Letter dated 16Feb2012

[Dear Friends and Family, I hope you are all doing well. We are experiencing some wintry weather right now -- but we definitely can't complain! I hope you are all doing well. As you can tell, Weston LOVES to hear from you! Reply to this note -- and I'll get the message to him! Best regards -- Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, Happy (Late) Valentines Day! I actually had a very fun Valentines Day this last Tuesday. Two missionaries in our zone left that day to go to the Guatamala MTC and it was funny because they told us that they were sorry to break our hearts on Valentines. They were two very awesome and friendly missionaries and I know that they will do well at the MTC down there. They´ll definitely be learning Spanish at a ridiculous pace. But we also had a Tuesday Evening Devotional on Tuesday and a member of the Seventy spoke to us about love, as in the love of Christ. It was one of my favorite talks that I´ve hear yet and he shared many experiences from his own mission and also his service as a mission president in Bolivia. One thing that really meant a lot to me was that he brought with him his mission journal from 40 years ago and he shared some passages with us. Just to think of looking back at my own life when I get that old showed me the importance of writing down as many experiences that I possibly can. I do not want to forget those things, ever. He shared with us the importance of learning to love others and what that covers. From what I personally got out of his words, it becomes something that's even deeper than caring for people. You honestly love them and would do anything for them, regardless of attitude, personality, or behavior; we are to love everyone as Jesus loves us. I also did get a Valentines Card! It was from the Elliotts and I very much appreciated the note. Some of the missionaries in my zone and district got over 10 Valentines cards each! (Their moms had their classes in school and church write them little Valentines notes, which were all very cute) The best present that I saw someone get on Tuesday was given to Elder Rockwood. His girlfriend and her sister made a teddy bear at Build-A-Bear-Workshop and gave it a really creepy blonde wig to go with it. The best part is that the bear is holding a heart and when you press it the heart plays a recording. His girlfriend's sister left a very, very creepy message at the beginning and I thought I'd have a nightmare because of the creepy voice she was using... glad I slept well! I actually did get my first dosage of sickness this past week; congestion, a small sore throat, etc.. Good thing I'm doing better now and that I'm getting my sickness out of the way before I reach the field! Speaking of the field, since what you (dad) told me about my Visa status, I will most likely be going to a mission in the states for at least a month. I haven't been told anything yet, but I'm sure that's what's going to happen. Maybe I'll go somewhere like Chicago or New York! Naw, probably back to Nebraska like my original guess as to where I would be going. Heck yeah! Yesterday was actually a great day for my Spanish. As a zone we attempted to speak Spanish in whatever way we could througout the day and I could see it helping me with communicating! I don't want to pull an Elder Calhoone from "The Best Two Years" and say that the Spanish I'll be hearing isn't the Spanish they taught me in the MTC. But who knows, maybe I will! [This is a movie about a missionary in Holland who didn't recognize a word of Dutch when he arrived on his mission!] Today I finished the Book of Ether. I've been sailing through the entire Book of Mormon and I would probably be done with it by now but I studied a lot while I was in 3rd Nephi because of all the events and teachings that are there. I'm going to move on and read either D&C [Doctrine and Covenants] or the New Testament next, but you should tell me what chapter you as a family a reading on and I'll read that chapter that day as well in the Book of Mormon. I think that was a very awesome thing we did as a family with Joseph while he was in Prague so just send me the book and chapter you are reading on the next day you can send me a DearElder. As for letters, once again, I'd like to show my appreciation for all those who have sent me a personal letter or message recently. Just to name a few; the Elliotts, Janelle S., Sarita B., Sarah L., Brianne C., Lindsey T., Brigitte W. (soon to be Brigitte G.!!) and of course the rest of my family, notably Daniel and my parents. I know I've recieved more than that, but those were some of the more recent ones that I can think of. Thank you all! You are so great! With a great big kiss, And a hug from me to you, Elder Alexander Weston Schindler P.S. Just kidding. I can't kiss you or hug you. P.P.S. So I have another request. If possible, could someone send the lyrics to the song they sing in the Hobbit trailer? [That won't be me! Can someone help with this???] That would be very nice if you could! And I'm glad to hear from you dad that you are sharing the movie quotes from Lord of the Rings with Nick and Chris. Hopefully they appreciate the quotes as much as I do! [I do a quote a day -- but it's always the same quote which I read from a poster in their room -- "If I can't carry it, then I will carry you!" They guess it correctly -- every night!!]

Letter dated 9Feb2012

[Dear family and friends, here is the latest letter from Weston. I hope you enjoy it! It is good to see Weston's humor coming out! We hope that all of you are enjoying a very mild Winter! Send a response to this letter and I will forward it along to Weston. Much love, Weston's editor -- BWS] Querido Familia, Hola, ¿Comó estan? Estoy muy bien, gracias. Lo siento, necesito ir.. Hasta luega, Élder Alejandro Westón Schindler P.S. I´m going to write the rest of my letter in English so that I can write more in the short amount of time I have to let you know how my week has been. Earlier this week, I had the pleasant surprise of seeing Elder (Jared) Henrie here at the MTC. He´s going to Ukraine and he´ll be learning Russian, but we´re in the same residence hall (I´m on the first floor, he´s on the fourth) but it was nice for Elder Anderson and me to see another familar face. It was sweet to catch up with him and hear how he´s been doing. I will say that I am so glad I am learning Spanish and not Russian (or Czech. Boom, roasted Joseph). This week marks the fifth week I´ve been at the MTC and on the schedule it is the sixth week we´ve been here. It´s weird to see some of the other missionaries going to English speaking missions show up and leave while we still have quite a few weeks more to go but it really helps that time flies by so fast! It´s nice, but at the same time it´s making me worried about if my whole life will just fly past and I really don´t want to miss any of it (before I know it I´ll be 50 years old and I won´t know how to work a TV *cough cough* dad). [Ouch!] I'm having the greatest time though, being with guys who are all the same age as I am and while we are very different in most every aspect, we all have very similar things in common, and there's a strong sense of brotherhood and comradery which makes the learning and training experience all the better and worth while! Now this part is to all the people that have written me so far. I hope that most of you have recieved my letters that I have sent and I have sent a lot! I actually did only send a few last week but I'll be finishing those and writting more today so I hope that those letters find their homes in your mailboxes. I only have one day a week (today) that I can write letters so I try to get as much done as possible, but it never seems like enough time to send all the letters I would like. Oh, and there is an Elder that requested some addresses of some of our friends, so I gave him three of my friends' addresses. I'm telling you this now just so you have a little bit of warning if you recieve that letter in a couple of weeks from him. To everyone else who doesn't get a letter from this Elder, don't worry about it. I would like to also mention that I have not gotten sick during my stay here. I hope I can keep up the good health since all of my roommates have had sicknesses at some point during their time here over the past month. I think it's partially due to me just living better too. At the cafeteria I eat the heathy foods and I don't eat more than I need to. The wraps have become my favorite lunch time and dinner time food (and yes mom, I take my vitamins every day. Well... maybe every other day). Also, 5 days out of the week we have 50 minutes of gym time, where I have consistently devoted my time to playing vollyball. I've gotten a lot better and I'm probably going to start running a mile every day starting tomorrow and I end each night with some ab workouts. As I've heard from some of you, mom and Daniel, that you are all on diets, I figured I could do more to also participate in the Heathy Schindler Program (HSP). I've also been told (on the note of my massive legs, namely my calves and my ankles) that I have the perfect legs for weightlifting, so don't be surprised when I come home 5 sizes bigger from all the mussle I'll gain over the next two years. This was a joke, I hate weightlifting, but it is true that they said my legs would be great for it. Okay, I'm done rambling about that. As I've been getting asked by everyone asking me, I'll be leaving the MTC early in March. Depending on when my Visa is completed that will determine when I head over to Spain. From March until I arrive in Spain I will probably be located in a Spanish speaking mission in the USA for a transfer, which will be cool wherever I go. The MTC is great but I'm ready to leave. Probably the biggest reason for that is the fact that most of my days consist of 10 guys sitting in a small classroom and with the food here it can get rather smelly in the room. I will finish with that. Thanks for reading my letter! Can't wait to hear from you before next week! P.P.S. You should definitely let me know when you'll be sending my stuff. I'll be sending my stuff next week most likely just so you are informed. P.P.P.S. Thanks for all the ties that have scriptures on the back of them, Joseph. They become my scripture of the day whenever I wear them!

Letter dated 2Feb2012

[Dear family and friends, Here is the letter that we received from Weston today I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. We also hope that you enjoy the nest blessed weeks of winter that we will be receiving because of our furry friend in Maine. I hope that the next six weeks are as "severe" as the last couple of months have been! Send me a note and I will forward it to Weston. He LOVES hearing from you! Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, To begin, I just want you and everyone to know that this past month of my life has been a blessing and the greatest time of my life. It's been a bit difficult with all the studying and work that goes into life here at the Missionary Training Center but I love it here! I can hardly imagine what Spain will be like! I've enjoyed recieving letters from friends but as always, I would love (note the word "love") to hear more from everyone! Just reading small notes from people is nice because it reminds me how much you mean to me. It really is a blessing in my life to know so many wonderful and fantastic people and I hope to return the favor to each and every person that I call either family or a friend. Alrighty, so my life is definitely different and here's why. I feel like I am both the most mature I have ever been in my entire life of 19 years but also the most immature since I was 10 years old. The reason is because the things that all the other Elders and I laugh at are very childish and I doubt I would have thought the same things were funny a couple of months ago. But for the most part, I do feel like I am growing up little by little, day by day. Being so dedicated to studying the Gospel and the language has tested me (and is still testing me) on how I will work and operate once I arrive in the field. It's a crazy thought, but I feel like I'm partially becoming a child again so that I can learn the language but I'm becoming an adult to learn how to teach others what I believe. Reading the Book of Mormon has become my favorite part of my day and I'm in Chapter 42 of Alma and I was inspired by both Alma and Amulek in my readings. I want to try to be like they were in teaching and to be as strong in the Spirit as they were. [If you want to check this out -- here's a link! http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/42?lang=eng ] Now I'd like to share my experience I had this past Tuesday. January 31 marked the 50th year that the MTC [Missionary Training Center] has been operating and we had two members of the Quruom of the Twelve speak to us; Elder Jefferey R. Holland and Elder Russel M. Nelson. Both of their talks were amazing and it was special for me to listen to what they told us. I would share more about everything they said, but I only have a little bit more time to write this message. I just want to finish by saying that I know why I'm here and I know what I need to do in order to be prepared for the future. I'm going to be pushing myself harder than I ever have in my life but it's going to be fun doing it. I love you all and I know and testify that the Gospel is true and that He wants me to be here. I'm on His time and He'll make me strong when I feel weak. I hope to write more next week and remember that I love you! Always remember that! Love, Elder A. Weston Schindler P.S. I would have to say that during the week, I was very delighted to recieve a fantastic care package from Brigitte and Doug! I esspecially loved the stickers that were put in with all the other things (including the sweet pen!!)! The Kool-Aid packs though, mmmmm! I just want both of them to know that they made my week with that! Also, getting the lyrics to Go the Distance from both Joseph and Lindsey! All of you rock!

Letter dated 26Jan2012

[Dear everyone, here is today's letter from Weston! As you can tell, he LOVES hearing from you. If you want to get him a message, simply reply to this letter -- and I will get it to him! We are so happy to hear that he is enjoying his stay at the MTC! Much love, Weston's editor - BWS] Dear family and other loved ones, Hola, . It's amazing that I've already been here for just a little bit over three weeks. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my last letter, but time here goes by both fantastically fast and definitely very slow. It's a difficult thing to describe but I want you all to know that I love it here at the MTC. I know I forgot to mention it in my previous letters, but I did see Camilla Jones a few weeks ago right before we were doing our temple walk. It was a cool coincidence to see her, especially since I wasn't expecting it. I have seen Adam Jensen too a couple of times, but he's been working in the kitchen so we didn't get enough time to really catch up, but it was awesome to just see him and say hi! Two other familiar faces I've seen have been Elder Pierce and Elder Anderson. Elder Anderson actually lives in the same hall as I do and we'll talk about how we're both doing and I think it's great that I have been able to see a few familiar faces! I have not, however, seen either Elder Wilson [they are twin sons of Julie's cousin!], probably because they are not in my zone because we are all going to be speaking different languages, and I have not seen David Archuleta yet (although, the rumor is that he will be coming to our zone. I didn't say it, I just heard that from some people). I did get the box (FINALLY!) earlier this week and I was happy to recieve it. I'll also be sending out quite a lot of letters today, since I've just had very little time to write them. Every letter, though, that I have recieved so far has been a highlight of my day! I'm glad that you are writting me on DearElder every day dad, but it's so nice to hear from other people! I'm also glad I missed out on all that super cold weather you all got hit with in Michigan. We have snow, but it's never been bad enough that I've needed a coat. We did, however, have a good January rainstorm before it snowed. That was sweet! [Weston LOVES the rain!] Every Elder in my district is great and we do our best to work together so that we can prepare ourselves in the way we ought to before we all arrive in our Missions. I don't think I've told you about my district yet. As I mentioned before, the other Elders in my district who are going to Barcelona are Elder Rockwood and Elder Lindsay. I used to be in a trio companionship with the two of them but I am now companions with Elder Norman, whose original companion left the MTC for health reasons. Elder Rockwood comes from Sandy, Utah and is a whole lot of fun. He played football back in high school and made a whole lot of money doing sales before he came out on his mission. He has a girl back home regarding whom he has a semi-mural set up in his room with pictures of the two of them together. He always talks very highly of her (almost to the point of annoying the rest of us, but I think it's funny in a sweet way). He is very laid back but has a strong spirit and has had some past experiences that has helped guide him so he knows what his mission will do for him. Elder Lindsay is the polar opposite of Elder Rockwood, but in a good way; he makes up the other half of their companionship. He is our District Leader and he is very studious and determined to get everything right here in the MTC. He's from Boise, Idaho and went to BYU for a semester. He's one of the few Italians I've met and he did want to go to Italy but he's also very excited to head out to Barcelona. Elder Norman is from Corinne, Utah and he is going to Chile. He had a lot more formal education in Spanish than I did and I'm trying my best to catch up to where he is and he's helped me learn to study more and stay on task more. He's the kind of guy who just always has something to say about whatever you are talking about, but the thing he always talks about (besides wanting to hold a girl's hand) is soccer. He got mad at me when I told him I didn't even know that Barcelona had one of the greatest soccer teams in the world (true story) and he's asked me to trade missions with him. I declined since I'm not a huge fan of sleeping on dirt floors (kind of a true story). Two of the other Elders are heading to Chile, who are Elder Fergusen and Elder Curtis. Elder Fergusen is fantastic and lived in Dallas Texas before he came to BYU. He's a lot of fun and always has nice things to say. Elder Curtis is a huge fan of basketball and has stated that it's his life. I don't know if he's gone a day without mentioning Jimmer (pronounced like Himmer when he's speaking Spanish) and he is definitely the goofball of our group. The four other Elders are all going to Honduras, and the two companionships are Elder Evans and Elder Unitt, and Elder Comstock and Elder Oveson. Elder Evans is from Utah and worked as a personal trainer at a gym and he is very energetic and very outgoing. He doesn't know how to play the piano, but he's memorized some songs and can play them very well! The songs are either Disney songs (like Under the Sea) or Billy Joel songs. It was awesome to hear him play them, since we've been listening to church hymns for the past three weeks. Elder Unitt is more of a book worm but he's a great guy. He and Elder Evans clash a lot though and it's hilarious to see the two of them argue over little stuff. Or it at least makes me laugh. Elder Comstock is a big sports fanatic and is usually serious about everything but he has his days. He's stated that he thinks that he's hit a road block in teaching the gospel but I know he'll get to where he needs to be as long as he continues to work hard and not get discouraged. Elder Oveson is from Sandy, Utah and went to Alta High with Rockwood and he wrestled in high school, but he's one of the biggest nerds and funniest guys in our district. He's really good at Spanish (compared to the rest of us) but he knows his weaknesses and flaws and does not boast at all about how much he knows and how much he can do. He always gets the class laughing which really helps with the stress of learning Spanish. With lots and lots of love, Elder Weston Schindler P.S. Could someone hop on DearElder and send me the lyrics to the Hercules song "Go the Distance"? I would very much appreciate that! Also, if anyone finds my old Book of Mormon I would also love to have that. It's probably floating around the house somewhere. Oh.... and I would also love those pictures I left to be printed.

First letter

Dear Family, I made it to the MTC with no problems! The airplane rides went smoothly and I found out where I was supposed to go in good time. I am thankful that I was able to get a ride from Brigitte and Doug because I enjoyed seeing Grandpa Wilson and Aunt Elaine. The visit was nice and it was good to sit still in a familiar house after the several hours of flying. As some of you know, I did have a bit of a meltdown as we entered Provo but it was the best meltdown in the world. It finally hit me as to what I am going to be doing for the next two years in my life and why I´m doing it. I felt the spirit so strongly that afternoon and it was amazing to finally arrive in the MTC. My host helped me with my things and everything went smoothly and orderly as I was shown my residence area and then my classroom. We had several other tours in the previous nights and I feel like I´m getting used to where everything is that I need to go to throughout the upcoming weeks. I am serving in a trio companionship, with Elder Lindsay and Elder Rockwood. They are both very different from myself and each other but I am so thankful that I am with them since they are both so much fun. Elder Lindsay is from Boise, Idaho and Elder Rockwood is from Sandy, Utah. (Should I tell people I am from Auburn, Bay City, or Detroit? No one knows where Bay City is but I say that since I´m from the Bay City Ward, but I think they´d be a bit more impressed if I told them I was from Detroit. Just kidding, but seriously.) Lindsay is very down to earth and he is the best at Spanish out of the three of us. Rockwood has lots of energy even though he says he feels super lazy now that he´s in the MTC but he and I both didn´t take Spanish courses in school, so it´s nice to learn the basics with someone in the same boat as I am. Out of our district, we are the only ones going to Spain. Four Elders are going to Conception, Chile and the other four are heading out to Honduras all in 9 weeks. My companions recieved estimated departure times to leave for Barcelona on March 3rd, but I recieved a notice that said my estimated departure time is on the 24th of January. I am keeping an open mind and don´t expect to leave that soon, since I don´t think my visa is going to be ready that soon, but it would definitely be the best experience in the world to finish my MTC work in Madrid with the other Elders and Sisters serving in Spain. All I can do is pray, but it would be cool it they do send me out and I stay for a bit as a tourist for a short time before my Visa is all finished. I´m upset that I only got a boring forwarded message from dad this week, but none of you knew my P Day so I guess it makes sense I didn´t get any letters or e´mails. You should all jump on Dear Elder though, that site is sick. [Meaning "good!"] You may send me anything then, but for e'mail I´d like to hear from you all (ha, just kidding. You don't need to write me). Thursdays are going to be my PDays here at the MTC after today, so I am looking forward to hearing from you. But as you might be wondering, my Spanish is... coming along. It´s not bad but I wish it were better. I´m picking up lots of new information each and every day and it´s amazing to look back and see how far I´ve come in four days but I know I need to work harder. We have our second lesson with our MTC investigator tonight and thankfully I´m not stressing about things but I just know that I need to memorize all I can and keep it fresh in my head throughout the day. I´m picking up phrases little by little but that is how you learn language, so I know I´ll do fine. Send my love to my friends and to the Elders at Bay City! Tell them the MTC is a blast and I can´t wait to see them in the future. With mucho gusto, Elder Schindler

3rd letter!

Dear family and loved ones, It is so good to hear from you and to know tht you are all doing well. I am still having the time of my life and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else in the world and I'm not even in Spain yet! I got a notice that my Visa is still getting cleared, so I was wondering if you could check its status somehow. If it clears soon enough, I can still go to Madrid before March and that would be the best thing in the world for me. I actually have a new companion now. His name is Elder Norman (sounds like Mormon, doesn't it?) and I'm no longer in the trio with the other Spain-going missionaries in my district. He's going to Chile and I'll tell you all more about my entire district in future weeks to come but once again I am short of time on the computer. I cannot stress how much I love to get DearElder letters. I love hearing from dad almost every day and it was super nice to hear from both Sarita and Becca! It's nice because then I don't have to spend 15 minutes reading e-mails when I'd like to just write you all to share what I've been doing. Just know that I'm doing great and Spanish is slowly coming together; all it needs now is some very, VERY hard work on my part but I have no doubt it won't hinder me in the future. But July I plan on being fluent, and you should all hold me to that! It's a blessing and I cannot wait to share what I know with the amazing people of Spain! With a huge amount of love, Elder Weston Schindler

Letter dated 19Jan2012

Dear family and loved ones, It is so good to hear from you and to know tht you are all doing well. I am still having the time of my life and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything else in the world and I'm not even in Spain yet! I got a notice that my Visa is still getting cleared, so I was wondering if you could check it status somehow. If it clears soon enough, I can still go to Madrid before March and that would be the best thing in the world for me. I actaully have a new companion now. His name is Elder Norman (sounds like Momon, doesn't it?) and I'm no longer in the trio with the other Spain-going missionaries in my district. He's going to Chile and I'll tell you all more about my entire district in future weeks to come but once again I am short of time on the computer. I cannot stress how much I love to get DearElder letters. I love hearing from dad almost every day and it was super nice to hear from bother Sarita and Becca! It's nice because then I don't have to spend 15 minutes reading e-mails when I'd like to just write you all to share what I've been doing. Just know that I'm doing great and Spanish is slowly coming together; all it needs now is some very, VERY hard work on my parts but I have no doubt it won't hinder me in the future. But July I plan on being fluent, and you shoudl all hold me to that! It's a blessing and I cannot wait to share what I know with the amazing people of Spain! With a huge amount of love, Elder Weston Schindler Ps. I still ahven't revieced the package, but the mail system here is slow so it will probably come in today. Thanks for sending it! adn the pictures would be nice to be printed out somewhere if you can figure out how to do that!