A Beacon of Light

Jackson:

HELLLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I haven´t slept at all, my stomach is in a constant war with me, and the language is killing me! But I am having the time of my life! Seriously, this place is awesome! Let me start from the beginning, Bennett and I rode over on the plane with Elder Heaps and Gledhill, Elder Gledhill is going to my mission! When we got of the plane we all went and found the bus and rode to the CCM and when straight to orientation! The campus is beautiful here! It is 93 acres of beautiful green grass and white buildings surrounded by a 20 foot barbed wire fence that protects us from the most dangerous part of Mexico City! Imagine the Favelas of Rio De Janero and then drop a huge Sanctuary right in the middle! It’s insane! Every night and all day we hear gunshots and horns! It was so hard to sleep the first night because you have to keep the windows open because it will get hot in your house, but when you do that you can hear the gunshots and horns! 
But anyways, I’m in a house with 13 other missionaries, 9 of them are going to Chile, Osorno with me! Bennett is in my house, I was so grateful to walk into my house after orientation to see him unpacking! I see Bennett all of the time! At lunch, around the campus, during breaks, and we get to talk every night before we go to bed! I'm so lucky that he is here with me. After orientation I got back to my house and met my Companion, Elder Hobbs!! He is from Roy, Utah, he is 18, he has a girlfriend too, and he is 6"2´ just like me! He is an amazing athlete and we have yet to be beaten in any sport by any other companionship or team! He and I get along very well! Most of the people say that he is almost like another Bennett for me! He is a little more quiet and reserved but he is still confident and very funny. My district is pretty cool to! We have two sisters! Hermana Norton and Batty and six elders! Elders Hobbs, Gledhill, Nelson, Mills, Jacobs and I! All of them are from Utah.  We are all going to Chile! The next morning we went straight to class and started our language study! The language is so hard, but I keep studying my hardest and I really feel like I am getting a hold of the grammar concepts! Some of the Elders and Sisters here are practically fluent after six weeks! It´s amazing! We just studied all day until that night! We had huge fireside with all of the Missionaries and they welcomed us to the CCM with some songs and advice! Afterwards, we went and met the CCM president and his counselors! President Rubalcava is the father of my Sunday School teacher in the Las Flores ward! He knew my name already and his wife had baked me some cookies for my companion and I! I see him all the time, he gives my Companion and I the VIP treatment! Somehow every person I meet has some connection to me! Through cousins, or friends, rugby, traveling, or even instagram! It´s like a huge family reunion. All of my district and zone are amazed! They can’t believe that I know so many people and so many people know me! They have taken to calling me the "most interesting man in the world" the whole CCM calls me that now! During devotionals or firesides when I'm asked to give a prayer or they call on me to answer a question President Rubalcava calls me that! It’s such a blessing that I already have so many friends here and people who look out for me! After the Fireside we met our teachers and Bishops! My Bishop, Bishop Ortez lived in Dana point for a few months two years ago so we had a lot of acquaintances! The other districts in our zone are awesome! We eat lunch with them and hangout with them all of the time. I´ve already taught my first lesson in Spanish and probably the most important things I learned from that is, I don't speak Spanish very well at all, but the spirit is fluent. I hope my next five weeks are as good as my first one.
 Other then some sleeping, and stomach problems I’m doing great! I got the packages and my companion and I loved them! I wish all of you guys could come and visit this place! It’s a beacon of light in one of the most dangerous places on the planet! My testimony has grown so much, it’s amazing how differently you can look at things when you've only been here for a week! As always, I miss and love you guys. You are constantly on my mind and I hope everything is going great at home. I love missionary work, and I love the Lord! 

Bennett:

My first week in the MTC was a different experience in all terms. My soon to be companion never showed up so I am in tripanionship, however you spell it, I don’t know. My companions are Elder Barba and Elder Solari. They are both going to be serving in Ecuador and have the Galapagos islands in their missions! So far, I am the only missionary in this MTC going to Peru. So when they call people to stand up by countries they are serving in I am that one kid standing alone. I have a great district! We all get along pretty well with each other. Jackson also lives in the same house as me! So, we get to talk every night and discuss what we learned. They force the language on you pretty intensely here. Our second day they had us teaching investigators in Espanol! The Spirit here is out of this world, all the studying and reading really does pay off with the spiritual part of this place. The living here is okay. The food is also really good or really bad, like really, really bad. The first thing I actually heard here was “don’t eat the burgers”. The first three days were really hard, meeting sun up to sun down. They worked us like the newbies we were. Also, ELDER HARRSISON IS MY ZONE LEADER!!!! I get to see Carter and Jackson all the time!!! Everytime I see Jackson, regardless of the distance or class he is in, I’ll yell or whisper MI GEMELOOOOO (that’s twin in Spanish) and every time he answers back. It’s actually kinda funny because the whole MTC knows exactly who each of us are talking too and who’s saying it. You’re one of the twins that always yelling in Spanish at your brother.  It’s so funny seeing him all the time. I try to speak Spanish as often I can but I also teach some of the Latino elders some English! I said ´´howdy´´ to one of them and they didn’t know what it meant! So, now every time he sees me he goes “howdy, howdy, howdy!” We study all day and night and it’s hard to keep up but I feel like the routine is getting easier. One elder told us that the days go by like weeks and weeks go by like days. Which is so true, it's remarkable how I’ve already been here over a week! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! PS: I’m also remarkably talented at the jaw harp now.