every day, and every week I see more and more.

I have curb duty on August 5th. There's a chance I could host/escort Harrison &/or Tyler. That'd be pretty dope if I could. Tay: In that letter you sent me: Tyler is coming here on the 5th and going to New York as well..... What mission is Mitch going to? cause there's a good chance they could be companions if it's Utica. That'd be freakin nuts if they were companions. What's Mitchs last name again? I'll have to find tyler on the 5th to see what happened. You should send me a dear Elder on where Mitch is going exactly.

Tay: I'm glad you're safe after that close encounter on your way to work. haha the blessings are already working.

I hope you guys are having a good time in New York. Haha New York keeps coming up in this letter.

My district has adopted a bunch of days that we participate in. For example:

Sunday Punday: Say puns as much as possible

Swensday: We all wear our sweaters.

PT Friday: We all wear a purple tie. Its nuts.

There will probably be more in the future.

Becca: thanks for the letter. email me and we can discuss more next week!

Love, Elder Anderson