letter number 8

Hola fam!
Jord here once again from the spacious laundry room at the mtc! Wow i can't believe that i'll only be writing you all two more times from the MTC and then it's out in the hoods of Baltimore! haha i'm excited though thats for sure. This week was a really good week and we are really pushing it hard for these last couple weeks because we can tell now that its goign to come even faster than we think. Thank you all so much for your letters and packages. Mom i just barely barely got the package with the missionary letters in it and the magazines. Thank you so so so much! But thank you to everyone who has written me. I really love to hear from everyone and all the fun that everyone is having! This life is just to good not to enjoy so i love hearing from you all.
This week we had a couple firesides that were really really good. On tuesday we had Brother Bateman and his wife talk to us. They are the presidents at the Provo temple, and yet again i have really really realized how important the temple is in this amazing work. It literally is the most important thing that we can get our investigators to do. His wife was really sweet, it's always nice to hear from there wives first cause they just tell you how great you are and they are just all happy and so they get you ready for the husband. haha No but brother bateman gave a great talk on the power that we have. He talked alot about ammon and the sons of mosiah and the power that they taught with and how blessed they were for their righteousness. I love that story and i think every other missionary here loves that too! He said somethign that i'll never forget and that is we "are endowed with power" and i guess i just forget sometimes the promises and blessings that come from the temple. The very next day i was reading in D AND C and there was a scripture that said that same thing. I am about half way done with d and c and i am loving it by the way. But ya we just are promised so many blessings and we have so much to look forward to with the Lord.
Last night's devtional was from a guy that we have already heard from but he is a good speaker. He talked about Charity and the importance in just loving the people whom we serve amongst. I need to work on this more and more adn i don't think we can ever become perfect in Charity but he just emphasized the success that will come from within when we practice charity. We are really blessed to have these devotionals and firesides, i will probably miss those the most when i leave here.
Well for some not so great news but still ok. Presdient Dean got realeased this week from being our Branch Pres.He thought he would get released after we left but they did a few weeks early. So we now have a new branch president named president lindsey. But it was tuff to say goodbye to that man. I don't think you will ever know fam how amazing of an impact that man has had on me in the Mtc. I give him a lot of the credit for this being an amazing experience and i know that i am really really blessed to have been with him and serve with him. I have had the best priesthood leaders throughout all my life adn thats something that still hasn't changed. The Lord knows me and knows what i needed during this Mtc time and President Dean has been the best! Yesterday we took tons of pictures and there were a few tears as we sang God be with you till we meet again, but all and all it's all good. I can't get attatched to people so easily haha (I hate that song by the way!)
We got another new district this week in our zone and were getting another one on wednesday. our zone is huge! But adam timo from snow canyon the football player is in my zone! He's a stud and boy can that kid jump he threw it down in the gym the other day and it was nasty haha but ya the new district is a bunch of great elders. That elder that i was helping last week is going home for sure i think tomorrow. It's really sad because he just has a lack of faith and just can't do this and has his mind set up. But it's been kind of good for me to see someone say all those things and it's really made me realize how blessed I am and how i know i can do this and how I KNOW that i have a testimony of this gospel and of this work. D and C is amazing it seems like every chapter has some reference to missionary work and the promises that the lord has promised us all. It is amazing the love the Lord has for all of us and all of his missionaries and i know that no matter how hard it gets, it's only gonnna make me stronger and that much better.
So to add to yesterday's tears with president dean, i also had to say goodbye to Archie. He's probably somewhere over the Atlantic ocean right now flying but ya that wasn't too bad, But i just am grateful for someoen like arch who has been by my side for everything. He's gonna be such a stud out there and his spanish is amazing. But yes i will miss seeing Archie at the Mtc but it's his time and it's going to be my time soon so no time to waste!
This week has been a good week for spanish. We are studying hard and are putting a lot of emphasis on using spanish for entire days. It's really tuff to express yourself sometimes throughout the day, but it is helping us so much and we are all looking up words and doing all we can so we can say things we want to say. Were still all pretty Gringo though. Pretty much my best friend is my dictionary i carry it everywhere with me and wehn i dont' know something i just whip it out and WAALLLAA Espanol haha. I'm excited to get out have to work through espanol. Puerto Ricans are the main culture in Baltimore adn they have the fastest spanish so that will be fun, But i'm ready to just immerse myself in spanish.
We should be getting our flight plans on thursday and so i will have all that information for you next week. I am almost 100% positive that i will be leaving on tuesday the 25th so i would say plan on that for sure. But i'll get you all the details and all that good stuff next week. it's crazy though just when you get comfortable it's time to leave ha i really have loved the MTC so much. It's is the spirits playground and i have never been somewhere where i just feel so at peace and so happy and it's just kinda nice to be out of the world a litttle bit.
Well Fam i love you guys so much. I have an elder in my district whose dad has cancer and has 4 months to live and here he is out on a mission. I look at him and just realize that i really am so blessed. i have an amazing family who i love and care abaout so much and they are all healthy and are doing great, and i have no worries ha just spanish. no but i just want to thank all of you for your love and your prayers, I feel your love through all of your letters and i know that heavenly father is watching over me because of all of your prayers for me. Thanks for the packages and the letters and all my pen pals i have the best people surrounding me and i love you all! Two more weeks people! Ha i can't believe it, but i'm excited as well! I love you all and pray for all of you always! Have a great week everyone and I will talk to you next week! Adios
Elder Martillo