They truly are modern day pioneers!

!¿Sup CHELES (white people)¿¡

Well first of all, I just want to say that it was amazing talking to you guys on Christmas. I really do feel like it was only 5 minutes, but I feel really good about staying within the alotted 40 minutes that we had. I think that only made the feelings from the phone call better.
Man, I'm such a baby! I seriously get so choked up every time I talk or write to you guys. I don't even know why but I think that I can just feel how much love you guys have for me, and its so comforting to know that I have family back home cheering me on. Mom and Dad thanks so much for your thoughts. You have always helped me in my hard times and just so you know you're the best parents I could ask for. I'm so glad that you've taught me well so that I can better endure the struggles of a mission.
So this week was a great one. It was definitely a tough one like I said before, but I'm learning so much. My first priority investigator is still my companion. I take great comfort in knowing that he is my companion for a reason and I hope that I can help him be a better missionary. At first I thought he's not much of a trainer, but we can learn something from everyone. I'm definitely learning a lot with Elder Rosa.
Christmas was pretty neat here. Two young couples in our ward had a wedding at the chapel and they bore beautiful testimonies to all of their non-member friends and family that were there. My companion and I and the other two missionaries in the area next to us came, and we contacted just about everyone there. It was a sweet way to spend Christmas night. We almost had a marriage of two investigators too, but it turns out that we're going to have a marriage and baptism this next weekend. Woo hoo!
Yesterday we went to a recent convert's house, Elizabeth, who is just so awesome. Its been a year since her baptism but she wasn't planning on going to the temple this trip because its such a big sacrifice to leave work and her little girl for 5 days. We talked to her about it and the Spirit was so strong. It was so humbling to walk up to the chapel carrying Elizabeth's bag and to see all the members with their sleeping bags and suitcases ready to make the 18 hour journey to the temple. They truly are modern day pioneers. If they can do that, the mission doesn't seem as hard.
Today we went to Managua because Elder Rosa had to get his ID. I had a Big Mac and it was so freakin goood! I'm pretty sure they make McDonalds better here. It was kinda weird that we went to Metro Centro which is like a big mall.
Anyways things are still tough and I'm not seeing tons of success right now, but I know that the Lord has great things in store for me and the people of Nicaragua if I continue to work hard and be obedient.
Oh and mom, I can't really think of anything else I would want for my birthday. For sure a new backpack though would be great. Maybe more candy, maybe a usb drive for pics and stuff. And so far, I only received letters from Aubrey, Brother Smith, and Aunt Lindsay. Tell them thanks by the way and I'll write when I get a chance! I don't think I will get letters next until January 12th or 13th.
Anyways love you guys so much and keep it real!!!
Love,
Elder Ward

Christmas....probably the best one I will have yet!

Oh heyyy guys!

Whats up_  I don’t know how to do question marks on this crazy Nica keyboard and I don’t know how to change the language so these things _ are question marks. Anyways, I love the Christmas picture you sent me. It actually turned out pretty good...probably because I’m not there to ruin it. haha Man oh man! I don’t even know what to write about, like always. I guess I don’t have to write a ton though because I’m going to call you guys this week! Yessss!  I am so stoked!  Honestly, I don’t know when I’m going to call but I’m thinking probably like Christmas morning sometime around 10AM. Sorry that I’m not real sure about it though. I don’t really know how to communicate in this place. I’m probably just going to have to come to a cyber and call from there which I’m guessing is going to cost a bit. But I can talk for 45 minutes I believe. So...just be ready for a call Saturday morning like around 10 or so.
So, my thoughts on Christmas...honestly this one is a little different, but it’s probably the best one I will have, if not next year’s. For example, there aren’t the usual things that everyone loves about Christmas—rhe lights, the Christmas music, cool weather, the Christmas movies, you name it—but I was reminded of something last night. They had a stake Christmas devotional last night and as we all sang Silent Night in Spanish I felt the Spirit so strong and was reminded what Christmas is all about. Here I am in Nicaragua, so far away, and people are gathered together to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.  I was reminded that Jesus Christ came to the earth to atone for all of us so that we might be able to return to live with Heavenly Father. Sure, this Christmas is a little different, but I feel so blessed to be bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ—the reason that He was born—to the people of Nicaragua. Mom, your story really got to me because I’ve thought about that quite a bit this week and I know that even if it’s hard sometimes for me to be gone, it’s worth it.
I’ve had to remember why I’m here quite a few times this week.  It’s been tough. The families that we had a baptismal date with for this past weekend are still trying to work through their marriage problems.  It was a little disappointing but I know that everything will work out when the Lord wants it to. We’ve found a couple new people to teach and they all seem very interested. This girl named Joseline that we met at the church this last Friday was there for mutual. We visited her yesterday and she asked us if she could be baptized whenever. It was pretty awesome so we’re going to work with her and already have a date set for her to get baptized.
Man the mission is tough...at least right now.  It’s such an immense calling and I’ve been feeling the weight of it this week.  I’ve talked a little bit about my companion and really I want to try to avoid talking bad about him in this letter but I will say what I learned this week. Unfortunately, there are a lot of missionaries that don’t really have their heart in the work. I asked my companion why he was on a mission the other day when things were really tough in an attempt to help him. After talking to him we came to the conclusion that our goals were the same. We are both here to bring people to Jesus Christ, to help people be saved in the kingdom of God. We talked about what we could do to do that for quite awhile which helped me to realize why things are hard for him.  I thought back to something that was said when I was set apart—“sometimes your most important investigator is your companion."  I think that that is definitely true right now.  Maybe more than anything my purpose right now is to help my companion be a good missionary.  It’s just hard because you can only help people so much until it’s their turn to make a decision.  Unfortunately, after our discussion not much changed.  As I thought about this I thought, what would Jesus do?  Well, we always make mistakes. We always fall short of perfection as we work toward our goal of eternal life, but He always forgives us if we work for it.  So, I’m trying to give my companion an opportunity to change, but it’s up to him now.  I can understand a little better now how our Heavenly Father and Savior feel.  They give us so many opportunities to change and They are just waiting, pleading for us to come to Them.  It gives me a better perspective of my role as a missionary as well.  In a way, the situation with my companion is not much different than with our investigators.
The challenge right now is not "playing down to his level.”  We always talked about it in volleyball.  When you’re playing a crappy team you’re always tempted to play down to their level. We should always strive to be the very best we can be regardless of what the other team or other people are doing. Only the Lord and we know what is expected of us.
Man...what else?  Seriously some of the people here are just awesome.  We teach a recent convert named Hugo every now and then.  He never leaves his seat that’s in his front yard and every time we come over he says, "Do you know what time it is?! The devil is out roaming the streets right now!" After we tell him that we’re there to conquer Satan he always excuses our stupidity for coming at such a dangerous hour.  And there’s Franklin... To anyone else, Franklin would seem like the scum of the earth.  He’s an old, toothless man that roams the streets pestering people for money and stuff. As we’ve talked to him more and more, I’ve come to realize that he is a loving guy that is so hungry to hear the word of God. Every time we see him he asks for a Book of Mormon and just starts crying and hugs us whenever we give him one.  It’s just amazing to me that a man that has no home, no family, hardly any food, wants more than anything to hear the word of God. It makes you realize what is most important in life.
Anyways, this letter is getting pretty long so Merry Christmas. I still don’t have anyone’s e mail addresses so if you could help me out by sending a few that would be awesome. Just of friends, family, whoever because I don’t really have any other way to write besides e mail.  Well, I do but I’m not quite sure how it works and I think it’s a pain. By the way, Mom, I don’t know if it’s too late but you asked me if I want anything for my birthday. The bag that I carry around right now is killer.  I have some pretty gnarly back pain because I have to walk around with a big bag on one shoulder all day. I’m bummed cuz it was kind of expensive but do you think you could maybe send a new one?  We can talk about it more when I call but just wanted to mention it. If you can’t send one that’s fine.  I can buy one here somewhere.
Anyways, I love you guys a bunch. Remember what Christmas is really about this week and try to make other peoples’ Christmas better!  I can’t wait to talk to you this week and I’ll be sure to have some good stories for you!

Love much,

Elder Ward

IT'S GOING TO BE ONE SWEET ADVENTURE!

Que pasa chavalos?!

 

Man, it sure was good to hear from you guys this week. I even started to get a little choked up. It is so strange to think about home. I try not to very much while I'm here and don't have much time to honestly, but it is strange to think about Christmas time there and all that. What really got me though was when you gave me "spiritual advice", I guess you could say.

So...where do I even start. First of all, thanks for your prayers because I definitely do feel them. I have been praying really hard this week as well and things are getting better. There have been times this week where I've had inexplicable joy. Sure, there have been times that are really tough but that is how its going to be for two years. I'm trying to be thankful for these trials and I'm trying to see them as growing experiences.

This week we have three fechas or baptismal dates for this Saturday and we're going to have to work our tails off to make them happen. In every case, they are women that have companions who are less active members and they need to get married. I'm figuring out that this is one of the biggest problems here in Nicaragua. I've thought about our family a lot as we've been talking about the blessings of eternal families and how the gospel blesses our families. It is amazing how many little miracles happen on the mission. Yesterday, for some reason I was really not excited to start the day and was finding it hard to get motivated. I went in to take my bucket shower and realized that there was no water. It was a pretty big bummer but I said a quick prayer asking Heavenly Father if I could at least take a shower that day. The water spout was already turned on and immediately after I ended my prayer, water started coming out. On a larger scale, yesterday we went to one of our investigators homes (one with fecha) and she came up to us and just started breaking down. She went on to explain that her and her companion had just gotten in a fight and we bore testimony to her that the Savior knows her pain and that if she would go to church she would feel the Spirit and His love. Guess what the talks were about in church? Eternal families and how we can have happy marriages. Whoa...

Today has been a pretty sweet p-day. We played futbol at the stake center with our zone. Speaking of my zone, I went on splits with the zone leader and that was definitely and answer to prayers. It gave me a good example of what a good missionary is and now I know what I can do to help my companion. Things are definitely getting better though. Its just so hard when you are teaching so many good people, helping people receive eternal salvation, and then temporal desires get in the way. I'm learning patience though and I'm doing my best to serve and love my companion.

I love Nicaragua. The people here are amazing. I love the food (for right now). Spanish is tough but I'm understanding more and more every day. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things and I love the mission. I'm so excited that its just starting too because I know that it's going to be one sweet adventure.

As far as birthday stuff mom, I'm not sure what I would want. Its kind of hard to ask for anything after living amongst the Nicans. By the way, forgot to mention that I got the Christmas packages when I got here. The first thing the AP said to me in the airport was, "Elder Ward...you little poop. We have three packages waiting for you already..." I guess there is another Ward in the mission and they originally took them to him. He was pretty bummed. But thanks so much for the packages! I love the tree and everything else in it (that I could open). The only thing I could think of that you could send would maybe be like a memory stick that I can put pictures on. I have no idea what else, but I'm not too hard to please.

Oh, and if you could send me e-mails of Joey, Travis, and whoever else that would be great because I don't have them.

Well, I love you guys so much. I wasn't planning on writing this long of a letter, but you guys truly mean the most to me. I miss you, but its ok because I have my own families in Nicaragua. I want them to have the same love and happiness that we have in ours. Glad to hear that you're all doing well and having fun. This week give someone a spiritual Christmas gift (invitation, BOM, you name it).

 

Love much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Trevor Ward

 

PS- I get to call you guys on the 24th or 25th (my choice) but I'm not sure what time yet. They talked about it in Spanish in the zone conference, so not completely sure how that will work. I think I might just have to go to a cyber or something and call but I'll let you know about that.

 

First week in Nicaragua

¡Adio familia¡

Soo that's how people say hi in Nicaragua. Man do I have a ton of stuff to write you guys about and I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll kind of just go from when I got here.

Monday was just a long day of traveling. It was so nice to talk to you guys and sorry that I didn't get to talk to you Connor, Collin, and Aubrey. I'll be calling you again pretty soon here on Christmas day! But, it was way neat. I sat by this nice woman on the plane who was going to visit her friend from Miami whose wife just passed away. It was neat because she said she didn't really know what to tell him so we talked a lot about the plan of salvation and I gave her a Book of Mormon and my copy of the conference edition Ensign with a note for her friend on the back. So, I guess you could say that she was my first investigator.

When we arrived in Nicaragua, the Monestels (Mission President and wife) and the APs came and picked us up along with a super beat up, barely operating truck for all of our bags and whatnot. We all had to run and push it down the street for it to get started. I knew from that moment on that Nicaragua would be an adventure. That night we had McDonalds, which by the way, is like a 5 star restaurant here. We had transfers the next day which everyone just goes nuts about. Its pretty cool. I got to see Elder Pace (a friend from our Stake) which was pretty neat. Anyways, I ended up being called to an area called Masaya.

New arrivals 11/29/10 with President and Sister Monestel

Masaya, and Nicaragua in general, is truly an amazing place. I really can't even describe it in an e-mail, but it's beautiful. The people here are so nice and so humble. It was pretty neat when we were in the house of a member earlier this week and she offered us food and took one of the few ornaments off of her tiny Christmas tree and she started talking about it. I couldn't understand super well, but she was talking about how reindeer work hard all the time or something and gave the ornament to me. I politely tried to tell her that she could keep it, but she insisted that I keep it to remember to work hard. The thing is, that's how everyone is here. It's amazing! They are all so giving and all love to talk and it seems like everyone wants to be friends.

My companion is Elder Rosa and he is from Honduras. He is an awesome guy and he has been in Masaya for about 6 months (on his mission for that long too). It's kind of tough having a Latin companion because of the language barrier, but he´s teaching me a lot. I'll talk more about that in a sec.

So living conditions...well first of all Nicaragua is not what I expected really. I expected like pure jungle but Masaya actually has lots of paved roads, buses, taxis, dogs roaming the streets, you name it. Our little house is actually pretty decent sized we have a room where we both sleep and a pretty big living room, I guess you could say, where we study and stuff. Yep, I get to take cold bucket showers every morning, which in reality isn't that bad. Luckily it's not that hot in Masaya too. The food is actually pretty good too. As expected, I eat rice and beans every day and usually some kind of meat. They also like bananas a lot too. We have a lady from the ward that cooks and washes our clothes for us, so that is nice. I haven't had diarrhea yet so woo hoo!

Spanish...so they speak a different language in Nicaragua. They have a lot of their own words like 'tuanis' which means like sweet, awesome, beautiful, cool, whatever you want really. They also use 'salvaje' a lot which means savage but they use it for everything. Here's the catch though, they don't use 's's when they talk. Like ever! Usually just the ending "s" of words like for example we are misionero de la iglesia de lo santo de lo ultimo dia. There should be an "s" at the end of just about every word. Anyways, I'm being patient with the language. Everyone tells me that I know a lot for just getting here, and I feel like I can speak ok. But at the same time, it's tough to understand because they speak so fast and I don't know all the words yet. Interestingly enough, we taught two people that speak English this week and I've met maybe 3 others that speak English. President really wants the Latins to learn English too, so we speak English in the apartment every now and then.

So, all in all...Missions are TOUGH. When I got here I just wanted to get to work and baptize all of Nicaragua. It's not really that easy though. Honestly, the food, cold bucket showers, bugs, heat, or any of that really don't bug me. The Spanish is tough because it's so hard to teach people when you don't know their language that well. It's been amazing though because I've been praying really hard and I've felt many times this week that the Spirit has told me what to say even if I don't understand the investigators situation that well. Also, I underestimated that it could be tough to love your companion. Elder Rosa and I are completely different in every way, which is fine, but he has been here for six months in one area and I think that he is losing his 'animo' or excitement or desire to serve. It's tough because sometimes he will just want to go to an investigator's house and talk to them for a super long time without really teaching a lesson. But I continue to do my best to love him and I'm learning lots of patience. I know that he is my companion for a reason and I'm trying to focus on the good things about him. Please pray for both of us that we can get a long and both be excited about the work and to work as hard as we can.

Gosh this e-mail is long and I have so much more to say. Unfortunately, I don't have any e-mail addresses of friends with me now so I think I'll just be writing you guys this week. Sorry to anyone else that reads this! But right now we are teaching quite a few different people. I don't have time to talk about all of them but its amazing to see how the gospel can bless every one's lives. I know I already said it, but the people are amazing here. The members travel 18 hours to go to the temple. An old man named Alfonzo, who is a recent convert and only has one leg, walked about two miles all the way to the church building this week. ahhh There's so many stories! But about the members, they are amazing. Church was pretty neat this week and I got up the nerve to bear my testimony. Yesterday, I also had the opportunity to participate in two blessings, one to one of our investigators named Gilma who was sick and one to a brand new infant that was sick. It was intimidating doing it in Spanish but it was miraculous. The spirit guided me to give a simple prayer and it was definitely a spiritual experience.

Anything more...I don't know. Well one more story. A man that I obviously have never met came up and shook my hand and we kinda were just joking around a little, but then he said, "wait, I want to say something serious". He went on to say with tears in his eyes that he was a drunk and that his family is struggling and that they need help but that the missionaries always just pass by him. I looked him straight in the eyes, thinking of what the Savior felt for this man, and I just felt love for him. I gave him a hug, and even though he reeked of alcohol and was dirty, I didn't care one bit. I just felt pure love for him. I told him that Jesus Christ suffered for him and knows exactly what he's going through and that if he would listen to our message He could change his life.

Sorry this e-mail is so jumbled, I just have so many thoughts right now. All in all, I love the mission. It is tough and I'm sure the couple first weeks will be as a get accustomed, but I know that the Lord will help me. Thank you for all your encouragement too. I love you guys so much and it was good to hear from you. Oh, and to my sweet sweet sister Ava, I love you and happy birthday!!!!! 5 years old!!!

By the way, lots of people have seen our family pictures, and they all say that we have a beautiful family. That always makes me happy and I think about you guys every day. :)

Love much,

Elder Trevor Ward

Thanksgiving with the Hollands

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Or in Spanish Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias...kinda translates awkwardly...

Anyways, I just want you to know first off that I am so thankful for you. I’m bummed that I can’t be there with you today, but in a way I still can be. If it’s possible I’d like it if maybe you could take this letter to dinner and share some of it with the family because most of what I say comes from Elder Holland’s talk that we just heard earlier this morning.

Well, I've been blessed enough to listen to five apostles at the MTC. Pretty amazing. Elder Holland and his WHOLE family came to the MTC for the devotional and it was truly amazing. He got up first and said that he wanted to make it like a family program because Thanksgiving was a day for families. So, don’t worry about me, I had Thanksgiving with the Hollands today!

Elder Holland said that he wants this to be the happiest day of our lives, and honestly this is probably one of the top ones I’ve ever had. He called a couple of missionaries to come and bear their testimonies so that we could all be involved in the family program. One Elder from a South American country bore his testimony of the restoration and how grateful he is for the restored gospel. Another Elder with cystic fibrosis got up, who Elder Holland was very emotional about because he was involved with his mission call. He got up and spoke about the wonderful opportunity of being able to serve in the MTC call center. An Elder from China bore his testimony about how lucky we are to have temples and to be able to worship how and wherever we may because they don’t have that ability in China.

After this, Elder Holland’s grandchildren got up to sing a primary hymn. This is the part that I think really got me. It was a little chaotic and funny, just how family gatherings usually are, and I felt right at home. The Spirit was so strong as his cute little grandchildren brought the Spirit.

Elder Holland said after this that virtually everything we are grateful for has to do with another person. Virtually everything we rejoice in and love comes from someone else, mortal or divine. He said, "Of all the mortals in my life, I am more grateful for her (Sister Holland) than any other. I'm grateful today for Sister Holland."

It was amazing to feel the love that Elder Holland has for his wife and grandkids and it made me think that families truly are one of the greatest—easily the greatest—blessing we have in this life. Why do you think Heavenly Father wants HIS family to return back to live with Him? How can you not know that we have a loving Father in Heaven when you see the smiling face of a child singing a primary hymn? I am so thankful for you, family. I love you more than words can describe. I'm especially thankful for you, mom and dad, for all that you have taught me and for helping me to get where I am today.

Sister Holland's talk was very touching. She said, "Do you have any idea how much the Savior loves you? Please, know how much the Savior loves you. Referring to her children and grandchildren she said, "They are my blessing." She referred to the primary hymn that the kids sang and how we have so much to be grateful for. She expressed how grateful she was for her husband and what a great man that he is. She gave a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and testified that we will have the angels of heaven on our side.

Elder Holland then got up to speak again. The reason that I want to share so much about his talk is because everything that was expressed in it is exactly what I’m grateful for myself. Elder Holland said, "I wanted my grandchildren to see you." And let me remind you of how amazingly powerful his talks are (this was not an exception). He said, “My mission meant EVERYTHING to me. I’ve said it on every continent. And when these children saw you, I wanted them to want to serve a mission.”

He said, “We are not at liberty to destroy the tradition of missionary work. This is the only tradition in the church. If we had a symbol it would be two Elders or sisters.” He went on to say something like, “Thank You. Remember when you are tempted to not do your very best on your mission, remember me standing here this day with my grandchildren times a million who expect you to be nothing but perfect.”

So family, I hope that I can live up to the expectations that you have for me. And remember this, if you remember anything from me, brothers, sisters and cousins...That you are children of God. You have all been chosen by Heavenly Father to do great things. To the boys: Don’t even ever ever ever think of not going on a mission because it is the greatest responsibility and the greatest blessing of your lives. To the girls: Don’t you ever settle for anything less than a temple marriage and to be the very best person that you could be. I hope and pray that i can set a good example for you.

Elder Holland went on to say what he was thankful for—and I ditto what he said completely—this is what I’m thankful for this day as a missionary:

1. I am grateful that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost know us by name. Elder Holland talked about the importance of names in the scriptures and that even though this church has so much grandeur and continues to grow rapidly, Heavenly Father knows US personally. I know that to be true. I know that my calling is a personal one and I know that our lives are so important to Heavenly Father individually. I’m so thankful for all the blessings that He has given to us on this earth.

2. I’m grateful that the Savior, Father and Holy Ghost have always had compassion on the poor. This part of Elder Holland’s message really struck me because I know of the poor people in the world there are many in Nicaragua, the place that I will be in in less than four days. He said in this day of abundance most of the world will not eat. He talked about how feeding and helping the poor is such a common theme in the Book of Mormon and in being able to retain a remission of sins. I’m even more thankful to be able to serve in Nicaragua now because I have an opportunity to serve those people. He said something very important. "This is the most abundant time in the history of mankind...Let’s remember where it all came from. I've been to some of the poorest places on earth. I want you to identify with these people. It could be the greatest blessing of your mission. Maybe nothing will change you more than to suffer, work and eat among those people. So many children go to sleep hungry every night of their life. Go live with them and love them, come home and never forget it. The Savior spent most of his time with these people."

3. I’m grateful that the Savior could perform the Atonement alone. My mission will be hard but the Atonement was the only thing that anyone ever had to do completely alone. In the amazing way that Elder Holland does, he described how everyone betrayed Jesus, and even when He thought that He would still have His Father, he had to leave Him too. I am so grateful, even though I cannot comprehend it, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We would literally be nothing without it. We have an obligation that goes along with that! He doesn’t want to carry us alone any more and that is why I’m so grateful to be a missionary, to have the opportunity to help Him in that great work. I love you so much family. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that the Lord will protect me in Nicaragua and I’m so so so excited to get down there. Be grateful today for everything!

Love so much,
Elder Trevor Ward

My District: Elder Galvan, Elder Waite, Elder Rose, Elder Amis, Elder Durrant (my companion), Elder Ward

GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS!!!

I'm leaving Sept. 29 as expected and here's the plan:
(I'm assuming Trevor means November 29th)

LV: SLC 8:20 AM
AR: Dallas 12:10 PM

LV: Dallas 2:10 PM
AR: Miami 5:50

LV: Miami 7:00PM
AR: Managua 8:40 PM

So, there it is! And yes I will want a calling card probably. Anyways, I'm pretty sure I can call you at both airports when I'm there.

Gotta go, love you all BYE!!!

Finish Strong!

Elder Trevor Ward and Elder Jacob Myers (A friend form our CA days)

Que Pasaaa mi familia?

So. I'll be honest. I dont really know what to write right now so we'll see how everything turns out. I didn't have time to write down what I wanted to say so here comes some random thoughts.
First off, I ran into a couple people this week! I saw Aunt Karla in the temple this morning which was way awesome! It's weird seeing people from the outside world. The MTC is like a bubble inside the bubble that is Provo. Weirdest experience though was TRC on Thursday. We go in there and sit down to begin teaching an "investigator" who is supposedly a raging alcoholic and was just divorced about a couple of weeks ago. We get in there and knew we'd had this volunteer before (he's one of the old timers). Right when I say my name he says, "Elder Ward, do you have family in California?" and I said "Yeah, my grandma and grandpa Ward live in Long Beach." He then said, "JOHN WARD?!" and then the whole raging alcoholic thing was out the door. He just started going off in English about how Grandpa Ward was one of his good friends and how much he admired him even though he hadn't seen him for 50 years or so. Afterwards, we talked for a while and he gave me a note to give to grandpa. I'll probably be writing them soon to send them the note and to say hi! It was pretty funny though.
Well, I think I'm going to leave some e-mail time to write later today because there's a good chance that we will get our travel plans today. I'm pretty excited about it, so I'm hoping that I'll get to write you about it later tonight. If not I'll let you know as soon as possible.
Thanks for sending my Christmas package Mom. Its super weird to think that you already had to send it. I had a feeling mail would take forever to get down there. Thanks for sending stuff for my companion also. I was going to tell you that today even though it was probably too late. Thanks for your's and dad's letters as well. I receive multiple witnesses every day that this is where I'm supposed to be, and it is such a great feeling. I'm glad that you were able to feel that same feeling in the temple. Looking back at the experiences and trials I've been through, I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful that my trials have brought me closer to Christ so that I can testify from personal experience that the Atonement really does work. Dad, I loved your story about the lady working to get the stains out of the clothes in the temple. It truly is the greatest miracle that we can ever witness...that even the vilest of sinners can experience a change of heart and be cleansed from sin.
I am SO excited to leave for Nicaragua! This tends to be a time where missionaries start to slack, especially if they feel like they've worked hard in the MTC. Our big focus for the last part of the MTC and for me as district leader is to finish strong. I think that is a principle that we can all apply to ourselves. In order to really consecrate our lives to Christ, we have to give him literally everything. We can't hold back anything, and that means any of our sins or anything that would take us away from Christ. I'm learning more and more that living a righteous life is a constant process. True disciples of Jesus Christ try to devote more and more time and effort every day to Him. So, that's what I'm going to do on my mission. I haven't challenged you guys anything this week but that's the challenge for this week. Devote a little more time every day to the Lord. I promise that it will bless your life, and I'm pretty sure that is why being a missionary is such a blessing.
Devotional was great this Tuesday. Kevin Pearson of the Seventy came and gave a great talk. We all kind of went in with low expectations since it wasn't another Apostle but I learned something this week. It doesn't matter so much who is speaking as long as they are able to bring the Spirit because the Spirit is really the person that teaches us EXACTLY what we need to know. One thing I've been doing is writing down spiritual thoughts and acting on them and it's amazing how subtle those promptings can be. Anyways, he spoke about how we are not average missionaries and that we have been called to succeed. He talked a lot about what I just talked about up above about devoting more and more time to the Lord each day.
I got to host yesterday (meaning I was one of the Elders that welcomed new missionaries arriving to the MTC, took bags, etc). We really do live an amazing culture, one that only the true Church of Jesus Christ would have. It was hard to see families say goodbye to their sons and daughters, sometimes even having to almost literally pull them away from each other. We always said "He/she is in the Lords hands". A sweet old grandma once turned to me with a big smile and tears of not sadness, but joy in her eyes and said, "I know He will, that's why we send them". I know that the mission is the best possible thing I could be doing right now. In just two months I have felt my testimony grow so much and I have learned so many life lessons. I love the Lord and I know that this gospel is true. I know that Christ is our Savior and that His gospel and His atonement allow us to have wonderful, blessed lives. Im so excited to bring that to the people of Nicaragua.
I love you family. I miss you, but this is just a short time compared to eternity. Aubrey, Collin thanks for your letters too. Don't beat yourself up too much about now writing me all the time guys. I do love to get your letters though so keep sending them.:) I will hopefully e-mail you tonight about my travel plans and stuff!!!!
Haha, what the heck is the MT salt water lake? (This is what Ava called the MTC last week.) I love it. Miss you and love you Ava!
Love your brother and son,

Elder Trevor Ward

Sheri Dew and Elder Bednar in one week!!!

HEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

 

Mi familia, debe escribir toda de esta carta en español? Haha just kidding I won't write it in Spanish. Thanks for your e-mail though, dad. It's kind of cool that we can talk Spanish to each other. I never thought of those discolored bananas in that way but thanks for the reminder. I've thought about that a lot here in the MTC. My time is limited right now, so I won't try to write everything in Spanish, but maybe we can talk when I get to call from the airport in 2 1/2 weeks or so. :)

So, it's here again! P-day. Seriously, I CAN NOT BELIEVE how fast the time is going in the MTC!  I hope that all of you are doing well. So, what's new? Honestly, I don't have anything super exciting to write about. I mean, every day is exciting and testimony building things happen, but it really is so hard to explain everything that happens in 30 minutes of e-mail. I have already grown so much here and I can't even begin to explain some of the things that I have experienced thus far.

Anyways, I'll make my best attempt. Sunday was amazing! Elder Durrrant and I had the opportunity to bless the sacrament, which was pretty neat because it was in Spanish. It kind of made the fact that I will be speaking Spanish ALL the time in the next couple weeks more real. I also bore my testimony and it was so awesome because the Spirit was so strong and everyone was bearing powerful testimonies in Spanish. I feel so blessed looking back at where I was my first week here and how much the Lord has strengthened my testimony and how much he has helped me with Spanish. I taught our district the plan of salvation after sacrament. This really got me thinking...about what?... just life, just everything. The plan of salvation truly is an amazing thing. The fact that we know why we're here, where we came from, and where we're going is amazing. We know exactly who we are and what we need to do. Part of my lesson included asking everyone if they wanted a Lifesaver. Elder Rose said, "OH YEAH!!!", and I said, "OK, well Elder Durrant has to do ten push ups". I asked Elder Amis and he, a little more hesitantly, said yes. Elder Durrant then did ten more push ups. Elder Weight then said he didn't want one, but I said, "OK, well here is one anyways in case you want it later", and Elder Durrant did 10 more pushups. This went on the same way as we watched Elder Durrant struggle throught the pushups. No, I was not trying to get back at my companion or something, but I think that this is a miniscule fraction of what the Lord went through for us. He suffered for all of us, beyond what we can imagine, so that we can be cleansed from sin and so that He can carry our burdens. Whether we except the lifesaver or not, he already suffered for it, so we NEED to take advantage of the blessings of the Atonement. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and I'm so happy that we have the Atonement in our lives. It's the thing that makes the whole plan of salvation work.

Anyways, kind of got sidetracked there, but Sheri Dew came and talked to us on Sunday night. It was pretty awesome because it went along with what I was thinking about all day. She talked about how this life is so short compared to eternity, and that what we do here and what we help people do here determines the rest of ETERNITY. She also talked a lot about how we were chosen to come forth in the last generation to battle in the hardest of times. What a responsibility! Let's stand up to it because we promised to do it before we even came here!

Well, would it surprise you if I said that yet another Apostle came to speak to us? Yeah, well Elder Bednar came this week. Let me just say that it was amazing! He is such a great speaker and the Spirit was so strong. He talked a lot about doctrine, and how "doctrine is always the answer". We talked about how a lot of the time we focus on the applications of the gospel rather than the principles and pure doctrine. He said that nobody will be truly converted until they truly understand pure doctrine in their hearts. This talk really hit me hard because it was an answer to my prayers. Earlier this week I just wanted to know all the scriptures and know exactly what could help someone at the exact time. He talked a lot about following the Spirit and preaching simple and pure doctrine. One thing he said that was pretty amazing was, "I just don't have what it takes to be an Apostle, but in His strength I can do all things." To think that Elder Bednar, one of the Lord's Apostles, feels this way is very comforting. I love that he referred to my favorite scripture in Alma 26:12.

I got called to be the branch president on Tuesday, and I feel so blessed to be able to serve my awesome district. Honestly though, I don't think they need much help. If anyone is going to learn anything, it will be me. I just hope that I can lead the way to step it up for the last couple weeks that we're here in the MTC being diligent and obedient in everything.

Well, I miss you guys a bunch! I hope your'e all doing well. Brothers and sisters, please know that I really love you and really want to write but I still have like no time on p-day. Maybe it will change in the field. I"ll try to write you soon. That"s so awesome that you guys are doing well on scripture reading. Can you tell the difference it makes?

Connor and Colllin, I heard about the Preach My Gospel mutual activity. Thats just a very small fraction of what it really feels like and what goes into being a missionary. I STRONGLY encourage you to start reading PMG and to build on your very strong testimonies. Love you bros, and remember how happy you were that night. You get to feel that every day on a mission!

All of you strive to be the very best that you can be and hope to hear from you throughout the week.

 

Much love,

 

Elder Trevor Ward

I actually do have a Mission President!

Holaaaaaa mi familia!!!!

Man, it seems like just yesterday that I got to write all of you (or I guess just mom for her birthday, sorry guys :) ). Seriously, the time in the MTC is just flying right now. Well, first I'll answer your questions, mom. Yes, I've had an approximate departure date since I've been here and it's Nov 29.  I won't get travel plans for about 2 weeks so I could leave before then. I'm seriously getting so anxious to get out and start teaching real people with real needs. I'm sure it will be here before I know it. I've definitely got a lot of work to do with Spanish though :)  Hmm...honestly I don't have any goody requests. In fact, you get kind of tired of goodies in here because when other elders leave you get goodies passed down since that's what all the packages are. Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate it. You don't have to send me packages, but if you do, real snacks would be an idea (beef jerky, pretzels, chips, whatever). How's the food? Uh.....haha. Honestly, it gets super old after a while. We actually went to the temple this morning instead of in the afternoon and bought breakfast there.  It's probably not even that good, but it tasted as if it were made by angels. Haha! The food is actually ok...yes, similar to the Cannon Center, but probably a little worse. No joke, there was a sign the first couple of weeks here next to the sickly looking bananas that said "the bananas may be discolored, but they're still GOOD!" right...

Guess what? I got a letter from my mission president today, well an e-mail. So, I do actually have a mission president, cool huh? It was all in Spanish but I could understand it all. He basically said that he's excited for us to come to the best mission in the world, and that they have three goals to have success in the mission field: 1. bautizar 2.bautizar 3.bautizar (baptism). I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty stoked about that.

Soo...a LOT happened this week!  I'll try to remember everything and try to type really fast. GUESS WHAT?!  Man, oh man, this work must be super important because we had yet ANOTHER apostle come and speak to us for devotional for the 3rd week in a row. That just doesn't happen here. Elder Ballard came and spoke on being a "master communicator".  It was interesting because it was a very specific topic. It was awesome a couple hours before then he had met with the top executive of Burkshire Hathaway (I think that's what its called) and is supposedly going to be the next biggest businessman in the world. The fact that one of the richest men in the world wanted to talk about religion goes to show that the gospel can bless absolutely anyone's life, and that is the only thing that can make you TRULY happy, and for forever too! You don't get to here about missionary experiences from apostles much but he bore his testimony to him, and of his own calling as an apostle, and set up a time to talk to him for 4 hrs with his wife to answer any questions he has. It was really powerful, and he related all his stories how communication plays a huge part in our work.

The thing that I think made this devotional even better though was what happened before on Tuesday night. I might have mentioned this in my last letter but we're teaching a "progressive investigator" in the TE center. We had our first lesson with her on Tuesday, which was crazy because we also had to teach in the TRC earlier that day. Basically with the investigators in the TE, they're teachers that act exactly as a person that they taught from their mission, so its as close as you can get to teaching a real person. I think that this is why it was such a spiritual experience, because in a sense, we were teaching a real person. Her name is Veronica Mendez and she lives in Mexico. Her husband has lived in the states for the last 5 yrs working and was recently baptized. When we first contacted her she was very reluctant to hear our message. It was amazing though, because when we taught her this week she had a complete change of heart. We shared the story of Lehi partaking of the fruit of the tree of life and then wanting his family to partake and related it to her husband. Halfway through the lesson, Elder Durrant asked, "How do you feel right now?", when we both knew that the Spirit was very strong. She said that she felt happy and felt peace, and that she didn't want to believe us but that it "felt" right. We then explained the feelings of the spirit and read Galatians 5:22-23 to her. It was amazing to literally see and feel Veronica find hope in the gospel and to soften her heart. That is why I'm so excited to get out and do that for real. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and Elder Durrant and I were so happy after that we literally ran out of the TE and talked about how stoked we were to be missionaries. The truly amazing thing was that this entire lesson was in Spanish. I know I always mention this, but I'm amazed every day at the enabling power that grace has. It's amazing what the Lord can do with us when we follow the Spirit.

Honestly, we're all finding it a little harder to be super happy and excited all the time as we get towards the end of the MTC experience. Satan, that dufas (dufis?...i dunno). But there are lots of little blessings every day that help me to keep going. Spanish is coming along pretty well, but it is tough, which its supposed to be. Its helping me learn a lot. We play this game every day called "El Nativo" (the native) and we all have to speak Spanish (at least what we know how to say) all day. It's super tough to do, but it helps. Crazy to think that I only have a few more weeks until I'm in Nicaragua!

I love hearing from all of you guys! Ava-you sound happier than ever and thanks for saying that I will learn Spanish :) sometimes that's hard to remember. I'm glad to hear that you are still "in charge".

Aubrey-Thanks for telling me the stories about what goes on at home! It's alright that you haven't written a ton.  I'm glad that you're doing well in school.

Coll dawg-Dude, I love you! I loved hearing that you're carrying on the Ward tradition of wearing weird clothes for spirit week and stuff. LOVES!

Connor-Glad to hear homecoming was good and that you're volleyball team is rockin!!! Believe it or not, our MTC volleyball team is getting a lot better. Thank goodness for Polynesians!

Mom-As you already know, I love you more than anything. People always come ask who made that blanket? Then I always go on about how much I love my mom.

Dad- Seriously? You wore my leather pants for Halloween? Sick! They are MY pants! Ewww. Anyways, be patient with work. It's kind of like learning Spanish in the MTC, sometimes you don't see your progress for a long time. It's like a tree though, the roots have to grow strong underground before there is visible progress. 2 Cor 4:16-18 is one of my new favorite scriptures. Thanks for all the great stories from home.

Love you guys so much!!! Keep being good and the challenge for this week is I dunno....CTR, HLJ!!!!!

Elder Ward

Pumpkin Trevor

Heyyyyy!

 

First of all, thank you so much to friends and family that have sent packages, letters, etc. They make my day! I will try my best to write everyone back but just know that I'm very busy. Love you all!

 

Happy Birthday Mom! I decided that I was going to write YOU for your birthday. Others can read it too, but this letter is mostly for you. I hate to say it but usually I write down a few things that I want to say but I didn't have time to do that this week. So, I'm just going to have to wing it. I guess first of all I'll just talk about how much I love you. Last night I was reading yours and Dad's letters to me and an overwhelming feeling of love came over me. Love from Heavenly Father, and from the Savior, but most of all I felt love for and from you and Dad. I think that one thing that a mission really does is allows you to love people with greater capacity. It's strange to think that I could love you and our family even more when I'm gone but this is the case. I kept having this impression, "Trevor, I love you, and that's why I gave you the parents that you have." I love you so much, Mom. I know that I would not be here today if it weren't for you, so just remember that YOU have had a big part in my mission as well. I'm so glad that I am serving a mission and I hope that I can repay you in some small way for all that you've done and will continue to do for me.

 

So, tomorrow is the official one month mark. I cant believe that I've already been here for that long. Time is flying. All is well here, and I'm glad to hear that things are going well at home. I had the biggest smile on my face as I read about "Pumpkin Trevor" in Collin's, Dad's, and your letter. I love that girl! (Note for those who don't know what I'm talking about: Ava carved a pumpkin with my dad and decided to name him Trevor "so we wouldn't miss him".  She really went to extra efforts to include "Pumpkin Trevor" in our FHE, family prayers, etc.)  There was one night this week where I was sitting there feeling really tired and even a little sad for some reason. I can't remember why but I started to go though the big stack of pictures that Ava and other cousins had drawn for me. I hung them all up on my wall and looked at each one. Though most of them just looked like little scribbles with random symbols, something hit me. Little children truly do have the pure love of Christ. In fact, it is probably most easy for them to demonstrate and understand. If you ever pay attention to what Ava draws, it's mostly hearts, names, animals, and people. I'm pretty sure that she draws things that matter most to her, and if that's the case, she is full of love (hence the billions of hearts). She has so much love for the people in her life, and she knows that everything on this earth is from her Heavenly Father and is grateful. Anyways, I'm rambling, but it really made me happy. We would all do well to follow the example of little children. Tell Ava and Aubrey that they make me so happy. :)

 

So guess what? Elder Richard G. Scott came and spoke to us this week for devotional. That means two apostles in a row!!! How crazy is that? Must mean that missionary work is a big priority for the Lord right now. It was a truly amazing and spiritual talk. He talked a lot about recognizing and following the Spirit. I think I'm going to make a copy of the paper that he gave all of us and send it home because it has lots of good points about the Spirit. He also invoked a protective blessing on the sister missionaries and the gift of tongues upon all those that were learning a language as an apostle of Jesus Christ. It was pretty amazing.

 

So I witnessed a small miracle in the TRC on Tuesday. We aren't supposed to teach in Spanish until this next Tuesday, but we decided that we wanted to try anyways. We go in there and we have a native Spanish speaker. I could barely understand him. I said a quick prayer pleading for the Lord's help. Even though it had flaws, we taught the whole second lesson in Spanish. I know that the Lord has the ability to help us do things that we wouldn't usually be able to do (especially if we're about his work). It was a pretty neat experience. There have been a lot of other small miracles every day and so many uplifting experiences. Nothing new really, but I'm still loving being a missionary. I'm so excited to get out in the field and start teaching the people of Nicaragua. It's gonna be here before I know it too!

 

Well, a couple things changed. More elders went off to the field from our zone. This was kind of sad since they were starting to become really good friends, but we were happy for them. We got a few new ones in our zone and they're all great guys. We convinced two elders going to Chicago that Elder Amis (in my zone) went there before on a mission but that he had to come home. We explained that someone was trying to mug him and his companion. The mugger dropped his gun, and Elder Amis picked it up and shot and killed the robber. It was perfectly acted out. Elder Amis was shining his shoes in the back of his room with only his desk light lighting up his face. Seriously, he could've gotten an academy award for it. We told them it was just a story pretty soon after but it was hilarious. They were terrified to be in the same hall as a cold-blooded killer. What else....it snowed! Which means, (which i had no idea of), that elders HAVE to wear a suit all the time. Which means I wear one of two pairs of suit pants and the same jacket every day. Oh well, have to be obedient right?

 

I'm not sure if I really have a challenge except for this. Tell everyone in the family to try to love each other even more than they do. I'm starting to realize more and more how crucial families are in the Plan of Salvation. I have such a great love for everyone in our family and I'm so glad that we have the gospel.

 

Well Mom, I need to go now because Elder Durrant needs to use some of my time to e-mail something to his family, but I love you so much. I'm sending you a little birthday present today so it should get there soon. :) Thank you for being such an amazing mother, and for teaching me so much about this gospel and for being the perfect example of love for me. I hope that you have the best birthday ever and I hope to keep hearing from everyone in the fam.

 

Love your son,

 

Elder Trevor Ward

Guess What?!

Hola mi familia! Como estan?

 

Man, this week flew by again.  I look forward to getting to write all of you so much.  I hate to admit it, but I think all of these letters are going to start sounding the same. I can't even really remember what I told you in the last one.  Thanks for all your letters and support though I really, really do appreciate it. Letters in the MTC are like manna from heaven. Mom, thanks for sending another package with a sweater and cookies and stuff. The cookies were soooooo good, and the sweater is perfect. And yes, I can send packages home before I leave so I'll probably be doing that.

Guess what?! Elder Nelson, as in the apostle, came to speak to us for Tuesday devotional. It was amazing! It was definitely an answer to my prayers too. Honestly, the initial excitement of being a missionary has started to wear off and its getting a little harder to truly enjoy the work every day. I was feeling a little stressed out about all the things that it takes to be a good missionary, and I was praying hard that I could change my attitude to be happy about what I was doing. Elder Nelson didn't give us some crazy secret to missionary work or anything. He basically just got up there and said, "each one of us knows who they are and what God wants them to do..." Then he basically just went on to talk about how we do what we do because we follow the Savior, Jesus Christ, and we are to establish His church on the earth.  His talk was so simple, yet so powerful. It made me realize that the gospel, and even being a missionary, is such a simple thing.  Really there is a lot that goes into being a missionary but the most important part is that I have been called to help bring people unto Christ by faith, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. He also promised us that we will be prayed for every week by the First Presidency and millions of people around the world every day. That really hit me, because we can feel those prayers. Thanks to all thsoe that pray for the missionaries.  He also promised us a couple of times that we will be safe on our missions, safer than anyone we know back home. Soooo...don't worry about my safety because you're the ones in danger! haha. I loved Ava's story about being excited to be baptized.  The amazing thing about the gospel is that even a 4 year old can understand it and have love for the Savior.

This week I was really impressed by a couple of verses in the Bible. In Luke 2 it talks about when Christ was young and when He was in the temple teaching. His parents find him there and he says, "wist ye not that I must be about my fathers business?" I know you know this family, but I felt impressed to share this with you. I know without a doubt that this is where I'm supposed to be.  Elder Nelson also promised us multiple times that our families will be so blessed for what we are doing. I hope that I can serve the Lord to my fullest capacity so that you can recieve those blessings.

This week, like every week, we went and taught at the TRC. For some reason, I just didn't feel super good about it after just because things didn't go as smoothly as I had liked. My teacher was doing an evaluation with us after because they watch the lessons on camera. He told me that it really doesn't matter how you felt, you just commited one of them (there were two investigators) to baptism. He said yes because he felt the spirit! It was a good reminder that it doesn't matter how well I thought I did, but whether or not I invited that person unto Christ.

Another little miracle... last night we were supposed to teach another class in our district and our teacher only gave us about a 10 minute heads up. We had talked a lot earlier that day about how we really need to work hard on spanish and SYL (speak your language) all the time. I said, "Elder Durrant, we're doing the lesson in Spanish." I was scared that it was going to be horrible, but I know that because we've been working hard and praying even harder for the Lord's help that He helped us to give a simple version of Lesson 2 in Spanish. Sure, there were definitely flaws, but I could feel the Spirit so strong and I think our fellow missionaries could too.

We got some new elders in our zone!!! Man, it feels good to not be the fresh meat. The sisters left for the Guatemala MTC this week so now we only have 6 elders in our district/classroom. Its kind of weird!

Funny stories for the week. Elder Durrant has this alarm clock that looks exactly like a Razor cell phone. A member of our branch presidency (who is a pretty cool brother) came to our residence halls at night. I took the "cell phone/alarm clock" and started talking in the hall.  I said, "hey babe, whats up?" and paused..."yeah the mtc is great but I miss you so much too." When he saw me I think he just about had a heart attack. It was great but we all laughed and he said, "you got me good, Elder, but too bad I have the real thing right here!" Everyone went ohhhhh!!!! when he pulled out his Razor cell phone.

Another funny story. There's a well kept sercret in the MTC. They're called Narnia Holes. In everyone's dressser they have a little hole in the top that people put random objects and pass alongs in. It's super cool! So we go into the new elders' rooms last night and look, and I start taking all this random stuff out; soap, flip flops, etc.  I'm like, why would someone put this in here? Turns out I was reaching all the way down into the elder's top drawer.

The weeks are FLYING here. It's crazy! We talked to an elder from Mexico that had only been here for 4 days who was learning English. It was nuts! It reminds me that I have a long way to go before I get out of here.

Thanks for keeping me updated on things at home. Man I sure do miss those FHEs with the ghost story and Ava getting upset and hiding under the piano. By the way, everyone thinks Ava is the best artist in the world. I have a sweeeet collage in my room of pictures from Ava and cousins. They remind me that God truly does love us because he sent us families. I love you all so much family and I hope you know that I pray for you every day, in Spanish. Keep choosing the right! By the way, how has having charity and doing missionary work been going? (Following up on commitments is the most important part :)

Challenge for this week: Read about the Savior and his life in the scriptures (there's TONS in the topical guide), and strive to live like He did. It's tough, I know, but it is the way to true happiness. We have something amazing in our lives and we should never ever, ever take it for granted. I love you so much and keep telling me about home, drawing pictures, whatever!

 

Con mucho amor,

 

Elder Ward

Time's flying in the MTC!!

Mi familia!!!!!
By the beard of Zeus, it's P-day again!!! Man its crazy how time flies in the MTC.  I'm stoked that I get to write again, but not so stoked that my brain has to explode for the fastest 30 minutes of my life.  I'll try to write the important stuff.  I never know if I should just tell you about what is going on with me or respond to your letters, but here it goes.  By the way, I can only write letters on P-day and, believe it or not, P-days are super busy.  Thanks for all the letters and stuff though, I really do appreciate them.  They make my day!
Dad:  Sorry to hear that work is a little slow right now.  I'm teaching an "investigator" tonight who is worried about providing for his family because he doesn't have a lot of work.  We are going to share Jacob 2:18-19 with him.  (I'm not trying to criticize or anything, but remember where your priorities are:).  It's pretty easy to stay focused on what's important on a mission and it's amazing how much joy I have being here.  It's strange how the things we usually make the least amount of time for are the things that bring us the most happiness.  I loved what you said in your letter, "I'm trying to act when I feel moved to do something, even if it is kind of awkward."  That is exactly what missionary work feels like!  It's the awkward things that we are most blessed for it seems like.  By the way, there is a whole district going to Cochabamba, Bolivia, in my zone.  They're all great guys and I tell them that they are in for a great mission from what my dad tells me.
Mom:  (After all the thank yous for the things sent to him and requests for additional items needed like socks, sweatshirt, another notebook, and snickerdoodles, he writes...) You mentioned after seeing a Nicaraguan news clip, that you had the impression that I will feel a great love for the people of Nicaragua.  Honestly, I feel like I already do.  When it gets really hard to stay cooped up in a classroom all day, I know I am doing this for them.  I'm so excited to be able to get out in the field and bring everyone I meet the best thing that they could ever have.  Actually, more like help them realize it for themselves.  You also said in your letter, "if we are obedient and diligent in our callings, responsibilities and stewardships, life is going to bring us great joy even though the road may be hard at times."  I know that is so true.  It's amazing because everyone in this world wants to be happy, it is why we exist (2 Nephi 2:25), but a very, very small percentage know where to find it.  One of my new favorite scriptures is Mark 8:35.  I know that serving others is a huge part of that happiness.
WEEKLY CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE:  Forget about yourself and focus on the Lord and others.  I promise that you will have a great week.
Connor and Collin:  BROSKIS!!!!  What's up Nephi and Sam?  Thanks for your letters.  I loved them!  Connor, just as you know that I should be here, I also know that I should be.  I also know that it's where both of you should be very soon.  Look forward to it because it's the greatest thing ever!  On to important stuff...I'm glad that you're keeping the jersey alive.  I best be hearing about you sporting the colors soon.  Hall of Fame=GENIUS!!  Collin, I loved hearing about you wanting to help your friend.  Don't have a lot of time to give a ton of advice now, but here is one of my favorite quotes from my MTC teacher; "If they can FEEL your love, you can NEVER be too bold."  For now, follow the Spirit and ask Heavenly Father for guidance.
Aubrey and Ava:  My two lovely sisters!  Thanks for the letters Aub.  I really did love them.  I hate to say this, but they won't let me wear the bracelet you made me in the MTC.  Psh!  That's so cool that you're singing in church for the primary program.  I've grown to love the hymns in the MTC even more than I did before.  I loved the story about you and Ava watching the Testaments movie and you teaching her about Jesus.  You both are so sweet spirited and keep being a good example to Ava.  She looks up to you a lot.  AVA!  I love hearing goofy stories about you!  I told everyone in my district and every gosh darn missionary I see that you are praying for them!  Mom said that you want me to come home soon.  I say, "I'LL GET THERE WHEN I GET THERE!!!!"  Please send me some more pictures soon.:)
About me, gosh, I dunno.  I'm still soooo happy and I still love being a missionary.  I've learned way to much in one week to write down in one e-mail.  Like I mentioned before it can be tedious sitting in class all day, but it's always worth it.  I love learning as much as we do in one day.  Oh yeah, believe it or not, the volleyball here ain't half bad.  I know that it's time to serve the Lord and not play volleyball, but it's kind of my release here at the MTC.  Sometimes we have gym with the "polys" and they all pretty much invented volleyball.  Everything feels like its rolling pretty good now.  I feel a lot more comfortable with Spanish (what I know so far) and I'm getting more used to talking to people in Spanish.  It was hilarious the other day...I fell asleep for like 5 minutes (don't worry-it was the only time) when I was doing this Spanish learning thing on the computer.  Elders Galvan and Waite from my district came in, cranked the volume on my headphones, and played an audio flashcard that said "VIVIR".  In my sleep, I slowly raised my head up and repeated "VIIIVVVIIIRRRR".  Spanish, man, it gets in your head!
I'm so glad that you all are reading the scriptures everyday.  It is SOOO important and I know that it's the most important thing that you'll do all day.  Keep it up!  There have been so many instances this week where I've been teaching, some of them in Spanish, where I've felt the spirit so strong.  I'm starting to realize more and more that I'm just an instrument in the Lord's hands as a missionary.  Whatever happens is what He wants.   I just have to be well tuned.  Where, when, how, and why He is going to use me is completely up to Him.  I challenge you all to do the same.
Wow, I actually have two minutes left and now I don't know what to talk about.  Well, how about this.  Do missionary work.  It's super duper important!  Be bold about proclaiming the gospel.  We want other people to have what makes us the most happy in our lives.  One thing that I've learned so much about is that this work is focused all around the investigator.  First show love for friends and neighbors, and then teach them principles of the gospel that are applicable to their exact needs.  If you're living righteously, then I promise the Lord will help you!
I love you soooooo much family and I hope to hear from you soon!!!
Love, Elder Ward  

1st Letter-Finally!

Hey family!  I miss you soooo much! Thanks so much for the letters that you sent me and thanks Aubrey and Ava for the pictures.  They made me smile so much and it was so good to hear how everyone is doing. I hope I will have time to write grandmas and grandpas, aunt Karla and her kids, and Sister Reese (Dell'oso), but if not thanks so much for the support and I'll write soon!
Wow, I do have a bunch of stuff to tell you! Oh yeah, P-days are on Thursday.  I'm doing so great!  This is the happiest time in my life thus far.  There is so much joy that comes from preaching the gospel and I feel my testimony growing exponentially every day!  D&C 18:15 talks about the joys of missionary work and "how great shall be your joy in the kingdom of your father" and I haven't even taught a real investigator yet!  I love the MTC!  There is such a strong spirit here all the time and I'm sure if there is one place that the Lord smiles on often, it is where his missionaries are.  The first few days were kind of crazy, but I still loved them.  Now that we're on a schedule the days go by fast.  I feel like there isn't enough time to do everything in the day.  It's been good to see lots of friends like Cody, Chandler, Jake McGlothin, Hermana Nelson, etc.
I love my companion!  He is awesome!  His name is Elder Durrant and he's from some made up town in Idaho called Kuna.  We don't have a ton in common but we get along really well.  I know that the Lord puts companions together for a reason and I know that he has strengths that I don't.  He works REALLY hard, which I love.  That's probably the biggest thing we have in common besides our testimonies.  He grew up on a farm and is sort of a cowboy so he knows how to work.  We do say "Bring it on" and added "Cowboy up" in the mirror every morning.  Good thing I worked with Carl this summer, right?:)
My district is great!  We all love each other a lot already and we have a lot of fun, more fun than most districts.  We are so blessed to have hermanas for 3 weeks too.  They are going to Guatemala and the Peru MTC in two weeks but they truly are great examples and are so inspiring.  PS-nobody told me there would be cute sisters in the MTC.  Don't worry, I'm not flirting with them or anything.
I have learned so much in the past week.  My perspective on missionary work has already changed.  I know the Lord has helped me so much this past week with everything and I thank you for your prayers (especially Ava's) :).  I feel them and I feel the Lord's help.  For example, Spanish.  There have been some things that we're expected to learn that seem impossible to do in such a fast time, but as I pray, study, and work hard I am able to do them.  Like my favorite scripture says "in His strength I can do all things".  I can comfortably pray, contact, get to know someone, and bear testimony in Spanish.  Yesterday, I memorized the first vision in Spanish as well.  Just remember family that you can do great things with the Lord's help.
Mom and Dad, you were right in assuming that I'm in class most of the time.  We also have companion, personal, and language study everyday.  It's a busy schedule and can be tough, but I really love it.  I feel like I have so much to learn about the gospel and missionary work!  We went to the TRC on Tuesday where you teach mock investigators, and it was a really cool experience.  I felt the Spirit so strong and once again felt the Lord's hand in our teaching.  One thing I've learned most about is loving the investigator.  The WHY of why do missionary work.  We should teach the gospel because we love our investigators and want to share the best blessing we have with them.  Anyways, in the TRC we asked our investigator if he thought there was a God and he said yes because of the joy that his children bring to him.  I then related how much joy comes from families with the story of how happy I was when I received letters from my wonderful little sisters.  That really pulled at my heart strings and I think it pulled at his too.
CONFERENCE.  Ahh man it was so good!  Maybe its just because I'm a missionary and EVERY talk and song seemed to apply to me, but it seemed better than ever.  How did you like the MTC priesthood choir? Wish I could've been in it!  There was something definitely special about sitting in a room with thousands of missionaries for conference.  When President Monson walked into the conference center I received a powerful witness that he is a prophet of God.  We are SO blessed to have prophets on this earth today, more than we even know.  Where would we be without them?

Arriving at the MTC

So I bought a jet pilot pen the  day I got here and its already out of ink. WOW!  I took about 30 pages of notes from conference.  I'm not going to tell you all of my favorite talks, but what I will say though is follow the prophets!!! I liked what Elder Costa said about how the prophet's words are God's priority.  They should be our priorities.  I promise you that as you all go back and study them and strive to be 100% obedient you will be so blessed and happy.  That is one of our main goals here in the MTC, 100% obedience. I feel those blessings already.  And...the prophet talked about missionary work first!!!!
I loved Elder Holland's talk.  It made me think of you a lot mom and dad.  Thank you so much for sacrificing to raise me and for being great parents. I love you.
Most of all I challenge you, family, to do missionary work! Its hard but the hardest things in life are the ones that bring us the most joy.  I'm learning that here a lot.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! Keep writing because I appreciate the letters so much.  Know that I'm happy and the Lord watches over me and you.  Follow the prophets and be happy! We are so blessed in this life.
Testifico que el Evangelio de Jesucristo is verdadero y trae felicidad.
Love, Elder Ward