never challenge latinos to enchilada making contests

7/14/17
     oh my the package was AMAZING!! i honestly cant thank you enough for it, it seriously made me tear up just reading the package, all my sayings and favorite things with the girls. and the music is PERFECT!! like seriously so amazing, it made me sooooo happy you have no idea. thank you so much!! and the lego guy is too freaking awesome! haha ive had him chilling out in my front pocket its too cool. you guys are the most amazing family. and the pictures made me laugh so hard haha thank you so much for doing that! oh and all the guys loved the cookies!! we're saving the cookie dough for a special occasion for sure. i cant thank you enough for sending all of that! the music really is amazing. our room feels like a paradise and i love it. even though its absolutely filthy right now haha. 

the MTC is still so awesome as usual, Wednesday was super cool! i was walking with Elder Kunzler and i remembered we had over 700 more new missionaries coming in and i was like thatd be pretty cool to see Elder Hatch but the odds of that happening were not fantastic but i asked if we could swing by and look for like two minutes and right then we turned directions and braxton was just walking alone and lost haha so that was awesome seeing him. i cant tell you how cool it was to see my brother from home wearing a missionary tag and so stoked to serve, you can always tell with the new missionaries and he was seriously glowing. he's going to do such awesome things in washington. we were going to get a picture but my camera was dead so ill get that this week and send it sometime. but yeah that was awesome getting to see him. 

guys the gift of tongues is seriously so amazing, i cant exaggerate that enough. if i were to see myself now three weeks ago i wouldnt believe it. the language is something you need to work for always, but when you prove to God your willingness to work hard for the people he will help you in so many ways. a huge part of learning the language is loving the people, i wish i had realized that sooner. once i started my studies by praying first for the people and praying for their benefit form my learning the language, it made a huge difference. ive been dreaming in french and the words are constantly flowing through my mind. classic scripture in first nephi 3:7, but so true. the lord has called me to serve the people of Montreal and i know he will provide a way for me to do that, as long as i put in the work and effort of course. but yeah, thats been huge this week, teaching lessons and discussions in french is sooo much easier now, our "investigators" are asking a lot more deep doctrine questions and we can comprehend the questions and answer with scriptures and its really just the best feeling to walk out of the discussion and high five and feel that confidence boost. so all you guys heading out foreign speaking, dont stress about the language, just love the people of your mission and keep their needs in your mind when studying and its amazing the things the spirit will do for you. im so stoked for all of you heading out soon!! you're all going to love it so much. 

along with the language everything is all going fantastic! the district still feels like a family. we got like forty new missionaries in our zone and some are having a harder time than any of the others that came in, but we've been giving blessings and having late night doctrinal studies and you can see the difference after having the spirit's influence so strong on them. thats the cool thing about the MTC, wherever you go here the spirit is so strong and its influence is crazy. especially in these new buildings that we are so lucky to have. the feelings of homesickness or stress can go away so easily here by just losing yourself in the work. but yeah its amazing here, im so grateful to be here and im so excited for everyone else to get here and feel the same way. ive run into Elder Barazodo (i hope thats how you spell it...) and Elder Davidson from school and also Elder Cooper?! from freaking like eighth grade PE? the kid that broke westons collar bone haha yeah it was funny running into him. everything is just fantastic here. i started eating a little better cause yeah i got a little fat so thats been fun. Elder Brough decided to do the same thing soo we both ended up buying an entire crate each of noodles to eat late at night when our stomachs are waking each other up from across the room. they're dirt cheap so they're so dang tempting dang it. luckily some giant rugby kid always wants to work out with me so thats been motivating me to work out like crazy so my immunity to the noodles is pretty strong. 

but yeah, thats pretty much it at the MTC! i couldnt be more happy to be here and im sooo excited to get to canada. i already love the people so much and i know thats where the Lord needs me to be so im so stoked to see why that is. i love this gospel so much and im so grateful for everyone that has influenced me to do so! i think back to ever priesthood quorum ive ever been in and the impact of the lessons and the leaders and brothers ive had in each one. seeing Elder Hatch wednesday made me remember how lucky ive been not only to have the most amazing leaders before i left, but also having the greatest brothers i could ask for that were always there for me and helped me in every way to have that desire to go on a mission. im so excited for Zane and Weston and Charter and Braxton, the Dominican Republic and Columbia and Argentina and Washington all need them and those people are so lucky to be receiving the greatest missionaries of all time. im also so grateful to have had the awesomest friends that also encouraged the desire to serve, im excited for all of you! anyways, i love you all so much, i couldnt have asked for a better life back at home and thats thanks to all of you, especially my family who i am so unbelievably lucky to have had. ive said it multiple times in lessons here, that i know for a fact that God loves us and knows us each individually, and i know this most of all because i have my family, and theres nothing ive needed more in my life  than my family and the opportunity i have to be able to be with them for eternity. the church is so true!! i love all of you so much!! 

sorry not a lot of pictures, just our messy room and our best friends the noodles and these canada shirts we bought
-Elder Halliday

Real quick if you're still there-"THATS NOT COOKIE DOUGH!" It's just squished cookies-eat them!  Cookie dough???   You can't ship dough!!!! And how would you bake it?? Hahahahah!!!!!

On Thu, Jul 13, 2017 at 10:49 PM, Cherise <cheriseandjon@msn.com> wrote:

Happy Friday!!! Woohoo-they're my favorites!  I don't have any exciting injuries to tell about but I guess that's a good thing!  It was a pretty uneventful week, so I'll try not to bore you...

Primary was just amazing. The lesson was on kindness and Brynne had them play a game where we all stood in a big circle, and would throw a ball to someone and say something kind. In senior primary the kids said the most genuine, sweet, thoughtful things!  We have the SWEETEST kids in primary! Even the 10&11 year old boys are sweet and kind, they participate, sing, and are so reverent!   I'm so lucky to be in there.

    Ribs still broke and hurting and I can't feel most of my ring finger, haha. But the dr said the nerves might grow back or reattach or whatever so we'll see! But I'm working and doing everything again-for like a week I was sleeping in and napping like twice a day-those concussions are no joke right???

    Do you like the music????  Sadly I don't think you can just add more music onto the nano, I think we have to or it will sync with whatever computer you connect it to. So we'll either need to buy a new nano when you want more music or you could send it home and we can add what you want. :)  we all love the French hymn you told us about-it's beautiful!!!!  How about that elder Halliday lego guy? Did you see his Book of Mormon in his briefcase? Lol. :)

       Brother and sister bray were over last night and he was sayin how awesome he thinks you are. Your people skills and all. 👍🏻 I like them. I was making her daughters costumes for moronis quest-kind of like the pioneer trek. But they're going to it in Canada. It will be awesome.

      Next week is all the fun Pioneer Day stuff in snowflake and pinetop so we are going to a cute little cabin hotel place sort of with the Bennion's (sort of) they got a place across the street that's all booked so we got a place right across the way. But there's a parade, rodeo, picnic and HUGE dance for the teens. It will be a fun weekend. I absolutely LOVE the Bennion's!  Don't know if I ever mentioned that before 😉

oh also heres something cool i realized the other day! the MTC president President Martino and his wife, they were doing a little introduction and i recognized their accents and his wife looked so familiar and in their introduction they had a picture of their kids and grandkids and i worked for their daughter and her husband in gilbert doing construction! i talked to sister martino afterwards to tell her how amaizng an opportunity it was to work with her daughter and son in law and she looked me in the eyes and said,"i know youre going to be an amazing missionary, you know why?" and i was like mmm no and she said, "i can see it in your eyes. easiest way to tell an amazing missionary from a not so amazing missionary." and then she left haha it was a cool thing to hear. 

oh also, just thought i should tell you how helpful all those missionary tools have been that you guys got me for christmas, i started putting the stickers into my french scriptures and its been super helpful! so thank you so much for that! and if you send up that neck shaver attachment for my razor, if you could also send a cheap watch for working out with thatd be awesome! the one i would prefer is at walmart for like ten bucks i think. in the movie napoleon dynamite theres the scene where hes running from uncle rico's van to go pick up his date and hes in the suit and everything, he looks down at his watch and you can see it, that one would be fantastic if you can get it! i know its at walmart, its a casio, square face digital. haha totally fine if you cant! love you!!