A happy pose at his desk in his room he shares with three other Elders. Notice the family picture in the top shelf? Yes, my boy loves his family.... and visa versa! He's doing a great job taking pictures of his life for his mom, isn't he? I love it! What a handsome missionary!
Welcome to Justin's new life. Studying for a 100 hours a day. In a letter we received on June 7th, 2008 he said, "... it still doesn't feel like enough time to learn everything. There is so much! I can also already pray in Spanish and am learning to bear my testimony." Justin is learning a lot about the gospel as well as learning the Spanish language. He says, "... church meetings are all in all Spanish! So that should be interesting. Everyone also has to have a five minute talk prepared each Sunday on a given subject, and then they randomly call on two! That has been work trying to prepare a talk in a language I don't know. But the spirit here is great and I am grateful for the Lord's help in making it an enjoyable experience here."
Here is Justin's first companion, Elder Thompson. He is from Lindon, Utah. As Justin says, "You can tell he is from Utah (if you know what I mean), but he is a good companion and we seem to get along well." They are in front of the Provo temple. A beauuuutiful day!!
Here is his first district. There are two elders from Korea, Elder Kim and Elder Kim. As Justin says, "One of them is very quiet and composed and the other one laughs at everything. Dumb things, so when he does, I just stare at him until he stops. Then there is the 200 lb. male cheerleader who has more stories to tell than anyone I know. Stories like how his mom plays computer games all day, and his dad is fluent in some language they speak in the show Star Trek. Then there is an Elder who is a 4th generation resident of Orem, Utah and he is a professional ballroom dancer. He likes to relate everything to to barn/ballroom dancing. Then there are two Hermanas (Sisters). One of them has a lazy eye, so whenever she talks to me I can never tell if she is because one eye is staring off into space, but I try not to stare at it. Then the other Hermana is the one who always gets mad that I get more letters. So it is a real interesting group, but everyone gets along well and I try to stay optimistic."
These young men and women are all so different from each other, but they all have one commonality. They know who they are (children of a loving Heavenly Father) and they want to serve Him by dedicating 1 1/2 -2 years of their lives serving missions in different places throughout the world. They want to share the Lord's glad message of His gospel to his children. They may be young, but they are mighty!
Justin sure appreciates all the kind letters and packages he's received. He says he always looks forward to getting the mail everyday. " I think I am lucky because I am the only one that gets mail everyday." He gets more mail than anyone in his district. His family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins) have been spoiling him with lots of packages full of goodies and snacks. Dr. Pepper was even "smuggled" into the MTC for him..... he LOVED it! (He didn't fall asleep in class at all that day!) His cousin Ryan sent him his "FAV!" Cafe Rio steak salad (prepared Justin style)for his last day in the states. But when he opened the box they had taken it out and left a note that said it wasn't allowed. Perishables are not allowed to be sent there. He was REALLY bummed!! Oh well, thanks for the great effort Ryan! He goes on to say, "Thanks to all my friends and family that think and care about me so much!"
In the MTC there are about 2200 missionaries and 500 of them are Spanish speaking. There are more Spanish speaking missionaries than there are English.
He is having a great experience. As he says, "You learn a lot here and at speeds I never have before. It is great to feel the spirit so much and see yourself grow closer to Christ. You realize that this would be impossible without Him. I know that he has already been blessing me so much. I haven't been homesick at all yet, which I am grateful for. Although sometimes I sit in class and look out the window and it looks like Saddleback mountain and I think I am back home for a second. Then I remember I am only in Provo. But this time Provo feels a lot different than the last."
On his first full P-day he went to the temple and said, "We went to the temple this morning and that was a really nice experience. I was reminded of what Grandpa Evans said at my setting apart about putting my name in for the prayer and it made me so grateful for all the prayers that everyone in my family and that I know says for me. Knowing that I have so many people at home thinking about me and wondering how I am is a great comfort and blessing."
A couple of days before Justin left the Provo MTC he met his new Mission President. He was there for training along with his wife. Justin says, "He can speak English, but she can't say much at all. He is an accountant, but has been working for the church for years instead. He grew up in Mexico and served his mission near Cabo San Lucas. They have lived in Lima Peru for the past seven years working for the church to find places to build church buildings there. In Bolivia, he actually purchased the Cochabamba Mission home for the church. He says the Peru-Bolivia area has the highest baptism to missionary ratio in the world! Nine baptisms per missionary per year. He said it took him seven years to get the guts to try guinea pig in Peru! He said the people won't get offended if we don't eat the food. We will actually have a woman that will cook all of our meals (she is given very strict instructions on what we can eat and how to prepare it) that is paid by the church for our health. So that is good to know." ( What a great comfort that is to mom. Phew!)
Well, June 25th is the departure date from Utah. He will fly from Salt Lake City, to Dallas, Texas, to Miami, Florida and then on to Lima Peru. The best part is we get a phone call from him at each airport!! We will be sitting close to the phones all day long! Wow, phase one is finished... now onto phase two! By the way, it is WAY fun and cool to hear from your missionary! We are really loving having a son on a mission..... who knew it would be this great?!
Thanks Justin!
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