Week 7: MTC (2 weeks to go!)

Hey! I can't believe Cameron is coming home this Friday! And I get my flight plans this Friday!! And I leave the 7th not the 9th [of February]!

-And, alright-- about the toothpaste-- I am completely out. . .so I'm gonna borrow some more from my other elders and stuff.

-I think my mesh tops are causing me to peel. They are mediums. I need large. But whatever you think is best. If mesh is good. Actually, yes, all I want is mesh 'cause that'll be terrible if all my shirts were just drenched in sweat. . . and my bottoms are good-- they're fine. I have a bunch I haven't opened yet, so I can give those to whomever I leave my stuff with to send home.

- about the journal-- its just a small one, not a big one, and I'll just get two big ones for the mission so I'll send it home. And whats Uncle Rons number? I have Aunt Marilyns, so I can call her and see if i can give her all the stuff I have to send home-- and I have a ton!

- and about the shampoo-- we're good. I found some in the free pile, so I think I'll be fine for the remaining time here and get some at the Philippines!

WOW I can't believe I leave 14 in days! Its crazy!! AAHH!!

- I wish the Steelers would lose. Good the Bears lost :) And so if all works out, its gonna be Green Bay and the Jets! :). . . I just found out by all the Tongans lol that the Jets lost. . Apparently they all love Steelers. . .its a "Tongan" team lol so ya. . .

-and I'll for sure look for some G's and stuff

- I would hope they [WRHS basketball varsity team] were doin' good in this league! haha 2A-- that would be terrible if they didn't! And Chan-- that's cool-- he should play basektball! All the band kids cheer for you!! :) Its pretty cool!

-and who did Austin see? Was it a comedian? or just a show?

-we have a teacher that went to Zimbabwae and he spoke the clicking language. lol Its way cool!

-and Cams flight plans reminds me of the RM lol-- comes home, walks out with his fist in the air, and no ones there lol that would have been so funny!! [and almost true!]

-and my Tagalog is coming along great!! I can understand the language and when the teachers talk--its awesome! I'm getting to the point where its getting a more smooth flow to it! Its way fun! Tagalog is such an amazing language! I love the Philippines, also! I would write a bunch of stuff for you but that would take for ever! I'll write a letter home sooner or later all in tagalog! :)

Well, I gotta go change my laundry!! Tell Jake to write more!! :)

Love you all-- and it would be nice to get a letter from Austin and Chandler once in a while too :)

Love you all Ingat po!

Oh and about the games, chan or austin should know where they are, they should know so ya! oh and there is a sister here that looks just like Sister custer thats in my district! its crazy! Tell everyone Kumusta! [Google Translate: How? Hmm...maybe he spelled it wrong??] and Tell Sis hardy Kumusta and tell her i said Ganito lang ako! [Google Translate: I'm just like? Maybe another misspelling??] :) and Hindi Kita malilimutan! [Google Translate: Never forget] i think haha but ya! love you all!

Week 6: MTC

Ok, I love those micro fibers towels! I would love another one, for sure! And I'll just get a pair of sandals down there. No big, much cheaper. And thanks for checking up on my account and stuff! And, yes I got a letter from Jake Dedge and you mom lol i loved getting it! I just finished writing Jake a letter so it should be getting there in about 5 days or less! :)

and some things i need to tell you! i need toothpaste and shampoo!!! i am almost out idk how much longer i can last!!! :O thank you :)

oh if you could give me betsy's email! that would be awesome! she knows an elder in my distric! and we want to say hi to her!! :)

and this yesterday i played the piano for sacrament meeting cause the our other piano player was sick, so i practiced it and got it pretty good, then played it in front of everyone and choooked lol its so weird playing the piano!! im getting better its awesome!! when i get back your going to teach me to sight read better!! :) k good and i want to play the cello and the violoin! :) or however you spell that haha and i'm teaching a sister in my district, after sacrament i played that really cool song river flows in you, and she's like teach me haha so i jus taught her about the treble clefff and the bass cleff staffs lol

Yesterday i ushered for the fireside, held up my fingers and sat people, some guys infront of me would copy me it was so funny! i would put up two fingers, then they would do the same, then 1 then 5, 6, 3, 7, 1, 8, haha it was really funny i laughed,

I got the coat like the same day you asked aunt marylin for it haha and a sweatshirt and thank you! i've used it a couple times and i used it this morning when i went to the temple at 6 o clock!

I know what my flight plans are, its been the same for the plast two districts, first to LA for a 3 hour lay over, then to hong kong for another 3 hour layover then to minilla! then back to hong kong if i get denied lol but i dont think that'll happen.

and to let you know i will be sending my journal back and my memory card of all my pictures her at the MTC so ya you'll be getting that!!

oh and there is a missionary, asian, dont know where he's from but hes going to seattle amazing violin player! if you meet him by chance comes to our ward say he did a great job!!

OH JEFFERY R. HOLLAND CAME AND TALKED TO US! HE LITERALLY WAS 5 FEET AWAY FROM ME!! IT WAS SOO COOL I LOVE HIM! haha hes a great speaker!! and we got a new MTC president; President Brown.

I love it when you said you are going to delcare war on the blackberries haha that made me laugh! and thats too bad the hawks are out. . .my friend is a big football fan and i am curious too who's still in it???

And thank you for the letters i love them all! and talk to the Hardys! Tagalog is a hard language but is way fun! you guys need to learn it before i get back haha and i know my english is broken. . .one of the washer machines was freaking out and the whole laundry room went quiet lol but anyways thanks for all that you guys do! i love it! and thats crazy that a bunch of people are getting laid off! do you think that it'll go completely out of business?? but thats good to hear that the economy is hopefully going up! when i get back it better be at its peak of best and stay there for ever!! haha

And for treats idk what something thats good and sugary and that will keep me awake, cause i'll be reading a bunch of books from M Russel Ballard and other small books, and they probably are gonna have some cool movie that i wont be able to watch. . .but i have 1 minute left. . .so i'm gonna let you guys go! love getting the letters! convince others to write me!! :) love you all hope austin and chan will get better and chan doesnt have mono!! Ingat po!! Mahal kita!! :)

Ok real fast! there is a girl here! in my district that looks EXACTLY like Sis Custer lol jus thought id throw that out there! and her name is Sis billings, and i jamed my thumb and now theres blood under the nail. i;ll take pictures! and i saw TJ rockwood again!!

Week 5: MTC

That sucks Austin has mono! Sorry if it had anything to do with me...haha but thats so funny!!

If Seahawks win the super bowl that would be super embarrasing for all the other teams lol going into the playoffs with a losing record and the only team to do it in NFL history lol wow haha!

Today I was asked to contact a man in the temple in Tagalog. . .it was the most awkward conversation I had ever had. I asked him if he had a minute, in Iagalog, then i translated in English. He said "No." Then I was like "So you don't have a minute?" Then he said "I only speak Spanish and French." I tried so hard to get through my lesson, but no, he would interrupt me every other line: "What does that mean?" "What does bababagi mean?" "Oh, you mean magbahagi?" lol Then, his wife came, wow...my companion was getting dressed, so I was trapped in their meaningless conversation about if my mission is prosylitizing or welfare, because my mission has the new temple being built there. Then, 20 min later, my kasama showed up.

I can't wait to get out of here! lol I printed off your email and I'll go to the office and see what Ican do about the insurance thing, but ya thank you for everything! I think I'll send my journal home. And just wondering, do i have any money in my checking account? I' havent used it, I just want to make sure I do if I need to use it. Thank you!

Can't wait to see Cameron!! :D That's so exciting! And Chandler: "Nanonood ko sa inyo! [Google translate: I'm watching you] ! Haha you can ask Sis. Hardy what that means lol or google translate. But man, I love Tagalog! Its super hard but I'm getting used to it. Ask Sis. Hardy about all the conjugations! Its crazy! (my spelling is dramatically dropping [and so is his punctuation and grammar...but his mother is fixing it so it's easier on the eyes! Oy vay!]) lol

Oh, and me and my companion are the new zone leaders!!! :) and the other companions in our room are the district leaders lol Our room is stacked! haha But ya, I don't have everything on here. I'll write another one [letter] later today probably around 12 or somewhere around there with more stuff I wrote down but forgot!

Well love you all! Magandang Araw! Mahal po kayo! [Good Day! Thank you dear!]

Blake's follow-up email:
Sorry, I just realized I didn't answer any of your questions. lol But I went to the medical office and they are going to call you. I have $100 that was like emergency money, and stuff for the plane or what ever I needed. The language is stilling coming along great! I can make sentences and say pretty much what I want to say, I just have to think about it first, and my knees are feeling great! Thank you. I still wear the braces just in case, and ya, I wish I had a jacket for going outside but I'll be fine, and yes, I love the sweater! Everyone wears em here.. lol and I think I get my travel stuff 10 days before I leave so around the 27th of this month! And there's a bunch going with me, about 14 or so, maybe a little less then that. But ya! There you go! haha

mahal ko po lahat sa natin [Google Translation: I love all of us. (Such an all-inclusive young man!)] I hope thats right. . .haha but love ya!! :D

Oh and something super important when you write a dear elder letter could you write the message on sunday, (its sameday service for the dear elder letter) cause when I get the dear elder letter on sunday, today on my p-day I'll have the letter and I can respond to the message and I won't have to read the whole time thing on my email and I'll have time to respond and stuff! So that would be great if you could do that for me! Thank you! :)

Love you all, and try and figure out what this is! :) I'll use it alot! maybe idk . . .

ako ay nakakita ng isang haligi ng liwanag na tamang-tama sa tapat ng aking ulo higit pa so liwanag ng araw no dahan-dahang bumaba hanggang so ito ay pumalibot sa akin. . .nang tumuon sa akin ang liwanag , nakakita ako ng dalawang katauhan na and liwanag at kaluwalhatian ay hindi kayang maisalarawan nakatayo so hangin so itaas ko. Ang isa sa kanila ay nagsalita sa akin, tinatawag ako sa aking pangalan, at nagsabi, itinuturo ang isa ito ang aking pinakamamahal na anak pakinggan siya! [Google Translation: I saw a pillar of light exactly in front of my head more so no sunlight falls gently until it is so enveloped me. . . to focus on me light, I saw two persona and brightness and glory defy all description so situated so the air above me. One of them spake unto me, calling me by my name and said, pointing to this one and my son listen to him!]

Oh ya something else, there was a girl at the temple who is going to college so we contacted her and asked if we could give her a message and recite the first vision, afterwards shes like. "Can I write you" we were so confused and it was really creepy lol but we gave it to her anyway haha well some of it we couldnt remember it all. haha [???]

Week 4: MTC

Alright sweet! Ya I will definitely get his address! idk why it would be against the law but what ever, but thats way cool! Tell Tess and Mike I love them lots! He'll be so happy! haha His name is Elder Leedom. I'll send more details and stuff later! Thank you! And my sore throat is gone finally. Its been like a week. . .

And thank you for the package! I used all the stuff so far except the poncho and umbrella... don't think I'll have to use those, but we'll see! haha And I got some pants from another elder cause they were too big! They are super cool but all the buttons are falling off. . and I play b-ball every day! I dominate lol! I love it! Its way fun, except there are some people that take it seriously when they arent having fun. . .its super annoying. .

I got the [2nd HepA] shot too. . .the bill is on its way haha sorry! :) I love you! :D

New Years wasn't too special. Just stayed up till like 10:35 or so and said happy new years. The MTC gets better almost every day! I love it! The food! eh. . .its alright i guess. I've gained a lil weight. . .and no performers came for news years.. .but still I had a fun time!

Dad- thats so funny! something would happen like that to someones snowmobile! lol but sounds fun! But no, I didnt stay up. . .

I met Greg Williams [cousin who works at the MTC] the other day! I saw him when he was holding a door open for his class, so I walked behind the group and gave him a hug, and he was so confused. Then I stepped back and then his face just lit up in shock! lol Then we hugged again lol! It was cool!

We just got back from the temple about an hour ago. I did a session! That was cool! I love going to the temple! And the week before tha,t we cleaned lockers in the temple for 4 hours. . .I never want to see another locker for as long as I live. . .it took forever! But was still kind of fun. And sorry if my sentences are weird. I don't speak English much over here, lol, so sometimes its weird writing it!

But ya thank you mom and dad for everything! Love you guys so much! Hope Austin will get better and hope Chan is doin' fine too! Can't wait to talk to you guys!

Oh, and a lil story before I sign off. So I was waiting in the temple for my kasama [I'm guessing this mean companion??] to get dressed. I was sitting in the lobby and I had an impression to give an elderly man a spiritual thought in tagalog to him. So I grabbed a Book of Mormon and read 2 Nephi 32: 5 [For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will ^ashow unto you all things what ye should do.] and talked to him for a bit. Turns out my tutor is this mans grandson!! haha It was crazy!! lol

Alright well I'm takin' off! Love you all! ingat po! [Please be careful] :D <3>
Oh and mom send more photos! I don't care what they are of! I just love showing people pictures lol! And everyone thought Uncle Rons kids were hot! lol It was so funny! But ya, more pictures plz! :) mahal po kayo [thank you dear]!!

Week 3: MTC

Thats scary about Cameron! Hope all goes well for him! And I'll be sending home my journal and my memory card so you can read stuff I left out and see stuff too. But its been great, so much stuff has happened! Its hard to speak English sometimes cause I've been speaking so much Tagalog! lol

Russell M. Nelson came and talked to us! That was so cool! And Ted Gibbons and we met the new president of the Philippines.... well the new mission pres.! And then we had the talent show. I wasn't feelin so great and right now my throat is killing me. But its alright, I'll live.

I haven't seen Greg yet either, but I saw a picture of him in the TRC room, where you practice on "investigators". Im still loving the MTC!! It never ceases to amaze me!!

Yes, I got your package! Thank you for that! I haven't gotten your other package yet, and I got another one from the Sorensens. The Grahams sent me a letter, and the Williams sent me one, too! I wrote them all back and now I'm writing the Sorensens. Christmas here was so much fun! We all gathered in one room and put all our gifts under one tree, and I did our family tradition, where I told everyone to go outside and one by one to come inside and say their name, where they're from and where they're going! You guys will watch it... its so funny!

Christmas was amazing! The talent show was so funny! We had a couple of elders from Russia get up there and sing Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" but they changed it to MTC style, "you missionary now" haha... its soo funny! I got the whole thing! And there were a bunch of amazing singers! It was incredible! And some guys played the song that Jon Schmidt played, and he played the keys with his elbow or head! You'll hear and see it. Ok, and Mom when I get back be prepared to teach me piano, and get a violin and a cello, cause I really want to play those and learn how to play them.

Dads letter made me laugh! Thats great Ruby got sausage grease on her food lol but she looks so cute! haha I hope she's still alive when I get back, but if she's not, I'll probably be used to eating dog by then lol j/k But ya, everythings been going great here!

And tell thank you to Sis. Hardy! I could understand 99% of it haha! Its so cool! I love this language! I can't wait to be fluent! It'll be so cool! I'll speak Tagalog everyday to you guys and I'll send a book home! You guys better be fluent when I come back! And I can't wait to talk to Sis. Hardy! Well, at the end of my MTC experience. I'll send my journal and my memory card and you'll see everything I wrote! It'll be fun and it'll be sad, but I hope you all had a great Maligayang Pasko! Mahal po Kayo! :) Hope you're all doing fine. And I can't believe Chan is in drivers ed haha! Its so weird and it feels like I've been here for months!

But, alas, its only been a few weeks. . .and theres a Filipino district leaving today! So we'll be the middle district! And then there won't be another district coming in until we're senior district! So not for a while. . .but ya I love you all and hope you are doing fine. And haha I remember using your razor, lol Dad. Haha... well this letter is very unorganized lol but anyways! Love you all! Hope Austin is having fun at Fred Meyer! And love Cameron too! Ingat po! :)

And can you tell people not send messages to this email, just dear elder me, send that dear elder thing to their email, in my stead, ya so just tell them to dear elder please and thank you!! :D

Oh ya one more thing, could you do me a huge favor! could you ask Tess Ames if she can ask her husband if he could retire and sign his football jersey! i have an Elder here is the BIGGEST fan of him haha and it would be so cool if he got his jersey and if it was signed, so let me know wats up! that would be so cool let me know! k thanks love you guys and tell tess i would love her even more lol! :)

2nd week, in the MTC

Wow that all sounds great! Oh and before I forget mom could you send my basketball shoes? I don't care which ones, but the shoes I have are a little too big and my feet keep sliding inside them.

They have a thermostat inside [the room] so I could change that if i wanted to to make it warmer, and the microfiber towel is absolutely amazing! I love it! And yes, I got the pants like 3 min after I sent my last message, and my shoes are great, both of them work amazing! I have class like 16 hours a day but I love em. We're learning tagalog so fast its crazy! I've learned more tagalog then I have in all the years I took french! Its so crazy!

Me and my companion are doing great! Oh and last night Ted Gibbons came to the MTC to give a devotional about Joseph Smith's life, through the doctor, (I think Richards, I can't remember), but it was amazing! Then after that, I watched a movie about Joseph Smith and that was way cool. I haven't seen that one. And how are we related to Hyrum Smith again? On the geneaology chart, you stopped right before him and I told Ted Gibbons we were related and he said, "oh, through which son?'. . .and I didn't have that down.

Oh and also on my facebook page can you write as my status to tell people to dear elder me? haha... and tell them how, and go to Blake Halvorsen is going on a mission and just post the same thing on that wall? Thank you! :)

I love getting letters and the package cant wait! I'm the only one in my residency that hasn't gotten one yet! lol. But its actually snowing right now, its pretty crazy, and I'm doing my laundry. I think I'm gonna get on about this time every morning, I'm not sure...depends whether or not I want to get up this early every day.

Thats way cool Adam is going to Brazil! So many people! geez.

But ya, well I'm gonna take off! I'll write hopefully this week again for Christmas! Oh and write this on Sis. Hardy's wall:

Kami ay mga misyonero, sa simbahan si JesuCristo ng mga banal ng mga huling araw, puwede po ba kaming magbahagi ng mensahe sa inyo tungkol kay JesuCristo! [Translation: We are missionaries, the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, can we please you to share the message about Jesus Christ] :) she'll love that haha well i'm gonna take off love you!! :D talk to you this week :)

Oh and can you send me like a sweater vest too, or something like that, cause its also pretty cold here! :) dont care what it looks like, just want something warm for now, and then I'll leave stuff for aunt m. or uncle ron! so ya! thank you :)

In the MTC and loving it!!

OMGOSH THE MTC IS SUCH A BLAST I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! I'M GONNA [GAIN] WEIGHT BUT I DONT CARE CAUSE ITS SO MUCH FUN!!! WOOO!! haha the mtc is soo super fun! My companion is from Stephenville, Texas and and he plays sports so thats way good. I was excited about that. He's crazy smart! Everyone in my residience hall is smart, (and don't call them dorms, I guess some people get offended. . .lol)

Anyways the language is going great, I love it so much. Tagalog is such a beautiful language, and its way fun to listen to, I'm sending a letter that has some other stuff, too, so if I leave something out then you'll get it in my letter, so don't get discouraged.

We went to the temple today at 7 in the morning! Its so crazy how early I get up: 6:30, shower and toiletries stuff, then go to breakfast; then like 16 hours of class, and lunch and dinner and meetings and interviews and firesides and films... its crazy! Its only been 5 freakin' days and it feels like I've been here for weeks. . . and i'm gonna copy this letter to Cameron. . .sorry Cam I'm not sending you a letter. . .:( . .

Also, ya I saw Kirtley and no, Greg. I saw Elder Rodarte! That was super cool, and I got the dear elder letter and showed it off to all my other elder friends, and then the next day they all got packages and letters and stuff lol... but no big deal.

Oh and I won't be calling for Christmas, idk why... don't ask me. Oh, actually I do, a million missionaries and like 4 phones. . .so ya its crazy. . .but if you're gonna send a package after the 22nd, thats when they stop coming until like January, so if you do send one like a week or two early, just in case.

And my Companion Elder Taylor, hes way cool. Without him I would be way behind. He is such an example to me, even though hes 5'5 and 100 pounds. lol But its cool, I like him and Elder Bolen looks just like Cameron and sounds like him too, its way funny.

And then there's a guy from the RM where they are having the lesson, and the guy who has to give the lesson who doesn't have the lesson, asks the RM (Kirby), to read, and said "take your time"... Well, there's an elder here that looks like him! Just thought Id' tell you! haha

And man, the MTC here is super hard! Holy cow, I'm reading all the time, taking notes all time, gaining weight like none other! Its crazy, but its fun! I'm not really missing home too much because the people here are so inviting and accepting and everyone here encourages people so I've been having fun hours on end and I'm so excited to be here! And I talked to my zone president, or something... the guy in charge of all the kids. He said there's a good chance that Cameron can't come here, so I'll have to see him some time later. But if not, 4 years isn't that big of a deal lol.

Well I'm doing good here. Oh, send my big knee brace. My osgood schlotter is acting up. I bought a little strap thing here cause I could hardly walk, so ya. And Facebook, you can go on, but don't click on my friend requests and stuff so I can see how many there are when I come back lol!!

And my room buddies are Elder Hanson Bolen (looks like Cameron) and Taylor he looks like "House", on the tv series "House" lol! Its funny! Oh and Rosetta Stone sucked lol! Really, it did not help at all. The only thing I learned was colors, food, animals, and good morning....thats all I've used so far. Everything else, no. . .bad. . .and the letters? I'll get to em soon lol!! If i can find the cards lol!!

P-day so far is good. Just doin' my laundry and stuff right now. And I have to SYL (Speak Your Language) to everyone, then translate later if they didn't understand. So that's crazy helpful.

The pants didn't come so I'll check. I think they called my name, but wasn't sure, I was in gym. My teachers are amazing! I love em! Bro. Mansfield and Buchner, they are way cool. But I only got like a few minutes left, so I'll write next week!! Love ya all!!

Love Elder Halvorsen

Some Phrases in tagalo:

pinakamakapangyarihan, (all mighty), nakakapagpgbagabag, (bothersome), panamapalatayo, (faith). lol I say them everyday! haha But I'll write more in tagalog later! love ya all