Thank you so much for your messages. I loved to hear from you!

Elder Jensen is my companion. Here at the MTC, we have Personal Study time, Companion Study time, Language Study and Classroom Instruction. In class the teacher teaches both Spanish and the gospel. One of our teachers just left.
He is moving to New York. Hermono Warr is my favoite teacher. He brings the spirit in so well and invites an atmosphere of love for each other. Our district is a good district, we all get along good. For young men getting ready to go on a mission, I suggest they STUDY from Preach My Gospel. It is magnificant and is the main study book used here. It directs you to the scriptures and prompts you to ponder. I am getting to love it.

Britton: good luck with the tallent show.
Kayla: be safe on the road. I dont get any extra sleep. we get to bed at 1030 and get up between 6 and 630. There are a lot of missionaries here that does that Ummm thing, it bugs me also. But I have to fight it some times when i try to think of the Spanish words.
Dad: I will check with my Branch Pres. for the Pristhood line of authority. Maybe he can get it. I already asked his counsler but he said get it from you.
Mom: good luck helping Linda, thank you for trying.

They feed us well here. I had in my room at one time between 1 and 2 dozen cookies I gratefully received from loved ones, also.

Please remember the Randolfs/Mundays at the motel.

I have learned how to pray, testify, and do some verb rules in Spanish. All the verbs end with either -ar, -er or -ir. Each verb has 6 times about 16 differant was to say it. :-( But with practice you get the pattern.

Each week everyone needs to prepare a talk for sacrement meeting, it is extra work but i enjoy the extra study.

I learned some cool tips on how to mark scriptures. When you use different colors you can mark 1000s of different subjects. Using circles, boxes, lines, vertical, horizontal, shading, doting, and use other shapes to point out words. All the while, using differant colors for each method. Creat a system you understand. I am going to try to make a Study Journal where I can keep track of this and keep and make notes.

I get letters from DearElder the next day you send it. I can only check my emails on Tuesday and I only have 30 min to check and write. I seem to manage alright. I would love to write more and be more detailed.

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Love you, Miss you,
-Mark

All

I just got my email set up, currently I am waiting for my laundry. My P-Days here are tuesdays.

I did get to see Matt. Not for long though. our schedules don't match up. I study only with my district. All 10 of whom reported the same day as myself.

My room, Elders: Jensen, Clark and Hoopes, have been getting up at 6am and preparing for the day. Breakfast is at 7. Classes and Study Times go all day. lunch at 11:30, dinner at 4:30. Each district has there own teacher(s), our are Brother Cantreres (Spelling?), Warr, Archibald.

Learning Spanish is pretty hard. the hardest part of it is our lessons are taught in Spanish. It is hard to fallow what is said, but it does give us good experience. I read about what was taught later on and practice on the computer program (TALL Lab). I have learned a good hand full of subject in Spanish, some really difficult ones and some easy.

One of the best ways we are learning vocabulary is using pictures and ideas, not translations. So, read and say a Spanish word and compare it to a picture or acted out idea. This way the correct idea of a Spanish word is learned. Spanish does not have direct translations, only similar meanings. We have been learning Verbs, and each verb can be said at least 6 different ways.

Love Mark
Write to you later!

Momentous occasion! We caught Mom's only smile all day, on film! Hoorah! Figures that Elder Runolfson was the only one who would be able to make her laugh.

Elder Runolfson offered 'the Honors' to anyone who wanted to be the one who placed his badge on for the first time. Mom, obviously, took up the offer. Mom has had a really hard time watching her Boy leave her. He did a lot for her and she's depended a lot on him, so it's been really hard for her to let him go. She started crying a week before he left and really let it go at the MTC (understandably).

Receiving his name badge and getting his instructions.

Family Photo's at the MTC

Left to Righ: Dad, Kayla, Mom, Elder Runolfson, Britton, Kristin, Grandma, Michael, Grandpa.

Picture taken from a ways off; Elder Runolfson dropping off his luggage!

Talk about 'last-minute'! 15 minutes before the MTC reporting appointment, we stopped at Maestro's- an Italian Gelato Shop-. Mark loves Italian food, especially Gelato, and Michael and Kristin had found a great Gelato Shop in Provo that Mark just couldn't miss out on. Especially for 2 years! He ordered Strawberry Gelato and said it was great, so, hopefully, it was worth the stop!