Week Two

We received Andrew's second email this week. Talk about waiting by the "mailbox"!!

It may seem strange that we hear from Andrew so rarely. Or you may wonder why he can't call, instant message, or visit in the way we've all become accustomed to.

His days in the Mission Training Center (MTC) are packed! He is polishing his language skills, learning about the culture of Argentina and the people he will be teaching, learning how to best present a gospel message, and in general, learning how to be a missionary. When he accepted his call to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he agreed to set aside his own personal interests and goals for two years, so that he might share something he values very much with others. As his family and friends, we are making a sacrifice too, since we miss his daily company, his unselfish disposition, his beautiful music ... well, you get the picture. But we are blessed too!

So, on to the really important stuff ...

He is enjoying his training and making lots of new friends among the other missionaries-in-training. Now that he's been there a week and a half, he's seen a new batch of missionaries come through the door, and can pretend to be an old hand at this sort of thing :)  He misses his friends here, but his "district" is bonding and he is making many new friends as they work together.

Once a week he has a "Preparation Day," where the traditional schedule is set aside so that laundry can be done, letters received and written, and the general business of life can be accomplished. He has found that many missionaries like to workout or play volleyball to relieve stress (which he enjoys too), but his favorite thing to do when he has some free time is to sit down at the piano and play.

He really appreciates the letters he's received. He mentioned many by name. His big sis sent him a custom crossword puzzle that he and his companions had a lot of fun working on.

He either forgot to tell us .... or he still doesn't know .... how long he'll be at the MTC. Since he already speaks and understands Spanish so well, he will not stay at the MTC as long as some of the other missionaries. Because it is often difficult to get a visa for Argentina, he may be reassigned to another location until his visa comes through. We are anxious to hear where he'll go next!

It is summer in Argentina. I expect Andrew will be ready to get out of the cold and into the summer sun soon! Hermana Carter, the Mission President's wife, writes a blog about what is happening in the mission. If you would like to check it out, go to http://buenosaireswest.blogspot.com/. She does a wonderful job, and I'm looking forward to seeing Andrew's picture in her posts :D