Corn

Family! como estan? i hope you guys are all doing great it sure does sound like you are! Sounds like Payton and Sydney had a good first week of school. Hopefully the teachers took it easy on them and didnt give them too much homework! Have Payton tell B-Lack i say hola/hi/hello/whatever he wants to say haha. Sydney has Mrs. Pouslen huh?... Well thats good... kinda ;) haha shes alright just get on her good side and dont make her mad cuz than she will end up hating you like me... haha but she is a very smart lady and very sarcastic, but do not be afraid to ask her for help or ask a question, because she will make sure you get it. Ask her if she remembers me haha. So i thought i would let you guys know that Elder Shakespeares dad is doing good now!! Prayers were heard and most definatly answered!! He got our of relapse i think and is now in remission is how he said it!!! So thank you very much. He is doing much better now as well, and he still continues to be one of my favorite is such a solid and funny kid haha! Mom! haha i laughed so hard when i heard the story about dad and the Dr. hahahaha thank you for the entertainment. and tell him buenas suerte haha with the next appointment. i love it haha! Temple was good this week we missed the bus so we didnt have time to do endownments! but instead we were able to do sealings! Which was very cool and the sealer gave us a lot of information and answered a lot of our questions! Jake got chosen to be Oshi baba huh? haha he will do good haha also mom i did get a hair cut its a little different, but mostly the same haha they really dont care about hair the way i would want them too, but its alright ill look good no matter what ;) haha im glad you guys had a good time at education week at BYU sounds like there were a lot of really good talks!! illl have to see if i can get on find the talks on LDS.org!!! Thanks for that quote too about missionary work!! So Curtis and Jodee got called to singles ward huh? haha that will be fun for em! That rainstorm a couple nights ago was pretty crazy!!! am i right? holly smokes i thought it was a earthquake the thunder was so loud and close!! It was pretty tight we got up at like 5:30 this morning to do laundry and we walked down into rain tree and like there are just puddles everywhere!! and everything is flooded! got to try out my umberella and i love it haha its deffinatly a good thing to have when walking around in the rain! Also ran into Austin Price and that was awesome also Jade neilsen So im sure your wondering what the big news is that i told you about earlier in the first email! So here we go... Drum roll please... I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS!!!  We were checking the mail friday and Elder Shakespeare my DL is like Elder Tanner you got travel plans! it felt like i had humming birds in my stomach haha i had a mix of feelings both nervous, excited, scared, ready, not ready, you name it i felt it haha, but i am super stoked to go!! So here is the travel plan on Sep. 1 i will wake up at 3:30 AM (Way to early i think haha) but anyways i get on a shuttle with my comp elder williams and other people going to mexico that day and fly to SLC airport, we take off from SLC at 7 and get to Los angeles at 8, we than have a 6 hour lay over and we will head to from LA to Hermosillo, Mexico from 2 to 4 get off hermosillo and get on another plan that will take us straight to Ciudad Obregon that flight will be 5 to 5:50  

Anyways i cant wait to get out there and i know that the only spanish im going to know when i get out there will be si, comida, aqua, hace calor haha but im excited to serve and i know this church is true, hey by the way im super glad that you guys got to check out those videos they are pretty amazing arent they!! The gospel blesses our lives so much!! Life will never be easy but the gospel will make it easier! specifically Christ will make it easier! I read about the stripling warriors mom and how they were taught by there mothers and im definatly in the same boat haha i owe you and dad everything so thank you so much!! Love you guys a ton and thank you so much for the support, love, and prayers!! 

Love Elder Tanner 

P.S. They took the flipping corn out!!!!! ahhhhhh i didnt get any but its okay thanks for the thought haha love ya

Week 3...Check

Wow!! WOW!!!

I cannot believe that i am already half way done with the MTC haha it is so crazy it really did feel like just yesterday i was giving my last hugs to you guys!! Time has flown and i have learned so much!! and i just want to say thank you so much for all the support you have given me, it helps a missionary quite a bit to know that he has loved ones back home.  Who think of him! i just want to say thank you also for the prayers, i can definatly feel a spirit when i get discouraged.  Which believe it or not has happened once or twice ;) haha but really i feel all of your prayers and helps a lot so thank you and know that i pray for all of you as well!! Weeks really are flying by sometimes i want them to slow down and sometimes i want them to speed up! haha its an emotional rollercoaster i guess you could say! The spanish continues to grow and what not.. I still need to improve though, but i find my self praying and i use spanish words a lot haha its funny ill say familia and companero and salud and JesuCristo haha its cool and i have definatly felt the spirt while here both in learning more about the gospel and learning the language.  Our investigator is doing good her name is Vennasa and she is kind of  a tough cookie.  She first came out saying she didnt believe in God at all and how why would we have hard times if there is a God who loves us, and we gave her a good lesson to think about and she was able to change her mind so that was good and i cant remember when exactly but she was wondering why she feels so alone, and i specifically told her that she is never alone, that as hard as it seems we will never be alone, because there will always be our Savior who has felt exactly how we feel. and i said this " a lot of people think of life as a race, with Jesus Christ being at the finish line or the goal,  but it is not like that,  our savior is not waiting at the end cheering for us, but is with us the entire time! walking with us, running with us, and carrying us , and will always help us in this race we call life" she was crying, i was almost crying ;) haha and it was awesome i shared the scriptures Ether 12:27 and talked about Jose Smith in carthrage jail in section 121 of D and C i think thats the right scripture... haha anyways she said she felt really good and we told her that was the spirt and she cried more and we taught her to pray and she prayed for us and said she would pray tonight. It was awesome! Anyways enough of the sad stuff right ;) haha. como estan mis hermanos Jordan Weston Krystle, baby Nolan, Payt, and Syd how are they. be sure to thank them for the letters they mean so much and help a lot!! Mom you were wondering what the names of my comps are... Im with Elder Williams and Elder Lords they are really good guys and we have a lot of fun together haha. Hows cheer coming for Syd? haha payton better stay on that 3 wheeler and off the 250 ;) haha i dont want anymore damage done to it ;) just kiddin gim sure your a good rider. Haha mom i know exactly how you feel with the questions haha i get on the email and go blank its knid of funnny haha. but for your questions i do not have travel plans yet, we should get calling cards i believe, and size of ecko shoes i dont know im not wearing em right now haha but ill let ya know soon!!! I dont think i want another suit case unless you think i need one.  and rain boots i dont think ill need my danskos should work for that... unless you think otherwise. Thats cool to hear about the garden i would love some fresh corn on the cob right now haha. We just got another district and our zone now consists of like 34 people its crazy! Haha and we are getting 20 more next week we will be the biggest zone in the MTC we are gonna have a lot of people!! work is definatly progressing!! Its awesome to be at devos and see so many people trying to work together to get people to one place (eternal happiness/heaven) church is definatly true. hey i got some videos i want the family to watch together whether family night or sunday they are on mormon messages and lds.org i love them. the first one i think is on mormon messages its called The Hope of The Light of Christ or something its awesome it really shows that God works in mysterious ways and there is always a way back, and we are loved by God always no matter what we do.  I really like the video on LDS.org Because of Him as well, its such a powerful video and helps us apreciate christ!! its so great!! haha well i want everyone to know how much i love them and how big of role they have played in my life, i love my family and you guys have all shaped me into what I am today. I dont know where i would be with out you, im so grateful for the hard times and the good times, because the hard times is what makes the good times great and makes us stronger!! Know that i know this church is true and i hope to be able to help a family in Mexico find out that they can be a happy family like mine and live forever together in complete happiness!! i Know that change is real and that we do fall short no matter what we do we will always fall short, but there is someone there to pick us up we just need to offer our selves to him and he will lift us up. Again i love you all so much and please please please check out and try to find those videos. Im pretty sure that the hope in light of christ is the top one on the page and its amazing!! Let me know if theres anything i can do to help you guys, and this is for Jordan, Krystle and Nolan.. Thank you sooooooooooooooooo much for those cupcakes that was the sweetest thing ever literally the sweetest and it boosted my day up so much!!! haha and thanks for not making them all cream cheese ;) Let weston know i love him and think about him a lot, and how he has always been a huge example to me and being oine of my best friends! Payton and Sydney as well for the fun we had! Mom and dad dont have enough time or words to express how much you guys mean to me!! learned so much and would never be where i am today without you guys I love you all so much and i hope i can be half the help to you all as you have been to me. I love you.
Love Elder Tanner

P.S. Keep Elder Shakespeare and his family in your prayers he is one of my favorite companions i have met out here and i love the kid. His dad just got diagnosed with leukemia and his having a hard time both the dad and Elder Shakespeare, but me and some other Elders were able to give him a blessing so it was pretty cool. He is from cedar City! Love you all and know i think about you a lot!

MTC Life

Buenas tardes familia! Whooo who thought Pdays were easy! Like im still exahausted and this is supposed to be my day off.  haha ive been running around. Anyways the Spanish is getting better slowly yet surely.  haha im going to try a little bit harder and study more.  So day to day plans ya wannna know mom. ummm we wake up around 6 and get to breakfast about 7 than start class at 730 we study till 1030 where we go to gym and from there have lunch afterwards and have class again at 1245 we study till 430 go to dinner come back at 515 study till 9 have  a district devetional till like 10 than we have to meet with our district leader sometimes and we have to be in bed by 1030 and than we get to do it all over again pretty awesome! haha not a whole lot of free time, but its alright. We go to main campus on P days and sundays and tuesdays for devos (devotionals).  yes mom we do have fridges, and believe me you have sent me plenty of goodies haha, im at eating very well over here a little too well, but ill get into that later. Thats cool that you met Joshs mom hes a good kid, i dont think we need anything, but we are doing good. I have seen Jade Nielseon and he seems to be doing pretty good, haha tell Jenny not to worry hes happy to be here.   he just said this is way different than what he expected and i just told him you get you used to it haha. I have also seen one of my good high school buddies Colton Shepherd.  Thanks for sending me those emails of my friends like mont, colton, landon, and the other guys hopefully ill have time to email them. That sounds so fun going to snowbird and riding the alpine slide. Im rememner when we did that it was super fun.  Hope you guys had fun and sure looks like you did from the pictures. You guys want another four wheeler? haha you guys would get somehting like that just after i leave haha thanks a lot ;) What teachers do sydney and payton have this year for schoool. Haha its about time Sydney finished harry potter haha told you Dumbledore dies ;) lo siento hey so im really sorry about these non descriptive and short emails i only get an hour and so its hard to rack my brain of everything ive done. and im a bad typer haha.  I think im going to try and send more letters it might be easier cuz i know that these emails suck probably haha.  Hey i do have a question about the laundry mom.  Im probably going to sound stuipid but im desperate haha so im using detergent for whites and colors and stuff do i need to be using bleech for my whites as well? We got a new district this week because the old one left there are 12 new elders and they are all going to Mexico and they are super chill and im getting to know them and along with really well. So i got some more bad news you know that flordida kid i liked. he had to go home.  He had some stuff he didnt realize he had to take care of here it was devistating for everyone. he was a good kid hopefully he will come back out. on a less sad note we have been teaching two investigators that are just our teachers but play parts as investigators haha its fun, and we also get to do skype calls with investigators and teach them on skype. So you know how i said earlier the food here is treating me good.  haha it really is i get a doughnut every meal and ice cream every dinner and i have about 3 plates of food every meal haha.  yeah i gotta lay off i think, cuz i realized something while at the temple today.  Which was something ive never realized haha.  So the first week i was here i got a size 30 pants when i went to the temple i tried them on and they were tight the whole session so i thought next week ill get a 32 so last week i got a 32 fit perferct! felt so good haha, but this week i got a 32 like last week and they were tight!!! I checked the size like twice to make sure it wasnt a 30 and it was indeeed infact a 32.  So i had to go back and get a 34 haha, and they fit... I knew i gained weight but not that much, haha i dont think its as bad as it sounds.   Im sure its because i just ate a big meal... hopefully haha but yeah im at eaitng good here so no worries.  Thats too bad to hear about seth hall. hopefully it will get better for him. how is wes cloward doinig? I forgot to tell you guys that on tuesday i went up to Salt Lake to get my Visa and stuff it was fun to walk around the city, and i used to think that utah is all mormons no way haha there is seriously work to be done everywhere so me and my companion tried to talk to people, just make friends and small talk and stuff. mom as for the questions you had for me.  I think i would like another pair of ecko shoes, but not right now ill have you send them to me a week before i leave, and ill get you the size and model and everything, i think i will use my dansko shoes as my rain boots. I am not really home sick, i do miss home a lot, but not enough to take me back haha im out here for a reason and im not gonna come in just cuz im a lil uncomfortable. and YES MOM I DO MISS MY MOM!! HAHA I MISS MY FAMILY TOO BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!! Thanks for all the prayers everyone i can definatly feel the love from my family even though we are in different places! keep up the good work everyone and have fun. ¨dont let your praying knees get lazy¨ haha love you all thanks again for everything.  

Love Elder Tanner

Yo se que la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultimos dias es verdadero 

p.s. mom let me know if you got my letter 

Here is a picture of the Florida kid telling me a joke 

Family

My dearest family, 

How art you guys!? Mom what the heck are you thinking? sounds like you trying to make a bomb out of canning green beans?! are you okay?! what happened give me some details haha.  Hope you are okay and hope the green beans are okay! ;) So I do not take a shuttle everyday only on Sundays and Tuesdays when we have devotionals and stuff at main campus.  So i am in the Wy-View apartments and having study and class time in Rain tree... I think haha i still dont know where i am.  All i know is that i can see west mtn and it makes me sick, because i want to be up there riding my dirt bike... haha 2 years and than ill be able to rev the engine again. So my Dansko shoes are doing pretty good, but the salesman was NOT kidding when he said they are clogs haha they look like clogs, they're heavy like clogs, and they smell like clogs (Dont really know what clogs smell like but im sure its bad) haha. but they are durable suckers, but I do like the Eckos as well. How was syds trip to Colorado? She have fun she stay safe?! What quilt are you and Syd Thompson gonna do. sounds like you guys are getting to be good friends makes me happy hearing that! So payton is missing me huh? knew he would ;) just kidding well tell him i miss him too and all our late night conversations about big trucks and exauhaust pipes. have him try and stay busy with work, its good to work as much as you can while you can i miss working for Triple T the work im doing aint the same as tearing down equipment or making manual holders, instead its studying in a class room all day haha but its alright because it came with the job i signed up for.  Never in my life have i ever been so excited to go to bed!! Always feels so good.  Are Dezlee and the one dude getting married in the temple, which one if so? So i got some bad news. My companion Elder Hatch from Idaho left this week.  He left on Tuesday, it was a bad deal me and him had been going to meetings with our branch president for like four days in a row, and eventually we had to go to the MTC president on main campus which was a big deal, and the day after that he told me that he would be packing his bags and going home :( I didnt get into a lot of detail as to why but it sounded like he just didnt feel ready, and i could kind of see that, because he would never study either personal or companion and he didnt want to have compaion prayer at night or participate in anything so he was just kind of going through the motions.  Bad deal but i think he really wanted to go home.  I got an email from him today saying he is doing better and is planning to go to a community college in Idaho i dont know if he will return though :(.  but yeah on a lighter note remember that one lady DIana i talked about being our investigator.... Yeah shes not an investigator haha. We taught her four lessons and asked her to be baptized and she declined, but like the next day we walked into class and she was, at the front and she is all smiling and is like "Hola Elders!!" Turns out she was just playing the part of an investigator and would end up being our teacher, haha kind of funny but not really cuz she declined us about baptism.  Her name is Sister Haycock and she is the Haycocks from our ward grand daughter. She was even at my farewell, because she was visiting them haha small world right? So i got pictures, but i cant upload them :( its not working ill keep trying and hopefully it will work. my hair is getting pretty long i need to get a haircut here soon. How are things going at home? Hows church? HOws life? Lawn mowing? talk to me haha i need to know about the world.  Haha funny thing i saw a hot air balloon one morning while walking to breakfast and it made me super happy, because i knew that there were people outside of the mtc haha like i was seriously running after it my compainions thought it was pretty funny and i was just making a big deal out of it. That Florida kid cheers me up as he does every day he has a new joke every day haha. What the heck?! you guys went to the hot pots? haha how was it? see any naked hippies? haha ive seen em up there before. Also thank you guys so much for the letters, and packages, and dear elders.  They have been working the dear elders are a same day thing i get that letter same day you send it.  Its good :) but the packages and goodies were awesome thanks a ton mom.  Hey tell the cousins and uncles i wanna hear from them! haha but mom if you get on my email and copy all the contacts from like my missionary friends and send them to me through email that would be awesome, because ive lost like all of them. Anyways not a lot has happened lately besdies my compaion. Oh and with that being said i am now in a trio with the other two companions who are in my district and the same apartment.  Its cool i get along with them better anyway, because they are willing to study and pray and everything and they actually talk to me. Thanks again for everything and the support and im sorry if i dont email everyone i only got so much time know i love ya'll and you guys mean so much to me really.  Love you guys

Love Elder Tanner