Seven Pounds!

I included Lawrence's weekly email and handwritten letter in the same post today. In his email on Tuesday, he said that he had some problems when typing out a letter. So he could only get us two pictures. This kid is from his ward at BYU.

When his letter was scanned, the first line was cut off of each page. When I typed the letter up, I made sure to include what was missing. Enjoy!

3-25-08

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for your letters and packages. It's good to hear that everyone's doing well and that you're keeping busy. I'm still being well fed at the MTC. Evidence of that comes from the scale in the gymnasium which told me I've gained at least 7 pounds since I got to the MTC. Not bad considering I haven't gained weight since 7th grade.

I heard an interesting story from a teacher here who was subbing for my teacher. I think it was in Mexico, but the little kids there learn bad words in English and use them as their "hut, hut, hike!" when they play American football. One day he and his companion went over to a group of them playing football and they got scared and some ran away. He asked the kids still there "Do you know what those words mean?" and they say "No" and he asks "do you know those are bad words?" and they say "Yeah" so he tells them "You shouldn't use those words anymore...but do you want to learn another one? The kids got very excited and say "Yeah!" So he tells them "Don't tell these words to anyone." "Ok." "The word is 'Baptize Me!'" and sure enough the next time he saw them playing football the kids would yell "Baptize me, Baptize me, Baptize me!"

I'm glad to hear you're working hard. I know that as we all work hard we will accomplish great things. I read an interesting thing that mentioned whenever we do something good, we are immediately blessed and therefore forever indebted to Christ. Not only did Christ pay for our sins but we have no way of paying him back. I'm truly grateful for all he has done for me, especially thinking about this Easter holiday we just had.

You know, Dad, I ran the numbers and did all the necessary calculations and $95,000 is indeed far short of the $20,000,000 the Mayor's looking for. I wonder if the media will be able to calculate the difference as well. Definitely don't worry about packages while I'm in Argentina. It'd probably just be cheaper to DearElder a cookie recipe. Speaking of which, don't ever hesitate to replace a normal letter with a Dear Elder. It's cheaper for you and it's faster for me. Besides the money would work just fine if you wanted to buy a candy bar :). Yep, I'm getting a new mission president in July. His name is President Lindahl and he works here at the MTC as a Branch President. He came and found me and said "Hi" and I got to know him a little. He gave me a hug and said he's excited to get out to the field. His nephew is actually a teacher here in this Spanish section so I've met him too. He was actually the first one to tell me about there being a new mission president from Mendoza. Also I met the first other person in my zone who's serving in Mendoza as well, a Sister Hansen. Other than at the visa meeting I haven't remembered running into anyone else.

Well, it sounds like the Thursday Night activity for youth conference will be fun, Mom. That was the committee I was on when I was helping the year before, I think. All the juices are definitely good at the MTC but I haven't been downing as much orange juice as Brother Moran. I have, though, been mixing all kinds of juices and come out with some very good combinations. Sometimes it's ironic how a bunch of random juices really does taste like fruit punch. I guess that's where the idea came from. Tell Jennifer even Ayala needs to be humbled sometimes but as long as she's doing her best I know her hard work will pay off. I'm definitely glad for the work of Elder Francom and Smaley, Mom, for teaching you the gospel. The labors of even just a pair of missionaries really does bring amazing fruits. Such a huge percentage of this church is greatly indebted to missionaries and I'm so grateful to be a part of this great work. It reminds me of a scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:15-16. I hope to bring many people to this wonderful good news, the Gospel.

Thank you also for your Easter Goodies. It felt like I had the opportunity to participate in the family celebration and I was excited to open the eggs. I hope you had the chance to look through the special March Ensign and learn more about the Savior. It really is a special issue and I'm grateful for the smaller issue about the life if President Hinckley. It's good to learn about such a wonderful man and an amazing Redeemer. Both set good examples and both want us to return to our Father in Heaven. That should always be our first priority and I'm excited to teach about that path back to Heavenly Father to all those who will listen. I'm working to get ready because God will not entrust His prepared children in the hands of an unprepared missionary. I love this church and I know that it is true. Would I spend two years in some far-off foreign country if it wasn't? I'm grateful for our living prophet President Thomas S. Monson and I'm excited to hear more of the word of God during the upcoming conference. Their talks have become so much more meaningful now that I'm a missionary. I love you all and I hope to hear from you again soon. Have an amazing week! Bye!

Love, Elder Williams