MTC Email 28th February 2012

Dear Mom, Dad, and, Eric,

I'll begin by answering your questions. Again, I have a time constraint, so I'll try and cram as much in as possible.

1. Have I participated in curbside pick-up of missionaries? Unfortunately, no. It would be fun to see the families drop their kids off and such, but no, I haven't.

2. Is my Zhongwen or Espanol better? Well........my Spanish is better. I actually never realized how good my Spanish was until I got here. The Spanish-speaking Elders...aren't very fluent. That being said, Sister Ochoa is a native from Mexico and I can often understand what she is saying. That being said, my Zhongwen is catching up hen kuai (I can add tones in the next email if you want).

3. The gap is definitely being closed. I feel like as I study harder and harder I have passed some. Those that have a base and study hard are still well ahead of me. :/ For example, my companion has had three years prior to coming here. While his tones are better than mine, and often his grammar too, I feel like my vocabulary might be better. Hard to say. I often get lazy with my tones and I'm really trying to stop that practice.

4. I HAVE SEEN PRESTON!!! AAAAHHH! He's so Preston! :P I love that kid. He's doing great supposedly which is fantastic! There are a ton of Alta kids here. It's nigh impossible to go a day without running into several.

Now for your actual email:

 In mom's letter she said something along the lines of, "not much has changed," then she proceeded to tell me all of the many changes that she is doing to the house. It made me laugh! It sounds like it will be much different!  MALAYSIA?!?! That is so cool!!!I'm very jealous! I've met some missionaries who have been there and they loved it. Also, I was fortunate enough to study it in my Geography class at BYU. CRAZY place. But I'll try not to freak you out too much. Just....be careful what you eat and keep your stuff safe. :D I'm ridiculously jealous about the whole Hunger Games dealio. I wish I was going. I expect a full report on the film. The Oscars didn't turn out how I expected. Did Nick Nolte win? I've heard The Artist is incredible....but it's in black and white and it doesn't have sound. Harry Potter never gets love. :'( I'm so happy that you guys are learning Zhongwen! It seriously makes me very happy! Just make sure you know your tones! If you don't know the tones, you don't know the word! Xianzhi(1 and 1) means prophet(s) while Xianzhi (with 3 and 4 I think) means like evil sorcerer or something ridiculous like that. Just keep that in mind. Keep it up! And I want you to know that I am working hard as well!

So today I got a haircut. It was the most difficult thing I've done on the mission thus far. It's actually not THAT bad. :/ I was in desperate need of one however. One of the sister missionaries also gave me one of her three blow driers to help me out a bit. :P

I don't know if you guys are capable of doing this, but is there a way that you could send BYU a copy of my SLCC transcripts.  You'll need to go on SLCC's website and ask for a transcript. If you can that would be great! If not, it's all good. I also wanted to tell you some crazy news I found out today. Sister Ochoa's dad is the second counselor in the general young men's presidency. Wicked (as my Brittish roommate who is reading this email would say; we're companions for the moment)!

You'll never guess who I ran into this week....JOSH FREEMAN!! How nuts is that?! We didn't really have time to catch up, but it's SO weird! Also, for Eric's sake, I ran into......CINDY HUTCH!!!! Weird week! Tons of crazy newbies! I'm considered really old here at the MTC. The English-speakiing missionaries are only here for three weeks. I'm on my seventh (by MTC standards).

Also, the other day, we watched a few "I'm a Mormon" videos (one of the few things we're allowed to watch in the MTC). The ones we watched were in Zhongwen and they were awesome! I got totally pumped to go to Taiwan. I want to share them with you. You may have to switch the language on mormon.org to Zhongwen, but look up Kaiping and Jingyi. I can totally understand some of what they're saying! Sometimes whole sentences! Too cool!

Anyway, I've gone over my time again. Keep me posted on everything that's going on at home! How's Jordan? How's Denise? How's Grandma and Grandpa Wilkes? And how's Grandpa Woolsey?? Please keep me updated!

I love you guys so much. This mission, this life is slowly becoming a waters of mormon for me (Mosiah 18:30). More importantly, last night I taught Bei Jiemei (Sister Mitchell in a "practice teaching exercise) about baptism and I began to tell her what my personal waters of mormon are. When I thought of this, I thought of you guys. I thought of our house there on Cranberry Hill and night games with the neighbors. I think of my own baptism; being able to be baptized with Eric. Most importantly, when we went to the temple. I cherish those moments. I look upon them fondly. They are "beautiful" to my eyes. I encourage you to reflect on your "waters of mormon." They are sweet and delicious. I love you guys so much. Zaijian.

Ai, Wu Zhanglao

Packages, packages, and more packages....

Nimen hao ma? (I figure you guys should know that one). :P

Dear, Mom, Dad, and Eric,

Thank you for the emails and letter this week! They were wonderful! I'm kinda getting bogged down with letters to the point that I can't write everyone back with exact promptness. :/ I feel terrible about that. I'm only today sending a reply to Eric's letter and I have four I still need to write that I haven't gotten around to. That aside, I STILL HAVEN'T WRITTEN JORDAN!! I'm a terrible cousin. :/ So the computer is freaking out today and my time is even more limited than normal because of it, so I'm going to rush through this, but hopefully I'll be able to cram a lot in. I'll start with what I have to say, then I'll respond to your email and questions.

So I want you guys to go rent "Waiting for Superman." Apparently it's a really interesting documentary on the American public schooling system. Supposed to be...insightful. Ok, so every time a new Zone Leader is called, the previous Zone Leaders will give them some mysterious thing and no one else knows about it but them. The current zone leaders locked "it" away in a suitcase. Anyway, the Zone Leaders live in my room, right? I wasn't going to put up with this blasphemy. So....at lunch, I rallied the ENTIRE ZONE and told them all about it. Then we discovered the many talents of our rather eclectic Zone. Half of them can pick locks. We raided our own room and discovered the mysteries that lay inside the suitcase.....it turns out that it was only a seat cushion signed by all of the previous Zone Leaders and an old clock. Kinda anticlimactic, but a lot of fun. I'm happy that mom received her letter and that dad received his letter. Eric has one coming as I said before. I received Dad's letter as well as the package of rolls. They are highly appreciated! I'll try to send an individual letter to Dad sometime in the not-too-distant future, but there wasn't a TON to reply to. I'm really happy that everything is going so well and that you guys went out for Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, all I could think about was you guys. It was cool actually. And Dad, the roses, nice touch. ;) The Bakers (Preston's family -- Preston comes in tomorrow) sent me a nice Valentine's Day card. :) Speaking of packages, Hunter's mom owns this company called "Missionary Munchies" and I seriously got the MOTHER OF ALL PACKAGES. Like...I had to take a picture of this package because it was so nuts. It had Cracker Jacks, Gatorade's, Beef Jerky, Candy, Cotton Candy, a giant Pixie Stick, you name it, it was in there. Seriously nuts. I feel like I'm set for life. So awesome though! My companion made me walk all across the entire MTC campus with it and like forty people told me how loved I was...awkward! Not to mention I had the Cinnamon Rolls under the other arm. Embarrassing to say the least. Matt got one too.

So I heard that the MTC president hasn't set a specific rule for how long we can call during layovers on the way to Taiwan so get excited! I may be able to talk to you guys for a while. I'll just have to pay a lot of money for it....also, it may be while you're at work, so I don't know what you'll wanna do about that... I'll also found out that Taichung is renowned for GIANT spiders....like the size of your foot and larger that end up in your shower. They're so big that they catch birds in their webs and eat them. Also, they eat monkeys....just saying. Lastly, there are massive flying cockroaches...doesn't that sound nice?

Now to answer your guys' questions and email. I'm sorry that Extremely Close, and Incredibly Loud stunk. I wanted to see that one too. :/ That's exciting about the Hunger Games! I wish I was there to go with you! It's nice to here that Grandpa Wilkes is doing better. I can't believe that Grandpa Woolsey fell again. That's so demoralizing. I feel that they don't have long for this world. I hope Denise gets better as well. I'll be praying for them all. There is no one who is more blessed than missionaries than maybe the prophet...so my prayers are worth quite a bit! I'm glad that American Idol is going well. I honestly don't miss it too much right now, but maybe once you guys start talking about individual singers more I'll long for it more. Glee being terrible doesn't surprise me. It's an awesome concept that they just didn't know where to run with. It turned too drama-y. That's awesome about biking Dad! I'm so excited for you! I know you'll destroy. :) Also...650 POUNDS!! That's incredible! I'm happy that you guys like the pictures. Those were some of my favorites that you posted on the blog. Elder Houggard is 6' 5" so not too far off. He played basketball in High School and he and I play together sometimes. He's a cool fella. That's kinda strange what the guy from work said about the "e" sound. I would say it more like "UH"...kinda like someone punched you in the gut. He is a native however, and we are learning the typical mainland version of Chinese. I liked the few things you learned. Just make sure you use them correctly! Zhe ge is this BUT only for specific objects. Meaning, you can't go around and use zhe ge for a situation...like zhe ge doesn't sound like a good idea. That's not Ok. Also, "ge" is a measure word that can only be used with certain objects. So while you can get away with using zhe ge A LOT of the time for objects....it doesn't always work. Like pages, songs, flat things, animals, and other things it wouldn't work with. Same with na ge (that object not that situation).

Am I starving for regular food? YES! Does that mean sweets? No. I'm overwhelmed with nasty food and sweets. Home cooking sounds incredible (there are ways to sneak it in by the way, as long as it's concealed in a box). ;) As far as I can tell from looking around and asking other missionaries, you can't find language DVDs or study materials in the book store. It's mostly the bare essentials. I don't really know for certain if Cantonese is harder, but from what I understand they're about the exact same. Mandarin has five tones and Cantonese has either seven or nine, but the extra tones are between the others. I know that probably didn't make any sense, but from what I've witnessed (the Cantonese Elders and Sisters are on the same floor as us), it seems equally as difficult. Mandarin is harder to to speak pronunciation-wise, but more tones is still more difficult (two elders in my district were transferred from Mandarin). It's apples and oranges. I don't think I need anything really. I'm reasonably set. :) I'll be able to dry clean my suits before I go. I was going to do one today, but my companion didn't particularly want to go with me...so...I didn't. Maybe next week I can convince him. My teaching has gotten much better by the way. My companion is working hard, and as long as he doesn't disagree or not understand why we do something and shut down we can work together reasonably well. We're pressing on! I'm not terribly tired of the MTC. Only a little... The older generation left today and I could feel their energy and excitement. I took pictures with all of them so I'll send those soon. It was sad to see them go. We're who people look up to now. Elder Winters is an inspiration to me...remind me to write about him next week (I have a lot to say and I'm already seven minutes over). Uhh...over doing it? Maybe a little. I wouldn't worry about sweets. I don't need any more. The Branch President doesn't like it either. Also, the language is progressing well. I can understand what people say most of the time now, I just can't say what I want to say very easily. I have to think about it pretty hard first. Also, I'm a little discouraged with my work ethic, but I'm earnestly trying to improve. If they say it twice, I know it for sure. Anyway, I really need to go. I love you guys! Zaijian.

Elder Bry

The end of a generation, the end of a missionary, and the loss of a letter

Dear Mom, Dad, and Eric,

I'm so happy that you guys sent me an email! I look forward to this time each week.  I would first like to address your email because some things were a little concerning.  First and foremost, I sent mom a pretty extensive letter last Thursday with about thirty pictures in it (I used the appropriate number of stamps), so it's a little upsetting that it got lost.  I hope it turns up on one of our ends soon.  I did get the package with everything and I was beyond happy!  I mentioned it in the letter to Mom which you obviously haven't received. :/  Bu hao.  Everything is safe though, and I haven't needed to use them.  The language is coming along very well.  I'm always trying to push myself, but it is SOOO hard.  I think I can teach most of the first lesson without any notes in Chinese, but the Plan of Salvation is tough.  There is LOADS of new vocab involved.  I've progressed in that I can more readily recognize what people are trying to say when they speak in Mandarin (meaning that I can pick out words and the general idea of sentences).  I don't know if that makes much sense or not.  It sounds like your talk went well! I'm happy for you!  I love that you spoke with Elder Findlay.  Whitney writes me regularly and tells me about their progress as missionaries.  It sounds like your day as a whole was rather busy! Keep it up though!  You are never happier than when you are serving the Lord!  Question though....have you been assigned a new home teaching companion yet?  If so, who?

Ok, sorry about the rushed nature of my email again.  I'm just trying to cram things in.  Now for a few updates on this end.  When I said that I wanted "my letters typed up," I didn't mean the ones you sent me.  I was more hoping that when I sent you guys a hand-written letter that you would type it up so that it would better preserve them (seeing as I write them in pencil).  This last Sunday I got to hear the most INCREDIBLE rebroadcast of a talk that Elder Bednar gave at the MTC this last Christmas on the Character of Christ.  It was phenomenal.  He spoke about turning outward instead of inward, even in difficult times like death.  He also challenged us to read the Book of Mormon to receive answers to our questions.  It was more involved than this however.  He said to write down one question, then proceed to to read the entire Book of Mormon in response to that one question.  Ponder a lot, and pray a lot, and he will answer the question every time.  Then write a half-page summary on it your answer.  This sounds INCREDIBLY difficult, but a prophet said it, so....it's gotta be true.  He said that you should have a couple hundred copies by the time you're his age.  I really want to do this.  I'm just waiting for the MTC bookstore to restock on cheap BOMs.

Oh yeah....I'm kinda surprised that I forgot to tell you this (glad I wrote it down!), but I'm now District Leader.  Our former District Leader and his companion (Elder Chan and Elder Bishop) are now the new Zone Leaders. This (the ZL callings) is kind of a humbling moment for me, because I didn't really expect it....that's a nice way of putting it, but I hope it makes sense. Pretty cool, huh?  I'm excited to serve.  The older generation leaves this week (the people who came in eight weeks before us).  Elder Winters (the former ZL) is an inspiration to me.  I have been trying to emulate his example.  He studies so hard and is so humble.  I want to be that kind of missionary. 

I wrote Dad a letter, and I've been working on Eric's letter (he wrote a TON).  Dad will get his probably on Thursday, and Eric....sometime after that.  I really really hope Mom's letter shows up. 

Elder Richards went home again.  After coming back, he developed clinical depression and now he is gone.  For good.  Zaijian I guess. :/  I bought my own olive oil and will consecrate it tonight! STOKED!  Just one thing I never really told you:  I can't listen to music in the MTC...which has been really hard.  I may send my iPod home soon so that you can put more songs on it or something, but I don't know.  We'll see.

Brother Liu (my favorite of my two teachers) wrote a "Valentine" for us last night about his love for the gospel and his savior and how he has felt his Father in Heaven's love.  He wrote it on the board then had to leave.  Each of us were silent for about 45 min to 1 hr.  It was incredible.  Half of us were in tears and the spirit was so strong.  His testimony of his Savior's love was so pure and inviting that it was truly remarkable.  We prayed together and headed to bed.  Incredible night. 

Anyway...I'm once again out of time.  Sorry. :/  I'm also sorry that this letter is all over the place.  I would like to close with how much I love you guys.  It being Valentine's Day, it's only appropriate.  I love you guys more than anything.  I wish that I could see you guys again, but how sweet will that moment be when we get to embrace in two years.  Totally worth it.  You guys have raised me in the Gospel and taught me its importance.  You have instilled me with a love for my fellow man and a drive to serve my King.  This isn't just for Mom and Dad either Eric, so don't discount yourself.  I love you guys more than you'll ever understand.

Love, Elder Bryant Jared Woolsey

Prophets and Hurt Backs

Dear Mom, Dad, Eric, and Belle,

         Your letter was relatively short this week which is both good and bad.  Because of this, I'll be able to be more detailed and make up for the things I was going to send last week but couldn't.  Speaking of that...did Eric ever get his letter?!?  You'll all be happy to know that I got Mom's letter, and Eric's letter, and the pie, and the popcorn.  You guys are spoiling me!! Haha!  My roommates love it, however. :P 

         So a week ago from today was an incredible experience:  The MTC celebrated their 50th anniversary.  Needless to say, for the entire week preceding, rumors abounded that "the monsoon" was coming (I'm pretty proud to say that I came up with that).  But...that night arrived and Elder Russell M. Nelson, and Elder Jeffery R. Holland showed up.  Incredible.  Elder Nelson was the main speaker so Holland only bore a quick, but powerful, testimony of missionary work.  Very inspiring.  Elder Nelson's talk was wonderful as well, but it mainly focused on the history of the MTC and incredible missionaries through the ages. 

         This week was really hard on my district and zone.  Elder Snyder (an Elder who switched from Cantonese to Mandarin a couple of week ago and is now in my district) broke his back about three years ago and he has been having some pretty severe pain.  So much so, that he has had to undergo several MRI's already and there is a HUGE chance that he'll need surgery and an equally large chance that he'll have to go home.  We're seemingly dropping like flies out here!  Anyway....we fasted on Thursday as a Zone and it was incredibly spiritual.  We fasted again on Sunday.  I pray for him and wish him the best.  He is an incredible individual and I know that the Lord has great things in store for him.  The night that we began our fast, he had a prompting that he should extend an open invitation to give blessings to those in our district who wanted one.  So the eight of us gathered in his room before bed and he blessed Elder Bishop and Elder Dagenais.  INCREDIBLY spiritual.  I just felt the love of the Lord so much in the room that I began to cry (and I don't know how much of a crier I am).

        I need to address a MASSIVE misunderstanding.  I don't know how this happened, but my companion isn't and never was British.  Sorry to disappoint.  There's a British Elder that I'm rooming with who I get along swimmingly with, but my companion is from Mesa, Arizona.  And I don't want it to sound like we are at odds or anything, it's just that he has this tendenancy to correct me on most things I do (ex. calling me stupid for wearing my watch on my right hand).  Make sense?  He's actually a really good guy, and we've had some great experiences together thus far, we're just very different people.  No worries though!  I love him all the same!  He's a smart guy with a lot to bring to the table! 

       This is kinda random, but could you guys type all of my hand-written letters up, I don't wanna lose 'em.  Ok...now comes the section full of random things I wanted to say, so this will be beyond all over the place.  I get $6 a week on a pay card kind of thing that I can use to buy my supplies and things, so don't think you need to keep sending me supplies all the time.  I use it to buy soap and things like that.  It's not much, but it's enough for now.  Snacks I want sent to me....I don't know, something yummy that I wouldn't normally get that I can keep in my room would be great....and maybe a drink or something.  :)  Surprise me!  Also....PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send some hair paste or product.  I can't get it here and I may die without it (jk). :P  My Branch President is really cool.  He served in Taiwan, but so long ago that they didn't have a Mandarin branch at the MTC.  He had to learn in the field!  He actually can't even read pin yin, only characters.  Pretty funny stuff!  Great man though.  He likes to correct us on our tones and pronunciations. :P  I was thinking today that you guys should try practicing Mandarin a little so when you come out to pick me up, you guys can know a thing or two!  I'll send my grammar books and things home when I no longer need them.  That'll be like six months from now or so, but yeah.... My mission is moving like lightspeed.  It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that people say it's fast.  I'm trying to soak it all in, but it just moves too darn fast!  Elder Snyder actually has an incredible story.  He was kind of a partier, and he was flat drunk one night when he received a prompting that he needed to clean up his life and serve a mission.  Everyone thought he was crazy, but he did it.  He is an incredible man.  I wish I could give more detail, but I still have that dang time constraint.  Please send my baptismal clothes if you get the chance...along with the pedigree chart...I think I'll need 'em in the field.  Thanks for sending Jordan's address.  That's fantastic!  I get a lot of letters from people, it's great!  I've felt the most intense outpouring of love ever.  Missionaries are probably (aside from the prophet) the most prayed for people in the church.  I feel invincible in a way (not like a teenager does though).

         So...this is what I've heard about Taiwan recently.  Supposedly you can't sit on the toilets in fear of Hep C, so you have to master a squatting technique (Elder Bishop's brother served in the same mission).  Sounds pretty funny.  I'm gonna get so owned. 

         I get to play basketball and four-square a lot.  I run quite a bit now too. I'm trying to build some endurance and shed some pounds.  Dad would DIE if he had to eat the food here.  Everything is either covered in fatty sauces/cheeses or deep fried...not to mention it tastes like plastic.  It's SO GROSS!!

         Sometimes, when I'm not working as hard as I feel like I need to, I think of Dad.  I think about what it would mean to him to be in my shoes.  I think about how hard he would work if he had the opportunity that I have.  I definitely came out for the right reasons. It makes me work harder.  It makes me want to be a better missionary.  I had a feeling yesterday that so many people in my life are angels (in a manner of speaking), sent down to earth to help me.  Everyone has their "angels," I just feel like the Lord is really looking out for me.  I love you guys and I think about you all the time.  I pray for you.  I often think about what I can do to make you guys proud and live up to my name (not that I'm here just for you, because I definitely came out here to serve the Lord FYI).  It motivates me.  I've already written mom's letter; I'm just waiting on pictures to print (YES! PICTURES!).  You guys will likely get that letter on Friday....  I have a few more things to say but if I say them all now, I'll have nothing for next week!  I now know what Nate meant by the MTC feeling like groundhog day.  :P  Please ask more questions and tell me more about home!  I'm not upset that I missed the Super Bowl that much, but I would KILL for some of mom's cooking right now.  Seriously.  Anyway...I love you.  A lot.  Zaijian.

Love, Elder Bry ;)

Your Son Liveth!

Dear Mom, Dad, and Eric,

REJOICE! THE LORD IS KING! HE REIGNS OVER ALL AND IS THE SOURCE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD!  ELDER RICHARDS HAS RETURNED!  His side-burns have been shaved and his countenance is bright.  I'm so happy that he left, for now he has returned and he knows EXACTLY why he is here.  The Lord is in fact the a God of mercy and prayers have been answered.

Well, now that that's over with, it's that time of the week again, when you get to hear from your most favorite missionary son!  I loved receiving letters throughout the week because I could better plan out what I could say to conserve my time.  However, I am ridiculously strapped for time each time I write, so bear with me, for my letters will be lacking in detail greatly.  As a quick note, if I don't get to everything, expect a letter with more details, and tell Eric that I will send him a hand-written letter in reply to his letters (which I am extremely grateful for), and not to expect personal emails until I arrive in the field.  You wrote a lot, so I'll do my best to reply to everything:

The fact that Bishop Thompson complimented you on that tie is wonderful.  Thanks for the honorable mention. ;)  I'm happy that ward conference went well!  Mom, you are a choice daughter of your heavenly father, and he loves and appreciates that you were willing to sacrifice  your Sunday for such an honorable cause and for supporting your husband.  I would, mother, like to hear some more personal things from you!!  It seems like Dad writes the emails and you mention a couple of things for him to place in them...this is not good enough!  I want to hear from you!  The Mandarin is going surprisingly well.  I'm picking up a lot, and although some have had experience before, I am ahead of some of them.  I'm still behind the ones that have had more than two years, or actual experience in the country.  They are beasts.  I will work harder.  I have Jesus' name on my badge. 

I'm not sure what I have forgotten necessarily, but there are a few things that I would like (but don't need immediately).  I would like some more hair stuff when you get around to it.  I have plenty for now, but I'll run short soon and I can't get any in here.  I'm sure whatever you get will be fine.  Regarding the tie clip, I DO NOT want it.  I left it at home intentionally so that Eric would wear it for me while I was away (like I wore his).  The pretzels that mom sent me were VERY YUMMY!  Keep it coming (within reason)! 

The sleep schedule....well, let's see.  Surprisingly perhaps, I am the best at going to bed when I'm supposed to and waking up when I'm supposed to.  I have been able to follow that rule with an exactness and I have been blessed accordingly.  Matt is doing very well in Mandarin.  He's a smart guy.  He can speak the language (which is most of the battle) so all he has to do is memorize grammar and words...I'm not quite there yet.  He's an incredible young man and an incredible missionary.  He really is one of my best friends in the entire world.  I adore and admire him.  I'm so happy he's here.  He feels like my second companion (that's how much I see him).  His companion, Elder Hougaard (or however you spell it) is such a nice guy too.

Thank you for praying with me.  It means the world to me.  I truly can feel the strength of your prayers in all that I do.  They bolster me up and strengthen me.  I greatly appreciate them. Read Moroni 8:3.  This is exactly how I feel that you feel about me.  I think you'll love it.  I feel that I have been placed in a hyperbolic time chamber of spirituality and maturity (ask Eric for the reference).  I feel like I have aged years in the weeks I have been here.  I feel more mature and I have NEVER understood the spirit the way that I do now.  I always need help with the language, so keep those coming.  Also, my patriarchal blessing is stunning, please take a peek at it again.  I did, and I got loads more out of it this time.

I'm happy that I've inspired your biking Dad! :P  Congrats on your success! I honestly mean it.  And I'm sorry for all the times that I gave you a hard time about it.  I know it means a lot to you.  And I know that I mean more to you than cycling.  That's all I need.  You are a wonderful parent.

Mom,  You are one of the most incredible, humble, kind people I know.  Don't let your talents go to waste!

Elder Neil and I.....are......Elder Neil and I.  I KNOW that we were meant to be put together and so with that knowledge I have persevered.

My daily schedule isn't very exciting.  I get up early, then eat, then go to class (which is three hours long) which is a fusion of language and spiritual study.  Following that I'll have personal study (where I read scriptures and stuff) then I have language study (where I study the language) then lunch, then class maybe (the schedule varies daily) which is another three hours (also a fusion).  We'll teach investigators, or practice the language on computers, or a dozen other things.  Sorry, I'm over my time limit as we speak so this part isn't very specific  so I will likely send you a letter. 

Last thing.  Today I was sitting in the temple and  I read 2 Nephi 4:18-the end I think.  read it.  It is inspirational.  I feel great.  The Lord loves you guys and he loves that you love me so much.  Thank you so much for everything.  Expect a letter sometime before next Tuesday with more stuff.

Love, Elder Bryant Woolsey

Hold on...

Ok, so I actually had an extra second to write.  I love you guys very much, and I miss youp, but I've already gone over my time by a minute.  I apologize for the abruptness of the email, but it's all I have.  Please ask loads of questions, it would help to narrow what I have to write about.  Thanks guys!

Finally Here!! DUM DUM DUM!!

Dear Mom, Dad, and Eric,

       I bet at some point in the last couple of days, you questioned whether or not you were ever going to hear from me or not.  Well here I am.  I'm alive, I am well, and the church is true.  There have been so many things that have happened over the course of the last week that it's difficult to explain them all in one email.  I would like to preface this email with a couple of key notes:  first is that I only have thirty minutes to write, so I apologize for any lack of description there may appear to be.  I'll do my best.  Also, I may mention very personal, spiritual experiences that I have had, but I feel that I cannot go into great detail over email for the format would be inappropriate.

      So...I suppose that I'll start at the beginning (as dad has told me before).  After you guys dropped me off, I was met with a whirlwind of events.  People were handing me things, taking things, taking pictures of me, calling me "Elder."  It was all very surreal.  Following the initial rush, I was placed in a classroom with four other young men (one of which was my companion, Elder Neil), and two young ladies.  I later found out that this is my district.  Anyway....I sat down and the teacher, Brother Liu, looked at me and, from what I could ascertain, said something to the effect of ahj sdlkjf dlkfjalsdkjf zxsdkfjl asdkj adslfkjal;sdkfjlakkd weoiruokmck somciek iockslkdj opskciekkcd dkls dlkcidkikdc dkdkdkpd civjklajkl asdfjkl;jkl; sdklc nalksjdtf.  I think that's about right.  Needless to say, he was speaking Mandarin Chinese, and I hadn't a clue what was going on.  It turns out that about half the class has had Chinese before in High School or some derivative of High School (I say derivative because one sister is from Australia (Sister Mitchell), the other is from Mexico (Sister Ochoa, who speaks English and Spanish impeccably), one Elder from the U.K. (Elder Chan...don't be deceived by the name, he is very British although his parents are Cantonese), and two Elders from Canada (one is French and the other is from Canada proper, both are fluent in French and English and are going to a Mandarin speaking French mission).  Pretty cool so far.  Anyway....as you may be wondering, I see Elder Taylor EVERYWHERE.  He is not my companion, but we are in the same branch and he lives two rooms over from me.  We talk all the time.  It's great.  The food is AWFUL.  Occasionally there will be a half-decent meal, but they are few and far between.  The second day, my cold made a viscious comeback.  I was very very sick, but I didn't tell anyone and I powered through it.  That aside, my companion....didn't seem to like me very much.  He tended to walk off (when, as you know, we are supposed to stay together), and doesn't talk much, although it has nothing to do with being socially incapable.  At the end of the day, I was sort of hating it all.  It was so hard.  I knew that there would be days like that in the MTC, but I hadn't a clue that they would come so early.  In many ways, I wanted to come home.  I had to ask myself why I was here, and once I remembered, I didn't want to leave at all.  Now, I realize that I'm not making it sound very appealing, but I honestly love it here.  I wouldn't go home if the prophet told me today that I had a choice to, and that if I did, I would be honorably discharged.  I have had some of the most profound spiritual experiences ever.  I finally understand better how to recognize the spirit (I listened to the GREATEST devotional ever on it by Elder Bednar), and how to get answers to my prayers.  Elder Bednar essentially said to stop worrying about seeking out the "feeling" of the spirit.  If you are good, you are being guided already.  The Holy Ghost is guiding you every day to make decisions that you don't even realize are promptings from the Holy Ghost.  Not because you are incapable of recognizing them, but rather because there's not really much to recognize.  He gave very intense examples of this and it was glorious.  "All that is good comes from God." 

       On the third day, they had us teaching in Mandarin, and we teach an "investigator" nearly every day.  I can now bear a simple testimony in Mandarin, pray a simple prayer in Mandarin, discuss scriptures and other things as well.  "With the Lord, nothing is impossible."  And boy, ain't it true!?  The hand of the Lord is definitely playing a massive role in my learning of the language.  The grammar of Mandarin is simple, but all of the words look and sound the same, and the tones are killer.  My companion has taken a couple years of Chinese, and went to a Chinese summer camp where they only spoke Mandarin.  He is very talented and my crutch for the time being.  If you would like, I can write out some Mandarin in the next letter, but it's difficult to do on the computer. 

       The greatest thing that anyone had told me prior to coming out came from Eric.  That last night, as we went around the room, he told me to question myself as I faced situations where disobedience may occur, even if it be minor.  Because of Eric, I resolved early on to be strictly obedient and I have felt the blessings of the Lord pour out upon me for it.  I don't need to shave every night, but I do it anyway.  I don't need to read my white handbook for five minutes every day (because I've already read the entire thing), but I do it anyway.  I can go to bed early, but I choose not to, even when we finish class early, because that's not exactly what was asked of me.  I will obey.  I must obey.  The Lord has been answering my prayers nightly and I can honestly say that I feel the prayers of you guys as I learn and study.  Thank you.  I keep pushing myself, but it is hard.  Being on a mission is easily the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my entire life.  Harder than college.  Harder than High School A.P. classes.  You name it.  Those were childsplay.  It's easy to slack off here, but I may never have this opportunity again or at least for a very long time, so I will utilize it fully.  My time is almost up.  Shocking! I know!  I've included much, but not even close to everything.  I want my plaque scripture to be 1 Nephi 13:37.  This scripture has touched me profoundly and I will go into greater detail later.  "More Holiness Give Me" is now one of my favorite Hymns.  I will explain that later too.  I also have a testimony that my companion was given to me by God for a purpose and I love him.

Love, Elder Woolsey