Go to the temple

Dear Familia,

     I can’t believe it is now another pday! So this past week has been pretty good. It all feels like a blur because every day is almost the same here. The Spanish is coming along and we are teaching investigators every day. I even memorized the first vision and the missionary purpose in Español. So how can you prepare better for the MTC? I believe there is no possible way to completely prepare you for this place. It is nowhere near the same life style as it is back at home. One thing that I could have done better to prepare is to just talk to people about the church. And not be afraid to talk to friends or people about it. Other than that just read the scriptures! Study and ponder and mark them! It will help a lot. Believe me. Something I want to challenge all the adults is to go to the temple as often as you can. Go EVERY week! It brings families closer together and changes your life so much. It makes you a happier person and it brings the Spirit. I’m grateful for those people and the time they have taken to write me. I’m in 3 Nephi 4 right now and I’m so close to when Christ comes to the Americas. I have become addicted to the Book of Mormon and have kept reading it so much. It is by far my most favorite book. That book is the KEYSTONE of our religion. If you have a testimony of it then that means every other thing in our church is true. I can’t stress the importance of the book. I love you all and keep you in my prayers.

     ?Como le van?  How is everyone?  Everything going well?  It’s going pretty well here.  I can’t believe I’m already done with one month of my mission.  It is going by so fast already.

     I hope you all enjoyed the pictures.  That’s just a little bit of what happens here at the MTC. 

     That’s awesome that LeAnne got married.  Also, how Yadira and David went up to St. George with you all.  They must not be used to snow?

     I can’t believe Jared Kuhlman is already back!  That is so neat for him.  I’m only one 24^th into my mission.  So I still have a while.  But it’s better to not count the days, and make the days count here.

     So I have truly been thinking about (our neighbors) lately.  They really need to be invited to do more things.  The gospel MUST be shared with them.  It is better to try with them and possibly get them into the church, and have them blessed for eternity than it is to not share the gospel with them or have them think of you differently because you have tried with them.  Heavenly Father wants them in His kingdom just as much as He wants us to.  So please….Don’t be afraid to INVITE.  The missionary’s job is mostly consisted of inviting others.  Whether it’s to go to church, read The Book of Mormon, come to FHE, have lessons with the missionaries, or just talking about the gospel.  Please try with them.  You will be BLESSED no matter what happens when you work with them.

     The temple is a very special place.  It will bring the family and spouses closer.  Try to go to the temple every week.

     I’m at 3 Nephi 4!  I’m so close to where Christ comes.  By the time you get this letter, I will definitely be there.

     I’m not quite thinking Spanish yet…Probably not for a few more months. Hahaha  We can basically only teach lessons and get to know people in Spanish.  I know more words and things outside of that and am way above the rest of the Elders in my district at Spanish, so I help them out.

P.S.  Here is the First Vision which I memorized.

“vi una columna de luz,

más brillante que el sol,

Directamente arriba de mi cabeza;

Y esta luz gradualmente descendió

Hasta descansar sobre mí.

Al reposar sobre mí la luz,

Vi en el aire arriba de mí.

A dos personajes,

Cuyo fulgor y gloria no admiten descripción.

Uno de ellos me hablo,

Llamándome por mi hombre, y dijo

Señalando al otro;

Este es mi Hijo Amado:

Escúchalo!”

I love you.

Love, 

Elder Loveland

Read "The Book of Mormon"

Querido familia,

     Hola! Como le va?! I'm doing pretty well this morning and have been the past week. So it has been good! First off, I just want to know where David Archuleta is serving and when he reports. The rumor is Chile and that he reports in two weeks. If this is true, another rumor is that he will be in our zone. Which basically means I will see him every day, at least twice a day. And there is a high possibility he could end up as a roommate to me and Elder Fox. So a little clarification would be nice. It’s crazy to think this may be true.

      So here we are speaking a lot more Spanish. Every day, but parts of the day. We teach all of our lessons to our investigators in Spanish. I have gained more and more confidence in the Lord and in Spanish, and teaching than when I was first here. It’s not a huge deal now. So all is well. Every lesson we teach by the Spirit. The Spirit is so crucial with teaching. We don’t teach lessons, we teach people according to their needs and then listen to the Holy Ghost. So many cool experiences. I feel the spirit every day. Like a dream come true!!! :) But don’t get me wrong, the MTC is a tough place! People HAVE to prepare or else, they WILL NOT last here. It was even tough for me and I thought I was way prepared.

       I love you all so much. Listen to the Spirit, work hard, do your part and I promise the Lord will bless you tremendously. Read the Book of Mormon. If you know the Book of Mormon is true, then you will know that the rest of this church has to be true. A testimony of the Book of Mormon is sooooooo important. Love it and Live it! I love you!  Expect another letter in the mail! I love you all!

Con amor, Elder Loveland

     Estoy agracido por sus cartas.  Me gustan las cartas.  ¿Cómo le va?

     Here is a bit of Español for all of you!  So things are finally getting better here.  I’m speaking and understanding more Español every day.  It is quite amazing!  Like I said in the email, we teach our “investigators” with only Español.  Every leccion.  It used to be quite intimidating, but now it is getting easier and easier to teach now.

     I do go to the temple aqui.  Every pday we can go into the temple.  It has been good going to the temple.  The Spirit is so strong there, and I love it!  Also, on every Sunday, we go on temple walks and take pictures there.  I really hope I will be able to go to the Guadalajara temple.

  I see Wes quite a bit now.  Almost every day now for at least five minutes.  It’s so fun talking to him and seeing him.

      Thank you so much for the David and Goliath lyrics.  I love them so much.  I am guarding them with my life.

     Also, what track am I on for BYU-I?  And thank you kids for writing me.  It means a lot to me.  Also, thank you mom and dad for the dearelders too.  It’s been really nice.  I can’t believe it has been three weeks!  One more week and it will have been a moth!

     I love you all and make sure to stand strong, and look for blessings.  Love you!

Love, Elder Loveland

Finally feel like I'm okay!

Hello Familia!

     So things have gotten better! It only took one week and three days to finally feel like I am okay!   So I’m pretty happy that I’m feeling better.  So many people have been praying for me and I have definitely felt all the prayers.

     I’m so grateful for everyone and their support. I have enjoyed all the letters. Every night I get so excited to see all these letters. It’s been sooo great :) So I was so excited and elated when I found out I got accepted to BYU-I!   I yelled out to the district I got accepted!!!  Everyone was really happy for me.  I also really enjoyed the package that was sent!  I loved the food, the picture, the action figure, SD card the jacket.   And it was so sweet!   I love the picture that you sent. I probably shed a tear when I saw it.

      Oh and my companion is going to serve in the same mission.   All the elders in my district are going there. The three sisters in our district are going to Ecuador and Bolivia.  So we had eight elders in our district a week ago and now we are down to six :( Two of them had to go home to go clear things up from their past. I know it’s the right thing to do but we have learned to love those two elders. They are both planning on clearing up their problems and going on a mission when they are cleared. So it’s been tough but it’s the right thing.

      I love all the little letters from the kids.  And I loved dad’s letter that he sent me.   And I love all the letters that Mom has sent to me.  I enjoyed little g and B’s letter in the mail. It is so fun hearing about things and getting all this support.

      I’m loving the language! 3 years of Spanish really was and is a biiiiiiiig help.  I don’t know what people were talking about that it wouldn’t help. hahaha So since I’ve been better, I have been able to go to classes, meals and what not.  The language is coming.  I really haven’t learned anything with Spanish.  It really is all review to me, and has been quite easy.  So three years of Spanish really wasn’t a big waste of time.  The only Spanish I really have learned are words that I would need to know for teaching  lesson.  But I’m still nowhere close to being fluent in the language.  Not expecting that until probably this summer.  Hahaha

     It’s nice to know that things are going well there.  I can’t believe G is going through heck week now.  (Killer workouts at lacrosse) I remember it and it was one of the toughest weeks of my life.  But when they say heck week, they really actually mean heck month but I know G will make it through.

     Oh boy!  How I miss David & Goliath!  (One Smooth Stone DVD) It is killing me now.  I think I am David and Goliath deprived!  Now every once in a while when we have a  bathroom break I’ll start to bust out one of the songs and will finish it.  I really need the lyrics so that I don’t forget this. Maybe the lyrics to the songs would be nice so that I can sing to them ;) I also want to keep singing.  Listening to music here is against the rules, but singing isn’t!  So I’m pretty happy I can at least sing.  I’m happy J is taking my place there at the  house with singing the songs.  Those songs really are awesome, and they did invite the spirit.  I invite people of the family to listen to the lyrics of the songs and catch the story and the deeper meanings to the songs.  You will all learn to love them as I have loved them.  That CD was a blessing in my life.

     And Mom…  I’m also really happy to hear that you are learning more about the Atonement.  The Atonement is the most important doctrine in our church.  Russell M. Nelson came and spoke at the MTC about it.  I invite the family study more about the Atonement.  It will bless your life.

     Dad…thank you for the dearelder letter that you gave me.  I really enjoyed it.  I realize that this mission isn’t just for the people but it is also for me.  I liked how you said that I’m already noticing many changes.  This place really is not easy by any means, so it is definitely shaping and refining me.  I’ve only been here a little over two weeks and I feel like I’ve been here for two months!  But time really is going quicker than I thought.  It really is true, that days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days.

     So this past Tuesday we had Russell M. Nelson come to the MTC to give a devotional.  Every Tuesday we have a devotional by a  general authority.  So Elder Nelson talked about the Atonement, and he talked about the gathering of Israel for and before the Second Coming.  The time is near at hand and we need to prepare for it.

     Anyway I miss and love you all.  You are all in my prayers.  I love you!

Love, Elder Loveland

    

In bed all day

Hey Family!

     Im sorry to hear you are sick. If you are sick as how I have been feeling the past week then I feel really bad. The past couple of days have been really bad. To the point where I have to stay in bed all day. It is the worst feeling. I have had the chills, thrown up, coughing, stuffed nose and throat, and sore throat, my temp constantly goes above and below average. Im having a really hard time.  I feel worse than I ever have felt. Ive got a priesthood blessing from my companion. Im still sick to this day. Im still trying to get my hopes up. This 30 min is not enough time. and i will send a larger letter. sorry. In mexico though I will most likely have more time to email.

      I have seen Wes here and we have talked a bit. We dont see eachother often but its really cool. he has come to my room to check on me a couple times and he has been really good to me. I see Elder Walker every once in a while. I always say hi to him.  Being sick is really hard for me. I really wish I could be out with my district at classroom and meals. My district is like my family here. They all care for me and treat me really well. My companion is from Flagstaff. He is going to BYUI.

     I hope everything is going well and that everyone is feeling better now.  I know how it felt.  It doesn’t feel good. 

     Thank you so much for the package.  I enjoyed everything in it.  I posted B and S’s pictures on my wall and also the Sacred Grove picture and the one of Gabby and Olivia.  And thank you oh so much for something spicy!  There is nothing spicy here at the MTC!  I think I’m probably sick because of the lack of spiciness.  Oh well, I’ll get better soon, I hope.  Yeah so I’ve been lying down, teaching more lessons, learning more Spanish and what not. 

     The MTC is a very hard place.  I never thought it would be like this but it’s fine, and I’m pushing through.  I can also tell though that I’m growing and becoming a better person. 

     Here at the MTC we are only allowed to call each other as “Elder (last name)”.  I think it’s really cool, but I really miss people calling me C.  I just love my name and I love it so much more than Elder.  But I guess I’ll have to wait a couple years.

     I’m so happy to hear that Mom loved her birthday.  It makes me happy.  I want all of you boys to treat your mom with the greatest respect.  She is raising you and preparing you for a mission and the rest of your life.  Love every moment that you have with Mom and Dad.  

     I miss and love you all so very much.  I pray that there will be more blessings to come into the family while I am out for these next less than two years.

     I LOVE YOU!!!