"I’m gonna pack early and just wear the same outfit for a week so I’ll be ready..."

Hey!

Super jealous that you’re going to Carp for Thanksgiving. That last time was fun when Diego realized his love for raccoons and had a shirt made and everything!

We got new guys this past week!! The zone has been super empty, for a while, but all the rooms in our hall our filled again and it’s freaking fun. There’s two new districts and they both have my two favorite teachers, Hermano Figueroa and Hermana Boza, nativos.

They call me Abuelo because I’ve literally been here forever. I’m a legend here f'real. Like people come up to me occasionally and ask if I’m Elder Green.

Anyways, it was our Branch President and his wife's last Sunday this week, before they got released. The Doman's are awesome, I’m glad I’m outta here soon too. I think I can say I’m their fav because I’ve been in their last 4 departing districts. We had a meeting with them in the morning and for the opening hymn we watched and sang along to that Emily Brown "I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus" video I sent you. Then later I taught priesthood and we did it again. We literally love that video so much. I’m playing it out loud in the computer lab right now. It’s our zone video now. I showed it to all the new classes and it is now a common thing to hear it coming from multiple classrooms during study time.

Our new Branch President served in Sao Paulo and has only ever been over Portuguese zones here, but he seems cool.

After church we always walk around the temple, and this time me and some guys just went looking for hispanohablantes (Spanish speakers) to practice our Spanish on, and I found two sisters going to Panama! They literally thought they were alone here, like everyone that gets called there—haha-- so they were super stoked. They’ve only been here a week so I won’t see them there for a month…or two if they get lucky like me.

Monday morning the district I’ve been in peaced out which was a bummer. They went to New York, Dallas, Redlands, San Jose, and Bakersfield. So, that means I get to change rooms again! I’m moving in with Elder Rogers and Farley who are dope and both going to Ecuador. This will be my 3rd room, 4th district, and 5th companionship since I’ve been here. But my ‘solo sticker’ lets me do whatever I want so lately I’ve been bouncin around to whichever district has study time or wants me to go teach a lesson with them.

Also Carrie is my favorite aunt. She sent me a box of 12 different types of Clif Bars this week. Literally opened it a little after looking at a picture of the Clif Bars that were stolen by seagulls on Catalina this summer. Literally it’s a miracle that Scotty, SCODE, and I are alive.

I’m gonna pack early and just wear the same outfit for a week so I’ll be ready.

Love y’all.

PEACE

Elder Green

"Va a recibir bendiciones"

Okay, so yeah I guess you heard before I did, but one more week...added onto the the other two. (Taylor's Mission President will be at a conference the week of the 23rd, so the missionaries will not be going to Panama until December 1st now, so that he can receive them. That makes 9 weeks in the MTC for Taylor.) I'm not really bummed, I feel like I had been expecting that anyway. It's just kinda funny. I like it here, though, so I can do a while longer.

This week only two people left but they were like my two favorite people! Hermana Hulme, the last one from my district and solo sticker buddy, and Kaufusi. Monday morning a couple of us got up at 3:00 to walk with Hulme and it was raining like heck outside. I helped this one girl with her bags and totally spoke like solid Tongan with her. Seriously so fun. After that we went back and played Tenzi and ate hot pockets for like an hour. At 4:30 we had to go wake up Kaufusi and everyone. They slept through their alarms- haha- that would have been a disaster. By that time it started snowing! So we were running around outside until he was ready to go then we took him to the travel office and all the Hermanas met us there. It could have been sadder but I think I'm used to it by now.

My preferred pose for the week...no more smiles.

That was like the longest day here so far. I've been keeping my old room because nobody's moved into it yet, so we've been having slumber parties there. We have a pile of mattresses in the perfect napping position, so we all just went in there and like knocked out all through breakfast until class started. More Tenzi too!  It always reminds me of the Hanson's.

Slumber Party!

Later that day Elder Tolman had a doctors appointment, which we got to leave campus for! Literally like 100 feet up the street to the clinic to pick up his prescription. But as we walked back, it was weird. I felt like I was actually a missionary and like super vulnerable because if somebody asked me a question I'd like have to talk to them. We were only walking through the Wyview apartments though, so I think I was pretty safe. I don't think I know how to teach in anything but Spanish. It's so much easier because all you say is "Va a recibir bendiciones". (You will receive blessings.)

You're going to think this is weird, but yesterday Elder Hewitt and I did a hot chocolate cleanse, for our happiness. We partook of nothing but hot chocolate at every meal, and it was hard, but after the last cup of the cleanse, that's when it hits you. It's just extreme giddiness and laughter from that point forward. Literally I cannot even explain. We just laughed at everything and spoke so eloquently. Literally insane. It still makes no sense to me.

Kim B. Clark spoke last night and it was awesome. He looks kinda like Brother Merrill so that's all I could think of the entire time I was awake...It has been a tired week. He spoke a lot about how the Lord will guide you where you need to go and in what you need to say, so there's like nothing to worry about when I get to Panama...right?

Also watch the 1980's version of Johnny Lingo on lds.org, its awesome.

This is our other favorite video. We watch it like five times a day.

My Band..."The Last Supper"

Keep walking Fitz and feeding Little Foot. I miss them so much.

Love y'all!

Elder Green

"God puts people in your life for a reason..."

The Slick Coat Crew. I found mine in the trash and now everyone is whippin out their raincoats.

Hey!

It was another sad week, as we had to say goodbye to the other district that came in the same time as us. They all went to Costa Rica except for two who went to South Carolina.

My old district.

At the temple with my district.

Probably my best friend here so far, Elder Downing, got changed last minute to leave Saturday morning, so we got up at 5:00 am for that. Monday Morning we got up at 2:00 to take Elder Clawson to the travel office, then at 5:00 to take Elder Donaldson, then at 6:00  to take Elder Winsor...so I got no sleep that night. Then, I was companions with Elder Millet from Gilbert that whole day.

On Tuesday morning we got up at 2:00 again to say goodbye to the Costa Ricans and then Elder Millet left at 3:00. Me and one of my new companions, Elder Hewitt, went with him and when we got back to our building we realized neither of us had our keys, then it started hailing and we were locked outside. So we banged on windows for half an hour until we heard somebody leaving on the other side of the building. So no sleep again that night- haha! I haven’t missed walking to the travel office with anyone yet, it’s super fun and sad and definitely worth not sleeping for.

Trying to get back in the building.

I’m in the same zone, but I had to switch rooms across the hall with Elder Tolman and Hewitt, who are going to Bakersfield and Dallas. It’s too hard to move all my stuff, so I just sleep in there and then have all my stuff in my old room. We’re keeping it to have slumber parties in.

I am a solo missionary now! I get a sticker that literally means I’m exempt from all the rules. Not really, but I get to go with any companionship I want or I can be with two sisters. Hermana Hulme is the only other left from my district and she has another week for Visitors Center training and gets a new companion today, so I’ll hang out with them so I don’t have to re-learn Spanish in the beginner classes. But other than that I’m with my new roommates most of the time…who are awesome!

Flying Solo!

I’m trying not to waste my time here so I’ve been going into lessons with the beginner guys to help and literally my Spanish is like unto a freaking rabbit. So fast and I can understand everything. It’s so fun!

Elder Kaufusi, who’s been teaching me Tongan, got his departure date moved up a week for El Salvador/Belize so I’ve been trying to help him with him Spanish because he doesn’t know squat. We went to the native speaker floor and talked to people and I found a few going to San Fernando, so I told them to go to Woodland Hills. Then after that we played a game where one of us is blind and the other has to guide you around the MTC describing what’s around you all in Spanish. It worked until I accidentally punched my friend Hermana Laursen who walked in front of me and I got scared.

Oh My Gosh… Kate going to Tonga is the best thing ever. Tell her to start learning Tongan right now… I have a book I’ll send her. There’s no easy way to do it, you just have to start because it’s all phrases and no conjugations. I love being white, but I think that I am a Poly at heart. I’m friends with all of them here and they come to our building at night to play uke and sing, its super fun. I still don’t know a lot of Tongan so my default phrase when I’m stuck in a convo is "faikava", and everyone like cheers and laughs. It means "lets drink kava". Which is, as they describe it, a cultural drink that makes you chill. It’s basically alcohol that you get from a root or something. But literally, Tonga is so cool and like half the island is Mormon and you have to catch every meal. I’ll probably live there someday so that I don’t have to pay taxes or have any responsibilities.

Also it’s snowing like heck here!!!!!!! Probably not to the people that live here, but to me it’s a freaking blizzard. We had snowball fight on the way to the temple this morning and it was so fun. This was probably the reason I’m here for two more weeks. Actually, I know why I’ve been here so long. I’ve just really noticed since I’ve gotten here, that God puts people in your life for a reason. I could have left 4 weeks ago and probably would have been fine, but I’m super stoked that I’ve met all the people I have here because of my extension, and they’ve all really helped with my testimony and with just making me happy. So Instead of being bummed about things like being here for eight weeks, I found out that it’s better to focus on the blessings I’m receiving from it.

Elder Hewitt about to eat it on the way back from the temple.

First snowball fight of the year!

That’s it for this week.

Love you,
Elder Green

"I’ve decided my Spanish is good enough, so I’m learning Tongan..."

Hey y’all!

This week was one of the most fun and definitely the saddest yet.

It’s our new tradition that whenever a district leaves we have a White Elephant tie exchange. Remember this name because I might have a tie company someday and that’s what I’ll name it. We all choose our crappy ties and wrap them up with whatever we can find, then open, and steal, and whatnot. I stuffed my brown and blue striped tie that I found on the side of the road long ago into a roll of toilet paper. It was super fun.

White Elephant tie exchange.

The sad part was the district that came a week before us (aka “our new best friends”) left! All of them went to Argentina except for two who went to Ecuador. They passed down a few things that night to us like a bacon slicer and the tree of chastity. I literally didn’t sleep that entire night, like I never even got in bed. I was going to the travel office with Elder Roberts and Prestwich, the two going to Ecuador, at 2:00 in the morning, so I just wandered around the dorm and talked to people until then, and then for several hours after that until it was morning. It was a sad morning. I shed several tears. We talked our teacher into letting us out of class at 8:30 to say goodbye to the rest of them. The MTC is like empty now! Probably because there were like 100 people who left for Argentina but also because I like hung out with these guys 24/7. We’re getting like ten new guys today, so it’s okay. We already got a new one yesterday. His name is Elder Grey and he’s from American Samoa…and he’s super cool.

Travel Office at 2:00 AM to send off our friends...

Also, I’ve decided my Spanish is good enough so I’m learning Tongan with the help of Elder Kaufusi and all my new Tongan friends. I’m basically fluent in saying hi to people now. It’s super fun! I’m going there as soon as I’m back from Panama, no doubt.

That’s it for this week. I’m becoming a solo missionary when my companions leave on Monday, but I still have to be with other people all the time, so it means nothing. I’ll have been through five companionship's by the time I’m out of here.

A few little drawings I made.

My teacher said that I had to cut off my face so that the girls would stop talking to me.

PEACE,

Elder Green

"Christmasversary was amazing..."

Hey!

A ton of stuff happened this week…I think… It’s hard to remember now.

We were going to leave for the temple at 6:40 this morning to do sealings with the guys next to us, but we missed our alarms and I woke up at 6:35, then freaked out and made my compañeros get up. I got ready in two minutes but they literally took twenty so I was mad, but we sprinted to the temple and got there in pretty good time. Sealings are my new favorite thing.

I’m not really bummed about being here for two weeks longer. I think it’ll be fun to have new companions for the last two weeks. When they called me to the secretary’s office I thought I was in trouble because I had been on YouTube (looking at church videos) so I was nervous but it was nothing. I guess they had my leave date for December 1^st, which was ridic, so good thing they changed it. Then they just told me to get to know the Panama district because I’d be leaving with them, so I’ve been hanging out with them a bit and they’re super fun. And somehow all the guys who left for panama a couple weeks ago already know I’m here for two weeks longer. Don’t know how, but they emailed me about it.

We learned the first vision in Spanish this week! I’m still going to act like I don’t have it memorized though because it’s so awkward when they just recite it.

Oh and a funny story…On  Friday morning last week, I woke up at like 3:30 am to the sound of a jet engine in my room. And it was freaking loud and scary, so I just laid there frozen for like a minute before I realized that it was the sound of a vacuum, so I opened my door to see who it was and I see the entire older district running away up the hall. Then I realized the sound was coming from my room, so I went back in and under my bed wrapped up in a sheet was a vacuum turned on. And the vacuums here are just like the vacuums everywhere in the church. 50 years old and loud as heck. So I turned it off but I couldn’t figure out how they did it.

The "jet engine" in my room!

I tried to go back to bed but I kept thinking of how I was going to prank them back. So after an hour, I got back up and took my paracord to the other side of the hall where they live and tied their doorknobs together, because they’re in the corner, and then waited till the morning for them to wake up so I could see them trapped…and it was hilarious. They were stuck for like ten minutes before they could fit a knife out the door and cut it. Then they explained how they did the vacuum thing.

So we tape the lock on our door so we never have to unlock it, and earlier that day two of them hid the vacuum under my bed then turned it on, and switched the breaker off to the outlets in my room, so there was no power. Then at 3:30, they switched it back on and waited for me to come out- haha! It was so freaking funny. Elder Donaldson was super mad but Elder Clawson just didn’t care.

After that we had service, which is every Friday, and we’re assigned to our building so we basically just clean up our mess. Then we played volleyball after that, which was still the morning, so the sand was like frozen and nobody could feel their feet. But people suck less now so it’s fun.

Elder Clawson had his dad send us ugly ties, so I took mine and cut the back and flattened it out, so now it’s the fattest tie you’ve ever seen… like 10 inches wide. It’s hideous so I refuse to wear it, but it’s funny.

My big fat ugly tie!

Sunday was “Christmasversary!” We celebrate it every 25th of the month. We had church first, though, and I had to go to another branch presidency meeting, and the second I walked in I had to go to the bathroom super bad, but It was too late. Then the meeting went for an hour and a half, so when it was finally over I had to walk so slowly to the bathroom. Took me like five minutes to go twenty feet up the hall.

At night we celebrated. My companions and I are in possession of the “Christmasversary” tree and we didn’t know what to do so I just put it out in the hall and went around to everyone’s rooms and told them to put something underneath it. It was loaded with stuff. We sang Christmas songs for like twenty minutes and it was awesome. Then I decided Elder Hall would be Santa and he had to distribute everything. I got a Poem written by Elder Winsor and a little picture cutout of Elder Hewitt, who’s kind of new. So “Christmasversary” was amazing.

Elder Neil L. Anderson spoke at the devotional last night and it was super good. One of the first I stayed awake for the whole time. He made the analogy that trees that grow in windy places are much stronger, so the hard times that we have are just to make us stronger and more prepared. Like I can now sit mostly still for four hours and I know how to study. So that’s good.

And last, the other night we were in our classrooms, kind of studying, and my companion said there was someone in the hall he was talking to from the San Fernando Valley. So I came out and started talking to him and it turns out he’s in the El Camino branch! I didn’t know him because he didn’t go on trek, but I knew all his friends. His name is Elder Lorenzo and he’s going to Kansas.

Me and Elder Lorenzo

That’s it for now.

Bye love y’all!

Elder Green

P.S.- Kyle and Jacob’s mission calls are sick!!! I knew they would get to go stateside. It’s a bummer that I will miss them by just a week.

"My desire to watch the Hannah Montana Movie is stronger than ever!"

Hey!

First of all…please tell the Young Women thanks for the letters they sent me. And tell Kate and Jolie that the little sailboats and mountain waves they drew were exactly identical to mine. I thought that I had done them myself.

Elder Kaufusi, from Rancho Cucamonga, is going to El Salvador...he is teaching me Tongan.

The weeks are going freaking fast now. We got a new district last week and they’re super cool. A few of them are going to New York, two to Texas, and one of them to El Salvador. I think we’re getting another group in today so I’m stoked for that. Oh, and I am a District Leader now. It doesn’t really mean anything, except that I have to go to meetings on Sundays and I pick up the mail.

I’ve been talking to Elder Lefler, who’s been In Panama for a week now. He sent a few pictures and where he is right now looks super ghetto, but we already decided were going to be companions on San Blas which is siiiick!

I found another district going to Panama! They’re on the other side of the building from our class and there are five of them. There is also one more guy, on his own, at the end of the hall. Their teacher said that it’s kind of weird that there’s so many of us here right now because they don’t send a lot of people there.

Attempting a roasted marshmallow...

We taught another member TRC this week which actually went well. The first one was an old white guy who had been a professor at BYU, and he was awesome. He got super excited when I said I was going to Panama because he had been a district president, or something, there for a few years like 40 years ago. He had a photo album with him from when he was there and it looks awesome. He basically said that I better get good at Spanish here because it’s super different down there, with 12 distinctly different native languages that I’ll have to learn. Sketch! But he showed us pictures of the natives and they literally just look like Native Americans. Like 100% Lamanite. Super crazy. I think if I’m on the islands I will get to wear shorts which would be awesome.

In class we usually only speak Spanish, especially when we’re learning how to teach lessons. They’re still super long and I still feel like I’m going to die, but they’re better than in the beginning. Study time is freaking fun though, as usual.

We’ve been playing a heck of a lot of sand volleyball lately because we get to go out to the field. We play with the other district that came in the same time as us because they’re cool and really big. I used to think volleyball was a girls sport but girls aren’t good at it and I’m freaking awesome…so it is now a boys sport.

My companion Elder Clawson was sick yesterday morning so we stayed in our room for the first four hour class of the day while he slept. I tried to study but fell asleep at my desk, then started adding rubber bands to the Orb of Light, and then threw it around the halls. We like to drop it from the fourth floor of our building between the rails because it’s super narrow and awesome. We did that for like an hour last night until the Chinese speaking elders yelled at us.

Poor Elder Clawson

Don’t know what we’re going to do for Halloween here. Probably just stay up later than we usually do and scare people.

Oh also we were watching a ‘Mormom Message’ in class the other day and Kate was totally in it. It was the one that was filmed at that kid’s party out in Palmdale or something. Anyways it was super funny to see her. She was dancing awkwardly.

That’s it for this week, except that this morning at the temple we did initiatories and I did a bunch of Green’s from England which was cool…and some Indians.

Provo Temple

Also my desire to watch the Hannah Montana Movie is stronger than ever.

Lates,

Elder Green

"I near about ran back to grab my bags so I could leave with them."

Study Time...Look how much I love it!

Hey Y’all!

I get in trouble for saying that here. But they can’t stop me.

Tyler getting called to the Philippines is the best news I have heard in my entire life. That is super cool and kind of hilarious. Like literally. I remember Henry saying that the food tastes like poop there. (I know you’re going to change that sentence to ‘tastes bad’… I checked the blog and I do not appreciate you changing some of my words, you make me sound like a girl.)

And that's awesome that DJ got engaged. He's going to have some wicked little spider babies!

I woke up at four to go with the Panamá elders to the travel office yesterday morning. When they were all checking in the guy at the desk asked where Elder Green was, so they called me over, and when I got there he was confused why I wasn’t dressed in church clothes, and held up my plane tickets. I guess they didn’t switch my departure date yet, but I near about ran back to grab my bags so I could leave with them. There was a sister leaving with them on her way to the London South mission. So I told her about all the drunk people Braiden talked about.

Our little District

A few hours later, one of the elders that left was back at the dorms. He forgot his Passport in his room…ha ha ha. I felt so sad for him.

Nearly an entire district in my zone is going to Costa Rica so maybe I’ll leave with them. If not, at least to the airport.

I am definitely glad that I came earlier. It takes at least two weeks to get used to everything here. I think we’re getting a new district in today which I’m stoked for. I don’t think there’s anybody coming in for Panamá but it’s still gonna be sick. My Spanish is awesome in lessons with investigators, but we had to teach to members the other day and it sucked. They didn’t have questions so I had nothing to teach. We realized that maybe we have to start planning on planning lessons.

One very real thing about the MTC is everyone farts 24/7. It’s unreal. Probably because of the food but literally there is not a quiet bathroom in this place.

When half of our zone left this week we had several ceremonies to pass on things that have been passed on for ages here. My room scored! We got the Tree and Hat of ‘Christmas-versary,’ the Christmas lights, which are super important, the Christmas bells that are to be hung above the door and never jingled, the dunk hoop (for dunking on people), the dunk ball (to perform dunk), Dennis the Frog, Tim the Spoon, and probably the most important…The Orb of Light. It’s a giant rubberband ball that’s been lost and won several times in volleyball tournaments. And then, I personally, from my good friend Lefler, received the original copy of a poem written by an elder a while ago. We read it whenever a group departs. Then we were told of the nerf guns that they had to hide. They said they were in the hallways but we'd never find them. So we checked the first ceiling tile that was slightly sticking up and there they were.

Lefler and I...Children of the Light!

I’ve decided that my favorite thing is walking to the temple in the mornings on P-day. We go at 6:30 am so it’s still dark and cold. When we come out the sun’s just coming up and you can see like all of Utah Valley. Such a sick place!

I have funny story from last week…

So Elder Hall, a super funny guy in my zone, sleep walks a lot. So the other night he said that he woke up outside, sitting under a tree. Then when he got up he thought he was on the other side of campus by our classrooms, so he started walking back to where he thought the dorms were, but he found he was going the wrong way when he got to our classrooms and realized he had started out just outside our dorms. Oh, and he was only in his underwear this whole time. So he came back and started banging on everyone’s windows because he didn’t have his key card to get back in. He said he did this for like half an hour but nobody was waking up, so he sat on a bench in front of the dorms for another hour and just waited until a security guy walked by and let him in. When he got down the stairs he started yelling about how nobody let him in…ha ha ha…I’m pretty sure I was the only one awake at that time. He now sleeps with his key card clipped to him.

Elder Hall...the Sleepwalker.

Study time is another one of my favorite things here. We have huge flat screen TV’s in the classrooms and literally watch Mormon Messages and what not for like two hours until we’re tired and then we actually study.

Oh and sacrament meetings are kind of fun here because they choose three people at random to give a talk at the beginning…one in Spanish and two in English, so you have to plan a talk for both.

That’s it for this week.

Love you,

Elder Green

Birthday Party, which consisted mostly of popping balloons and yelling.

My baby Book of Mormon cover.

This is Art...I thought Sam would appreciate it.