Buenas Tardes!

       Sorry that my letter is later this afternoon. Last night Hermana Cottrell started feeling really sick. It was actually in the middle of a lesson when she thought she was going to pass out... so we quickly ended the lesson and headed back up to our room. So we've been hanging out in our room pretty much most of the day today. We didn't go to the temple this morning, because even though she is feeling much better, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to sit though a whole session. And while that was a bummer because I love the temple so much, it was pretty nice to have a relaxing, chill P-Day... because for the most part they never are. They are always so busy!

      This past week has been fantastic. Being here at the MTC can be a rollarcoaster, some weeks are great, others are really difficult. Luckily this has been a pretty great one. I've been asked to play the piano in Sacrament meetings, so it has been fun to spend a little bit of time practicing. One night every week Hermana Cottrell has a meeting that all coordinating sisters go to. So we go, drop her off and then Hermana Marcum and I went into a different room so that I could practice the piano. I was playing when Hermana Marcum told me that she was just going to go in the hallway right outside our room to fill her water bottle up. She was like don't stop... I can hear you. So I kept playing until someone walked in the room from a different hallway. I stopped playing and looked to see who it was. It was President Brown... The MTC president. He was like you play lovely... but you are alone, Where is your companion? I was like uh... well she said she was just filling her water bottle up.. she said she could hear me. haha I sounded so dumb. Anyways we got a short little talk about how important it is to always be within sight of your companion.. oops! We learned our lesson. It just HAD to be from the MTC President and not just a district president or something!

       Teaching our investigators has been going extremely well. Trino got married this past week and has a baptismal date of next Saturday, and Alex is getting baptized this Saturday. We also picked up two new investigators. We've only taught them once but it seems to be going well. It is so insane that I have been here so long. I honestly feel like I'm not preparing for the field, but that this is my mission. It doesn't really seem like I'm going to leave here! I'm excited, but I think I might have a freak out when I actually do leave here! And have to talk to real people that speak real Spanish! haha. Yesterday I took a Language Speaking Assessment where they ask you all sorts of questions and you have to respond to them in Spanish. They record you and then someone rates you and kind of just lets you know where you are and if you are on track. That sort of thing! So I should get that back sometime this week, and hopefully it is good news :]

       Remember when I talked about the "mock" sacrament meeting that we had a couple of weeks ago? Well this past Saturday we had a "mock" baptismal service for our other investigator so that they would know what to expect at their own baptism. I don't know what it is with our district... but anytime we "act" things just end up being really funny. They like kind of pretended to baptism "Tommy" (Elder Anderson), without saying the words... and then when Elder Mallard went to dunk him... it was a little different than in water and we almost lost Elder Anderson. He totally fell to the ground. At first it was like ahh. are you okay? but then it was just funny. Our investigator was like uhh I don't want to drown! So funny. I have grown to love my district so incredibly much. It's going to be weird when we all split our separate ways.

       So while I have been here I have learned a little bit about how the visas work for those that are serving internationally. You are put on a list and I'm not sure how they determine who and when you are accepted, but when you are you are called to a specific consulate somewhere in the United States. And the church pays for your day trip to fly to the city and get your visa. We have two roommates that are headed to France that left this morning at 4 AM to go to Los Angeles... they'll be back tonight by 7! Well apparently getting visas to go to Mexico has been a bit of a problem lately. The district in my zone that has been here just longer than us was supposed to leave last week for Mexico, but none of them have received their visas. So they are all just hanging out here in the MTC. Yesterday 3 got reassignments until they can receive visas, but the rest are flying out tomorrow to get their visas. The elders in my district that are headed to Mexico are starting to get a little worried...

       Every fast Sunday the MTC has a mission conference in the morning where the presidency of the MTC talks to us. It was a great meeting... long but great. President Nally's talk I feel was written for me. He talked about having patience when receiving answers to our prayers. Our answers rarely come in our time frame, but in the Lord's. And in the meantime we just need to be faithful and act. You can't just sit around waiting for an answer. Do what you know you are supposed to do! President Brown was the last speaker and gave a very intense and very serious talk about the atonement. I couldn't imagine sitting in that audience and having unrepentant sins. It would have been very difficult. I am so glad that I was able to be at peace through the entire meeting. He read Alma 11:37 and said that while we cannot be saved in our sins... we can be saved from them. Through the atonement. It was a great talk.

      The Tuesday night devotional was given by Richard C. Edgley, the first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric. His talk was all about becoming a missionary, the messages that we teach as missionaries, and about how we will not meet one person on our mission that God doesn't know personally and doesn't love tremendously. He summed up everything we teach as missionaries into three different lessons. 1. God lives and Jesus is the Christ. 2. Joseph Smith brought about the restoration and is a Prophet of God. and 3. Christ's grace can save us all if we do what we are asked to. We are saved by grace! It was wonderful.

       With that said... my time is up! It has been a fantastic week. I love you all so much!
Love Love Love,
Hermana Holly Larson