Hello Familia!
It never ceases to amaze me how fast time goes by and i am right back here writing an email while doing my laundry. I really can't beleive how fast the weeks go by here. We do the same things every week so the days just turn into weeks so fast but its going great and i love it here. I am learning more and more each and every day! and I love that about the mtc. Well my health is great just to let you know i haven't felt sick or anything since then and i am 110%. I really am not exaderating i am rolling here! But i do appreciate all the packages and all the love that you all have sent. Thanks aunt mitzie for the package i really appreciated the letters and the vitamin c! Just so everyone knows i have tons of vitamin c now haha no problems there!
> This week we had some great firesides. JoHN H. Groberg spoke to us on tuesday night with his wife and what an amazing night that was. They discussed the importance of temples and missionary work again and i can truly see the importance of the temple and my investigators. He told an amazing story who was in an indian reservation and no one was letting them in and so they were walking home and he saw a broken wire on a fence with a lot of cattle in there. The one missionary wanted to leave and go but the other one said"I was taught to NEVER was past a broken wire" The missionary stayed and fixed the fence and just as they were getting done a man walked up to them and said thank you and thought that he probably had time to listen to their message! It was an amazing story about not knowing who is watching us but to always do everything we can to go out of our way to help someone else. I think that story wtih stay with me forever. But it was a great fireside and i enjoyed listenign to him and his wife.
> Last night we had a fireside by Stephen B. Alan. he's over the missionary department and his talk was about adversity as a missionary and how to overcome that. His whole talk was based on the song Come come ye saints. He has us listen to it during his talk by the MOTAB and wow! I had the chills reading that song and to just keep hearing ALL IS WELL was amazing. I think i have a new favorite hymn because he compared us to the pioneers and how we are the pioneers of our day. Last night was just an amazing night. After our firesides on sunday they let us watch movies like Joseph smith, legacy, testaments etc... But last night was the Joseph smith video. We have already seen it twice and it still just gets to me everytime. The sacrifice that he made for this gospel is unbelievable. There's a part of the movie where i lose it every time ha it's when he's on his way to carthage and he goes down a street and it's all the people who he has touched, and i just hope that i can have that same experience with people in my mission. All in all it was probably one of the most spiritually uplifting nights here. It was really amazing.
> Well now on to the espanol. Our teachers speak all spanish now to us which is really crazy, but it also is very helpful. It's tuff to pick them up but i can usually get the gist of what they are saying. We are teaching leccion 1 in spanish now and it's really fun how each day elder bowden and i just keep adding to our spanish vocab and are able to teach better and better. It's tuff to not just be scriptive when teaching spanish and make it personal and keep the questions coming that let us teach to the investigators needs but with time that'll come. It's just fun to get studying about espanol and speaking it more and more. Our teachers expect a lot out of us and are pushing us in spanish but all of us are more than willing and can all do it. so it's really fun.
> This week we lost a district to mexico. So we will be getting a new one on wednesday. Elder Bowden and i are in charge of orientation and taking them around and showing them the ropes so that'll be fun. In one week our district will be the senior district which is unreal because i still feel like the young new guys but wow time sure goes fast in this place. It's hard to remember what we do each week because the days are so similar that it's tuff to remember all of the great experiences. Elder bowden and i forget what we eat the day before sometimes because it's just so repetitive. I mean that in a good way not a bad way ha. I am loving it here. Gym time is the best. Basketball in so fun and i am working it on the floor. Ha everyday i am just drenched in sweat cause i love it so much. Had a wipe open dunk this week...doinked it off the back of the rim! I was pretty disappointed in myself i must say. Hopefully i'll have better news about dunking next week.
> Thank you everyone for the mail and packages i really appreciate all your love adn support. Ha the mail is funny here saturdays we don't get like any mail cause it closes and no dear elders ever come on sat. then on monday afternoon i end up getting about 10 dear elders ha i love that it's the best time of my week. i absolutley love to hear from all of you and all the adventures going on. Thank thank you
> Well this week i'll be finishing the Book of Mormon. I have about 30 pages left. I'm so excited to finish it and get right into D&C. I should have that finished before i leave the mtc which will really help me. I have loved my personal study of the Book of Mormon though. it's so much better reading it fast the storyline just sticks and it just is so much more meaningful. I know that Joseph smith translated that book through the power of God and i know that the Book of Mormon is true. NO DOUBT! I can't beleieve how great my days are because of my studying it and praying to know that it is true. I love it, and i love to study. elder bowden and i are reading all the way through pmg and true to the faith together and it's really helping us out. Doctrine, doctrine, doctrine right nick? I truly know that i'm here for a reason and that are people out there being prepared for me. I nkow that the spanish will come and i ahve no doubt in my mind that in a few months i'll be able to do everything i need to in spanish. The gift of tongues is real! I know it. I'm saying things some days that i don't even know where it came from but i said it and i know that the lord is really blessing me right now! I am surrounded by the greatest people. My zone is amazing, my district feels like my other family and my branch pres. is amazing i truly am so blessed to have them. Well fam i love you all and i am so grateful for everything you do for me. Thanks a bunch to Everyone and all my pen pals. I love hearing from you all and i am grateful for each of your examples in my life. I really have been blessed to have great people surround me in my life and it couldn't be more true about my family and friends. Good luck this week bell at the doctor! ill be thinking of you! I love you all so much. I'm doing so great and i love it here don't forget that! Have a great week everyone. Love you tons
> Elder Hammer
Thursday, July 30, 2009
letter number 5
Hey fam,
well another week goes by in the mtc and i can't believe how fast time flies. Yesterday in our presidency meeting with president dean i literally felt like it was deja vu from last week ha i love that about this place though is that when your working hard time goes by nice and quick ha Well to report on my health i feel so good. mom im a 10 now so don't you worry. The medication helped a bunch and the only day i felt sick was the day i went to the doctor but i'm taking really good care of myself and no need to worry. I think that was just to make sure i was on my toes and make sure i take advantage of the mtc. Well i'm happy to report that the basketball gym is officially open and they are letting us play 3 on 3! it's so fun i can't get enough of it. I think the lord really knows us 19 year old men and knows that we need an hour break per day so we can run around and sweat and do all that jazz. its amazing how many good bball players are here but i am holding my own when i play. My shot is really starting to pick up and i'm starting to feel it ha i know thats not important but i just thought i'd let you know anyways.
> Well this week was a great week for spanish. we really are starting to really get after it when we study and we are speaking more and more in class. All of our prayers, himnos and thoughts are in espanol. We are contacting people at the mtc like crazy. Our district made a goal to have 200 contacts this past week and we had 198! our district is crazy how motivated and how many goals we have. We also taught 40 lessons this week between 5 companionships so that was really good as well. We teach one more time this week in english and after that the rest of the time is espanol only! so keep praying for me but i also am excited to keep speaking more and more of it and to start teaching it. This week we have to teach someone how to pray in espanol and i can do that but i've been studying a bunch to be able to do that ha. The other day in class our teacher had me stand up in front of the class and she starting teaching the 1st lesson in spanish and then looked at me and was like ok your turn to say something about this principle and it was amazing but i actually did pretty well. one thing i have figured out since being here is when you get put on the spot and you have to speak espanol it makes you realize how much more you know than you think. I think i had some serious help from the man upstairs for sure but i am starting to get this language running through my big noggin! This week elder bowden and i taught preisthood meeting and it was a great experience. we taught about personal revelation and how it is key that we as missionaries need it in our teaching and in our lives, but not only for us missinoaries but that it is important for everyone to get that own personal revelation. We taught a really good lesson and elder bowden shared a personal story that was really amazing. I can't believe how much we are coming together in our teaching and how much better we get as we go on. Oh and the lesson was in english ha im not anywhere near that YET. ha The firesides this week were pretty good. no general authorities or anything but there was still alot of good info that was shared. Tuesday it was the temple president from the ogden temple and him and his wife came and shared some experiences from their temple. They also tied missionary work in to the temple and how important it is to get people to the temple. He really stressed getting the priesthood holders baptized and that if a dad is leading the charge in conversion then we are golden! Basically he just said that as we baptize we need to remember that that is the first step and the next is to get them to the house of the Lord. It was really a cool talk. The talks that are given are all so different and we never really know what we are going to get.But each one has been really uplifting. This guy said a quote that i loved and it was "if you think you can or you think you can't, you're right" I had heard this but it really got to me this time because how we look at what we are doing is what makes the difference and i truly am loving it here and loving what i am doing! The fireside last night was all about prayer. He was an mtc administrative director guy ha sorry i don't have my notes with me i forgot his name. But he really hit on that prayer is so vital in conversion. We always focus on fulfilling our purpose as missionaries but the first step for people is to have faith in Jesus Christ and to have that faith we must pray to our father in heaven. He said a lot of missionaries look over how important it is to really focus on prayer. I have seen what a difference prayer has made since i have been here and really praying with real intent and im excited for other people to see that. Oh ya me and the elders in our room had to move to the other side of our building this week because we were out in the middle of no where by the phillipino missionaries for the first few weeks but not a big deal. Our room is much bigger though that is for sure! I think our old room used to be an old custodial closet! haha No but it's fun our whole zone is right by each other and i love our zone! we have some people in there that are just goof balls but that also keep it light and funny which is good. I didn't think i would become such good friends with some of these elders but i can tell that some of them are going to be good friends for more than just the MTC! We have the best branch president! I have never met someone who always just shows love and is never mad. THe other day he was saying that he wont allow himself to have a bad day and i truly believe that he hasn't had a bad day. He really shows so much love to elder bowden and i and it is so great to work along side of our branch presidency. THey all are great men and i love my calling. Well fam the work is going great and i love it here so much. I really have realized that if i had the chance to leave this place i wouldn't ever! I really think you'd have to drag me out of here because i know this work is so valuable and is going to be the standard for the rest of my life! Thank you all for your letters and packages and love. They mean the world to me and i love to hear from all of you. Thanks again and know that i love and pray for everyone and all of you. This work is amazing and i just love it here and this opportunity to serve. LOVE YOU ALL until next week,
Elder hammer/martillo
well another week goes by in the mtc and i can't believe how fast time flies. Yesterday in our presidency meeting with president dean i literally felt like it was deja vu from last week ha i love that about this place though is that when your working hard time goes by nice and quick ha Well to report on my health i feel so good. mom im a 10 now so don't you worry. The medication helped a bunch and the only day i felt sick was the day i went to the doctor but i'm taking really good care of myself and no need to worry. I think that was just to make sure i was on my toes and make sure i take advantage of the mtc. Well i'm happy to report that the basketball gym is officially open and they are letting us play 3 on 3! it's so fun i can't get enough of it. I think the lord really knows us 19 year old men and knows that we need an hour break per day so we can run around and sweat and do all that jazz. its amazing how many good bball players are here but i am holding my own when i play. My shot is really starting to pick up and i'm starting to feel it ha i know thats not important but i just thought i'd let you know anyways.
> Well this week was a great week for spanish. we really are starting to really get after it when we study and we are speaking more and more in class. All of our prayers, himnos and thoughts are in espanol. We are contacting people at the mtc like crazy. Our district made a goal to have 200 contacts this past week and we had 198! our district is crazy how motivated and how many goals we have. We also taught 40 lessons this week between 5 companionships so that was really good as well. We teach one more time this week in english and after that the rest of the time is espanol only! so keep praying for me but i also am excited to keep speaking more and more of it and to start teaching it. This week we have to teach someone how to pray in espanol and i can do that but i've been studying a bunch to be able to do that ha. The other day in class our teacher had me stand up in front of the class and she starting teaching the 1st lesson in spanish and then looked at me and was like ok your turn to say something about this principle and it was amazing but i actually did pretty well. one thing i have figured out since being here is when you get put on the spot and you have to speak espanol it makes you realize how much more you know than you think. I think i had some serious help from the man upstairs for sure but i am starting to get this language running through my big noggin! This week elder bowden and i taught preisthood meeting and it was a great experience. we taught about personal revelation and how it is key that we as missionaries need it in our teaching and in our lives, but not only for us missinoaries but that it is important for everyone to get that own personal revelation. We taught a really good lesson and elder bowden shared a personal story that was really amazing. I can't believe how much we are coming together in our teaching and how much better we get as we go on. Oh and the lesson was in english ha im not anywhere near that YET. ha The firesides this week were pretty good. no general authorities or anything but there was still alot of good info that was shared. Tuesday it was the temple president from the ogden temple and him and his wife came and shared some experiences from their temple. They also tied missionary work in to the temple and how important it is to get people to the temple. He really stressed getting the priesthood holders baptized and that if a dad is leading the charge in conversion then we are golden! Basically he just said that as we baptize we need to remember that that is the first step and the next is to get them to the house of the Lord. It was really a cool talk. The talks that are given are all so different and we never really know what we are going to get.But each one has been really uplifting. This guy said a quote that i loved and it was "if you think you can or you think you can't, you're right" I had heard this but it really got to me this time because how we look at what we are doing is what makes the difference and i truly am loving it here and loving what i am doing! The fireside last night was all about prayer. He was an mtc administrative director guy ha sorry i don't have my notes with me i forgot his name. But he really hit on that prayer is so vital in conversion. We always focus on fulfilling our purpose as missionaries but the first step for people is to have faith in Jesus Christ and to have that faith we must pray to our father in heaven. He said a lot of missionaries look over how important it is to really focus on prayer. I have seen what a difference prayer has made since i have been here and really praying with real intent and im excited for other people to see that. Oh ya me and the elders in our room had to move to the other side of our building this week because we were out in the middle of no where by the phillipino missionaries for the first few weeks but not a big deal. Our room is much bigger though that is for sure! I think our old room used to be an old custodial closet! haha No but it's fun our whole zone is right by each other and i love our zone! we have some people in there that are just goof balls but that also keep it light and funny which is good. I didn't think i would become such good friends with some of these elders but i can tell that some of them are going to be good friends for more than just the MTC! We have the best branch president! I have never met someone who always just shows love and is never mad. THe other day he was saying that he wont allow himself to have a bad day and i truly believe that he hasn't had a bad day. He really shows so much love to elder bowden and i and it is so great to work along side of our branch presidency. THey all are great men and i love my calling. Well fam the work is going great and i love it here so much. I really have realized that if i had the chance to leave this place i wouldn't ever! I really think you'd have to drag me out of here because i know this work is so valuable and is going to be the standard for the rest of my life! Thank you all for your letters and packages and love. They mean the world to me and i love to hear from all of you. Thanks again and know that i love and pray for everyone and all of you. This work is amazing and i just love it here and this opportunity to serve. LOVE YOU ALL until next week,
Elder hammer/martillo
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
#4
Hey fam!
Wow another goes by and i'm right back here emailing you guys again. I love to share with you my weeks. I love forward to pday so much cause my experiences here need to be shared to everyone ha ok not really but i really like emailing you guys. Well like i said its been another great with with tons of learning and speaking espanol. I can't believe how much spanish we are learning sometimes i feel like the noggin is gonna explode because there is so much to learn but i know i'll be fine. Thank you all so much for the letters and packages I seriously am so blessed for all that everyone sends me! I absolutely love it when i get back and there 3 or 4 letters wating for me. so keep writing! Well yesterday was my first official day as the zone leader. and before sundays used to be another relaxing day like pday but boy did my schedule just change. haha i love it though and i am goign to love to serve everyone. Well to start off the day i have meetings with the presidency and district leader from 745 to 9. Then we have preisthood at 10 and we always take the first five minutes of that to go over the white bible. But our presdident was really nice to us and let us know that he will be out of town next weekend and that elder bowden and i would be in charge of teaching priesthood. Ha just put in on my tab! Seriously we have so much to do but at the same time we can do it. It's not too crazy just a little overwhelming. We then are in charge of conducting a meeting after sacrament with all the zone leaders in our building. so pretty much its just a baby sitting thing etc... Its funny though to hear all the dumb things missionaries do. Last week a missionary snuck a sister in our building and was hanging out with her. No bueno! But basically we are just in charge when president isn't here to make sure everyone is doing ok and following the rules. We don't have that much but it's an added stress on top of the studying ha but it's all good we will find time for it all. Jacie i know how you feel with becky's kids ha imagine being in charge of 52 19 year olds ha. The firesides this week were really good. This last tuesday Angel abrea talked to us from the 70. that man had a testimony and he told us how much of a miracle it was to be able to see that we KNOW that jesus is the christ and that we Know that joseph smith was a prophet of God. It was really cool to hear him bear his testimony, he was like yelling i know this and i know that and the man just had some serious power. Last night we had a fireside from one of the members of the MTC presidency. Him and his family did the entire program and they did the singing too. He has like 25 grandkids and all of them are under like 10 and all of them were singing I hope they call me on a mission it was so cute and so fun to see kids. ha i haven't seen kids for a long time so it's nice to see someone other than older men and women. Then they had each of their sons get up and tell about one tip they would share with us on their missions. And that was amazing to hear the little tips that are so meaningful to them. But the fireside was really really great. The espanol is coming along it's amazing how much we are using spanish in our daily vocab and we just are starting to replace a new word in spanish with the one in english. Our district is amazingly motivated and we have english fasts during class where we only speak spanish and it really really helps. The more i speak it and talk the more i understand. Each week we teach a lesson to a investigator and we start out for 15 minutes of spanish and then 35 for a lesson and in three weeks the lessons go from english to spanish, so that should be interesting but other than my personal prayers all of them are in spanish and my personal prayers and turnign into spanglish! Its really cool to see the transition. I got that picture book from the imac or whatever, THANK YOU SO MUCH. That is seriously so sweet of you guys to send to me and i love it. I am so happy that we could have so many great memories beofre i left. And many more are to come when i get home so don't worry mom, they'll be tons more to add to it! Your letters are so uplifting and your packages mean so much to me. Thank you thank you i cannot say it enough! Probably the best experience this week was in class on friday we watched a talk that Jeffrey R. Holland gave in 2000 called the miracle of missionary work. Take some time to watch taht if you haven't it seriously gives me the chills just talking about it. Jeffrey R. Holland is amazing and pretty much just laid the law down about what a mission is. I seriously will never forget the things he said in that talk. Sometimes it gets so good here and other times are a little tuff but i swear in all those tuff times the lord blesses me with uplifting things such as this talk. I'm sure nick has seen it but take some time to watch it together as a fam, it might be the most amazing talk i have ever heard. I sure hope you guys know that i love this work. I really am getting into such a groove and i have nothing to do but get to work. Thats all i can really do. i know that if i give it my all this mission will be something that i look back on with no regrets and thats all i want. The mtc gets a little redundant at times but you know thats just how it is and i really enjoy it here. I have got to be really good friends with random people from the gym and eating and i just see a lot of people here and its so great. Archie and Steve nelson got called to be district leaders this week , so i'd say us st. georgians are shwoing the mtc where the church is so true haha. thats a joke i know this is gonna be a humbling calling and experience. I have already been so humbled up here. I literally am nothing compared to what i need to be but thats what is so great the lord makes up the rest for us. I have learned just to put my faith in our savior and we will be blessed thats all i can do. Thank you all for the prayers i can tell that i am being blessed because of your prayers for me. Mom i'm pretty sure i have got everything i could possibly need here. You guys have taken such good care of me but if i think of anything i will let you know. I'm sure you will but tell everyone i love them and tell everyone i am loving it here. Oh guess what they might open up the gym this week for 3 on 3 so hopefully that will happen. i'm ready to dunk on someone! haha ya thats right nick i just said that. Everyday here is another spiritual experience to add to the journal. Don't worry i'm keeeping a good journal and i write init every night. I really love to write in there and it is really good for me to remember the thoughts of the day to write down. Keep praying for me, i know you will but the espanol isn't gonna get any easier and i need all the blessings i can get! But thank you for all your prayers thus far, they mean the world to me. We were able to go to the temple again this morning. Wow it's early when we go but my favorite part of the week is walking out of the temple early morning as the sun is coming over the mountain and looking out, it's an amazing experience. Well fam i love you so much and i hope you know that. Elder Hammer is loving it up here and is doing just great. The work is ture and i know that we will are all so blessed because of this great news we have. i LOVE YOU GUYS!
Elder Martillo (Hammer en espanol)
Wow another goes by and i'm right back here emailing you guys again. I love to share with you my weeks. I love forward to pday so much cause my experiences here need to be shared to everyone ha ok not really but i really like emailing you guys. Well like i said its been another great with with tons of learning and speaking espanol. I can't believe how much spanish we are learning sometimes i feel like the noggin is gonna explode because there is so much to learn but i know i'll be fine. Thank you all so much for the letters and packages I seriously am so blessed for all that everyone sends me! I absolutely love it when i get back and there 3 or 4 letters wating for me. so keep writing! Well yesterday was my first official day as the zone leader. and before sundays used to be another relaxing day like pday but boy did my schedule just change. haha i love it though and i am goign to love to serve everyone. Well to start off the day i have meetings with the presidency and district leader from 745 to 9. Then we have preisthood at 10 and we always take the first five minutes of that to go over the white bible. But our presdident was really nice to us and let us know that he will be out of town next weekend and that elder bowden and i would be in charge of teaching priesthood. Ha just put in on my tab! Seriously we have so much to do but at the same time we can do it. It's not too crazy just a little overwhelming. We then are in charge of conducting a meeting after sacrament with all the zone leaders in our building. so pretty much its just a baby sitting thing etc... Its funny though to hear all the dumb things missionaries do. Last week a missionary snuck a sister in our building and was hanging out with her. No bueno! But basically we are just in charge when president isn't here to make sure everyone is doing ok and following the rules. We don't have that much but it's an added stress on top of the studying ha but it's all good we will find time for it all. Jacie i know how you feel with becky's kids ha imagine being in charge of 52 19 year olds ha. The firesides this week were really good. This last tuesday Angel abrea talked to us from the 70. that man had a testimony and he told us how much of a miracle it was to be able to see that we KNOW that jesus is the christ and that we Know that joseph smith was a prophet of God. It was really cool to hear him bear his testimony, he was like yelling i know this and i know that and the man just had some serious power. Last night we had a fireside from one of the members of the MTC presidency. Him and his family did the entire program and they did the singing too. He has like 25 grandkids and all of them are under like 10 and all of them were singing I hope they call me on a mission it was so cute and so fun to see kids. ha i haven't seen kids for a long time so it's nice to see someone other than older men and women. Then they had each of their sons get up and tell about one tip they would share with us on their missions. And that was amazing to hear the little tips that are so meaningful to them. But the fireside was really really great. The espanol is coming along it's amazing how much we are using spanish in our daily vocab and we just are starting to replace a new word in spanish with the one in english. Our district is amazingly motivated and we have english fasts during class where we only speak spanish and it really really helps. The more i speak it and talk the more i understand. Each week we teach a lesson to a investigator and we start out for 15 minutes of spanish and then 35 for a lesson and in three weeks the lessons go from english to spanish, so that should be interesting but other than my personal prayers all of them are in spanish and my personal prayers and turnign into spanglish! Its really cool to see the transition. I got that picture book from the imac or whatever, THANK YOU SO MUCH. That is seriously so sweet of you guys to send to me and i love it. I am so happy that we could have so many great memories beofre i left. And many more are to come when i get home so don't worry mom, they'll be tons more to add to it! Your letters are so uplifting and your packages mean so much to me. Thank you thank you i cannot say it enough! Probably the best experience this week was in class on friday we watched a talk that Jeffrey R. Holland gave in 2000 called the miracle of missionary work. Take some time to watch taht if you haven't it seriously gives me the chills just talking about it. Jeffrey R. Holland is amazing and pretty much just laid the law down about what a mission is. I seriously will never forget the things he said in that talk. Sometimes it gets so good here and other times are a little tuff but i swear in all those tuff times the lord blesses me with uplifting things such as this talk. I'm sure nick has seen it but take some time to watch it together as a fam, it might be the most amazing talk i have ever heard. I sure hope you guys know that i love this work. I really am getting into such a groove and i have nothing to do but get to work. Thats all i can really do. i know that if i give it my all this mission will be something that i look back on with no regrets and thats all i want. The mtc gets a little redundant at times but you know thats just how it is and i really enjoy it here. I have got to be really good friends with random people from the gym and eating and i just see a lot of people here and its so great. Archie and Steve nelson got called to be district leaders this week , so i'd say us st. georgians are shwoing the mtc where the church is so true haha. thats a joke i know this is gonna be a humbling calling and experience. I have already been so humbled up here. I literally am nothing compared to what i need to be but thats what is so great the lord makes up the rest for us. I have learned just to put my faith in our savior and we will be blessed thats all i can do. Thank you all for the prayers i can tell that i am being blessed because of your prayers for me. Mom i'm pretty sure i have got everything i could possibly need here. You guys have taken such good care of me but if i think of anything i will let you know. I'm sure you will but tell everyone i love them and tell everyone i am loving it here. Oh guess what they might open up the gym this week for 3 on 3 so hopefully that will happen. i'm ready to dunk on someone! haha ya thats right nick i just said that. Everyday here is another spiritual experience to add to the journal. Don't worry i'm keeeping a good journal and i write init every night. I really love to write in there and it is really good for me to remember the thoughts of the day to write down. Keep praying for me, i know you will but the espanol isn't gonna get any easier and i need all the blessings i can get! But thank you for all your prayers thus far, they mean the world to me. We were able to go to the temple again this morning. Wow it's early when we go but my favorite part of the week is walking out of the temple early morning as the sun is coming over the mountain and looking out, it's an amazing experience. Well fam i love you so much and i hope you know that. Elder Hammer is loving it up here and is doing just great. The work is ture and i know that we will are all so blessed because of this great news we have. i LOVE YOU GUYS!
Elder Martillo (Hammer en espanol)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
tres
Hello family!
Wow what an amazing week this has truly been i don't even know where to start but it's so great to hear from all of you you guys are seriously the best. I can open letters right when i get them so keep writing me ha they make my days. Mom i know you talked about that bike situation but ya for sure buy that bike it sounds like it's great and i'm totally fine with that thanks so much for doing that for me! Well this week has been a great week i have learned so much and the espanol is coming along. Elder Bowden and i are teaching pmg lesson 1 like crazy and were really starting to get the hang of things here. We go around bearing our testimonies to random people during the day and it is so fun. The gym finally opened! but we still can't play team games we have to play shooting games like pig horse and speed but it's still fun and we play volleyball too. Jace you know how me and arch wooped you that one day. Well pretty much i just tear it up out there and thinkin of you. Bump set spike! thanks to everyone for the letters and the packages! rodgers fam thanks so much for the cinnamon rolls, mom thanks so much for the fourth of july package we totally decked our room out i'll send you pictures and the fans were the best! Thanks so much for sending me the G'S mom your so on top of things and the camera chip as well! wow i am just spoiled that all i have to say! The mail shop has been closed for the last three days cause of the holiday so it's still like coming so if i don't answer questions i'm sorry. sounds like you guys had a blast in denver! i hope your not beltless nick cause i know pops is bringing his a game with you! This week Gerald lund the author of the work and the glory was our speaker at the devotional. Nick i was thinking of you and that those were the only books you had ever read haha. He talked to us about finding people while we are out on our missions! it really made me just want to get out there and get right to work but i have a lot to do here before i get out there! OK everyone hold on to your seats cause i have some huge news! Me and elder bowden got called to be zone leaders yesterday! We have a district thats leaving in a week and one that leaves in two and one that leaves in like four and my companion and i were called after a week and a half ha i know it's so crazy i couldn't believe it when our branch president told us that yesterday. He told us that from the night he met us that he knew we would be the next ones! I couldn't believe but i'm excited for the calling. I have been praying a lot lately and just wanting to feel comfort and know my purpose and all that good stuff and as he called us i knew that there is reason for me being here. I literally have just been saying everynight to the lord that i'm putting my faith in him and letting him doing the rest and i get this calling. It was such a great sunday. It was fast sunday yesterday and i was nervous cause i'm not a good faster and i get light headed and all ha you all remember when i passed out passing the sacrament ya that was fast sunday. But i just wanted yesterday to be more of a testimony builder and i totally felt the spirit yesterday more than i ever have. We had mission conference after we got called and the whole meeting the spirit was just radiating. There was a musical number in humility i think it was the song at my farewell. But i just cried the whole time cause the spirit was so strong and i know exactly why i am here! After mission conference we had sacrament meeting. ALL SPANISH! its amazing though how much i could understand though. I bore my testimony in SPANGLISH ha but i just cried you know how big of a boob i am and i just know that yesterday was exactly what i needed! I have so much more to do now because of my calling but i know that the lord will help me out. I have been praying lately like i have never done before. I absolutely know that this mission is exactly where i need to be and what i need in my life. The other day in my prayer i was asking to have more faith because me and my companion are focusing on a christlike attribute each week from pmg and two second after i asked in prayer to build my faith we were walking to breakfast and an old man stopped me and said "i just want you to know that you are doing the lord's work and what you are doing is true" I was stunned. It literally was an answer to my prayers. I can't believe how much i have learned about myself and the gospel this past week it literally is amazing to me how wonderful this experience really is. Today we got to go to the temple! it was so amazing the provo temple is so different compared to st george but it was all the same stuff and i felt like something was missing in my days and the temple was it. Ha mom i can't not go to the temple in a week its just such a habit we built up! I love it though. we go every monday at 7 am so we have to wake up at 5 30 to get up there and get ready. But my experience there today was really cool and i just know that our heavenly father watches out for us when we need him most. We had a 4th of july devotional thing that was about the early reformers and kinda just lead into the restoration that was really fun. They let us watch the fireworks past curfew! ha it was really funny cause there was only like one little aly way that you could see them from so imagine 2 thousand missionaries as the fireworks were going off in like a 50 yard square ha it was a little crazy. It really is so amazing to me how many kids are here. when we sing at firesides its absolutely amazing how many and how loud that place can be! I am starting to be pretty good friends with zome other guys from different zones at gym time. One of them is connor atkin he played basketball at pv but he really is such a great kid. Everyone is friends with everyone here and i love it. I just wanna say thanks to all of you who write me. I literally just light up when i get letters from all of you and it is the best! I love you all so much please pray for me and this new calling1 i'm gonna need all the help i can get. i love you all so much! Until next week adios,
Elder Hammer
Wow what an amazing week this has truly been i don't even know where to start but it's so great to hear from all of you you guys are seriously the best. I can open letters right when i get them so keep writing me ha they make my days. Mom i know you talked about that bike situation but ya for sure buy that bike it sounds like it's great and i'm totally fine with that thanks so much for doing that for me! Well this week has been a great week i have learned so much and the espanol is coming along. Elder Bowden and i are teaching pmg lesson 1 like crazy and were really starting to get the hang of things here. We go around bearing our testimonies to random people during the day and it is so fun. The gym finally opened! but we still can't play team games we have to play shooting games like pig horse and speed but it's still fun and we play volleyball too. Jace you know how me and arch wooped you that one day. Well pretty much i just tear it up out there and thinkin of you. Bump set spike! thanks to everyone for the letters and the packages! rodgers fam thanks so much for the cinnamon rolls, mom thanks so much for the fourth of july package we totally decked our room out i'll send you pictures and the fans were the best! Thanks so much for sending me the G'S mom your so on top of things and the camera chip as well! wow i am just spoiled that all i have to say! The mail shop has been closed for the last three days cause of the holiday so it's still like coming so if i don't answer questions i'm sorry. sounds like you guys had a blast in denver! i hope your not beltless nick cause i know pops is bringing his a game with you! This week Gerald lund the author of the work and the glory was our speaker at the devotional. Nick i was thinking of you and that those were the only books you had ever read haha. He talked to us about finding people while we are out on our missions! it really made me just want to get out there and get right to work but i have a lot to do here before i get out there! OK everyone hold on to your seats cause i have some huge news! Me and elder bowden got called to be zone leaders yesterday! We have a district thats leaving in a week and one that leaves in two and one that leaves in like four and my companion and i were called after a week and a half ha i know it's so crazy i couldn't believe it when our branch president told us that yesterday. He told us that from the night he met us that he knew we would be the next ones! I couldn't believe but i'm excited for the calling. I have been praying a lot lately and just wanting to feel comfort and know my purpose and all that good stuff and as he called us i knew that there is reason for me being here. I literally have just been saying everynight to the lord that i'm putting my faith in him and letting him doing the rest and i get this calling. It was such a great sunday. It was fast sunday yesterday and i was nervous cause i'm not a good faster and i get light headed and all ha you all remember when i passed out passing the sacrament ya that was fast sunday. But i just wanted yesterday to be more of a testimony builder and i totally felt the spirit yesterday more than i ever have. We had mission conference after we got called and the whole meeting the spirit was just radiating. There was a musical number in humility i think it was the song at my farewell. But i just cried the whole time cause the spirit was so strong and i know exactly why i am here! After mission conference we had sacrament meeting. ALL SPANISH! its amazing though how much i could understand though. I bore my testimony in SPANGLISH ha but i just cried you know how big of a boob i am and i just know that yesterday was exactly what i needed! I have so much more to do now because of my calling but i know that the lord will help me out. I have been praying lately like i have never done before. I absolutely know that this mission is exactly where i need to be and what i need in my life. The other day in my prayer i was asking to have more faith because me and my companion are focusing on a christlike attribute each week from pmg and two second after i asked in prayer to build my faith we were walking to breakfast and an old man stopped me and said "i just want you to know that you are doing the lord's work and what you are doing is true" I was stunned. It literally was an answer to my prayers. I can't believe how much i have learned about myself and the gospel this past week it literally is amazing to me how wonderful this experience really is. Today we got to go to the temple! it was so amazing the provo temple is so different compared to st george but it was all the same stuff and i felt like something was missing in my days and the temple was it. Ha mom i can't not go to the temple in a week its just such a habit we built up! I love it though. we go every monday at 7 am so we have to wake up at 5 30 to get up there and get ready. But my experience there today was really cool and i just know that our heavenly father watches out for us when we need him most. We had a 4th of july devotional thing that was about the early reformers and kinda just lead into the restoration that was really fun. They let us watch the fireworks past curfew! ha it was really funny cause there was only like one little aly way that you could see them from so imagine 2 thousand missionaries as the fireworks were going off in like a 50 yard square ha it was a little crazy. It really is so amazing to me how many kids are here. when we sing at firesides its absolutely amazing how many and how loud that place can be! I am starting to be pretty good friends with zome other guys from different zones at gym time. One of them is connor atkin he played basketball at pv but he really is such a great kid. Everyone is friends with everyone here and i love it. I just wanna say thanks to all of you who write me. I literally just light up when i get letters from all of you and it is the best! I love you all so much please pray for me and this new calling1 i'm gonna need all the help i can get. i love you all so much! Until next week adios,
Elder Hammer
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