MTC Week 2

¿Que Tal Familia?

         Well its my first full P-day today and it's been very nice to say the least. We have been studying pretty hard and (hopefully) learning lots. its been constantly snowing here in Provo and i'm tying to enjoy it while I can, because i know I'm gonna be roasting once im in the field. Let me tell you guys a little bit more about my district/zone. My companion Elder G is a super nice guy, very hard working and I feel like we push each other to be better and work harder. Elder N and Elder B are the other two missionaries in my district and we all get along really well, some times we fool around like when we have a contest to see who can balance three expo markers stuck together on one finger for the longest. (the record currently stands at 88 seconds) we honestly work hard but after 10 hours of studying your brain is like jello and you can''t think, it helps to take breaks every once in a while. Unfortunatly the temple is closed right now for Christmas break so we haven''t been able to go yet but i''m sure we will have plenty of time to do that later. (sorry for all of the double apostrophies this keyboard double taps on that key)
        In my last email I forgot to say thank you for all the things you sent me, I love everything! the Spanish hymnbook has been especiall useful since we always sing our hymns in spanish and sometimes the spanish hymnbooks are hard to get a hold of. I have been trying to make the pistachioes last since they are my favorite but I am almost done with one whole bag. I heard a little bit about your Christmas from Eli but he said that Dad would explain most of it to me but he didn''t really tell me either. but from what I understand everyone loves their gifts. between the harp, SLR camera, Wii U, Ipod nano, and paperwhite I''m sure you are all very occupied. just remember that people are much more important than things, don''t spend too much time by yourself.  If you guys would send me your email addresses in an email or Dearelder letter I could write you all a little personal letter. but since I don''t I kinda just have to write a bigger group one. I hope that''s okay. Its weird to think that Katie will be in here fairly soon, If i don''t end up going to the Guatemalan CCM then I will see her for sure. i hope to find out If i am actually going down there in the next week or two. Ill let you know as soon as I find out. but anyways I hope everything is going well for you guys, I don''t get to call this Christmas but one of my substitute teachers, Hermana A, sister's is in my mission and said that she got to skype on Christmas, way cool. so we can look forward to that. She also said that her sister lives in a corrugated metal shack and washed her clothes by hand, has to carry her water to a bucket to take a sponge bath, or has some sort of shower device that she has to fill. If that''w what the hermanas get I think that I am in for a big suprise. I think ill be fine though it''ll be just like a two year camping trip! anyway im gonna try and attatch some pictues for you guys but im not sure if these CCM computers will let me. Well until next time!

Buena Suerte!
Elder Schriever

MTC Week 1 - Christmas

Well I only have twenty minutes to write this email so I'm going to write this as fast as I can. I hope that these are your email addresses since I don't have them and i didn't get any emails from you yet. Well this first week has been crazy but very good also, it is amazing how busy they keep us, we are always doing something, whether its learning spanish or studying how to teach we are always doing something. My comps name is Elder G he is a really nice guy who is going to Guatemala, and very good at speaking spanish which helps when we have to teach lessons, we had our first one on friday and it didn't go super well seeing as i don't really speak spanish very well. but our lessons have steadily improved over the course of my stay here at the CCM. Oh if you guys want to send me letters or anything DearElder.com is the way to go, that way I don't have to read emails and then respond to them in only 20-30 minutes. Other than that everything is going really well, the food is good, almost too good. we have almost an hour to excercise every day which I am really grateful for, I am actually kinda sore from my workout yesterday which is very comforting to me.
      The other guys in my district are Elder N and Elder B, both going to Chile and both are really hardworking good guys. Today Elder Nelson (the apostle) came and talked in the Christmas devotional, It was way awesome and I loved it. On Christmas Eve we got to watch the George C Scott verson of A Christmas Carol, I was really grateful for that because I didn't get to watch it before i left and its one of my favorite traditions. Last night an elder sang "oh Holy Night" and there is a line that goes "his law is love and his gospel is peace" It hit me that all of the commandments and laws of the gospel are so that we will love God and one another more than pleasure (law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom), ourselves (pride), or money(tithing, consecration). that is the message that the world needs and that is what I want to bring to the lives of people who are weighed down with sin, anger, or greed. My itinerary says that I leave for the Guatemala CCM on January 15th which should be pretty sweet if it happens, but if not I'm not gonna be that bummed out, I really love it here. Elder R (who is my Zone Leader) said that El Salvador doesn't require a visa just a passport so hopefully I won't have any troubles there and can go right into the field. I hope that you all had a good christmas and that everything is going well. I love you all and wish you the best of luck.

Elder Schriever

First Letter Home - Dec. 22

Familia,

Well P-Day isn't until this Friday so expect an email then. I only have half an hour on the computer so if you would write on DearElder it would be appreciated. Well onto how it's been here, the first couple days were definitely an adjustment. I'm not quite used doing something all day every day, but I'll have to suck it up. My companions name is Elder G and he is going to the Guatemala Guatemala City South Mission. He's a pretty cool guy and we are getting along fine, we had her first lesson in Spanish yesterday and it was pretty horrendous, there were a couple of long stretches where neither one of us knew what to say, but in a couple of weeks it will get better. The other elders in my room are Elder N and Elder B, both good guys, everyone seems to be obedient and on a mission for the right reasons. Elder R is actually my zone leader which is pretty cool, we talk when we get a chance but they keep us pretty busy here in the MTC. I've been told that on Christmas Day we get to watch a Christmas Carol which would be awesome, I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully this letter gets to you before Christmas but I don't think it will, I want to know how everyone's Christmas went? Also if anything crazy happen on the 20th before December 21st. It's strange being so close BYU and not been able to go there, but honestly I love it here, its difficult and at times exhausting but the spirit so strong here and I realize that this is where I meant to be. Oh, let me tell you the good and bad news about the food, the bad news is that it is basically Cannon Center food, the good news is that the people here actually know how to cook which makes actually pretty good. I love you all hope everything is going well.

Love,
Elder Schriever

Entering the MTC

Yesterday the family enjoyed our last day home with Sam. We did the last of the packing, played games, listened to Sam's favorite music, visited with friends, had grandparents over for dinner, and the stake president set Sam apart as a missionary. This morning we headed to the airport for Sam's noon flight.