Hola!
Mi nombre es Elder Hemsley y soy un missionero de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias. Crunchwrap Supreme, taco, taco, Beefy 5 Layer Burrito, quesadilla.
Look at how good I am at Spanish!
This was a pretty good week. Nothing really stands out too much, but I'm having a lot of fun and getting better at teaching and speaking every day. I got my travel plans! I'm going to Peru on Wednesday! Pretty awesome, pretty scary. I'm really sad about having to leave my district behind, because they're awesome. We're all growing a lot closer and I'm gonna miss them a ton. No fair. Elder Peterson (that's the real way you spell his name. Some companion I am. Stupid Petersen Barn is confusing me.) may or may not be coming with me. He hasn't gotten his travel plans yet and I don't know if he will. But Elders Hickey and Matagi are going, so I'm excited I'll get to go with them!
This morning we went to the temple and I did initiatories for the dead for the first time. So that was fairly awesome. So far out of every temple I've been to Portland is still the coolest one. It's all about the big temples, because they look like castles. The Provo temple just looks like a birthday cake. I just wanna go to the San Diego temple because that one looks like it belongs in Disneyland. Definitely one of the coolest ones. Excited to get to go to the Lima temple soon!
So basically my favorite scripture these days is D&C 68:6
6 Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.
That's pretty much the most comforting thing in the world to me right now. I've found tons of great scriptures like that but I can't think of any more off the top of my head. D&C 25:12 is still the best though because music is the best thing.
Wanna know some fun facts about my experience at the MTC? Okay super because you don't have a choice...
Within my first week and a half of being here I found a piece of hair in three of my meals, and I found a freaking string in my mashed potatoes. A long white string. So yeah, the food quality here is great. I eat a lot, but I'm still always starving. Always. The showers here are all freezing, except for the handicapped shower which is usually warm. Always take that shower. Always. If it's not open, use the handicapped shower in a different bathroom. It's all about going down a floor to shower because nobody else thinks of doing that. The best thing to play during gym time is def volleyball. Remember four square? That game that nobody has played since they were seven years old? Yeah, we play that at the MTC. Only it's a little more intense than it was in second grade. Fun stuff though.
I saw Porter (I mean Elder Long. Sorry.) one last time this week. I caught him the day before he left which was lucky. Said goodbye, got a picture, I'll see him in two years. Super awesome. He's going to be an amazing missionary!
We have a second teacher now, Brother Goodman, and he's the coolest. He's really funny and a really great teacher. He's from Tustin, so plus 10 cool points for him. Sister Roerig is still great too. And she's from Oregon, so basically I have two awesome teachers who are from the two most awesome places in the world. I wonder how many times I can say "awesome'' in this e-mail.
I met another Elder who's going to Chiclayo the other day. I don't remember his name, but I think he's leaving the same day as I am. I also ran into two Elders who are going to Eugene! Don't know their names either, but all I could think about was how they're probably going to be eating a delicious homemade meal at my house sometime during these next two years. Not fair not fair not fair!! Does it even count as my house anymore? I don't even have a bedroom. But hey, at least I'm not serving in Eugene. That would be a ridiculously hard mission. I've gone out with the missionaries there a few times, and Eugeneans are not nice to missionaries. Hey Eugene, if you're reading this, be nice to the missionaries please! Don't be afraid to talk to them. Heck, invite them over! They're giving two of the best years of their lives because they want to share a message that brings them so much happiness with the rest of the world.
Utah kind of tourtures me. The air here is so dry. My lips are dry, my fingers are dry, my throat always hurts. All the time. Same thing in Rexburg. How do people live here? Last year at EFY James and I both had terribly dry throats, so we tried to cure it by drinking as much Mounatin Dew as we possibly could. And then we ran out of Mountain Dew and it was the saddest time of our lives (except EFY is actually like the happiest time of my life). Every year when I come to Utah everyone always tells me "hey, play that horse song!" and I can't do it because I can't sing because the air is too gosh darn son of a gun heck DRY. But it's a-okay because Peru is just a few days away. I'm also skipping the two worst seasons of the year and just going to repeat the two best seasons. So that's awesome. It's almost Spring time again!
I did get your packages. Well, I have another package waiting for me right now that I need to go pick up and I assume it's your second one. I loved the pictures!! So much!! And the treats! I can't believe you sent me Chewy Gobstoppers! Those are almost harder to find than a reasonably sized bag of Flamin' Hot Munchies! Speaking of those, Drew sent me two bags of those in the mail. I had the coolest roommates ever. Only they could apprciate the greatness that is Digimon seasons 1 and 2 with me. If any of you guys are reading this, I miss you a ton!!
This was the best mail week of mah life. I got an overload of letters and packages from people I wasn't even expecting to hear from. Awesome awesome awesome! Hunter wrote to me and it basically made my whole life. Except I've been replying to letters all day and it's taking forever and my hand is getting really tired. Apparently we're only supposed to write letters on p-day so I let it all build up for today. It was working out a lot better when I just replied throughout the week. You know what I really love getting in the mail? Photos. Those are the best. Well, letters are probably better, but if I get both of them, then that's the best. I still can't figure out how to e-mail photos home! Even with a camera cord. It should not be this difficult. These computers are just so protected that you can't do anything on them. It drives me crazy. If you can somehow figure out what I'm supposed to do from home and tell me in a letter or something, that would be great. We can't figure it out from here.
Guess who can roll his R's now!!... Not me! Spanish is coming along great though. Except French words keep spilling out of my mouth. Stupid French. I could never pronounce the R's in French either. The letter R is of the devil. That's why it's Team Rocket's logo.
My district is still awesome. We're all getting really close. A couple of them go to BYU-I so hopefully I'll get to see at least a few of them after the mish. Sometimes I wish there were some hermanas in our district but normally I realize it's probably for the best that we don't. Right now women are a tool of Satan used to distract me from doing the Lord's work. Haha, okay, I should probably stop saying everything is of the devil right now. I actually love and admire all the sister missionaries so much. They're a huge inspiration to me and we really need them out there in the field with us. I have loads of respect for them. They're the best!
Anywho, by far the most important thing that happened this week is that the new blink-182 album was released on Tuesday, and I'm sure it leaked days before that. I waited six years for that album to come out and I missed it by two weeks!! Plus I'm sure the new Zelda is out by now, and Star Wars was released on bluray the day I left home. My favorite things are blink-182, Star Wars, and Zelda. Duh. If my mission call had just been one month later all my hopes and dreams would have come true!! But it's all good because I have so much to look forward to when I get back, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I waited six years to hear new blink (and at least I got to hear three of the new songs and a fourth new one live) but I waited almost 20 years to be a missionary. So I'm happy where I'm at.
Speaking of music, everyone who hasn't should go download my new songs that I put online like three days before I left for Utah. There should be a link on my Facebook page, but y'know, I can't go check it to make sure. I miss playing music. Fat Hot Girl is basically my favorite song ever. Well, it was my favorite to play at shows... I haven't gone so long without playing guitar since before I had a guitar! My fingers are getting soft. First time I play guitar when I get home is going to hurt a lot!
Anyway, don't expect to keep getting e-mails that are this long from me. I've been going over my 30 minute e-mail limit these past couple of times and I need to stop doing that. 100% obedience = 100% blessings! And I really, really like blessings, so I think I should probably try that obedience thing out.
I love you all! I can never say that enough so just count on hearing it over and over. You're all the best and I love hearing from all of you! Every week I feel like I'm forgetting to mention lots of things. I'm sure I always am. Anyway, next time you hear from me I'll be in Peru!
By the way, just so everyone knows, when I'm in Peru it will take a lot longer for my letters to get to you (duh) and there's even a chance they'll never get there. But I'll always try to reply to every letter I get! Mail makes me happy.
I love you! Again.
- Elder Hemsley
P.S.: this scripture really spoke to me this week:
And on that day I will bring unto your rememberance that your copy of Pokémon Diamond remaineth in the possession of James Giles, who is your friend.
And to you it will mattereth not, and you will forgive him.
For you doth not enjoy that game anyway, and you will desire that he should keep it.
And in your heart you will wish that that game were struck with the thunderbolts of a thousand Raichus, for it paleth in comparison to that other game. Yea, even Pokémon Gold.
(Metroid N:64)
Okay, I'll refrain from writing fake scriptures in the future. Maybe.
[Awesome count: 13]
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