Week 5: Last Week in the MTC

Hey Everyone!

Last week here in the MTC! I leave on Tuesday to Lima Norté! It's been so great here in the MTC. I've learned so much about the Gospel and a lot of Spanish. I used to think that when missionaries left the MTC that they were fluent in their language, haha not really how it works out. But!! I can speak a lot of Spanish. I am able to speak about the Gospel really well and can understand most of what people are saying, but for not Gospel related talk—I have a ways to go, haha. My teachers have been the best, their names are Hermano Valera and Gavancho. Hermano Valera speaks no English so the first week here was super tough but now that we can communicate, he is one of the funniest people I've met and a really great teacher. I'll send  pictures with them next week. 

New things that happened this week are we had KFC style chicken this week (with rice of course) and it was super good and reminded me of home. I finally lost in ping-pong here, it was a tough loss but I got over it. I ran out off all my American candy and they don't sell too many sunflower seeds down here as far as I'm aware so that is a bummer. It’s the last week with my companion Elder Perkins! He's super smart and very driven, he is going to be a great missionary. Earlier this week he said ¨If you're around someone 24/7 for 6 weeks you start to talk like them¨. Haha, I guess I talk a funny way. He's going to Lima North too so I'll probably see him from time to time. 

This week was awesome because I finished to Book of Mormon again!! I love reading the Book of Mormon. I am so sad I never took as much time to read it back home as I do now. It is just filled with plain and precious truths and so much to get out of it. I definitely know it's true and if I could give anyone advice back home it would be to take advantage of what a great gift it is for us and read it! Im very grateful for that God let it be translated through the Prophet Joseph Smith so that we can learn and grow from it! I hope to someday know and be able to quote the Scriptures and the Book of Mormon as much as I know "The Office" and am able to quote it! Haha. I also finished "Our Search for Happiness" by Elder Ballard and that is such a great book! It was definitely a testimony booster and such a well rounded book about the truthfulness of The Church. Sunday was also a great day like always. We watched a video about John Moyle who was a stonecutter for the SLC temple and he walked 22 miles each week to Salt Lake for 20 years to work on the Temple—it taught me a lot about diligence and enduring till the end. He said ¨callings are seldom convenient" and that’s true–sometimes being obedient and doing the right thing is hard but it is The Lord's work and so it is important that we give it our absolute best. 

Some great scriptures that I read this week are all of 3 Nephi!! But especially chapters 9, 11, 13, 18, 27, and 28, Ether 3, and 12 Moroni 7, 8 and 10. ALSO Elder Holland’s talk called "The Only Living God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent" is one of the best talks I’ve ever listend to! 10/10 would recommend!

Bye everyone!!

Elder Hale

Me and Elder Perkins lookin smug

View from our dorms. The vegetation on the mountain is a garden, so don't be fooled
to think this place is tropical. The mountains are all just big piles of dirt here, haha.

This HUGE bird landed on top of Angel Moroni today so I had to take a pic.