Pictures!

Spencer and his companion.

Friday April 20th, 2012

Oh yes i know elder inoke we are in the same district and he is now our zone leader! he has a wonderful testimony tell his mom she did a great job with him, and that he never stops talking about how much he loves her. well i forgot my planner that had all the stuff that i wanted to email so i'll have to wing this one but maybe i'll try to send another. my p day is being change to tuesday so i'll be able to email then i hope too! district leader is getting easier i was really stressed all the time but it's great now! I am starting to love it more here. two elders in my room left for the spain mtc and so its just me and my companion. so much more closet space! I dont remember if i told you about the president packer talk but it was amazing also m. russel ballard talked it was really good! and i'm guessing you heard about the elder arch...choo...let..ah performance but honestly holy cow! he is one talented young man and was the most spiritual musical performance i had heard. i think it helped that he was singing in spanish for a verse and i knew the words he was saying. OH YA! MY SPANISH! haha i know enough words now that i am having "best two years" moments my two favorites were,"yo amo domingos, domingo es un discourso por la semana" which translates to i love sundays, sunday is a talk for the week, instead of descanso which means break, but my very favorite is in TRC where we talk with members and give them a lesson, i said,"Jesucristo murio por nuestros pescados" but i meant to say pecados to say the Jesus died for our sins, but instead i said Jesus died for our fish....ya pretty great!! love it so much!!! our first investigator Carlos, which is really a teacher but they act as people they knew on their missions, agreeed to baptism on the 28th! so excited i just pray that they dont throw a curve ball at us. our other investigator Melene has been really stubborn but my comp and I finally started to get her to open up and i cant wait to keep teaching her. i'm still not mega oraganized but i am progressing, i'm adjusting to the schedule well and i am healthy. i love getting letters from you all so keep them coming please, you don't understand how nice it is to get a letter! dad go ahead and hit me with all you have got scripturally i'm an open book. mom i love you so much and i miss you a ton, when i get really tired and frustrated i just want to hug your tiny body so tight until so have to pinch my fat so i let go! the church is true everone and i'm doing great, and i love you all so so much keep the mail coming!

Friday April 6th, 2012

HI. I'm doing alright. thanks for the shorts, i'm kinda sick right now though there are two nasty bugs going around; influenza A and this nasty sinus throat lung thing which i have, i'm trying to stay healthy so i dont get the flu, but i think i could be getting an ear infection but i'll be going to the clinic sometime today to get that figured out, i missed the temple this morning though and was super bummed. i'm sleeping fine, the food is gross, and yes i have seen david, all i know is that he is short, and i havent seen him in a while so i dont even know if he is still here. i'm glad to hear everything is good back home and that grandma and aunt bebe are okay. i bet steven is at work helping people out right now. keep telling me about the big news stuff that is so good to hear. and since this is probably being forwarded to people. i need letters

!!! haha i'm the leader of my district and the one job i have that i so far havent failed at is getting the mail twice a week and if makes me sad when its never for me! but thank you to those who have written me. it snowed this morning here weird huh! i already broke something! haha my shirt! they have those collar buttons that extend for fat people necks and i pulled on it and it broke, i dont know how to fix that...but i got that one extra shirt so that should be good. i can already tell i'm gaining weight the food is so carby and the little gym time there is isnt enough...my companion is super cool though, he is from Poway, California right outside san diego and he is pretty chill. everyone is great in my district, God has blessed my with the feeling of love for my district just as he has with the people in nicaragua. i cant wait to get there by the way! i have been learning sooo much here though and never have prayed so hard in my life!!! having and recognizing the hiooly ghost is so so so important and its frustrating when you dont know if you are thinking of theses things or if the holy ghost is. my teachers are way cool too! and i LOVE my branch presidency. SPIRITUAL GIANTS! and so sweet and kind too. we had a devo on tuesday and it was Elder Holland worthy. elder whitman? emeritus seventy, slash g.i. joe slash medal of honor or valor and every pin, badge, and award the armed forces give out every color of heart too! haha but he really just motivated everyone it was neat. conference was great here but sooo uncomfortable! it was cool standing and singing with everyone though. sorry for the spelling errors this program doesnt tell me when i mess up and i'm trying to hurry! AHHH i only have five minutes! ummmm i love you all! and i'm fine, even though i'm not healthy i'm fine! keep sending stuff it really does light a little fire of motivation and spirit. tell me how the republican race is going! and i love you. i think i said that. pray for my district! i love them so much and want them to be successful missionaries so bad and i cant do that myself. oh! my flag i want my flag!!!! well i have run out of things to say and almost ran out of time. so again i love you all, and i pray in spanish! for you all! and ya. hasta luego!

On the day before we took Spencer to the MTC, we stopped by the Church Administration Building to meet with Elder Callister. We had the pleasure of running into President Utchdorf and his wife, Elder Anderson, and Elder Pieper. Elder Clarke, a former area president over Central America, also stopped Spencer on Temple Square and congratulated him on his call to serve. He even sent him with a note to pass on to his mission president. Spencer was only slightly excited. It was a good kick-off to his mission.

First Letter

Dear Padres,

They told me to write you on my 1st day, so…ya. It’s pretty crazy , really fast paced. They threw us straight into Spanish. Me and my companion are the best in the zone. (in Spanish) He is from San Diego and is just a little better than me. We forgot my shorts. Hope you realized that and mailed them before you left Utah. I also need more hangers, junk food, pictures, and pocket leatherman. I just realized I can probably get everything here. My companion is normal though. Seems like a super nice guy. There are so many people here from all over the world. I don’t know what all to say cuz I’m pretty lost. Hope you had fun at conference, I heard it’ll be crazy here. I heard a general authority will be here for easter. They haven’t had new missionaries here for a while so everyone is freaking out. There’s been a receiving line in our room, it’s nuts!! Send me stuff…I love you! Dad! I need your knowledges. I don’t have enough.

Love Always, Spencer Hoffman