Hola!

Hola!

Sounds like you guys have been having... fun? Kinda. I miss you guys but I love it here too. The MTC is pretty awesome. My companion's name is Elder Kidman and we get a long super well. He's from Utah and we work really well together, always motivating each other. We're in a district with 3 other sets of Elders (3 of us are going to Mendoza, Argentina, and the other 5 are going to California). We're all learning Spanish and we're all with each other pretty much all the time. So a typical day at the MTC typically includes somewhere between 8-10 hours in class. The teachers will speak Spanish to us the majority of the time, and have told us that their responsibility is to help us learn how to teach, but most of the learning, including the language, is supposed to be from personal effort during our own studies. They guide our language study and help, but they're only at the class for 3-5 hours, the rest of the time is just us 8 Elders studying whatever we feel like we need to study. Friday, two days after I got here, we got to teach our first lesson. Everyone in our district (the 8 of us) all teach the same investigator, but just 1 set of companions at a time. Our investigator is named Marcelo. As far as we can tell, our investigators are all recent converts that volunteer to help us learn, but no one would actually tell us that and it feels super real. We just can't imagine and actual investigator being patient enough to come for 2 hours a day (4 sets of companions in our district, each of us with a half hour lesson) every day to listen to people butcher their language. It is way fun teaching him. I've been picking up the language faster than my companion, since he's never done any Spanish before, so I've been doing most of the teaching, but he definitely helps and is getting better. So far we've taught him about prayer and our relationship with God. We've taught him 3 times so far and he's definitely progressing. Yesterday I asked him if he believed God answers our prayers and he said that he believed God could, but doesn't think He listens or helps all the time. I told him the story about when we were camping, lost our keys, prayed, and immediately found them, and how even though it was a pretty small problem, Heavenly Father listened and helped. Then I told him I knew that Heavenly Father would listen and help him too with all his big and small problems if he sincerely prayed, and we got him to commit to pray about the Restoration. I know we messed up the Spanish, but it's amazing how much we are already able to do.

The Spanish is coming along pretty well. At first I didn't feel like I could remember anything from high school, but as soon as we walked into our first lesson I could understand almost everything Marcelo said, and I talked to him a lot about the World Cup and some other stuff. We love Marcelo so much. He's so fun and I can't wait to get more investigators as I stay here longer.

Of, I guess I never really finished describing a typical day. Anyway, lots of class, 3 pretty good meals a day. Working hard from 6:30am-10:30pm. Basically no free time, but its great. Whenever we don't have anything to do we feel like we must be doing something wrong.

We also met our branch presidency for our zone a few times. The second counselor is President Monson's nephew and he has the exact same mannerisms! Everyone in the branch presidency seems awesome. Our whole zone (which has about 3 or 4 districts like mine, but they've been here longer) is super friendly and loving. Also, apparently our district is a bit odd because we don't have any Hermanas in it. The MTC is about 50/50 with Elders and Sisters right now but somehow our district is all Elders.

Yeah I'm excited to see how the announcement at the world broadcast will change things, but I don't know any more about it than you do. You wouldn't have seen me though. I was there, but they only showed the choir, which was about 1/2 the MTC. Everyone that arrived last week couldn't do it because we didn't been there when they practiced. Haha we haven't been able to eat in the cafeteria almost the whole time we've been here because the general authorities at that broadcast have been meeting in the building with the cafeteria in it the past few days, but that's alright.

Anyway, I'm glad you guys are doing well and I can't begin to describe everything I've done here. I'm doing great and learning a lot. There's a saying here that days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days, and so far that seems true. Each night it seems amazing that the things we had done that morning had even happened that day, but I can't believe its already been a week. Haha sorry this email is super unorganized and random, I don't have that long on the computer so I"m just writing whatever pops into my head.

Love you guys,
Elder Webster

Bittersweet

Today Jace entered the Mission Training Center in Provo, UT. Of course we are very proud of him, and excited for him, but it's hard to let him go. I want so much to text him to ask how he's doing and what it's like, but we can't do that for the next two years! We can't text, call, or skype. We can send packages and letters which may or may not get there, and we can email. He can only email us once a week and call on Mother's Day and Christmas.

There are many reasons that I'm okay with this, but two of the main ones were stated best by Bret and Jace. Bret reminded me that Heavenly Father let us have Jace to teach him and prepare him for this and for all the other things He has in store for him. We were naive and unprepared, but He trusted us anyway. Now He asks us to give him back for two years. Why should we hesitate? Heavenly Father is perfectly equipped to guide, protect, and teach Jace. He knows all, and makes no mistakes. Jace is where He wants him to be, and could be in no better hands.

After he first learned that he would be going to Argentina, Jace said that he wasn't being sent to Argentina, he was called there. That meant to him that Heavenly Father wasn't sending him away, but calling him to where He was and inviting him to help. I had never thought of it that way, and I think it's a very comforting thought!

Yesterday we took Jace to the Tucson airport. After he checked in his bags the worker asked if he was traveling alone, and if one of us wanted to escort him to the gate. We kind of laughed because people are always thinking he is much younger than he is ("Would you like a child's menu?" haha...), but I didn't argue! I stayed with him right up until they started to board. That's when it hit me all at once that this was really happening! It was very emotional saying goodbye and watching him walking away for the last time.

Today Grandma and Grandpa Webster, and Aunt Stelene took him to the Temple, and then the MTC.

 I like that last picture with the other young men in the same situation. Comforting to know he's not alone!

We are already excited to get our first email next Monday! We'll post it here, and hope that you will check in every once in a while to see how he's doing. Thank you all for your support!