Post by Travis's MOM

We received a phone call from Travis yesterday (28th) - a three minute call.  He has been reassigned while he waits for his visa.  He leaves July 4th the head to....... Colorado Springs, Colorado!   He is very excited to get to real missionary work.    

Hola!‏

Wow! My district is gone! :( There are only 3 of us here now! Being in a Trio is super wierd haha. We are getting along pretty well though, which is surprising. ON monday when everyybody was leaving, we got up super early to say bye to all of them. It was so strange. The room feels kinda empty now. My district became like my family here. So seeing them all go was pretty sad. The new mission presidents seminar was going on this past week. It was super crazy. Security was tight everywhere. The quarum of the 12 apostles were here along with the first presidency. Crazy! We had to go to the front office in the main buliding several times because we kept on getting called down there for random things..? And we had to be escorted around. Like they were serious about security. 

On Saturday I got to meet my new mission president! It was so awesome! They got here way late though.. The meeting started at 7, but then they changed it to 8. So we got there at 7:45. Presidente 

Perreno and his wife arrived 50 minutes late... so at 8:50.. haha. The first thing that he did when he came in the room was give us all hugs. They are so nice and legit. They are going to be awesome and I'm so excited to be directed under them. The meeting was in Spanish only. But they are from Espana so he was throwing out lisps all the time haha. I only like the Espana lisp if the person is a native of Espana. If someone white/not native tries to speak with a lisp, its just annoying haha. But our mission president spoke beautiful Spanish. For those who understand: He was also throwing out the tu and vosotros form. Which is weird for us missionaries. His wife kept hitting him when he used it! Man they are so awesome. They got me SO pumped. The whole rest of the day, I was just like exploding with energy. Presidente Perreno and his wife are also having visa problems. Tomorrow (Thursday) they are flying out to Buenos Aires, but they are staying there on a tourist visa because of the issues with visas right now. So he wont take over as mission president until he gets his visa. 

The elder that joined us for a little while also left on Monday to our same mission, Bahia Blanca. SOO jealous! That should have been us. It's crazy to think that I should have left on Monday. The travel time to our mission is crazy! Its over 24 hours of traveling to get to our mission. It was funny, our mission president was like (to the elder who has his visa) do you have like connections in Argentina? haha In Spanish its directly means, are you plugged in? So on the board he drew an outlet. haha he's funny. 

Yesterday for our devotional we had an awesome turnout of apostles. The speaker was Elder L. Tom Perry, but 10 other of the apostles were on the stand. Everyone except Boyd K. Packer. It was SOOO cool! just the spirit that they brought was awesome. We ended up getting awesome seats. Our teacher was a staff member with the presidents seminar, so she was helping people get seated. When she saw us, she hooked us up with super close seats. We were within 15 feet from the podium. So I saw all of the apostles up close. Very cool. What a great experiencia. 

Every week here at the MTC, we have this thing called TRC. Where we go to this special building and we teach volunteers that are like 99.9% of the time, members. One of the teachers/tutors here came up to us a couple days ago and wanted to know if we would want to teach a real non member. It is her friend who is coming to visit. She isnt a member either. So this is like real real. As real as you will ever get in the MTC. We said yeah! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. This is great practice for the field! So much pressure though. It will be a good experience.

Today is the last day of the mission presidents seminar, so things should be going back to normal. We've been having sleepovers in our room with friends from another district in our zone. Super fun haha. SLEEEPOVERS! 

Oh hey, my mailbox is changing because we have joined another district until we leave. So when sending mail, use mailbox #270 instead #206. 

On Monday, we get to meet with the consolate! yayy and then that week we should be getting reassignments!!!! I'm so excited to see where I'm going. I really hope its Spanish speaking. Im going to forget everything if its not haha. 

Alish will probably have had her baby by the time I get to email next, so congratulations! Good luck with everything haha. Send me pictures! We're all going to be in the same state again! Isn't that weird? I feel like im far away from everyone haha. But we really aren't even that far away. Well my time is up! I love you all! Have a great weeeeek! Thanks for all the mail and dear elders.

Con Amor

Elder Wheelwright

 Hola!‏

Oh man! My district is leaving on Monday! SOO crazy. I'm gunna miss them. They are like my second family haha. Elder Evans, Elder Raymond, and I will become a Trio on Monday. Sooo excited for that... I got a little taste of what its going to be like on this past Monday. Everyone who was leaving went to in-field training, so it was just us 3. It felt super weird and different. Nothing like how it is with my current companion. But yeah, also on Monday we met with the Visa agents for Argentina (not the consulate though). They took our finger prints and we signed some paper. That only took about 5 minutes. Now what we did there was the first step. We still have to meet the consulate on July 3rd (I believe in Salt Lake.). So we didn't end up going to Salt Lake. The Visa agents met with us here at the MTC. I was bummed, but whatever. I was honestly happy to have any progress on my VISA haha.. After the Meeting on July 3rd, we should receive our reassignments. It's a for sure thing. We have already been told, we just don't know where yet. I think we find that out a couple days before we leave. Our new departure date is July 10th I think. Or somewhere really close to that. I hope I'm reassigned to a Spanish mission, or else I'm legit going to forget everything I've learned haha. I'm hoping for somewhere in California. But I guess I will take anywhere? It's not really an option though..haha. I'm super excited to get a new call!

So since there is going to be only 3 of us here in the MTC from out district, they told us on Sunday that they were going to throw us in with another district. Although I'm not sure how that's going to work... Because the class we are joining is already WAY full.. But they did tell us that they would be frequently pulling us out to teach us so we weren't hearing the same things over and over again. ALSO they said that we are going to be teaching other people Spanish...?! We have these tutors here at the MTC that you can sign up for. And they said that we will kind of be like that. So my Spanish is going to way improve over these 2 extra weeks. Which is awesome! When you are teaching, you learn so much better the things that you are teaching. I can't wait to be fluent haha.

OH. Next week, well I guess this week, starting on Saturday, all of the new mission presidents are going to be coming in to be trained. They are blocking off a lot of the buildings here because members of the quorum of the 12 and the first presidency will be here all the time during the conference. They said that they don't want us near any of them..haha what the heck? But its going to be awesome. Saturday night, we get to meet with our new mission president for like an hour. He only speaks Spanish though...so its going to difficult. He is from Spain, so he has that weird lisp.. I don't like it. haha We had this sub teacher here a couple weeks ago and he served in Spain. He had the lisp and it was kind of annoying. But it is what it is! I'm excited to meet him, so he already knows who I am when I get down to Argentina. Our devotionals and firesides during the mission conference week are going to be awesome! It's almost like a guarantee that apostles will speak to us. I'm hoping for the prophet too! But I heard that he rarely comes to the MTC.

So about that package, if you haven't already sent it. You definitely can send liquids in it. Well maybe the post office doesn't want you to I'm not sure, but it works. Elder Evans Dad sends him like a 12 pack of coke every 2 weeks.. jaja. So it will make it! Elder Benioni gets packages all the time from Hawaii, with like Hawaiian goods. He lets all of us try them, yummmm. haha. So aloe juice would be sweet, but if you cant get it to me then that's fine.

Hmm, nothing else is really happening except everyone is leaving. Now its basically just a waiting game until I get my reassignment. I can't wait! aghh! I hope everything at home is going great! I think I'm going to send my SD card home again when I have about a week left here. I already have like another 300 pictures. A lot of them are from other peoples camera's though. You guys got the package? Sweet. Sending packages here are so cheap! It only cost me like $4 to send that box home! Does Nathan like the bottle? Haha. It's the one I use here. I'm not a big fan of MTC on the sides of it, but whatever. I just look like a dork when I carry it around. I tried to peel it off, but it was unsuccessful! I guess I'll be repping that MTC Swag...hahaha

Well I think that is it! I love you guys! I'll let you know when I can call home when I get more information! Have a good rest of the week!

Elder Wheelwright

Hola! 

This week nothing has really happened. It's just the same old MTC. But I'll try to make it sound like its actually exciting here... haha. On Sunday my companion was made district leader for our 2 remaining weeks here. What this means for me? I have to wait for him while he is in meetings...sweet. But it's only for two weeks. I still can't believe that we're almost out of here! gahhh! On Monday the district above us left for Mexico. I was pretty sad because I was pretty good friends with some of them. On the night before we left, out whole zone got together in the bathroom and sang 'Til We Meet Again. Why In The Bathroom you ask? Because of the acoustics, duh. haha. It was awesome. It was so loud. Everyone came to see what we were doing too. 

Soo yesterday, i got a letter in the mail concerning my VISA. I have 2 meetings before I can leave the MTC (to be reassigned) The first meeting is with the VISA agents and that is next week (June 18th). We get to go to Salt Lake, so I'm excited..haha! In this meeting, we're not signing anything. I honestly don't even know what the meeting is for, but whatever. It will get me out of the MTC... :P   The next meeting is on July 2nd! But wait, my departure date is June 25th? They are keeping us here for an extra 2 weeks past our original departure date. Just 3 of us from our district. (Elder Evans, Elder Raymond, and me). So the meeting on the 2nd of July is when I will sign for my VISA. The next Monday/Tuesday after that, I will be reassigned to another mission stateside. I'm kind of excited for this but its whatever. It will probably be English speaking so I will most likely forget all of my Spanish.. wah wah wah. Everyone going to Argentina has been getting reassigned. I don't know what happened to all the people who I thought/was told got their VISAs. It's going to be sad when everyone in my district leaves in a couple weeks. 12 Days to be exact! I am going to be put into a trio with Elder Evans and Elder Raymond...which is going to be terrible. Not even going to lie haha. They are probably the...most difficult out of our whole district. And they are pretty mean. So I'm not looking forward to it. The plus side is that I will have more time to perfect my Spanish! There will only be 3 missionaries in the class with 1 teacher so it will be more personal teaching. I'm basically going to be fluent when I get out of here! ...syke. But I'm sure I will improve a ton! 

I hope you guys received my letter with my memory card from my camera in it. Write me a dead elder telling me you got it, so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'm going to try to send a package home today. With all of my letters and my used planner and my camera and something for Nathan. Oh. So the next package you send me should be Asian themed! :D haha just go buy me stuff at H-mart pleassse! PLEASE PLEASE include like 2 large bottles of aloe juice.. I'm craving that like mad right now. Yesterday we got this new elder in our district until the 25th of June. He is only here for a short time. He was actually here in the MTC a year ago, but had to leave due to health issues. He already has his VISA and everything. He is going to Bahia Blanca Argentina as well. Well I think that is all that happened this week, or all the I can remember. Oh. some kid while playing soccer almost got hurt super bad. The goalie like dove for the ball and landed right on his back. And we're not talking like a small goalie. We're talking like 250 pounds here.. He like couldn't breathe or talk. And when he did talk, it was in Hungarian because he was in consecration week. (where you can only speak your language). It was kind of scary. 

Dallin! If you're reading this, congrats! Provo, Utah? How sick is that! You can hike up to the Y on P-day! We always joke around that Big foot lives on the Y. So maybe you can go find him and take pictures for us. We would love that haha. I'm planning on writing you a letter so look out for that. 

Well, I love you all! Have a great rest of the week! When I get my reassignment, I get to call home for exactly 3, yes THREE minutes. So I'm stoked for that haha. Even if it's super short! BYEEEE!

Sincerely Elder Wheelwright

Hello Family!‏

Hello! Guess what,  
Yo Tengo solomente dos y medio semanas mas en la CCM!!
OH MAN. 2 and a half week left! I don't feel prepared at all haha. I feel like my Spanish is still garbo. I'm going to have to press hard these last few weeks so I can get better! So today a new district is coming in. The problem is that there is no room for them. In our residence room, we have 6 beds with only 4 of us in there. so we were informed that we would be getting more roommates... wah wah wah.... Im not looking forward to that. We have to share desks and closets with them too and there is legit no room. So this is going to be interesting. So I definitely am sick right now. Our zone leader got like a bad sickness with the flu and a sore throat and a bunch of other bad things. And I caught it somehow. Well I got it because I hugged him, haha. oops. But I only got the soar throat and a cough. Which is cool I guess, comparatively. But I cough so much that I start choking sometimes.. no bueno. It especially get me at night when I'm trying to sleep, which is perfect because Its not like I actually need to sleep to recover from the day haha lame.
This week we started this new training thing. Where we have to make a investigator up and make them a profile and we have to act like them when we are being taught from other missionaries in our district. We were supposed to choose people that we know so it can be more realistic. I chose somebody from back home...but ill never tell!!!! It was pretty fun actually, getting to act like somebody else. I was weird though. In the lesson when someone was teaching me, they asked me about la Trinidad. Aka the godhead. And since I was somebody else I told them that they were one person, etc. It was super weird. I was like this isn't true but I have to say it because I,m not really me.
So I think last week I mentioned somebody in our district feeling like they wanted to go home. We gave him a blessing to have strength to go on. The next day at the temple, he saw his mom! It was CRAZY. Especially because they live in Nebraska. It was totally unplanned too! The missionaries happened to be running late because they helped someone by doing service. If they had not have done this, they wouldn't have seen him mom. The timing was perfect. It was a miracle. He needed that. It´s just a testimony that God knows all of us and that he is watching out for us. He knows what we need. It was a cool experience.
Hmmm.... We have been having squirt gun fights in the halls before gym. Its super fun and way intense. But this week we got told not to play anymore...noooo! Thanks for the package familia! It was awesome. Im hiding the mangos though... because this elder in my room steals them from me haha what a punk. Still no word on our VISAs. There is always so much talk going on. I never know what to believe. Someone told me the next time the consulate is coming is July 1st. So we will meet with them and then be reassigned. That would mean I would be in the MTC a little longer. I also heard that they might fly us out to Los Angeles to sign the papers (because that's where the consulate lives). It really is just a bunch of rumors. So I guess I will have to wait a couple more weeks to find out! Well I think thats it. Nothing special has happened this week. So I never know what to write. Thanks for everyone who has written me! Everyone is still hating on me for getting so many letters, so keep it up! ;) haha Sounds like the project for the living room is coming along good. Cant wait to see it in a couple years. hopefully it still looks good ;). I Love you guys! Thanks for everything and thanks for your support!

Sincerely, Elder Wheelwright