Dec 14th 2009

Here’s Richard’s first email from Santa Rosa.  Note that when he mentions Moroni waving in his letter, that’s a joke perpetuated from when I was in the MCT long ago – the teachers there said that there was one sure way to know if your girlfriend was going to wait for you.  They said that as you flew out of the SLC airport, you could look at the statue of Moroni on the temple.  If he waved at you, she’d wait.  Otherwise, you had no promise :-)  On to Richards letter:

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Oi! It's been a long and wet week. I'm happy and excited to be out here, but it has been more exhausting than I had imagined. I'm with Elder Knowles who has been out in the field for about 3 months. He's a great guy, and he actually got his call after I did and managed to report earlier than I did. That just goes to show that the Lord knows when we need to be out here to be of the most worth to Him.

 

It's hard to remember everything that happened that first day... we got on the plane without too much of a terrible incident, and I fell asleep while they were rinsing off the plane to get the snow and ice off (deicing). I was asleep during take-off so I'll never know if Moroni was waving at me or not... oh well.

 

I talked to the stewardess who turned out to be from California. She has a Mormon family, but didn't know much about missions or about the MTC, so I got to explain how it works. I'm happy that so many of you have emailed me this past week, and so I'll try to answer all of your questions in this next part:

1. I did get the bedding from aunt Marsha many thanks! The are very nice.
   
2. I did get to go shopping on transfer day, most people buy groceries on Tues during transfer week.
   
3. President Bunker is an awesome man. He's a common sense, no nonsense type of guy, and he makes it known. I already have a strong respect and love for him.
   
4. My first interview with him was interesting. He hammered me down a little bit by talking about the legacy of the Spanish speakers of the mission, and saying how they are the best of the best of his missionaries, and that they are shining examples to the entire mission.  He also set me straight to his interpretation of the rules regarding emailing as I see he has probably sent to Mom and Dad already. I can only send emails to my immediate family, but if I need to send something to you real fast I'll have them forward a note to y'all.
   
5. I'm glad that the family is doing well and that Joshua is learning how to enjoy serving others and being outside. You can lose weight too Josh, keep working hard!
   
6. I laughed when I read the story about people remembering our name, because the Spanish people have trouble and have to read it to pronounce it right. I'm thinking that I'll let them start calling me "Elder Mack."
   
7. The work has been way more exhausting than what we experienced during the MTC, it's been awesome, but because of it, I have been struggling to keep my journal up to date. I'll have to do that while we're playing basketball at the stake center.
   
8. I'm currently serving in the Santa Rosa Oeste (West) Stake, and anyone wanting to mail me directly can mail me at 155 Stony Point Rd Apt# 15 Santa Rosa CA 95401.
   
9. I got the SD card, and I'll be sending it back in the mail by tomorrow morning, along with some letters.
10. I'm glad that I've been able to come out during the Christmas season. It's been an easier transition, and easier to talk to people with the spirit of the holidays surrounding us.
    
11. We've only had 2 dinner appointments: 1 with the Branch Pres. Hernandez, and one of the members from the PEC Bro Johnson (yeah, he's a gringo in the Spanish branch.) I enjoyed the Mexican food from Branch Pres. Hernandez, and loved the gorgonzola bacon spaghetti from Bro Johnson. Man, he knows how to cook! Yesterday I ate stir fried ramen and veggies spiced with garlic salt ^_^ I loved it.
    
12. I did get everything from the mission office the first day, and I got everything back to my apartment alright as well.

The funny thing about the first day was that we spent the night at a hotel... a Holiday Inn to be exact.  I thought that was kinda whacked, but was happy to share a room with Elder Zufelt for one last night. It was funny seeing the fountain iced over and the pool steaming the next morning. We had eggs and cinnamon rolls at their continental breakfast.

 

We have a temple trip to the Oakland temple planned for this transfer!! YES!! And we get to go quarterly! YAY!! I'm excited! Lots of pictures to be taken there.

 

I inherited a coat from the previous Elder of the apartment which fits me perfectly, and I will keep it and use it after my mission as well. I like it as much as the coat I borrowed from Dad when I went to BYU, but this one has a small rain hoodie that tucks away in the collar! It has served me well during the rain and drizzle of this cloudy/ windy week.

 

I have 30 minutes to write to  my family and 30 minutes to write to the President, so I should be set for emailing, and I don't have to deal with that stinking timer anymore! Hallelujah! That timer distracted me from being able to concentrate on writing.

 

Elder Mackelprang