Ben Gives a Talk in Spanish!

Dear Family,

I didn't get to see the CES fireside our the other thing you talked about. It would be awesome if you sent me a copy of the talks. We did however get the chance to hear from both Elder Cook and President Uchtdorf at recent devotionals. They were both amazing talks. They give you such a strong desire to go and do good continually.

Thanks for the way sweet awesome cool ties. They're some of my newest favorites. I forgot to take pictures of me wearing them so I'll have to send you some next week when I wear them again. Also, thank you for the candy. It's always nice to have something to eat in the evening. We have dinner at 4:30. Early, huh. I love the cafeteria food. I can eat as much as I want. Don't worry mom I've been eating lots of salad and fresh fruits! I usually have them at least two meals every day. This has been causing me to gain more weight. I'm up to 150 now. I wonder how much I'll weigh by the time I leave. I bet I won't keep gaining weight out in the field though.

All of that weight is not turning into fat though. I work hard and have lots of fun during our gym time. Most of the time I play basketball and drench my shirt in sweat. On saturday though, I ran 5 miles in forty minutes with Elder Sudol. That made me really tired. And my legs were sore for a while after that.

I've been sick for the last few days. I think that I'm passed the worst of it though. I didn't feel as bad this morning as I did yesterday. I think the sickness got accelerated a little bit because I fasted and then ran 5 miles soon after that. I'm taking better care of myself now, so I should get better quickly.

I'm looking forward to eating some of grandma's cookies. They are some of my favorite!

I'm working on getting some more pictures to send you. I probably won't get it to you until next week. Maybe I'll surprise you though. I wanted to take pictures of all of the different places in the MTC so you could see all the things that I get to do.

It's pretty neat that you know Brother Parma, Amy. Thanks for the hug. He is an awesome teacher. When I found out that he knew you I felt like I had a physical connection back to you instead of just a strong spiritual one. Pretty cool.

Besides you all, my family, I've only written to Jeff Ackley and Jeff Dunford. I'll make sure I write my grandparents today. If there is anyone who really needs a letter just let me know. I'm starting to get really fast and good at writing them.

Right now I am doing my laundry. It's pretty easy. There isn't very many settings on the machines. Mostly all you do is put the clothes and the soap in and then tell it either to do whites or colors. There's no temperature control or anything like that. I'm pretty happy about that actually.

I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday. It was all in Spanish too! It only had to be five minutes so it wasn't too hard. It's amazing how blessed we are to learn the language so quickly. When we have the spirit with us we can learn so much with proportionally little effort.

Elder Burr and I went up to the temple again this morning. Once again it was awesome. I love how strong the spirit is there. It is a great place to ponder and to be taught by the spirit. I also got some cool pictures up there this morning. I can't wait to show you them.

It sound like flag football was pretty cool. I wish I could've been there to see you. Good job on giving it your all until the end Matthew. Remember that enduring to the end is always the hardest part when it comes to the gospel. I'm sorry your foot got stepped on Jonathan. That always hurts.

I love getting your letters. Your words make me feel close to you and they bring me comfort when I am missing you. I think of you often and love you so very much.

Elder Ben Arnold