Wednesday July 27th, 2016

Hey!

     This week has been a pretty good week, but it went by so fast! I wish my Español was better, but I guess it'll come with time. I'm really excited to go to Culiacan, but it's gonna suck leaving these guys behind. We've come to be really close. There are a lot of meetings I have to go to this week! I leave on Monday at 5:30 a.m. We had some awesome fried chicken this week! Not as good as mom's, but it was still pretty good! (Editors Note: Mom is smiling)

      I went to the Temple again today, which was nice. So, every Sunday we watch an LDS movie, and I've been trying to convince the MTC President to let us watch 17 Miracles, so hopefully. Elder Meadows got a package this week, he was super excited! I still haven't gotten Brother Kellogg's letter yet. If you guys sent any letters this week, I haven't gotten them. (Editors Note: Dad was able to chat back and forth with Forest when his email came through, so he was able to re-send the letters he didn't get!) 

     We were told that we have to take a Spanish Test to get out of here, so I'm a little nervous for that, but we've been told by other missionaries that it's pretty easy. Yesterday we went to Hermano Pavia's soccer game, which was fun, it was against Hermano Ortiz. Pavia scored a goal, and Ortiz had an awesome bicycle kick. Ortiz also got a red card for sticking his hand out to block a shot haha! Yesterday we were told that this MTC received 400 new missionaries. 120 of them were supposed to come here, and the rest came from Chile and Peru MTCs. I guess they're remodeling them. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, that's a lot of missionaries here! It's been fun to find scriptures in the Bible, that are answered in the Book of Mormon. Read John 10:16, then 3 Nephi 15:2. I'm having an awesome time out here! Hopefully you guys are having fun too! I think my P-Day in Culiacan is Monday. I love you!

(Editors Note: Here are some of the emails Dad and Forest exchanged on Wednesday)

(Dad)

 So sorry, you didn't get our letters, we sent some, but the company said they were having issues.

(Forest) 

That's ok. I got some from both sets of grandparents, which was nice. Hopefully they get here before I leave. Sorry I didn't get any pics this week.

(Dad) 

Good luck on your Test, We love ya kid, I hope you'll be able to email us when you get in Field. 

(Forest)

I'm pretty sure I arrive on my P-Day, so hopefully I get to email. and Thanks!

(Dad)

So how much time do you get on the computer today, chatting with you is awesome. I miss being able to talk to you.

(Forest)

We're supposed to take an hour, but it doesn't kick you off, you just can't log back on after you log off. Yeah! It sucks not being able to just talk to you! How's work been going?

(Dad)

I'm sending you the letters you didn't get!

(Forest)

Thanks for sending it! I can't access my blog here, but I probably will be able to once I get to Culiacan. We wash our stuff together to save on laundry soap. Sundays are awesome! We have a lot of devotionals. I have not had to speak yet, but since this Sunday is my last, and I'm the Zone Leader, I probably will get called on. This is my last P-Day. I leave on Monday at 5:30 in the morning. My Spanish scriptures are separate, and they're black. I did not get to choose. Hopefully you and Sam had fun at Bradley!

(Dad)

How long till your hour is up...HAHAHA, and if  you don't pass the test how much longer would you stay?

(Forest)

I'll stay here until everybody is done, so I'm not sure how much longer that will be. And I'm not sure how much long I'd have to stay. I've heard 1 week and I've heard 2 weeks. Hopefully I pass and it's 0 weeks! haha

(Dad)

You'll pass, trust in the Lord, I love being able to talk to you, Sam says Hi as does Dylan. How's the weather?

(Forest)

Hey guys! The weather isn't too bad. It gets a little hot during that afternoon, but the evenings are nice and cool. Everybody else thinks it's cold, but I think it's perfect!

(Dad)

Well, we've been checking the weather in Culiacan, and it's HOT! Mom and Holly are at camp, I'll see them tomorrow. Do you need anything?

(Forest)

No. I wanted some shorts. Like plaid ones, but not plaid if that makes sense. They're like the 5:11's but in shorts. They were like $5 in the Tienda, so I just bought them here. What's the temp in Culiacan?

(Dad)

Temp is 106 but feels like 125!!!!! Sam wants to tell you, he went on a horse ride in the south hills 15 miles with Grandpa Tucker, he had a great time.

(Forest)

That's awesome bud! I was just thinking about how I wish grandpa would take you guys on horse rides! I miss it so much! That temperature is crazy! I'm gonna melt away! That is soooo hot!

(Dad)

Wouldn't it be cool if Clark Atkins was your trainer? (Editors Note: Our Stake President's son is serving in Culiacan Mexico too!)

(Forest)

I don't know if I want Atkins as my trainer or not. I really want to be his companion, but I kinda want a Latino Companion who doesn't speak English, so I have to speak Spanish. 

(Dad)

Yes, I agree you need a latino trainer. Brother Ward is so proud of you, he loved the story of you cracking that kids knuckles! (Editors Note: Brother Andrew Ward is one of Forest's heros in our Ward)

(Forest)

Haha that's awesome! I have to go. I'll talk to you guys next week! I love you!

Love,

Elder Radmall

Wednesday July, 20th 2016

Hey guys!

     So, this week was pretty good. Yesterday, we got yet another district. So now we have five districts in our zone! So, our zone is 7B, and we made up this sign for our district, just by crossing your arms and holding up the number seven. It's kinda dumb, but it drives the other districts crazy, so of course we continue to do it. When we went to get our visas, Elder Mockbey from 7C came with us. He is also going to Culiacan. And we like converted him over to 7B, and he holds up our sign every time we see him. It drives his district crazy! Then also Elder Clark has been converted to our district. What makes that one funny, is that he is one of the District Leaders from 7C. 

     I don't know if you remember Cole Hunt, but I ran in to him this morning, so that was cool! He's going to Texas. I do need the Ward's email. Thanks for keeping me updated on the ward. And thanks for the pictures. (Editors Note Forest wanted pictures of his metal art work) My district thinks they're awesome! 

     It's crazy to think that I only have one more P-Day here at the CCM.We play a lot of basketball here, and our district is amazing at it! When we actually try, nobody can beat us. I'll have get a picture of us playing ball, and a picture of our "sign". 

     Last week, Elder Meadows accidentally left a pen in his shirt pocket when we washed our whites. So, when we pulled them out of the dryer, there were black dots on everything. So we went to reception, and they put something on them, and it took out the pen. We were very grateful! 

     

     On Sunday we watched "The Testaments" and the spirit was super strong! I felt complete joy and better and better! I look forward to the letters sent from home. I read them over and over. They're a great comfort! My Spanish is continuing to improve. I just need to have more confidence in speaking it. 

     On Monday we got moved to a new classroom, which sucked! Our classroom was like our home! It was on the corner of the building, and the door opened to outside. It was awesome. The new classroom is bigger, but it echoes, and is in a building. So we have to walk down a hallway to get to it. It really sucks!

The cookies you and grandma and grandpa sent were amazing! I took one box to class and shared it, then the other one Elder Meadows and I just kinda snack on. The sim disk card reader thing is exactly what I needed! I only have two pictures this week, sorry. They're of the same flag, just taken from two different perspectives.

     

     I have not received Brother Kellogg's letter yet, but his daughters drew me pictures, and Sister Kellogg took pictures of them and sent them to me through email. I'm really excited for Bryan Lawrence, that's awesome! I can't wait to see where Ian and Darin Tschida go. I can't remember if I told you this already, but in our room and in the bathroom, when you flip on the ligh tswitch, the lights flicker a couple times before they turn on, which took some getting used to. I miss you guys! But I'm having a great time out here!

Love, 

Elder Radmall

Friday July 15th, 2016

Hey guys!

     The day after I emailed you last week, we got a ton of rain! The roads were literally rivers! It rained so hard! One of our teachers, Hermano Ortiz, had a soccer game during our gym time, so we went and watched it. We cheered super loud only if he touched the ball, even if it was a bad hit. It was hilarious! The other day during the night we heard automatic gunfire and then lots of sirens! It was intense! 

     I have met four other missionaries from Idaho. Elder Ballard, in my district is from Idaho Falls, Hermana Alder, also in my district from Emmett Idaho, another Elder from Nampa, and another Elder from Blackfoot. On Tuesday we got 190 new missionaries! So we all helped them figure out where they were supposed to be, and carried their luggage for them. Because of the influx of missionaries, we got another district. We've always had 7A, 7B (us), and 7C, and now we have a 7D.

     The Spirit is super strong here wherever you go! It's awesome! On Sunday during Priesthood our Branch President talked about how we need to enfocar (focus) the work, and not the hermanas. Then at the devotional there was a talk on Celestial Marriage. It was so funny! This week we have to go Solo Español. It's helped a ton! I know quite a few words, but I have a hard time using proper grammar. When we speak in English we get points on the board. And for every point we have to do a pushup. We do the pushups every three days. I had hurt my elbow doing dips at the gym, so I couldn't use both arms. So I asked how many points one-arm pushups count for, and I got told five. So I did 20 one-arm pushups! It was awesome! A couple nights ago during class, the power went out for a couple minutes.

     A few days ago my tooth was hurting, so I looked at it in the mirror, and found that there was a cavity, which sucked because I hate going to the dentist in the U.S., let alone in Mexico. So I said a prayer asking Heavenly Father if there was any way he could heal the cavity so I wouldn't have to go to the dentist. I went to bed, woke up, no cavity! Prayer is powerful! 

     We started getting up at 5:45 in the morning to go work out, which is tiring, but fun! We have not had any General Authorities visit yet. We were told they don't come here very often. 

     All of my pens from Sportsmans are "blue" ink.  (Editor's Note: Dad wasn't sure his letters were being received so he had Forest use the word Blue in his next letter.)

     The hermana that reminds me of Holly is Hermana Alder. She's the short blond one. We're not sure when we'll get to go to the Temple again. Our investigators are our teachers, Hermano Pavia and Hermano Ortiz. My favorite lesson to teach is God is our loving Heavenly Father/ Prayer. We got asked to make an investigator profile of someone we know well, and then we teach it to someone in our district. Then we do this thing called TRC, which is where you teach people from outside the MTC.  We went to get our temporary residency visas today, and I bought a bottle of coke for 15 pesos! The food here is okay. We put just about everything in a tortilla. Even the mashed potatoes were in a tortilla! It was surprisingly good! We eat a lot of cereal, and a lot of beef. Their lasagna and their hamburgers are not very good, but you're hungry, so you eat them. 

     The traffic here is crazy! Motorcycles will just swerve in between other vehicles! And the roads are super crazy! We drove in one direction in Mexico City for an hour and a half, and was still Mexico City! It was crazy! 

     This one elder who thought he was really tough wanted to have a grip contest. So he grabbed my hand and told me to squeeze as hard as I could, so I did, and I popped his knuckle! I felt kinda bad, but it was awesome because he was bigger than I am!

Love,

Forest                                                   

Wednesday July 6th, 2016



     So, they had to make another zone, so P-day is today. Next week it´ll be Friday, then back to Wednesday. Thanks for all the letters and the packages! Jeni and Bob sent me a package for the 4th of July, and it actually arrived on the 4th! It was awesome! 4th of July kinda sucked here, but they did the best they could. They gave us red, white, and blue table cloths, hamburgers, corn on the cob, root beer, apple pie, cupcakes, and they had us sing the National Anthem, so that was pretty cool! Then I drew a flag on the white board in the classroom.

Editors Note (I think they took pretty good care of you!)

     When you get a chance, go to youtube and search: Valentine I´m a Mormon alcohol recovery.  He's one of my teachers. There´s a picture of me and him that I sent you. He´s a super spiritual guy! He´s hilarious! 
http://www.mormon.org/valentin




     Elder Braithwaite, is now in a trio with Elder Price and Elder Ballard, and they live next door to us. When Elder Braithwaite was moving his stuff to his new room, he had a master key, and he went into our room and switched everything around. So Elder Meadows' blankets were where mine were, our garbage can was on the other side of the room, and stuff like that. So when they left to get more stuff, we took an alarm clock and hid it in their room and set for 3a.m. It was hilarious!

     The Temple was awesome! They had headsets for us.  We had to do some of it in Spanish, which wasn´t too bad. It was huge though! We rode on escalators to get to the third floor! On fast Sunday, they had us fast kinda weird. You skip dinner Saturday night, and then Sunday breakfast. It was different, but I like it that way. My Spanish is starting to come, so that´s nice!

We have gym time every day for 45 minutes which is awesome! We mainly play basketball. The Hermanas can´t play with us, which sucks, but I understand why. Earlier today we got a frisbee and played ultimate which was fun. We played on the soccer field where the gym staff isn´t at so the Hermanas could play with us. We only have two, so they´d be left out if we didn´t go over there. They´re awesome though! One of them reminds me a lot of Holly! The Coca Cola shirt I brought bleeds through even after I washed it, so that sucks! And I didn´t want to wear the same shirt everyday, so I bought another one at the store here for 5 bucks. It´s pretty sweet! I´ll have to take a picture of it for next week.

The four Elders in our District that are headed to Culiacan! There is another Elder going to our Mission but he is in another District.

     The Mexicans here don't refer to themselves as "Mexicans" or even "Americans" They're Latinos. Teaching is going good! I wish I could answer questions better, but oh well, Spanish will come. We're teaching a total of three, and two of the have committed to baptism. We're asking the other one tomorrow. During Priesthood on Sunday we go over the Baptism prayer, and how to give a blessing. I got picked on to show everyone how to do it in English, and I got it perfect! Which was awesome! 

I love you guys!

-Forest