ONE

Bonjour mon famille!

I have one piece of bad news and then the rest is good. This morning as I was doing my laundry with Elder Keenan (I'll tell you all about him in a bit!) I realized that, and it kills me to say this, but, I lost a sock! That's it. That's the only negative thing that has happened since you guys dropped me off. I heard in your letters that Hazel was sad to see me go. Everyone was laughing later because she had come out of the car at the MTC and was sniffing around, it became a story quickly. I am so happy that Elder Moon was able to pick me up at the curb and that we were able to see each other before he left! He and Elder Richards (Andrew Richards from Ammon! How cool is that!) left to Germany early this morning.

I felt bad after you had dropped me off because I didn't cry—I was worried that you guys would think I wasn't sad to be saying goodbye! I have missed all of you so much, but I am staying so busy that I honestly don't have any time to daydream about home! I love all of you! Hannah, I'm really happy to hear that Orem High was a good choice! I don't think I would have the guts to make such a big change in my life like that (but hey, being a missionary is a pretty big change in and of itself!) Matt, are you kidding me! When I was reading your letter I couldn't help but think, this kid is miles above me! The way you write is amazing! Thanks for the advice about learning a new language—I'll keep that in mind as I study French! Oh, and that picture was hilarious. "Hey little girl..." I had to explain that to Elder Keenan because he had no idea what it was. Good times... Kendall, so... what happened? Did you just forget about me all together! I miss you! You were probably just busy being so busy with dance and being chased around by all of the boys at Jr. High. I still can't believe you are at that school! Did you know that that is the first school that I went to from start to finish? Crazy, huh? Longs Creek was K-4th; Tiebreaker was just 5th (with Elder Richards!); Manilla was just 6th; and PGJHS was 7-9th! I hope you're having a great time there! Adam! Your note was awesome! Good luck at your soccer game on Thursday! You'll do great, you always do. Just remember to keep your head up when you're driving in, and lean over when you shoot! I want to hear all about it next week!

So! Let's get to the juice! Elder Keenan is my companion! He is a such a great guy! He's about a foot taller than me—I think the only picture I sent home on the card was of us sitting on the bench together, so you won't get the full effect, but trust me, he's tall! He's from Naperville (somewhere near Chicago!) I remember when I first met him I was so excited because he had so much energy and was really excited about the work and learning French—perfect for me! And! We've been going running every morning at 6 to work off all of the food we eat! Sidenote: I never really believed people when they talked about the MTC cafeteria. The place is nuts. So. Much. Food. I eat a ton, which isn't bad, but isn't great either. Mom, you'd be so proud of me! I've been trying/eating/enjoying everything! For lunch everyday I get a spinach wrap with guac', spinach, lettuce, chicken, green peppers, tomatoes, corn, beans, and some kind of dressing. Back to Elder Keenan, sorry. We are both super driven and come from backgrounds where we have both been used to being the 'leader' type, so sometimes we bump heads a little. But I always quickly get back on track and try to do my best to work well with him. Pray for me, especially that I'll learn to be patient (if I used the wrong patient, you can't blame me, French is messing with my spelling. But that's not a bad thing!) and humble.

Wow... I only have six more minutes... Elder Ellis (Austin) was right, emails are hard. Here's a quick summary of the week so far:

Wednesday: I arrived at the MTC! Elder Moon picked me up! Within two minutes of dropping my luggage off at my room, I was in my classroom in a French lesson. By the end of the day I could speak enough French to ask someone to "Please pass the napkins." Great first day!

Thursday: Waking up at 6:30 wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The day was the longest I've had so far. We taught a few 'mock' investigators in a group setting—kind of like a workshop. Lots of food; lots of studying.

(Sorry, I'm really pressed for time. I need to get better at knowing what I want to say before I sit at the computer...)

Friday: We taught our first investigator! His name is Robert (pronounced: Row-bare.) It was so hard teaching a thirty minute lesson all in French! But I pulled it off with Elder Keenan and we had a great time. More studying. More food.

Saturday: Everybody has been saying here, "Just make it till Saturday!" Well, I made it! We taught Robert again, this time we went off script for most of the time and I was able to see the gift of tongues in action.

Sunday: Church was great. The Temple walk rocked!

Monday: Study. Food.

(30 seconds...)

Tuesday: First p-day. Wrote this. Did laundry. Hearing from a General Authority tonight!

The Church is true!

Elder Ellis