Mom and Dad,
What a week it has been. For that matter, what a crazy six weeks these have been. I can't believe we ship out on Monday but it's finally here. i'm nervous because my ability with Spanish is still very limited and I think i'll be out of my depth for a while. That being said, I think one of the reasons I was sent here to speak Spanish is that I need to listen more and talk less so that begins on Monday. I have faith that all will be alright but I know without a shadow of doubt that it's going to be hard. That's fine by me though because I have become a little frustrated with the pace here. As a district everyone is far less mature and focused than I would like and I would say goofing off is a more frequent activity than studying. At times this has driven me up the wall but as I have followed Dad's advice to pray for charity I have come to love these other 9 guys more and more and have been frustrated less and less. Having a companion is still a source of difficulty for me. It's hard to be chained to another person and to have to make compromises with everything you do. It's even harder when two of their favorite things are rap and basketball and you happen to think that those are the official sport and "music" of outer darkness. So this has been an exercise for me in learning to be less self centered and to compromise more. It's very hard but I get better day by day. Lets just say that i'm not looking to get married too soon after I get back.
Because we have been so busy here the outside world has faded from my mind but there are a few things I have remembered this week that I want to acknowledge. Firstly, happy very belated halloween! This one is mostly for you Mom. I know halloween is your favorite and it's been fun for me to think of how much fun you must have had decorating and handing out candy. In other October news, happy belated birthday to both Adam and Dad!! I hope you both had wonderful birthdays!! It's so surreal to think of life going on outside the walls here especially birthdays and the suchlike.
I love you both so much. Keep emailing me, I love it. Letters are also awesome and the boys should be getting the first few from me this week. Also, lets figure out how to get me those shoes. I'm going to wear the one pair I have out pretty quickly once I start walking all day. I'll send you the address of the mission as soon as I get it and we can start looking at options for how best to send them.
Love
Isaac
