Elder Andrew Basile: First week in the MTC

Hi everybody!

OK first off I wanna say thank you for the package and the CUPCAKES AND COOKIES!!!

(Sisters & Ingalls Family)

And if my spelling is wrong or sentences dont make a lot of sense its because we are working in so much spanish its weird to switch back.

Anyway hey so the MTC is actually pretty great! I'm having a great time! The food is always good and there is a lot of it! The only thing is I have kindof been struggling sleeping so I'm pretty tired every morning but that's all good.

Ok where to start...? So I am in a Trio with two other fluent guys, Elder Rojelio Soto a short mma fighter from California who is headed to dallas, and Elder Derick Sosa from LV, headed to Oaxaca mexico just south of my mission. Man those two are real blessings in my life they are super nice and are really good about helping me with my spanish.

Its not easy being the only "gringo", (white guy) thats what they call me and non fluent Elder in our whole ZONE! Oh yeah so Elder Sosa and I are the Zone leaders here so I hear about everybodys problems and besides like sending anyone home, we pretty much like... take care of everything.

Lemme tell you I can speak spanish probably better than any of the kids who have been or will be here for six weeks but the speed that they speak with really changes the game. Its super frustrating because Im only understanding about half of everything but its all good! OH HOW I LOVE SPANISH!

I dont know if its just the challenge of kindof learning some thing new or what but man, spanish is the bomb.

I am having a lot of fun and I am already starting to love hispanic people as I said I'm the only white kid in my zone.

Im not going to admit I was a little scared to open the letters from Mom, Dad, and the girls because I was afraid I would get homesick, and even though I balled my eyes out while I was reading them I really am not ever homesick. We are toooooo busy and I have to focus sooooo hard on spanish that I cant have my mind on anything else but the language and the gospel.

Its funny everyone in the MTC like gets frustrated around us because when they ask us how long we have here and when we got here they get jealous. Haha Im pretty lucky because the MTC is kindof like..... Not fun to be at. Like what we are doing is fun but its all fake. Like the teaching and everything is fake. Learning everything is real, but like teaching isnt.

So I will probably be able to email on Saturday too because it will be our P-Day too because I leave Sunday morning.

So its really cool how much spirit is here. There will be times when I dont even know what an investigator is saying and certain things will pop into my head to say or bear my testimony of and it will be exactly what they needed to hear.

We have to cool teachers Hermana Richards and Hermana Piquasi our after noon teacher. They are really cool. Well I dont have a whole lot of time so I will email more Saturday.

I love you all and hope you are all doing good!

My MTC companions Elder Rojelio Soto, Elder Derick Sosa and me