It was great to hear from you and catch up with what's going on with the family!
It's too bad you couldn't find anything out about my teacher, but yes, I'm certain he's from Honduras. He is a very good teacher and one of the funniest people I've met. He has a good sense of the Gospel, how to teach, and is also quite good at motivating and inspiring us to do well. Recently another District had him as a substitute and they were practicing door contacts with him. It was pretty hilarious because after a couple times of failures because the missionaries couldn't stop laughing it just turned into a series of jokes. Once he opened the door holding a dry erase marker, huffing and puffing like it was a cigarette. It made for an interesting conversation at the door. The next time he opened the door and pulled out an imaginary gun yelling, "Are you the cops? I don't want any police," but in Spanish of course. However, upon finding out they weren't cops, but were missionaries, he put away his gun and invited them in for a lesson, which made for an interesting turn of events.
I haven't seen too many pictures of Allison, so maybe you could send me some of those or something, since I haven't had a chance to see my beautiful new niece!
I'm glad that Christian had a good birthday. Be sure to tell him Happy Birthday for me! I did remember on Sunday that it was his birthday, but unfortunately I couldn't send him a letter or e-mail since it wasn't my P-day. But I was thinking of him and said a little happy birthday for him in my room Sunday night. I'm glad Christian's place is looking good! Hopefully the construction will continue to go well and soon enough he'll have an even sweeter house! (He'd better not be getting rid of the hidden washer/dryer though. If he does, I'll never forgive him;-).
And yes, his renter's brother is in my District, Elder Raynes. He's a good missionary and works hard, and I'm grateful to have him in my District.
I have met quite a few of my old college friends here at the MTC. To list a few, there's Elders Glover, Hopper, Moss, Moody, McDowell, and Burdette here now and I ran into Elders McKay and Romney and probably quite a few others that I can't remember now before they left for their missions. You can tell Mark that Elders Moody, Moss, and I will be waiting for him on the day that he shows up, and hopefully find him in the Cafeteria the first night he gets here. Elder Moody won't be here for too long after Mark gets here--only a week or so, but Elder Moss and I will be here for about another month. It's always great to see friends from BYU who are still strong in the Gospel, and are on their way to spreading the word of the Lord. I am strongly reminded of Alma and the sons of Mosiah who rejoiced in the fact that they were still brethren in the Lord.
I'm glad the reunion was so fun and I am truly grateful for the choices of my ancestors, and Dad, to join the church. It has directed and inspired my life, giving me a sense of purpose and belonging that a lot of people don't have. And that is exactly why I am here at the MTC and going on a mission, to try and spread that purpose, peace and happiness to all who are willing to accept it. Hopefully, soon I will be able to help another family have the joy of an ancestor who joined the church and was faithful in it and blessed the lives of his posterity.
Oh also, JoAnn wrote me a letter but didn't put her address on it, so I'll do a really quick response now. That story about Avalee was hilarious and really brightened my day. I was glad to hear it and it also definitely sounds like Lincoln. Things are good here and I can't wait to hear from your kids. Thanks for the letter and next time, put your mailing address in it so I can send you a real letter back.
I do have a few interesting stories from this week that I want to tell, but I only have 3 minutes left of email time, so I'll put those in my written letter that I send to the house in Virginia. I hope everyone has a great week and that everything goes well. Love you all!
Elder Wood
