Extra letter we received "snail mail"

3.02.09
Hola Family!
Here I am, leaving in two days for the field. I guess by the time you get this I’ll already be out there. Thanks for the package!!! It was so awesome to see all those letters and stuff in there. Yeah, my skittles are gone; I shared them with my district and gave the rest to one of my awesome teachers, brother Smith.

So the other day while I was doing our weekly service assignment, I was talking to my comp, when from behind me someone said “Elder Kendric Hale!” I turned around to see Elder Phil Roberts! We talked for a little bit before he had to go and I haven’t seen him since to take a picture with him.
Funny thing tho, yesterday I was looking for Phil, walking thru what I thot his classroom bldg would be and passed a room and one of the elders said “Hey Elder Hale! We have an elder Hale in our district.” Then one of the sisters that was sitting there said “Hey, I have Hales in my family” (Her name was Sister Waters). So I said “Oh yeah? Are you related to Alma H. Hale?” and she flipped out with excitement! Then the other elder Hale got back and we found out he is related to Alma too! So I’m going back later with my family history stuff to talk to them. Fun stuff! =) I gave them my address so we could talk, and also find which line they’re from.

So I just got back from the temple (because that’s one of the cool things you can do on Sundays). I found the other elder Hale and got a picture with him. I also saw elder Phil Roberts and talked to him pretty much the whole time (also got a picture). He’s going to Paraguay , I don’t know which part. He got here a week before me. He’s still cool...haha.

So I’ve gotten lots of letters from awesome people. There are so many loving people out there, I’m so grateful for them. I’m grateful for your letters too! It makes me realize that life outside the mtc still goes on, hehe.
Mom, just to comfort your motherly worries, I’m not starving. Quite the opposite actually, I eat 3 big meals a day. The food here is way good (not better than yours tho!!) and I’m pretty sure I gained 5 lbs. Whatever.

Hey, so at the end of our Sunday devotional, an Elder Bundy said the closing prayer. So I went and talked to him and he’s from St. George and he’s definitely one of those Bundys that have the big reunions J
OH! Another cool thing, my ZL Eldste Smith (going to Norway , also super cool!) was roommates with Brent Parker at BYU. And I met a sister Little who is the niece of the Littles in the Oviedo ward. Super small world at the MTC!

How is the BoM reading challenge going? I’m doing super great! I’m all the way to….1 Nephi 9….yeah, not very far, but I get lots out of it! I dissect almost every other verse it seems like. And my scriptures are getting marked like crazy, even little notes on the sides in blue pen! It’s super cool. 1 Nephi is so much more interesting now. I love how plainly Nephi speaks, and that he “delights in plainness.” Also, I challenge you to look up Mosiah 4:15 and dissect it. I like how it says “walk” instead of look or speak. ”Walk” is an Action word!
I know that the Book of Mormon is so powerful. Just looking at it every day helps. But just looking at food doesn’t make you full, we must FEAST upon the scriptures and read them every day. The Spirit can be felt so strong! It’s awesome! The Church is so true! The gospel is so true! We must endure to the end! Do you know how many blessings there are for enduring to the end? I challenge you to look it up. It’s amazing! You too Jenna! If just Mom and Dad eat, then it doesn’t help you much, does it? =)

I love ya’ll! So much!! Thanks for all your prayers! Praying is awesome too, by the way! I guess I just found that out about two weeks ago. Heavenly Father Does listen! He loves each one of us! So much that he gave us each other! I can’t imagine who I would be without each one of you.
ELDER Kendric Hale =)

p.s. I miss my guitar…my callouses on my fingers are almost gone.