1/21/12

iHola familia!

     This is our first chance to write since we’ve been here.  We’re normally allowed to write on p-days, but we don’t get one until Thursday (this past one didn’t count).  

     The days here are really long, but they tell me after your first Sunday it goes a lot faster.  I sure hope so.  My companion is great.  His name is Elder Johnston, he’s the brother of one of my RA’s at BYU.  He loves basketball, so we spend our gym time playing which is great.  He isn’t learning Spanish quite as fast, but he works hard, so it’s ok.

     We’ve already taught two lessons in only Spanish, both 45 min. long.  It’s really cool to see the gift of tongues in action.  The spirit really helps you understand and even speak when you need to.  It’s a little frustrating to have to struggle to learn the language, but my companion and I are focusing on patience.  One thing I really love that we do is the nightly planning.  We figure out our day and set goals for personal, companion, and language study, as well as for other things.

     The food here is decent, and it’s such a relief to just relax in the cafeteria that it seems even better.  We usually eat with our zone, and they’re fun people.  My district is pretty cool too.

     The sleep schedule has actually been really easy to adjust to, which was a surprise, but we are always tired.  Getting up is easy, staying awake is less easy.

     It’s cool to be around so many missionaries and I really am glad that I chose to come.  I love you all, Don’t forget to write!  iNos Vemos!

Love,

Elder West

P.S. It’s really cool to see how the scriptures and writing in our journals have become a refuge and break for us.