LETTERS FROM THE LAUNDRY ROOM

Week 3.

Once again, I find myself sitting at a computer in the laundry room, detergent powder spilled on my hands and shirt, nice and toasty from all the dryers by me, and heart already pounding as I read 27:03 minutes left....
It's intense!

Alright, so, once again, THANKS to everyone who is sending me mail, its really awesome getting letters. My district has begun to assign points for the one who daily gets most mail - 1 point for a dear elder letter, like 2 for a snail mail, and 5 for a package. I've won every time, and they are jealous. Thanks everyone!

Well, it's starting to feel like a routine now - getting up at 6:30, falling out of bed, studying our tails off, etc. It's a good thing - just wish I'd learned how to work harder while I was at BYU and in school and stuff... but, no Facebook here, so work shall prevail!

Let's see, what happened this week? Well, the Advanced district that came in with us is leaving today - weird, if I had been on an English speaking mission, I'd be gone now! Kinda glad to have the extra time to learn how to teach - its fun, but a difficult skill to learn. Me and Elder Rindfleisch are working hard, and teaching often to try and figure it out. Lots of good experiences with that. Consistently, people tell us our unity is really really good. We pick up where the other one left off, cover things, testify of each other's words... last week we had several good teaching situations. My companion was feeling down on Wednesday, and we had an appointment practicing knocking doors with our teacher. I was worried it wouldnt be good because he was feeling so low, but, when we got there, it all changed. We simulate what it will be like to knock on doors out in the real world: Knock on the guy's door, he shouts for us to go away. Knock again, he's a different guy, but will only open the door 5 inches, and only speaks in Spanish. Stuff like that - well, somehow, doing this a bunch, and teaching someone who was being quite realistic - it completely flipped his mood around, and my companion was way excited and charged.

Same thing happend to me on Friday - we train all week for a teaching situation where we teach volunteers who act like people who want to know more about the church. I wasn't feeling optimistic, feeling a little lost - but when we got there, it changed. We were supposed to knock on a door and talk to a lady in spanish for 7 minutes - we did, and found ourselves facing a little old lady who was a native spanish speaker, which was a tad scary. Against the prompts, she invited us in to her "home" and began to talk to us, in some language that only seemed to be spanish, and certainly wasn't any spanish I could understand. After mentioning Christ, she launched into some questions about, as far as we could figure out, "caballos, gainas, burros" and "nacido" (horses, chickens, donkeys - birth) - so, something about the Nativity? She wouldnt let it go, and called in our teacher, who excused us while he tried to sort it out. A volunteer run amuck. It was rather entertaining. I can see this happening a lot in the future, only no one to save us...

Then we went and taught the lesson of the Restoration of the Gospel to a "young couple"(volunteers again). It was really cool. We were about to start the lesson with point one, but they began asking questions about prophets, and other things, and we began to answer their questions instead of just rattling off a lesson. It felt like we were teaching PEOPLE not teaching a LESSON, and it was awesome. Somehow we followed the Spirit, and taught them better than we ever had before. We were on a high of spiritual excitement for like an hour after.

So, yes, teaching is what its all about here. It happens in class, in teaching appointments, over the phone at the Referral Center, and all the "street contacting" us missionaries do to each other randomly as we run around... good stuff.

Hmm, well, lets see - OH, I go sheared. Yup, sheared. I evaded it until yesterday - one of the counselors walked into our class to make an announcment, and when he left he said "I'm not pointing fingers, but there are haircuts needed here." Guilty as charged... so I went to go get one. 15 minute slot. I sit down. Young lady, probably going to BYU. Probably not for Hair Care...
"Long or short?"
"Uhh... well shorter... no, LONG."
"Sides?"
"Shorter than the top....?"
Bzzzzzzz.... put the razor on the side of the head, run it all around in the back and sides - it was impressive. I've never seen so much hair fall off of someone so quickly - I think my sides and back were done in less than 15 seconds. (dont worry, she trimmed it up nice). Then she used the same thing on the top, but with a comb to maintain some length... it was frightening. But, it actually looks good, not mega short or anything, just, SHORTer. SCARY. But alright. I'm gonna put off the next one as long as I can....

Well, its good here, as I've said. Learning much all the time. The apostle Elder Ballard told us a few weeks ago that if we have a positive attitude and internalize the priniciples of Chapter 3 (the missionary lessons) of Preach My Gospel, we would be able to carry through anything life hands us. I know this is true. I encourage everyone to read this chapter, not so much read it, but evaluate - do you have a testimony of all these things? Solidify it. Love it. Study it. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, plain and simple.

Alright, 1 minute again. Real quick, I wish I could write to everyone, but I just can't. Mom, I did send a package, with pictures and letters to the sibs - look for it. I'll send the check separate, I forgot it. OK, LOVE YOU ALL!!!
-Elder Chris


Our district's building, where we spend every day studying, taking spanish lessons, holding meetings, teaching each other, planning, etc.


They put these signs up on the way from the MTC to the temple, because family and friends always write messages in chalk to missionaries...