Week 7

Family!

Alright. Let's not beat around the bush: I get to sing in General Conference!!! Priesthood session. What an opportunity, huh? I'll sing Saturday, listen to conference sunday, pack up that night, and then leave for Paraguay Monday morning, the 4th. Unbeleivable. Where has the time gone??? I love it. What a blessing, to leave on such an exceptional high note, conference. I'm extremely excited to listen. Studying and learning as a missionary is different. Very different. It takes on such an importance, such meaning. I want to soak up everything I possibly can, so that I can hit Paraguay running. A week and a half and this MTC experience is over. It's been so good for me. There's still a lot to do these last ten days though. We get our travel plans tomorrow, so I'll let you know the specifics next Wednesday. After that, you're going to have to start emailing me.

A quick story: I had the BEST day on sunday. Mostly because of the Cafeteria. What did I eat? Take a guess? A salad!!! Yes, Elder Stewart the Healthy is what they've begun calling me here. With water to drink. I'm almost in tears with how proud I am of myself. BUT, it doesn't stop there. In the salad there were tomatoes. Real, once-living, tomatoes. And it gets better. Olives. I ATE OLIVES. :_). Paraguay, throw everything you've got at me! My tastebuds are ready! It's a modern miracle. To top the day off, as I was leaving, there was this little boy, probably three years old, with his dad, who serves in the MTC. In the field, we're instructed to talk with everyone, so I decided he was a good one to start with. He had a little, "future missionary" badge on, and was dressed up in a suit. I squatted down and asked him if he was a missionary. He took a step so that his big brown eyes were right up close to mine and nodded. His Hispanic mother noticed my spanish nametag, and instructed him to tell me his name. To my surprise, he told it to me in Spanish!!! We had a short conversation together, in Spanish, and then we left, him shaking my finger, because it was the only thing small enough for him to wrap his hand around.

Moral of the story: Yes, I'm fluent, and can speak with the natives.

; _). Real moral of the story: If all people became as little children, like we're instructed, then I'd be fluent, and be able to speak with the Natives. ;_).

It was a great day.

Anyways, I really do love it here. I'm studying in Alma right now in the Book of Mormon, and everytime I sit down for personal study I feel like I'm sitting down with Ammon himself, and having a one-on-one gospel discussion with him. Dad, we had a member of the 70 come and speak with us last night, and he spoke about the formula for learning spiritual truths, and receving spiritural blessings. Doctrine and Covenants 130: 20-21. I thought of you the whole time, and talked about you during our district devotional after. Thanks for your passion in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Stewart