Ah, family. I give greetings unto you. Today is probably the most tired I've ever felt, especially here at the MTC, where everyday is tired. Give me a few minutes of free time where I'm not focusing on something and I'll just fall asleep. Either way, it's good here. Spanish is coming along well enough. I'm learning about the future and conditional tense, along with relearning reflexive verbs and other things. As cool as it would be to type to you in Spanish, I don't think it would be coherent because my mind feels elsewhere. It's weird. It snowed last week, or earlier this week. Not a bunch, but enough to make things white. I like it when it snows here because I don't have to deal with the annoying parts of snow, I just get to look at it on the mountains and on the ground around.
I enjoy the devotionals here at the MTC. Every Tuesday and Sunday night we have guest speakers come and talk to us. Sometimes they're from the Seventy, sometimes other people, and sometimes one of the Twelve, but that hasn't happened yet. Since next week is the 50th anniversary of the MTC or some such thing we might hear from one of the Twelve, or such. That'd be pretty awesome. I'd take good notes for that one. One thing I'm learning is that it's more than just the speaker that makes the talks good. I mean, I already had heard of it and I knew it to some degree, of course, but if you're focused less on the actual presentation of the talk and more on the message it gives, and what the Spirit is giving you you definitely will get more out of it.
What's also pretty funny here is how crazy some people are over BYU sports. I think I'd heard the name Jimmer three times before coming here, but apparently he's something of a big deal. Plus all the other athletes, sports, blah blah. I understand it can be fun when you're in college to go to games and stuff, but the way some people go nuts is just weird. Also, if there's another thing I've learned in the MTC, it's that bad days will come, whether you're on your mission or just in the MTC. Today really hasn't been bad, just slightly unfocused. Earlier this week I was just not feeling it. I wasn't sick or anything but I couldn't focus very well. My advice, of course, is to just get over it. Stop the bad day before it starts, change your attitude. Plus you have a companion with you for a reason. More than just one reason, in fact. You can figure out that cryptic message on your own. Now I'll start writing little individual paragraphs about what you sent me. I actually did get your emails and your Dear Elders, but I forgot to respond to the letter last week. I had what I was going to write in my email all written down, bullet-pointed, because we only have 30 minutes to read and send emails. But I forgot to include anything from your letters, so it appeared as though I just hadn't received them. Whoops.
Mom & Dad- You're going to rub it in about Elder Nelson's talk, huh. I very much heard here how they got to listen to one of the Apostles the day before I got here. But it's really nothing, because they never mentioned anything about what he actually talked about. So your message was nice. It's weird thinking about teaching again. I think if I was to go back home and teach I'd do it a bit differently. Not a huge amount, but I'd certainly try to prepare more. If I do get that handout it might be cool.
Matt- That is a wonderful mental image - Alice punching a robot and calling it a crunchy zombie. It's funny in many ways, like the fact that she's even punched a zombie before. And about your social evolution. Dragonflies are pretty cool. They look cool, they fly cool, they have a cool name. They have big eyes. But I think you'll evolve into a preying mantis, honing your wife-hunting skills. I would include more but that sentence already sounds a bit weird. And about my weight. So far, I've remained in my general 205-210 range. I really don't think it will change, either. I feel like I eat a ton, but it just doesn't seem to be doing anything.
Sam & Matt- You really can't just say Matt shot himself with the nail gun and leave it at that. There's a large amount of body that can be shot by a nail gun. The mental image I get from it isn't very fun, if it's actually the truth. I need some clarity here. And also, what in the world is Duplo's? Some kind of... something? And of course, it would be Alex that would think the lemon juice was lemonade and drink it. I'd think the plain smell of sour lemon juice would be enough, but that seems to be untrue.
Alex- Boy, you need a job to support all your women. And that whole green pastures phrase is a bit creepy. Please don't use it ever again. And if there was one piece of advice I would give to you, it would be to read your scriptures and pray daily, morning and night! Technically, this applies to all in the household or other households. How can you expect to establish an investigator's connection with God if you don't have one yourself? It's the magic triangle. Also, you should tell Bro. Huso about me. I forgot. And finally, you'll have to play ultimate for me for two years. It's banned here - even without the snow you can't play it on the field. Probably too competitive.
Ty- Memory of a goldfish... that's hurtful. I do have a journal, and I do write in it daily, but I don't generally have time to go back and read my journal to relive the past week. So what if my short-term long term memory is being filled with Spanish grammar and words. It's pretty cool you sent thoughts on the Atonement also, because it's the sacrament talk topic, the district meeting topic, and I studied it up for real on Sunday pretty much the whole day. It is good. I'm glad you're getting all set up. It seems pretty exciting.
I have 15 seconds left, so I'm just gonna cut it off here. Love you all, you're great. Say hello to Grandma and Gpa for me.
Letter from the Family 1/22
January 22, 2012
Hi Nick,
Tonight I read a talk that Elder Nelson gave in the MTC on the 10th - just before you got there. One of the lines I liked the most was "I love this from Isaiah 18: 'Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled.' Who are the swift messengers? Any swift messengers here? That's you!"
Are you feeling swift? How has the week gone? We have received your e-mails and 1 letter. I sent you 2 emails through Dear Elder.com. Hopefully you have received them. I also printed them out and sent them by snail mail in case you didn't. I'm going to order your contacts. Please confirm your MTC mailbox number so they will go to the right Elder Nicholas Hansen.
Am just finishing the 4th night in a row, and my thoughts are a little fuzzy. Not much new going on here. Matt and Sam continue to work on their bed with Dad. We haven't had any news about the house. Ty tells us he's settled in Boston. Wants to have a skype phone call to show us his rooms and how they are set up.
Dad & I teach our lesson next week. It's about Nephi receiving the vision of Lehi's dream. I have this cool handout that compares Lehi's vision with Nephi's and some of the differences. Maybe I'll send it to you. I'm afraid Dad will try to pawn most of it off on me this time since he had to teach the entire lesson himself last week.
I put you picture on my locker. Lots of comments about my handsome son. It makes me smile when I see it. Have a good week. Love you Lots, Mom
Nick,
MTC life is quite different is it not? I always found my emotions closer to the service and felt the spirit more often than I was use to. I have enjoyed your emails and am quite pleased to see you having positive experiences. I think you have tremendous potential. You know what you need to do, but enough preaching. House is quieter since you left - I hadn't known you were that noisy. I also hate writing letters, but like getting them.
Love,
Dad
Nick,
Mom finally caught up to us. Matt and Dad are building a bed frame. Matt shot himself with the nail gun and bit dad. We are surviving our calling in Nursery. They spilt our class so now we only have 10 kids instead of 18. We don't have to teach lessons any more, they called a teacher for the two nursery classes who teaches both of them. We setup, eat snacks, play, have a lesson, and do singing time, then clean up and we're done. This week the lesson was on our hands, deep I know ;-) Matt hasn't decided if the best part is snack time or Duplo's. We are still pawning lemons off on people, if you were around I would force feed them to you. The other day Alex put lemon juice on the table thinking it was lemonade. Well after he poured himself a cup and drank a mouthful he realized it was not lemonade but straight lemon juice. Hee Hee. There is your happy thought for the day, Alex with a sourpuss face.
Sam & the Best Matt
Little bro. WaSSAUP! Life is good down here and i hear from you that life is good up there! that makes life good! but not in a hippy sense. Me and kevin have been messing around a little more often as of late. The can of axe you gave me is gonna blow up. Death by machete. I don't know bro. I have been having fun. I went on two dates this weekend. I bought QT for a girl named Caryn and i took jasmine tydying ----- is that how you spell it? Weird. Uhmmmm. There are lotsa green pastures around here. I know that you or anybody else doesn't know what that means and i find it funny. I played some good ultimate Frisbee yesterday. Play practice is cool. I asked Mary Jarman to Mormon prom. It was ingenious I came up with it all. It was a little search through the BoM using different references and she would basically find ' Would you go to homecoming with me?' Then underneath it I put look to the heavens to find my name. Then i was supposed to go into her room and put my name in glo
w-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. I tried but basically extraneous circumstances made it not nearly as cool... Darn. Oh well though. Beauty and the beast is going great. Still singing every five minutes. yea. Well that should be it. If you find my life incredibly fascinating you can ask me about it. Otherwise I shall start telling you about what my experience of the week would have been. Boogers! -Alehandronoso
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Jorge,
I think you need a Spanish name. Mi amore Jorge, tus patalones olor con limon. Mi corazon es verdad en las estomago y la lechuga bailamos con sus zapatos. You'll know your fluent when you can translate that - good luck. Anyways, I have become somewhat of a star on America's Got Talent lately. Turns out people like to watch me diffuse bombs onstage. All I use are spaghetti noodles and hair gel (a more versatile combo than you'd think). I only failed once, but they chose not to air that episode. Too bad you don't have a TV to see for yourself. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it.
Also, a great Travesty has occurred. Yes, even one so great as to warrant a capital T. Jorge, I have reached the end of all known Dilbert. Over 20 years of Dilbert! My days are just lacking the same lustrous quality granted them by Alice punching futuristic robots and comparing them to crunchy zombies. Alas, I still have my daily Dilbert and so I suffice.
Currently I am also working from 2 in the afternoon and getting off at 1 in the morning and going to school in there as well. I don't know how I even fit in all my other shenanigans with those hours. It'll get busier once they start giving homework too. Luckily though, I now have Monday's off both school and work. It is a beautiful thing. I'll even get to be a social butterfly again and attend Family Home Evening for my ward, but instead I think I'll go for more of a dragonfly or maybe preying mantis.
Lastly, know that the war with the Yeerks is going well. I hope you are taking advantage of the blessed daily buffets and putting on some weight. You'll need it to break even from all the tapeworms I'm sure you'll be getting. Ciao! -The Supreme Matt
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