Hello Family! I need to type fast because I only have 25 minutes left. Thanks for all your letters, love, support, packages, and the dates for the immunizations. Well, where to start!!! I am really familiar with the MTC now and know my way around. Elder Nielsen and I are rooming with Elder Sowards and Elder Bassett. One is from Boise and one is from Provo. They are awesome. I love my district, which is comprised of 10 elders. 6 of us are going to Kennewick and 4 are going to Nashville. The other 2 elders in our room are going to Nashville. Well, I have taught about 7 lessons already,all of them being lesson 1 in preach my gospel. They are all about 30-45 minutes long. I have learned so much here and have most importantly learned to teach by the spirit. Even though I had 2 pages of notes for our lessons, I find we teach better when we go by the spirit and it helps us with what to say. I have such a strong testimony since I have been here. I love gym time and volleyball and frisbee. I dominate all the elders in both! The gym has been closed due to reconstruction but opens tomorrow and that's when I finally get to play basketball. My companion and about 75% of my district love basketball too which is a relief to me! We can't wait till tomorrow to play! We have had some great devotionals, firesides, lessons, and experiences already. Elder Nielsen and I were asked to pass the sacrament on Sunday and were the only 2 elders to do so. Our sacrament meeting was comprised of our zone, which is 3 districts, so about 30 elders. My P-Day is today, Wednesday and so I can only E-mail you on Wednesdays, but know I love you and appreciate all the great letters and the package, which I have barely had time to start eating! Every night when we get back to the residence hall (or dorm in other words) I barely have enough time to change, read my scriptures, write in my journal, brush my teeth and go to bed. However, I have had some of the food and it is great!!! The other elders are jealous that my family loves me so much with all that I get! My branch president, president hacking, is an awesome man and so is my zone and district. It's amazing how well we bond and we all joke a lot and get along well. We really are all friends and talk a lot. Meals.........holy cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have probably put on 50 pounds since being here. The food is amazing and i am always stuffed. I try my hardest during the hour of gym time that we get to work it off and I have been working it off, but wow I eat a lot and the food is great. Every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday we get gym for about an hour. Not as much as I would like, but it's enough. I work hard every day and pray for all of you!!! I can't wait to get to Washington/Oregon and start teaching what I have learned. I take great notes and write detailed journal entries every night, so don't worry mom, you won't miss any experiences of mine! We just got back from the Provo Temple and it was a great experience. The endowment session went very smooth and surprisingly I remembered a lot and did well. It' s a beautiful temple. On Sunday's we have a 2 hour temple walk where we can go to the temple grounds and take pictures and experience it and I took tons of pictures so you are in for some good ones. Everything is cheap at the bookstore and they have some great things. I bought a study journal with tabs for notes and stuff and I also bought a $12 MTC shirt which was only about 7 or 8 bucks because we get 40% off everything in the store! We are getting ready to do laundry after these E-mails. Our laundry time today is from 12 to 3. We will stop by the MTC bookstore as a district and buy laundry stuff for when we do that. Everything is really going smooth though and I don't want any of you to worry about anything. BYU......let's just say I am glad to be on my mission right now. We will beat Nevada and Utah State coming up though. I know we will. My prediction is that we finish 8-4, losing to TCU and Utah this year, although I hope we finish 10-2! I am loving the experience here and things are great. I am a little homesick lately, but I know I am supposed to be here. Dad, good luck with Jake Barnes as your new companion, he will be great, he really will. I respect him. Thanks for your inspirational letters and all you do for me, I appreciate it a lot. Mom, who won on Iron Chef last night and how is Richard Karn doing?!!! How was golfing yesterday and today? I hope that you beat them all, I know you will. I am not in need of anything right now. I am glad to hear that the debit card is being sent. Thank you all for your help with that. Brooke and Rocky, I appreciate the letter and hope all is going well with you and your boys. Keep me up to date on anything that goes on out of the ordinary. Bran and Anni, thank you for the letter, and the humor. It never gets old and really made my day reading that. Also family please please please thank the Caspers for the letter that John and Sarah sent me. I got it and it really touched me. They are great people. I wonder who will do their yard now?!! Um...I am trying to think of what I have not covered yet. Please let Erin know how much I love her and hope she does well at school. Singing hymns is one of my favorite things to do here. We sing them all the time. and it really brings the spirit. I worried about the immunization sheet when the lady told me that i only had 2 of 3 dates. i did not want 3 more shots and have to pay $60. I will run the dates to the building ASAP so thanks, that's been worrying me. Well, the weather has been perfect for golf since I have been here, go figure! Please let everybody konw how much I appreciate their prayers and love for me. I feel them. Most importantly, one of my fellow elders from the district, elder young, does the best impression of smiegel, or golum from lord of the rings. it is so funny. When the new elders come today, we are going to pull a harmless prank on them, which we have gotten permission from the zone leaders to do. Tonight when we have our zone prayer in the hall, he will freak out in his room doing his impression and we will tell all the new elders to look out for elder young cause he is crazy and freaks out sometimes and has siezures. We will tell them the truth after we have our fun!! I can't wait to not be the newest after today. Well, the 2 minute warning is flashing so I better send this, but know I love you all. I will write you next Wednesday through email and hopefully have time to write you by hand this week. Best of luck to you all and I pray for you daily! Hang in there family and keep me updated on games, sports, family, etc.!!!
Love,
Elder Bates
P.S. My teachers are great and Sister Keddington is a good teacher and knows me. thanks for all you do!
P.S. My teachers are great and Sister Keddington is a good teacher and knows me. thanks for all you do!
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