August 20, 2013

Thanks for the pictures!  The MTC is going okay right now. I am recovering from having a cold/flu this weekend which was pretty miserable, but I got through it. I lost my voice on Sunday and got it back Monday, but had other symptoms throughout the rest of yesterday. I did get your package! Thanks for the food and pants! I needed the pants b/c I went to put on a pair of pants last week and found out that they were way too small. i don't know how they got in there, but  they did. This last week has been pretty interesting. Last Tuesday night, Richard G. Scott gave a devotional about how to pray and it was really good. He was quite funny on the way out b/c you could tell he didn't want to leave the devotional. He turned around and stopped at 3 times at least to wave and say goodbye. It was funnier b/c the entire Marriot Center was silent until he did. It was a great talk though. Sunday night we had Via Sikahema,the first tongan on the BYU Football team and now a Sports Broadcaster and Emmy award winner come back to talk to us about his mission to the South Dakota mission (if you don't know who he is, you could probably ask president Kinard about him).  He was quite funny. He wouldn't let us take any notes b/c he just wanted us to listen. I really liked it. He had one of his converts there as well to bear his testimony about missionary work and the influence that it had on his life. Tonight there is a devo at the Marriot Center, and rumor has it another general authority is going to speak. Thats really cool that President Kinard  is the new Stake President, though I'm really not surprised. I wish I could have been there for President Hollands talk.

We are now half way through the MTC! I like it here, but I can't wait to leave to get out in the mission field. Thanks for all your letters, it really brightens my day whenver I get them. I did get a message from Regina, so I need to make sure to write her back when i get time to.  A lot of people emailed me so I'm trying to punch out emails as fast as I can. Thanks for the addresses, do you know if you could send me the facebook emails for Jake, Stirling,basically any of the young men you think I would want to write to,and Teresas and Bethany (Elis)? Do you know how to get those? You just go to their profile page, click on about at the top in the bar where its has their pictures and likes, usually right beneath their cover photo. Scroll down and on the right side it should have an email address, usually something like Stirling.Fordham24@facebook.com, something like that, I don't actually know stirlings though. Anybody else you think I should have would be great as well. Nobodys visas have come in yet, but everybody is still waiting with baited breath.

Thanks for writing!

Love 

Ben