Seth Saw a girl from Joyschool (Preschool) at the MTC August 3,2009

Hola!This has been another good week. Thank you for the letters! Sara asked how teaching is going. It's pretty good, I feel pretty comfortable teaching the basics of the lessons and I think that I'm understood fairly well, at least by other missionaries and teachers. I sometimes feel like I know the definitions of more words than I use though. It's hard to think in English and translate in my head into a small vocably of spanish words that I know. My companion is doing well too. He has some basic phrases in Spanish and has struggled with the language, so sometimes it is hard because he'll get lost in the lessons and jump around some because he doesn't understand what is going on. He's worked hard though and has made some great progress in the language. We're starting to be able to make lessons personal to the investigators with our extended vocabulary. Preach My Gospel is about teaching to the needs of investigators and helping them come unto Christ. The biggest challenge is being able to do this on the spot when situations arise in lessons. We've memorized words and phrases to teach the basic doctrines, but good lessons apply those doctrines to the investigators lives and helps them understand how any problem they face can be solved or made easier to bare through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We get along very well though and are both pretty easy going people. Tonight the oldest district leaves and so for the next three weeks, we will be the oldest district in our zone. There is 4 districts in our zone or branch, so about 40 elders. Being the oldest district means that we will have 3 weeks in which it is very likely that we will speak in sacrament meeting. No one in my district has gave a talk yet, but I'm sure several of us will get the chance. Everyone writes a 3-5 minute talk and then the bishopric announces who is speaking every Sunday when the meeting starts. There is two speakers every sunday and then someone from the Bishopric or their family will give the large talk in sacrament meeting. I'm glad to hear that you recieved the pictures in the mail, I was worried that they were lost. Every fast Sunday we have mission conference, so instead of a branch priesthood meeting, we have a 2 hour meeting with all the elders at the MTC. The MTC presidency and their wives speak usually. Yesterday one of the wives gave us a check list of things to do to prepare for a baptism. One of them was to remind the new member to bring extra white underwear adn towels. It seems even at the MTC, the Presidency wives have a motherly attitude towards us, they always reminding us of the practical motherly type of things. The Tuesday devotional was by an emeritus member of the seventy- elder Dellenbach. He spoke on the Book of Mormon and it's role in conversion. I realized last Tuesday that we've had all former members of the seventy, because July is the month that the general authorities take vacation and rest. So, this next week we should start again with general authorities for the devotionals. I'm hoping that we get another apostle before I leave. I don't know yet when I depart. This should come in the mail about a week and a half before I leave, so I should recieve it one week from this Thursday. I have 3 more weeks here. My district will be hosting the new missionaries the next 2 Wednesdays, so showing them to their rooms. I'll be standing out in the hot sun all day conducting traffic in a suit since I'm the district leader, my branch president said this isn't something that I'm allowed to dellegate. We only have one more very tense to learn and then we're pretty much done with our language instruction here at the MTC. We'll be reviewing adn teaching a lot over the next couple of weeks. Saturday at the RC, I made a call in Spanish. I was confirming a book of mormon delivery. My teacher was listening on the line as well and translated what I couldn't understand for me, but I responded totally in Spanish and was able to bear my testimony. The lady said that she had a bible and book of mormon but didn't have time with work to read either right now, but she said that she wanted to read the book of mormon and would contact us when she did. I was just glad that she was able to understand my spanish and I could pick out bits of what she said. I recieved Sara's package. Thank you Sara and shawn. I love the tie. There's a missionary in my district who had been showing off his Trump ties and raving about them, so he liked the one that you sent to me.When I was picking up Sara's package, a girl in the mailroom asked me if i ever lived in Florida. I said yes a long time ago and she sadi she went to joyschool with me. It was raquel delgado. She recognized the last name. I didn't have time to talk to her any other than tell her where I was serving, but I thought you would find it interesting that I ran into her here. Everything is overall going well, I'm becoming closer to my district and will be sad to leave 4 of them in 3 weeks, but I'm ready for some real food. I don't need anymore snacks, I should have enough to last until I leave. Thanks for all the love, food, and prayersCon amorelder dunlap