Letter Home 9/4/12

Hola Familia!

I hope you are all doing well!  Sounds like life is going good from what I have read.  Tell Coop to get better, I hate those coughs.  I have only gotten one letter this week because of Labor Day, usually you guys send them on Sunday and I get them Monday  sometime, but we checked the mail earlier and the dearelder’s still haven’t come. Therefore I don’t have a whole lot to say today.

I got your package this week!  Thank you so much!  I really needed some family pictures, I have two of the big ones hanging up on my desk and Elder Nash gave me a photo album book to put the rest in!  I am also really grateful for the watch and the books. I don’t think those would have made it through the Mexican mail!

Elder Nash got his travel plans last Thursday and he left this morning.  I am really excited for him but also kind of bummed at the same time because we were really good friends.  So our trio is back down to two, the funny part was we were just starting to figure it out and feel comfortable in the trio.  I guess the Lord knew we all had something to learn from that experience and as soon as it was done, he was gone.

So we now have less than three weeks left here at the MTC, 20 days to be exact.  Kind of crazy but I am so stoked!  It’s gone really fast but at the same time it feels like we have been here forever and I just want to get out there and serve!  I feel like my Spanish is coming along well, I haven’t quite learned as much as I did the first couple weeks but I am still improving a lot.  I understand so much and I can usually say the things I need to say even if I have to work my way around a word I don’t know.  We have also been learning a lot about how to teach and its incredible how far we all of come. Our lessons are so much better!

That was kind of crazy to hear that Ryann Newby is getting married!  Tell her congratulations for me if you get a chance.  It was really fun to hear about all of the missionaries that were leaving here soon.  I have seen so many people I know, it seems like I see about 3 new people I know every week.  This week I saw Austin Ewell, Matt Judd, Alex Jackson, and Aaron Cass.  It’s been really fun to see people I haven’t seen in a while and especially to see them here serving the Lord, I couldn’t be happier for them.  I also saw Skyler Smith who I know from swimming this week (we met at zones one year).  I hadn’t seen him in about a year; he swam for Utah for a little bit, but he hated it and ended up not finishing the season.

I hope Shayne is doing alright, that was too bad to hear about her car accident, I know what that feels like...  Tell Eric that the letter I sent him got returned to me for some reason, so I am going to put it in the letter I send to you guys this week and hopefully you will see him sometime and be able to give it to him.

I want you all to know how excited I am to be here serving the Lord full time.  There is absolutely no place I would rather be. I know it has only been six weeks but this experience has already permanently changed my life.  I can’t wait to see the growth after two years when I can already see it in six weeks.  The biggest thing that has helped me to grow and change is becoming closer to my Savior.  Coming close to the Savior makes you want to change, to be better, and to be more like Him.  It makes you happy and gives you hope.  I know that you can become closer to your Savior as well, and that it will change your life just as it has changed mine.  I realize how lucky I am to be able to become closer to my Savior every second of every day because I get to serve him full time.  But I know that anyone who will honestly put an effort into learning about the Savior, His life, and His gospel will live a more full and happier life!  And I am so excited to be able to share that with everyone I meet!

I love you all so much!
Elder Utley