Hola Everyone!
Great to hear from everyone this week. Thank you Grandma and Mom for
your packages. Both were huge so I had to share a lot with the
missionaries on my floor. Kiki-I laughed when I heard about your
infection. Cried when I heard you got nitrous and numbing stuff. Not
fair. So excited to hear whether or not you get accepted into school.
I'll keep you in my prayers. Thanks for the support and updates.
Matt-Your little story about your AWOL teacher made me laugh. Guess
why? yup. My teacher who never shows up announced that he is quitting.
He is going to go work for Pinnacle this summer actually...in San
Antonio. Actually he is going to work for a smaller company under
pinnacle named longhorn somthing. He is going to be a manager. Anyways
thanks for writing. Loved hearing about Al Jefferson. I like to think
that all my favorite sports teams are being blessed for my serving..
HAHA.
Dad-Thanks for the temple info. Got it all worked out today. I think I
knew all along but I just wanted to be certain. I also hear you are
really into Giants baseball right now for good reason. Hopefully they
win. By the way, even if our lurpy Butler player dropped 26, we still
can't beat the Lakers in 7. You know it, I Know it. Still, good for the
Jazz. You also asked about dry cleaning. yes-we have it available to
us. I was already on top of it. Dropped off one suit this morning. I
can't drop them both off though because they just implemented another
rule here at the MTC. Missionaries must wear jackets at all times. I
have had countless missionaries in my zone freaking out about it
because they are going to places like Honduras and Guatamala so their
mission only required 1 suit. They have to wear the same pants and
jacket everyday for the next 3-6 weeks. Anyways I will dry clean my
other suit next P-day.
Cait- Your pics were awesome!! I'm a huge fan of the dead animal
sprawled out in your hallway. Ian looks to be having fun at his new
and improved crib. Everything just looks great. Kitchen, tile,
shutters(nice job by the way). Hope your enjoying the freedom of your
own house. I'm sure you are still busy looking for more ways to make
it better. Also, you gave me a little tid bit in your letter from a
Russel M Nelson talk. Well guess who just listened to Russel M Nelson
in an MTC Tuesday night devotional? ME!!! more details to come later
in email.
So to fill everyone in on the goings on around here this past week.
Elder Hassler and I are slipping into our shoes as leaders. It has
it's downfalls, but the perks out-weigh them. We have a new district
coming in tomorrow that we are really excited about. We have the
responsibility of basically showing them around, befriending, making
them feel comfortable...etc etc. We're quite excited. My district
however is still more of the same. I can't remember if I told you guys
last week but another member of my district is on the verge of going
home. This one, from what I can tell, is a worthiness thing. We are
supposed to know by tonight, so you might not know til next week. I
personally feel he will be staying. He is our District Leader, and a
fine one at that. Keep him in your prayers, por favor. As I told Matt,
my teacher put in his 2 weeks notice a week or so ago. We won't have
him for our final week in the MTC. He is going to work for Pinnacle.
Chasing the almighty dollar. I won't lie to you guys, I'm kind of glad
to be getting a new teacher for the next little while. I have a
feeling whoever I get will teach me more Spanish then my current one
has. Anyway, I'm still coming along. Teaching lessons everyday in the
language. We speak ONLY Spanish in the classroom. Gospel wise, I got
the language down. As far as just holding a normal conversation...lets
just say there is a lot to be learned. I told Caitlin about how Russel
M. Nelson was here last week. It rocked. Our first apostle. I want to
quickly share some things I loved from his talk. He talked for a few
minutes about the importance of first impressions. Obviously, he was
speaking to missionaries, but I feel his counsel is good for everyone.
Especially members. He said that when we meet someone for the first
time "We need to increase the presence of the Lord, and decrease the
presence of YOU". I've been thinking long and hard these last few days
about how I can achieve that. I'd encourage everyone to do the same.
One thing he also mentioned, which didn't strike me as that amazing at
the time but I thought Mom might like it..was this: He said something
along the lines of "You will be safer in your field of labor, all over
the world, no matter where you are assigned, than your friends at home
who are not serving the Lord". Thought you might enjoy that in case
you decide to get nervous about me leaving for a different country for
the next few years. Welp that is my little spiritual thought for the
week.
A few more things I wanted to clear up before I leave Provo: 1.
the food here is awful. Plain and simple. Awful. 2. 30 minutes to
write an email is insane. The field is going to be amazing in that the
computer doesn't crash when the blinking red numbers hit 00:00. I will
be able to think clearly. 3. I don't need my mountain hardware jacket.
No room. Maybe when I get down there, but don't worry about it. Thanks
though. 4. I think I want my hammock sent to me. If not my hammock, my
slackline. If my mission president approves, I'd love to do that on
P-Days. I can't think of a better way to start a conversation while
still having fun. If I did any other sport or activity on my P-Day, it
probably wouldn't provide too many teaching opportunities. 5. Finally,
I'm so stinkin excited to get to Chile. Maybe it's the anticipation of
leaving this prison of learning. Maybe its because I wanna learn the
language by being submersed. I'm not sure. I think it's mostly because
I really want to share this message with someone who is looking for
it. Being a missionary is fun. Difficult? Always. But as my parents
always said, "Nothing worth it is easy".
I love you guys. Hope everyone is doing well.
-Charlie (Sometimes it's fun to put my first name. If I don't remind
myself of it I often forget it.)
okay its too weird.
-Elder Van Dyke
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