ONE MONTH DOWN!!!

Tucson, Arizona Group

"The history of the world is the biography of great men."

Library of Congress

Elder Ricks and I

Hello Family!!! Can you believe one month has already gone by?! (Before I forget, can someone let Reagan know that I have been getting her funny letters and that I can only write back once a week? lol thanks) It's gone by incredibly fast. And Elder Ricks only has 16 days left on his mission!!! Crazy! Which means I get a new companion...mixed feelings. So this week was much better! I got SO many letters! That really makes my day! Scott Shumway and Stephen Bowzer each wrote me! Scott sent me chocolate haha He says that's his way to make sure people write him back. I have to find something that I could send.. So this week we started riding bikes. Elder Ricks had a bike without a tire, but he finally got one. Mission rules let us only have 900 miles on our car each month, so without a bike, we're running low on miles left. Thus we biked A LOT this week. My poor booty was so sore. Not to mention, I would have BAD helmet hair when we'd go anywhere. So I'm very grateful that in Mexico, we will only be walking and taking the bus. The weather here has improved a lot! It stays pretty cool all day. Although you can feel the heat of the sun, the wind is pretty chilly. So that makes riding bikes bearable. What I don't like is having to ride a bike in my suit coat with a backpack. That makes it pretty hot. But mission rules say coats on after 5 PM. Boo. So this week we met a young single mother named Adriana. She seemed really into what we had to say. We taught her the Restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon. She had been looking for a church to go to and said she'd read the Book of Mormon and pray to know that it's true. We set a baptismal date (that's a mission rule here too--set after first lesson). She accepted because if she knows it's true, then she'll know she needs to be baptized. We invited her to church. She didn't come... So we have to go back this week and see what's up. We've just gotten a referral from a couple members. There's a guy who lives in the same neighborhood as about 10 other LDS families. He knows most of them. They always talk religion with him. He's accepted their offer of meeting with missionaries. He can understand everything we believe. But somehow missionaries have never made it out to see him. They've either been transferred or they were lazy. So we get that opportunity! We are praying to know how we should teach him. He needs to know for himself it's true, and that takes missionaries to commit him. One thing I've learned out here is that I need to have faith that God will answer their prayers when they ask if it's all true. If it is (which i know) then why on earth wouldn't he answer them? So it comes down to their faith and "real intent" (Moroni 10:4). We're meeting a lot of the members and are excited to celebrate Halloween with the ward on Friday. I'm already ready for Christmas though.. We're teaching another couple. Details in a written letter since I'm about out of time and need to send photos! Love YOU ALL!!!!!!!!! Keep writing me!!

Yeah--I did try the pumpkin blizzard...so good!

"If we are faithful to God in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life."  Hudson Taylor

TUCSON, ARIZONA!!

Oh family! I miss you so much! I don't really know where to begin. My last week in the MTC was pretty awesome. I love it so much there. I really look forward to going back after these few weeks in Arizona. Everything is provided for you, there are so many people there, you're learning a lot--it's just so great. I still can't believe how good of friends you can be with people there because you're always around each other. I hope to keep writing some elders and sisters while i'm here and in Mexico.  So I don't really know what to say more about my last few days in the MTC. I loved going to the temple so often. It was really nice even when we just walked around the temple grounds. I loved that it was getting cold in Utah. I loved being in the advanced spanish class. The MTC is great. I also got a haircut there, haha.

So one week ago I took a jet to Tucson with four other elders. I loved getting to call you all at the airport. I'm excited to do it again. I just need to get more quarters. Aleksi better answer her phone this time!! We landed and our mission president and his wife picked us up witht the two elders who are assistantst to the president. They'd all read up on our information and stuff, so Elder and Sister Walker started talking to us about things they learned. Elder Walker had served his mission in Chile, so he really likes that I have Chilean blood in me. In fact, he was in Chile during the same last two years mom was in Chile (I'm pretty sure it was '72). He asked us all how our spanish was on a scale of 1-10. Everyone said 3 or 4, but because I said 6 or 7, I got assigned to speak English for this transfer :( since I don't need the practice. But, I've still been studying spanish and have actually been able to use it three times now. People like to tell us when we go tracting that they only speak Spanish. Well. I can speak it too. So I take over and then they tell me they're Catholic and uninterested. Fun.

My companion, Elder Ricks, is from Utah. He loves loves loves to talk. Before his mission he'd shattered his leg and was on bedrest for a year. So he had no one to talk to. And then he served his mission. So basically he is socially starving. But he only has 3 weeks left. We get along though. I've just learned how to nicely tell him he's being obnoxious or talking too much.  There's so much to study and to work on. There's so many rules and things to do. And two years is a LONG time. My days and evenings are nice because that's when we're actually working, talking to people, and meeting members. I love going to members' houses for dinner. So comforting. I really need your encouragement out here. It's so important that I remember why I'm serving a mission because it's what keeps me going. I want to bring families to have the same happiness we have in our family- and that's a happiness and a family based on the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's fun to actually be tracting and meeting real people.

Anyway, the days here are pretty warm. They're in the high eighties/low nineties. But the mornings and evenings are cooler. I love seeing all the cacti. Some people own the COOLEST houses that are just so Arizona. It's P-day and we're in the library. I've got a lot of letters to write. But you can write me at this address:

Arizona Tucson Mission

1840 E. River Road

Suite 102

Tucson, AZ  85718

I love you all SO much!! I miss you! But I'm working hard and trying to be the best missionary I can. This is hard work!

"Spiritual privileges that call forth the powers of heaven are available to all who diligently seek them."Sherri Dew

New District at the MTC

  This is the new advanced Spanish-speaking District

      Provo Temple

The MTC is filled with old photos.  I love looking at them.

    

  I'm awaiting my visa to Mexico.  It may be a couple of months.



Go and Do

                                             District G at the Provo Temple

                    "You have one business on earth---to save souls."  John Wesley

             

Elder Roden (my first companion) and Elder Martinez from UF

                           My favorite elders--Elder Gonzalez and Elder Summers

Elder Summers is from Sacramento, CA.  He will serve in the Dakotas Spanish Mission

                                           Mi nuevo companero, Elder Midgley

(my new companion)

"The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion."

Dallin H. Oaks -

This is my escritorio (desk).

                                                      I have the top bunk.

MTC: Letter #2

Dear Family,

  A couple things first: what's dad's work email, and WHY AREN'T YOU SENDING ME EMAILS?!! But I prefer letters b/c I can read them all week. Email is only 30 minutes on Tuesdays, but it'd be nice to have a few messages. I love you. So I've switched into the advanced spanish class which means a few things. 1) I have a new companion, Elder Midgley, who also switched into the advanced class. I miss my old district, the intermediate group, but I finally feel challenged. 2) I leave here now in about a week! It seems so soon compared to the expected 9 weeks. But since visas to Mexico are taking forever to get approved, I'm going to be temporarily reassigned to another mission, likely in the states! We had a health and safety meeting yesterday, and boy would it be nice to only have to worry about not doing tricks on the bike. Instead we're stressing about bats, birds, bugs, and diseases. Oh, and the water. I'm really enjoying myself here, but mostly because the days go by pretty quickly. It makes my day to get letters. General Conference was pretty cool. I meant to tell you that I couldn't try out for the choir because it had already been made when I arrived in the MTC. It would have been awesome if you could have seen me in the MTC choir at the Priesthood session though! I did see a few people I recognized from around here.

So I'm in the laundry room. I've written most things I wanted to say in the letters I just wrote. My new companion is Elder Midgley who is from Dallas Texas.  He's going to serve in Quito Equador. He was a frat boy at USC! But we actually do get along because he's really laid back and I could persuade him to do anything I need to do. Again this keyboard is typing weird, so I'm not going to correct it from now on. So General Conference was really good. I heard that talk during the Priesthood session by the guy with an English accent. Suddenly I found myself thinking all about Harry Potter and didn't realiize what had triggered it. It was the English accent. SSoo I don't know if that was my favorite talk because it made me think of Harry or because it actually was a good talk. My companion leaves for Ecquador Monday at three AM. I can't wait to find out where I'll go! Apparently, and i just found this out, I'll have to come back to the MTC once I get my "promiso" or something. And then wait here until I actually leave for Mexico. So today we went to the temple and we got more group photos.  But this is my new district. Spending all this time together really is making us close, but I still love and miss my old district.

So I do need a few things still, the rain coat/ winter coat. Bed bug suffocater. Sunglasses, sure, but cool ones. And my tie hanger, maybe two of them. They're in my closet. So I really wish that I could see you all every now and then. I cross the street to go to the temple or the field (before it was closed) and always hope to see Aleksi's carr. This keyboard sucks. Well, I don't know what more to say, but I hope that you all write me! And email me! And tell my friends to write me too!!

I really wish I had had the courage to tell my friends that I reeaally do know this church is the true church of Jesus Christ, restored on the Earth once more. The gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. I encourage you all to find out for yourself if it is true! Read from the Book of Mormon, pray to know if it's true. Pay attention to how you feel. The Holy Ghost will manifest the truth of it to you. The Gospel makes me SO happy! And I know that it will bless the families of Mexico! If you have questions about what we believe, contact local missionaries on mormon.org!

I love you all!!! Miss you! and Blueberry-Pineapple Pina Colada Pie :(

Love,

Elder Mitchell Poirier!

Letter 1: from the MTC

I have to be super quick, the rules to this are pretty dumb, but now I only have 19 minutes left. I am enjoying myself here at the MTC! The weather is beautiful and although everyone in my district complains about the food, I think it's delicious. What are they going to say when they have to eat the food of Equador and Mexico? I like my Spanish teachers, Hermano Alder and Hermana Hunt. Hermana Hunt is SO much like Patricia, particularly in personality and in style. She's really nice. I'm thinking though that tomorrow I'm going to take the test to be in the advanced class because my spanish is really good and i'd love to be out of here in only 2 and a half more weeks. If I stay in the intermediate class, I report to Mexico on Nov 22, but actually nobody's visas are working out for Mexico, so it'd probably be another two or three weeks at the MTC. Umm. No thanks. My companion's name is Elder Roden, from Colorado. He went to BYU for a year, plays basketball, and is really into weightlifting. He's pretty cool. We get along well. I really do like the other Elders in my district. Plus we have two sisters, and they actually are like having older sisters. One of them is going to serve in the Florida Tampa Mission! So we talk all about FL. She's gotta support the Gators, I told her. It's pretty hard having to plan every minute of your day, but it's really hard to do that with a companion. We don't always agree with how we should do things and what we should focus on. I feel like I'm not actually working hard here because my spanish is so good. So i really want to get into that advanced class. Unfortunately I'd have to switch districts. But I'd get a new companion, which would be pretty cool. What I like most about being here is seeing people from all over the world--Mongolia! Japan! Places in Africa that I've never heard of! Tonga! It's super cool! I really like spanish, but it'd be really cool to learn one of the other languages. Unfortunately I cannot send photos via the internet! But I'll have them printed and sent to you all. You can scan them on the computer if you want. We went to the temple today! It was really nice inside the Provo temple. And today we got to do laundry and I wrote TONS of letters! I love getting letters! The other elders in my district get really jealous!

Oh and Dad, we played shoot off!!! My idea. Everyone loves it and they're so surprised that I can get it in so easily. So far elders have had to eat chalk dust, chew an advil pill, and eat a fingerfull of toothpaste. None of those elders were me of course. I got some photos!

Mom, thanks for the letters and package! I can't wait for tomorrows letter! I'm trying to write as much as I can, but P-days are super busy also! Tonight we have a devotional, and rumor is that there will be a General Authority there because thiiss  wweekend is General Conference!. Sorry this letter is so random and rushed! I hate tyypping against time. And this keyboard is weird. I LOVE you all!! Write mee!! I hope everything is going well at home! I miss the dogs!! And swimming! AAnndd  Sherlock Holmes. But I'm busy here, and that's what I like. Wish me luck with the spanish class i want to get into! Hopefully I'll be sent to the states for a little bit until my visa comes!

Oh and I've seen David McDougall.

And Aleksi, Sergio from UF is here and we see each other all the timee!!  It's nice to have another Gator in the middle of Provo!

Miss you!! Kiss Bentley for me!! Tell my friends to write me!

Thank you so much for the home I was raised in, for the Gospel I was ttaauught, and for the love I've been blessed with! I can't wait to baptize families in Mexico! I know that they can be as happy as our family is!

To my friends: Read the Book ooff  MMormon!! It's how you can know for youself that this church is true! Pray to find out!