Merry Christmas!

I guess this is my official Christmas email, because I doubt I'll email next week since I'll be talking with you guys face to face! Apparently my face will be projected to the size of 96''? Not sure how I feel about that one, but what can you do? Haha. The foot fungus got super bad again, but these members gave me this weird cream for animals that they insisted would heal both my hands and feet, and it has been! There are cool drumline parties in the street by our house about once a week. Sometimes I really wish I could just jump in and contribute to the beat. The primary program was yesterday. It was a blast. They gave me cake and orange juice at their celebration after. Those were always the days... Sharing time on the Sunday of the primary program, just partying because you're finally done with it.

Last night, M-o told us that he's most likely moving to Nicaragua next week. Forever! I'm super sad about it. As missionaries, we're just a small part of people's lives, but they're everything to us. I can't believe he's going so suddenly, and after all this progress... He says he's going to continue going to church and learning in Nicaragua, but I'm nervous about it. Oh yeah, I don't think I've mentioned that probably at least half the people are Nicaraguan. Nicaragua is to Costa Rica as Mexico is to the United States, in just about every way, including the locals attitudes towards the illegal immigrants. I just love everyone though, haha. Our other main investigators right now are I-a and Y-h, unrelated but both mothers of recent converts. I-a thinks any church that talks about God is good and true. Y-h should be baptized by the end of this month if we can meet with her more! We also have J-a, who's been taught all the lessons but always backs out of coming to church.

Dad asked if I've had any other weird foods. I haven't had to eat anything else gross yet, but I hear that some people occasionally make Mondongo, which is cow rectum. I really hope I never have to try it. So yeah we have district meetings weekly, and I'm not entirely sure yet, but from my time here it seems that we have zone conferences about monthly. I think multi-zone conferences are every few months, and the mission president comes to those. I don't think they're going to split our mission since President already knows how the numbers are going to change. He says we have about 180 missonaries in our mission right now, and with the new announcement we'll soon have 250 total as our max.

I don't carry any pepper spray for dogs... But if I know I'm going to be near some aggressive ones, I get my umbrella and backpack ready to use as weapons.  Ah, how I miss the Chandler Christmas tradition! I hope you had a fantastic time and went to Pizza Pie Cafe. I didn't know that Grandma and Grandpa aren't leaving till May now! So sad. As for the mini package, the mission home would be best. We don't even have an address. So I would say mail it to the mission home if it's not too inconvenient. Thanks so much, and tell them I say thanks too! I'm so proud of you guys for staying up so late to watch so much LOST because you can't stop. Keep it up! Love it. I hope you guys get teary eyed at least once throughout the whole series. I did hear about the Connecticut thing the day it happened. It was all over the news everywhere we went. So sad. I can't even believe it. Those families are for sure in my prayers. Anyway, gotta go. Love you guys! Talk to you on Monday at 3:00 Rica time!

First Change: Complete.

I finally had turtle eggs this week! This drunk guy started talking to us on the street, trying to use verses from the Bible to justify drinking, then all the sudden he asked if we wanted to try some turtle eggs at the fish shop across the street. We went over there, and he bought us these little cups filled with red liquid and floaty chunks. The yolk of the turtle egg was in there. I don't know what the liquid was, but they called it 'sangrita,' which would mean 'little blood,' so that had me pretty nervous. I assumed it was one of those things that was a weird delicacy and hopefully tasted better than it looked. The guy who bought it for us then drank his and gagged twice, spitting some out and barely getting it down. I just stood there and Mr. Krabsed for a few seconds. Then I tried one sip of the sangrita and was like 'Yeah, there's no way.' I offered mine to the guy and he for some reason wanted it, so that was a lucky escape.

I'm sending a whopping eleven letters today! They're for everyone who sent me a letter in the package that I had a return address for, as well replies to a couple other letters I've received. I didn't have Erin's address till today, so I'll be sending her a letter at the next opportunity, but everyone who sent something in the package can expect a letter in the next few weeks! Don't worry, Mom, I'm okay. Just entering the holiday season without family or friends was a little hard at first. Everything's fine though.

Things are still progressing little by little with the Modern Family. Yesterday was stake conference in San Jose, so it was kind of awkward and pointless to invite people to church. We still did, but only one investigator came to the conference with us. Anyway, we have a goal with several of them to get baptized on the 22nd. The dog that attacked me didn't do any damage to my pants, luckily. We've tried talking to them about trying to give us a safer way across their yard when we come. I also try to just pray super hard and have a ridiculous amount of faith like Peter walking on the water, and not let the growls of the dogs cause me to falter. It's funny, but it really is a real problem that freaks us out every time we go.

There was one exciting announcement at changes meeting. Elder Christofferson is coming to our mission in January! He was just here like a month before I got here, so the fact that he's already coming back must mean pretty big things. President says he feels like super huge, new things are going to be happening in our mission very soon. Still no news about the Christmas call... I think we'll find out at zone conference this week. I think you can pretty much plan on Skype though. I think I'm friends with Morgan on it? and we're thinking it'll probably be during the day on the 24th. I'll let you know for sure though. People celebrate Christmas on the 24th here. That's when they open all their presents and have their big get togethers, and then the 25th is like a day of resting from all that. I'll probably open one of those wrapped gifts from the package on Christmas Eve to be little cultural haha.

Ah, I can't even tell you how much irrational joy overcame me to learn that you guys are still watching LOST and getting into it! Dad, the fact that you could name so many different characters and mention all these plot points was so exciting. I thought you guys would be anti forever. I'm so happy to see that you want to figure out what's going on and the roles of each of the characters. So fun. Please, keep my updated on your thoughts, theories, and questions (even though anyone who's watched LOST with me knows that I answer any plot question with 'I guess you'll just have to keep watching to find out!).

I think that's all I really have to say this week, but I'll totally send a couple pictures! Love you guys!

--Elder Hampton

Jake with the zone leader who left recently.

Jake and his nog box

P-Day Pictures!

Jake and a few other missionaries went to an amusement park for P-Day for one last hurrah before one of the Elders left to go home. They had a great time!

Nog Box

We had a one-month checkup meeting with the President on Friday in the mission office, so I was able to get my package there! WOW. Thank you so, so, so much. It's already made it the best Christmas possible for being away from loved ones in a different country. You guys went all out. I love it. I don't know how you managed so collect so many friend letters, but thank you! It made my season. I can't wait to reply to everyone. Ha, I got a few letters in addition to the package, and one of them was a card from Tyson, as in my cousin! It was a wonderful surprise, a great little note with a fantastic drawing inspired by Super Mario games. I'll be excited to write to him (as well as Vickie and Andrew, haha).

It's been a little bit of an emotionally difficult week, so getting that package totally made up for it. I couldn't even tell it's been opened. It appears that everything that was once wrapped is still wrapped, so I'll save it for Christmas morning. I LOVE the piano solos! Great idea. The candy is great! Thanks for the nog almonds! I just discovered a couple days ago that they sell egg nog here, and YEAR ROUND! Can't believe I've been missing out this long. I got a juice box size, as well as a big carton, the other day at the store. It tastes a little different, but still contributes to it being the most wonderful time of the year.

I love fasting. I have such a strong testimony that fasting is such a direct way to see the blessings of the Lord in your life. In the Modern Family family, there's a man named M---. He's always been super quiet and in the corner during the lessons, hardly ever reads the Book of Mormon or prays, and has said he just isn't sure when we talk to him about baptism. He also has a couple issues with the Word of Wisdom, and generally usually seems not very excited to listen to or talk to us. It's seemed like he just sits in on the lessons because that's what the whole family is doing. I started a fast for M--- on Saturday in the evening, that we might be able to know how we can help him become more converted, and that he could have his heart softened and be more willing to make changes and come unto Christ.

About ten minutes after I started my fast, we called him, as suggested by another family member, just before the time he usually goes out drinking with friends. He answered super cheerfully, said he was sober and home for the night, and would come to church the next day. We were nervous about anyone from that house showing up on their own to church, so we went to pick them all up on Sunday morning. We hadn't even approached the house yet when M--- walked outside, saying that nobody else could come to church, but that he was coming. And then he walked with us to church. I was dying with happiness! The M--- I knew a week ago would never go to church without being dragged by his family. He even asked if he could have a couple tithing slips while we were at the chapel! It's appearing that he and some of his family members will be the next people we baptize. The only thing I dislike about that family is that they have like five dogs that attack anything that moves, including innocent puppies and me. They only got my pants though. I'm gonna be praying mightily every time we visit them from now on though.

I was hit pretty strongly by something that was said in the District videos we watch during companionship study while I'm being trained. A sister missionary said something about how, as missionaries, seeing people choose not to come to church and do the right things when they know they're supposed to, is probably a tiny taste of how our Heavenly Father feels when he has to watch us knowingly ignore his will. Of course, I always strive to obey His commandments, but that perspective helps me feel it and have an even stronger desire to obey.

We taught L--- and N--- for just three short weeks! They're so perfect and amazing. I doubt that Elder Baca or I will be changed this week since he's still training me. We'll find out tonight though if anything weird's happening and we get changed. We did get to see the Christmas Devotional last night! But there was nobody around to set up an English transmission for us gringos, so we had to watch it dubbed in Spanish. I understood most of it, and it was fantastic. It was easy for my mind to wander when I didn't understand certain sections so well... but I got the general messages. I loved the music, partly because it kept showing Mr. Summers playing the trumpet haha.

I have never met this Elder Kouha, but I will keep an eye out for him! We've only got haircuts once so far since I've been here. We just went to a salon. It's way cheaper here. Where we went, it was only $4, and I don't think there's really the concept of tipping. Today was an awesome P-Day! A few companionships in our zone went to a Parque Diversiones to celebrate one of the zone leader's very last P-day. . It's a small amusement park, about half as good as Lagoon in size and quality. Fun times. Think that covers the highlights of the week! Thanks SOOO much for the package! BTW I'm doing everything I can to keep the fungus under control. Some more Toe Juice would be nice. Anyway, love you guys so much! You're the best! Can't wait to talk to you!

--Elder Hampton

A Chop Suey Thanksgiving

Happy Holidays! It´s definitely the season here. People went crazy and started decorating for Christmas at the end of October. I was able to have a decent Thanksgiving. We ate at some members´house in our district. They made chop suey, and it was delicious! We also played with their puppies. I appreciate small things like that so much more out here. I love my district. There are six of us, and they're basically my family here. I won't get the package until December 4th when we have changes meeting. I did get some letters at Multi-Zone last week, which made my life! I sent replies today to Haylee, Mika, Abby, and Thad. Just so you guys know that you can be expecting something from me, but it might take a couple weeks to get there. I also met Bronson Bushnell's cousin at Multi-Zone. Elder Petersen, from Spanish Fork. He's going home next week.

I realized that I haven't asked how Milo is doing at all in these three months. How is he? Alive? Oh yeah! I totally forgot to tell you guys about L--- and N--- because they're so perfect and progressed without any problems at all. They were a reference from our cook, and we baptized them on Saturday! I baptized N---. She's 10, and she's an innocent little angel. It was such a great feeling. I'll be trying to send a picture we took with them. My first baptism! Ah. It was exciting. The fungus has cleared up a ton, but I actually haven't even used Listerine! I realized last week that the Toe Juice I have smells quite a bit like Listerine, so I tried to use a ton of that every day to see if it would do the same thing, and it´s totally been destroying the fungus, so all is well with that!

So V---. We went to have a sober lesson with him, and it went really well. He understood our purpose and was really receptive to the gospel and the Book of Mormon. The thing is, we forgot to get his phone number, and the next time we went to teach him, he had moved somewhere without telling anyone because he's not friends with anyone in that apartment building! However, we definitely needed to meet V---. For our companionship. The things we ended up discussing because of V--- pointed out some ways we need to mega improve. This is kind of coming from Elder Baca. I was pretty sad that V--- had moved and that we had no way of contacting him, and that was kind of the whole experience for me. But Elder Baca keeps saying that seeing the way I treated V--- humbled him a ton and impacted him in a way that he otherwise couldn't have been to become a better representative of Jesus Christ. So whatever, I'll take that! As with any investigator that falls through, at least we planted a seed.

Yes, I do take a cold shower every day... We have a cheap appliance that's supposed to heat the water as it comes out, but it doesn't work. I don't really know what to do or who to talk to. We keep saying we're going to figure out one day but we never do. It's kind of some terrible mental torture every morning to find the will power to go in there and shower, but once you get the courage to step under, it´s not all that bad. It's been like 60 degrees here this week and the people are going crazy and wearing puffy coats everywhere. I guess this is their winter, haha. It feels great outside to me.

I think that's all I really have to say this week! I'm going to send some pictures and a short thing for the ward.

Almost a Month in Rica!

What a week. It's probably been the most interesting one of my mission so far. The foot fungus has only really gotten worse, so I'll for sure try the Listerine thing. I'll send you a nasty picture of how gross it is. Unfortunately, I think the mission Thanksgiving dinner was just a rumor. Maybe Christmas though. We might eat at the house of some members in another area in our district on Thursday. To answer your question, mom, there are no cell phones in the mission, so we have to make all of our phone calls from our apartment. It's pretty frustrating sometimes, like when we're trying to meet up with other companionships.

We're gonna ask President if we can use Skype for our Christmas call though. Two different members have already offered to let us use their computers for it, so that should be awesome if it works out! The language gets better every day. It still depends on the person though. There are some people that I just have to stare at blankly until I can get enough sense of the tone of what they're saying so I know if I can smile or not. I'll hopefully be able to throw something short together for the ward each month. When I can't though, thanks for being willing to put it together for me!

Some things that have made this week great: We've been putting a lot of focus on this family we call 'Los Quince.' We call them that because a Modern Family-esque array of 15 people all live under the same roof, and about ten of them listen to us every time we go over. Some of them are really starting to progress, and six of them came to church yesterday, so we're really getting excited about visiting them. Last P-day we were in the city, and we went to this fast food restaurant called Mo Joe's. I don't know if it's in the States, but it was SUPER nice for a place here. They even had a door greeter!

I'm turning into quite the city boy. I hate it when it's silent when I'm trying to sleep. It's unsettling. I like the ambience of car alarms and fighting dogs. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but stray dogs roam the streets here like it's nothing. They're everywhere. About as common as seeing like birds on the sidewalk in the States. Some of them try to attack us sometimes, but most of those turn and run if you bend down like you're picking up a stone to throw at them. If they don't get scared, you just have to actually find a stone to pick up then throw it and they'll run.

We went to the temple on Wednesday! I was super nervous to do a session in Spanish, but it turned out to not be bad at all! There was even an option to use English headphones but I didn't use any because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it on my own, and I did. I thought I've been gaining a ton of weight here, but maybe I was just seeing all my MTC fat, because the other day the Elder's Quorum president and his wife told me I'm way skinnier than the week I got here, so that was good to hear, haha.

Mom and Dad, you guys have always told me that I'll find people that only I'll be able to help. I've actually found someone that I'm feeling that applies to! We were at the apartment of one of our investigators, and one of his neighbor/roommate people walked up and started to talking to us. His name is V---. He was telling Elder Baca and I about how Christ is the only person that's really there for him, that his woman left him for another man, and that he doesn't think his son is his. We were trying to eat dinner at this point, but V--- kept talking to me. He said he has a gift for seeing people as they truly are, and he was telling me how he sees me, that I'm really genuine and that I was listening to him with my heart.

It was true. For some reason I had this super strong desire to help this guy. He asked us to come by the next night, and said he wanted to change his life. V--- was drunk throughout this entire conversation, and I knew that, but the Spirit was telling me that I shouldn't dismiss him as just another drunk. We went over the next night when he was sober, and I learned how sad he really is. Because of his sadness though, he's ready to hear the gospel, and I have lots of hope and faith that he really can change, and I feel strongly that as long as I continue to care this much about helping him, and show him that, he's going to progress really well.

Speaking of drunk people, there's a man that lives around the corner from us that I love talking to. We don't know his name, but when we talk about him we just call him Jack Sparrow. He seriously is Captain Jack Sparrow. He looks exactly like him, seems to always be drunk, and has been wearing a shirt with a pirate skull on it for three days now. The funniest part about him is that I doubt he even knows who Jack Sparrow is. He bought us fried chicken yesterday. Anyway, I should get going. Another week ahead of hard work and cold showers. I pray for you guys every night as my family, and as individuals. I pray for individual friends every night too. I love you all and miss you! Thank you so much for putting that package together! I can't wait to receive it. You should get two pictures from me.

--Elder Hampton

Jake and Elder Baca at the temple

Some creepy doll

Rica Week 3

Hi!

Time is passing so fast and slow at the same time. Kind of the same way it has since the day I left. It´s surprising how long ago some things were, yet it feels like I´ve been out here a lot longer than three weeks. I actually did think of some things that would be nice to have in this package. Maybe if you run into any of my friends who want to write me but don´t want to figure out how to send foreign mail, you could tell them they can throw a letter in with the package! That reminds me, I hear that the DearElders just print off at the mission office, so it´s still just as free to send them! Anyway, I´ve been thinking about how much I would love to have a couple books of Sudokus to do at night. It´s a weird craving I´ve been having. I would love some chocolate, but it might melt in the whole process, so I dunno! Anything to help teach people play the piano would be so marvelous though. Thanks so much! Yeah the Heinz can drop it off at the mission office if they want. Or if they´re somehow in San Jose on a Monday I can go pick it up from them haha. Tell them thanks a bunch!

I experienced my first earthquake a few nights ago. It basically wasn´t one though. Elder Baca was just suddenly like ´´Whoa. the bed is shaking.´´ It wasn´t even that noticeable though. My feet have taken a bit of a hit this week. I think I had the beginnings of an ingrown toenail, but I was able to rescue it before it got bad. Now I have some fungus though, so that´s fun! It´s just the result of some foolish sandal habits, and I´m taking care of it. W---r... Oh, W---r... So these members had let him stay at their house the night before we found him an apartment. We talked to them a few days later, and apparently they were super nice and made him some food, but he was like ´What is this? I don´t want it.´ Then he was talking on his phone and walking in and out of the house all night. The wife said she doesn´t even believe he´s a private investigator. He told them he has 14 kids. He told us he has 5. Plus the family said they thought he had a gun. We started to think he might have just been progressing because he knew he could find some help with money and somewhere to stay. The night before his baptism, we told him we probably couldn´t do it the next day. He said that was fine. That was our last sign that he doesn´t actually care, so we´re trying to figure out what to do about all of that.

It hasn´t rained much this week. Usually when it does, though, it rains really hard for a few hours, then nothing. I still haven´t seen any cool wildlife really, haha. I held an iguana the other day! But that´s about it. We for sure get our best investigators through member referrals. A lot of people here are nice on the streets and stuff and say you can come by, but then they´re really hard to track down at their house and become really disinterested. We had 7 investigators at church this week. The church is pretty small. It´s actually two buildings. There´s the chapel building, which is maybe just a little bigger than the section with the benches in our church, and then there´s a building right next to it with classrooms and the baptismal font. There´s an outdoor basketball/soccer court/parking lot behind the buildings.

I heard a rumor that we´re eating dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas as a whole mission! No idea if there´s anything to it though. Thanks for the thought, Dad! It was humorous, but also made a super good point. We cannot put off what the Lord has asked us to do. Definitely applies to missionary work hardcore. Glad you guys are truckin´along with LOST! Keep it up if you like it, but don´t force yourselves haha. I haven´t had any super touching, strikingly huge experiences yet. There are just little things every day that inspire me. I´ll be sure to tell you about another investigator next week. I´ll have to decide throughout the week so I don´t waste time telling you about someone else who only falls through at the end and ends up being a psycho stalker moocher. Love you all! I´m going to try to send a couple pictures from the hike.

--Elder Hampton

Here's where Jake and Elder Baca went on a hike one P-Day 

As Jake describes, this is a "weird building thing" they saw on their hike. 

Well Hi!

Sorry this is pretty late and you might be freaking out! We went on this big hike today so we´re pretty late using the internet. There´s this mountain nearby with a long steep trail going up. Along the way are three big crosses (like a crucifixion cross) with amazing overlooks of the city and things like that. The third cross at the top is huge and you can see it from pretty much all of San Jose. It was kind of a rough experience, but I guess it was cool as long as we never do it again, haha. There were lots of very LOSTy moments on the trail that I loved.

Oh, I want to say to everyone that I´ll generally only be getting mail every six weeks at changes meeting, so don´t think that I´ve abandoned you if it takes awhile to respond to letters. There aren´t really any exact rules about if I can email friends. I´m just not supposed to do anything on the internet that´s going to become a distraction from the work. I think that having all my friends email me would just create a buildup of long replies I´d have to try to rush through in a short time every week. So I´m thinking it´ll probably be better to stick to snail mail for friends, but I´ll let you know if I change my mind.

I went on divisions (splits, exchanges or whatever) with one of the zone leaders last week. They´re in San Jose Central. I didn´t even realize that part of the city existed! I thought I´d seen the cityish areas, which are kind of Downtown Provo-y. But San Jose Central is like a wannabe New York City, which was really cool to see. Tons of American things there. Even a Carl´s Jr.! I want to go there sometime. However, fast food and junk food are really expensive here, and fruits and veggies are really cheap. Kind of opposite of some stores in the states.

Halloween was fun! They don´t really celebrate it here, but it´s a day that´s pretty much an excuse for all the youngsters to cause trouble in the streets. I don´t know if it was for our mission, or probably a whole bunch, but a Seventy apparently ordered that all missionaries be in their houses by 5:00 on Halloween. We didn´t even really realize it was Halloween till we got that phone call. They didn´t even know what it was for, just that we had to be home by then. We started theorizing that it had been revelation because there was going to be a huge earthquake, or the second coming or something. Unfortunately, it seems it was just to keep us off the streets. We had four extra hours to kill, so Elder Baca and I played some serious Monopoly Deal, took the bishop up on his offer to provide us dinner on nights where we have no food (because we really didn´t), and just kind of partied and watched some material movies about temples and stuff. We may have also watched God´s Army 2 on his iPod. Don´t really know what our mission rules are on movies. It uplifted me though, and it takes place in the mission field, so I guess we´ll call it good. Excellent, if not untraditional, messages of repentance.

We had 11 investigators at church on Sunday! 6 of them were a family we´ve never met that showed up on their own... but it still felt awesome to be able to write down that number! We´re really starting to find a lot of people to teach. The one closest to baptism is named W---. He was a homeless bounty hunter who kept missing his baptismal interviews because he was finally finding some new clients. He still hasn´t been paid by those clients though, so he was still homeless till yesterday. He basically came to us with his problem of not having anywhere to sleep on Saturday night. We wanted to let him stay with us, being a little (un)inspired by God´s Army 2, haha. But obviously we didn´t do that, don´t worry.

We were just desperately praying that this situation could be solved, partly because we love him, and partly because we were tired of him putting awkward pressure on us to find him somewhere to stay. We set up for him to stay Saturday night with some super crazy generous recent converts. On Sunday, we casually stopped by one of our investigators who lives in a house apartment thing, and asked if a room was open, and she said he can live there for free until he gets paid by his clients! Prayer answered. Awkward situation destroyed. Now we just have to get him interviewed this week and we should be able to baptize him on Saturday!

I can´t remember if I mentioned last week, but I´m the ward pianist. I´m so glad to help. There are about 100 people in our ward, but almost every single one of them sing like a confused robot. Hopefully the piano carrying the song along will help them learn how to actually move their voice to different notes, then we can work from there. I´m also teaching a recent convert how to play the piano, but it´s not going too fast because all I have to teach him is pen, paper, and my pocket-sized hymn book, and he knows next to nothing about reading music. We´ll see how long that goes on for, haha. It´s really hard to teach without materials. It´s not a super official thing anyway though. They asked me yesterday to play the piano for the primary program next month, so I´ll be doing that as well. Should be a blast.

To answer some questions: Cleaning our apartment went pretty well, but it got dirty again super fast. I´m slowly getting used to that. Haven´t had turtle eggs yet! I think the guy forgot that he told us he´d buy them. We walk SO much. I get sore on the days we do a ton. The pizza here isn´t bad! There are some delicious hamburger places. I´m doing just fine with what I have. Can´t think of anything I need for Christmas! Don´t even worry about it. People set up their Christmas trees a few days before Halloween here. Crazy. I haven´t seen the president since I first got here! He´s great though. I probably don´t have time to read all the forwarded emails every week. But if you´re reading all of them beforehand, maybe you can pick one each week that´s particularly powerful? I have absolutely no idea about the time change! Our area is very suburby, I´m discovering. Love it.

I pretty much have to go. I can´t figure out how to send pictures on this computer, but next week we´ll probably go to a different place where it´s easier! Love you! Till next week.

--Elder Hampton

The Field

Hello!

This is a little difficult to type since I'm not used to Spanish keyboards yet. It's telling me that I'm spelling everything wrong. I'll get better with time though. Sunday night was long and uncomfortable and sleepless. We finally arrived in Rica and were able to leave the San Jose airport by about noon on Monday. The mission president, his family, and the AP's were there to greet us. We loaded our stuff into a bus which then took us to the temple. I was just gaping out the window the whole ride. It was in San Jose central, which is the most city-ish area I've seen so far. The thing is, it's so beautiful. I think the best way to explain how different it looks from US cities is that they've built their civilization into nature rather than on top of it. There can be skyscrapers on your left with a huge green valley and Lion King trees on your right. Everything was just so cool and new to me that day especially. Still is though.

We hurried and took pictures in front of the temple before it started pouring. It rained super hard for hours every day for about my first four days, but it hasn't lately. I think the main season is over. After that, we headed to the mission president's house for lunch and interviews. His wife made us gallo pinto, the most widely traditional Rican dish (which I ironically haven't had again since then), and we just sat around chatting for awhile. Eventually we went to the mission office to do some paperwork. Eric Cherrington was one of the people in charge of that. I was totally surprised when he walked in the room! We talked for a bit, and they brought us some sub sandwiches for dinner. Turns out there was a miscommunication about the address. The fastest way to get any letters (and I think packages? not sure) to me is at this address:

Elder Jacob Hampton
Mision San Jose Costa Rica
Apartado Postal 249-2010
San Jose, Costa Rica

We stayed in the mission home that night, which I thought was gross at the time, but I had no idea what was ahead. The next morning we had breakfast at the president's house before heading to changes (transfer) meeting. Everyone goes crazy at changes meeting. I saw Gus Fernandez there.They prepare a power point that reveals the pictures of new companionships slowly, one missionary at a time. Unfortunately, we only got to see who was going to train, but not who they were going to train. The trainers stayed behind after the meeting and we went to KFC for lunch, then to another meeting where after about two hours we finally got our companion assignments.

My companion's name is Elder Baca. He's from Las Vegas. He loves theater/anything with a story in general, so we get along pretty well. He's been out for 14 months and I'm the first missionary he's trained. He also unexpectedly became district leader a couple nights ago, so he's got a lot of new stuff he's doing all at once. That first night, we took a taxi to our apartment in our area called Vizcaya. The driving here is CRAZY. Lanes and speed limits are only relative, and pedestrians definitely don't have the right of way. Everyone accelerates so fast, only slamming their brakes when they have to, and pass each other within centimeters all the time. They're pro at it though. I've yet to see any evidence of even minor accidents.

Our apartment is pretty disgusting. I'm usually not one to go out of my way to clean things, I just prefer to live in a way that doesn't get things too dirty. I think I'm going to try to get some hardcore scrubbing going today though. It kind of reminds me of the condition in which we usually find the houses Dad buys before we fix them up. I'm dealing with it though. I've kind of managed to lower my desired living conditions. I'm much happier when we're out and about though. I just feel cleaner. That night Elder Baca just took me to get to know some members. We had three dinners that night, but I managed to avoid the second one by politely explaining how full I was. I can say pretty much whatever I want to, but I can only understand what people are saying here about 60% of the time. It's just completely different than talking with gringos. So that night we met a big extended family that all lives in on our street and pretty much run the ward, our cook, and the bishop (who is a drummer and loves Paramore!).

You might be wandering what I mean by "our cook." There are members that we pay each month to help us out with food and laundry. We get four meals a week from our cook, and our laundry lady does all our laundry every week. That's just how it is in this mission. I love it though. I love our cook, she's the sweetest, funniest lady, and always makes us play Domino's with her after we eat. I've never eaten a meal in our apartment. Almost every person we visit doesn't let us leave without feeding us pretty much a full meal. We don't eat breakfast because we just go get fed all day. I already know what I'm going to miss most about this culture. THE DRINKS. With meals, people always give us whatever fruit drink they can concoct right there. It's so delicious, because they just throw actual fruit and sugar and water into a blender instead of a bunch of artificial stuff.

All of our appointments fell through the next day, so we just visited more members. I didn't get to meet a real investigator till Thursday. We decided to just tract one house because we could see kids inside, and the mother is interested in our message. She couldn't come to church, but we're going back on Wednesday to teach her. I feel like I could tell you so much about all of our (as of last night) 6 progressing investigators, but I'll save that stuff for the future since this e-mail is already so long. There was a ward activity with food and stuff on Saturday. I felt awkward because the only things to do were play soccer or talk to people, both of which end with people getting frustrated with me, haha. So I just played with lots of little kids, and it was fun. That night, we visited some members who hadn't been to church for a few weeks. It turned out to be because of the dad's work schedule. He works for all kinds of companies as a programmer, and he showed us all about this amazing tablet by this company called Asus. Did you know that by the time I get home, there will be phones on the market with hologram keyboards and menus that can project onto desks or even into the air like in Iron Man? I can't wait. That family ordered us a pizza.

It's weird. There's so much diversity here. After learning about future technology and having a very American Saturday night, we walked out onto the main road of our area to be approached by several different people begging us for money. As for our neighborhood, it's one of the most ghetto in our area. I like it though, it's fun times. I just love everyone I meet. Everyone. People are so amazing here. Everyone has unique, incredible spiritual gifts, members and nonmembers alike. Walmart is the closest I've come to home. I'm in it right now for the first time. It's pretty different than the US. It's like a mall. There are a bunch of different other stores inside it, like this internet service place, or a shoe store, and a food court.

Sunday was my favorite day so far. I was super nervous about the possibility of speaking, and talking to everyone, but I didn't have to speak, and everyone was so excited to talk to me! Word travels so far in this ward. I think I mentioned to one person during the week that I used to work at a pizza place, and already on Sunday, the Relief Society president asked me if I could do a demonstration on how to make pizza. I might if I can learn how to make dough by hand haha. I hope I've given a decent summary of my experience so far! It'll be easier to give more details in the weeks to come. I'm going to send an e-mail with three pictures. On is me with the mission president and his wife outside the temple. One is me and Elder Baca in our room. The other is me standing outside our apartment. You'll notice that all the houses are lined by a metal grate fence thing. Those are as standard as a front door here. Lots of interesting little things like that I'll explain later on. Love everyone and miss you all!

--Elder Hampton

The mission president, his wife, and Jake outside the Costa Rica temple

Jake and his first companion in the field, Elder Baca

On the streets of Rica--one of those buildings is his apartment...we're just not sure which one. 

Rica!

Hey, I´ve been given just a couple minutes to write you guys to tell you I made it here safely! Today is P-Day and I don´t get a companion till tomorrow. My address is indeed the mission office. I don´t remember what it is, but you guys should have it, yeah? It should end with a #6, since that´s the office room number. So yeah you can post that on Facebook! I should get back to what we´re doing, but just know that I do not even know where to begin describing how much I love this place already! I´ve only seen San Jose so far, but it´s sooo cool, beautiful, and different. I will tell you all about it next week! Love you! Bye!

Farewell, MTC!

Aaahhh! I'mma freak the freak out.

So close. So close. Two more days. I can't even believe it, yet I can totally believe it. I just got here, yet I've been here forever. The field is going to be so... amazing. I can't even express anything. People here always so calmly announce that they're leaving in a few days when asked. I just have like a breakdown episode of overwhelming joy and fear and excitement whenever I think or talk about the fact that I'm leaving for the mission field on Sunday night. I wonder what getting there will be like. Hopefully Monday is their P-Day. I've heard of mission presidents that practically send you from the airport to your first investigator appointment, and ones that give you a day to eat and take a nap. These flights will be the longest of my life since I won't be doing any of the things I'd usually do on an airplane. I really just want to get a Sudoku book at the airport, but I think we're supposed to do things that will make people around us interested in the gospel, which makes sense.

I have a goal to give away a Book of Mormon at the airport or on the plane. I bought one in English as well as Spanish to be ready for whatever situation I'm presented with. It's easy to be all pumped about it right now, but I'm sure that when I'm actually in the position where I have to make the effort to start a conversation, I'll suddenly have a fear of other human beings. We've been thoroughly taught here that we just need to open our mouths and begin talking, and the Spirit will guide us. I strive to have that faith. I just have to dive in head first. That's my method for these things. I've had to do it almost constantly at the MTC. What I mean by that method is that when I'm in situations and given responsibilities that stretch me out of my comfort zone, I have this moment where I have a split second to decide whether I'm going to hesitate and stress and get shy, or just push that all aside and dive into the situation, being outgoing and trying my best. It reminds me of pacing the edge of a pool of cold water. It's easier to just not think about the things that could be unpleasant or go wrong, and just dive in and experience it. I plan to do that throughout my whole mission, so I can find as many opportunities to teach, learn, and grow as the Lord will offer me.

To answer your question, I doubt that Elder Keysor and I will ever be companions in the field. Apparently those of us heading out into the field within just the next few weeks are going to have big responsibilities. The biggest wave of new missionaries is expected in February, and we're expected to train them. We'll be trained for our first 12 weeks, and then we're supposed to be able to train as soon as we're finished with that. That's awesome that you'll have some easy ways to get packages to me! Speaking of, thank you SO MUCH for the Chocolate Eclair Pie. It was the most pleasant surprise ever. The lady I was supposed to find wasn't around at first, so all these other medical workers sat us down and started to try to figure out what I was there for, if I needed some other shot, etc. Eventually they found the lady though and she took me to the fridge and I was so relieved. It was a super smash hit! I shared it with my district/some zonees and it was gone in about five minutes. Thanks also for all the stuff you sent me for the field. I'm going to appreciate it all so much, especially the Pod!

I don't know if I really have anything else specific to say, other than that I could not be more excited to get out and start serving the people of Costa Rica. This is a huge deal. People say your mission is like the plan of salvation. I'm finally about to leave the pre-earth life and be born to a (hopefully cool, nice, whatever) father that will train me, so I can have kids of my own (my trainees) and start many generations of families living the gospel. It's kind of weird concept. Don't know what I typed that. Some people go as far to compare your non-training-involved companions to be your spouse, but I won't venture into that territory. Anyway, now I'm just ranting because this email feels a little short. I love the gospel, and I already love missionary work! These will be the most incredible two years, I know it. So many great adventures and miracles lie ahead. I hope everyone is doing well wherever they are in their lives. Love everyone around you and look for opportunities to serve them. It's happiness. I love everyone, miss you all so much, and can't wait to let you know how Rica is! Adios.

I'm going to send several pictures in a separate e-mail. I doubt it'll work, but you know the drill. The drill is working, right? Meaning signing into my account and finding the pictures in the sentbox? I hope so! Thanks!

Jake and Elder Newman

Jake, Elder Keysor, Elder Knight, and Elder Merrill

Jake and Elder Fisher. They were college friends and are now both going to San Jose, Spanish Speaking on their missions! Kevin is headed to San Jose, California and Jake to San Jose, Costa Rica.

Jake and Elder Kevin Fisher

The district before they all started leaving into the field

Week #7--Last week at the MTC!

I'm running out of different ways to greet you guys with each letter, so I'm just going to start this one with this sentence.

I GOT MY TRAVEL PLANS YESTERDAY! So happy. So thrilled. I'm going to send a picture of my flight times. The mission is finally becoming real. It was really starting to feel like the MTC was all I'd ever know for the next two years. My mission hasn't truly begun yet though! I'm extremely glad it's almost time to get out of here. I leave the night of the 21st. My flight leaves from Salt Lake at about 1:00 AM, so I'm sure you guys would agree that I should call you in the morning on Monday during my three-hour layover in Atlanta, which is from about 6:30 to 9:30 AM their time. Just let me know what you want me to do! I've been loving every single package and letter I received this week. Thanks so much all who sent anything! I think we can put a cap on food. I have sooo much again, and I'll be lucky to finish it in one week before I go. I doubt I'll have the room to pack much of it, so nobody worry about sending anymore food unless it's something super small haha. Muchas gracias! As for letters, if they arrive at the MTC after I leave, they'll forward it to my mission. I have no idea how long that takes though, so if you have a letter to send (including DearElders) and want to make sure I receive it before I leave here, I would send it the 18th at the latest.

Thank you all, family and friends, who sent me their reactions to conference. I loved reading those, seeing what everyone's favorite talks were, and hearing thoughts and decisions regarding the new missionary ages. It's funny that you asked if you can put "O Lord, My Redeemer" on the iPod, Mom. I was going to ask for it! Someone sang it as a musical number and I recognized it and wanted it. Also, I'd love any version of the song "Lead Kindly Light." Those are my last requests! You guys should probably go ahead and send the stuff pretty soon. Thanks so much for doing it! I didn't need a calculator at all in college, so I cannot remember where that one is... It might be in one of my closet bins? or in a backpack somewhere in my closet? or actually your best bet is a stack of old high school stuff on the floor in the corner of my room, if it's even still there. That's all I can think of, sorry!

This week has been the best one at the MTC so far. Elder Bendar came and spoke to us on Tuesday. It was super interesting, because he didn't really talk about missionary work at all. He talked about the importance of studying general conference addresses and gave an example of a way to effectively do so. He shared the way he does it: DIB. (I totally thought of Invader Zim.) He goes through each talk carefully, especially the ones given by those who hold all the priesthood keys, and first picks out all the  1.Doctrine given in the talk, then he looks for an 2.Invitation to act in some way, then for the 3.Blessings promised when we act on the invitation and make a change in our lives. It was so cool. I loved it! It was a testimony builder and humble reminder that even an Apostle starts dissecting and learning from General Conference, even right after it's over, and makes such a big effort to gain something from it. The words of the Prophet and Apostles truly are the word of God, and we need to treat it as such.

On Wednesday, our district got to host new missionaries! You take them away from their families at the curb, help them with their luggage, and get them to their residence hall, pick up their books, and then finally take them to their classroom . It went by way too fast! I only got to host two missionaries during the couple hours we did it. It was so fun though, and also emotional to stand at the curb watching so many tearful goodbyes around us. Wonderful experience, though. We get to do it again this week, and I can't wait. On your first night in the MTC, you go to a workshop in a group with 50 or so other missionaries, and learn how to get to know people and begin teaching. You meet three different "investigators," and watch a companionship demonstrate getting to know them and their needs, and transition to applying the gospel to them. That companionship this week: Me and Elder Keysor! Well, there are lots of groups, so there are like six companionships in the whole MTC that have to do it each week, but still, the odds aren't very high to get picked for it, and we did! Conner Cope did too haha. We were nervous to teach in front of all those missionaries, but it ended up being really fun, and it was easy to pretend they weren't there.

Yesterday was In-Field Orientation! That's why I'm sending this today. In-Field is an all-day workshop everyone does the Friday before they leave for the field. Normally, I'd do it this coming Friday, but two missionaries in our district are leaving on Thursday, and apparently we're supposed to do it all together as a district, so we all did it this week. We have P-day today since the orientation took up our usual P-day. It was pretty cool and interesting I guess. It was weirdly bombastic and came with so much fanfare, like balloons and iPads displaying fake fireplaces. Maybe they're just trying to get us hyped. I guess it worked, because I cannot wait for the field even more now. At the beginning of the workshop, I was just sitting amongst the hundreds of missionaries minding my own business, when the guy in charge says "Is there an Elder Hampton here?" It turned out that two Hermanas from my district were in the front row and had volunteered my piano-playing, so I had to play the opening song for that whole huge room filled with missionaries, then the guy did the same thing and asked me in front of everyone later for an intermediate hymn haha. It went fine though.

To top everything else off, I got my travel plans yesterday! I already talked about that though. I don't know if anyone understands how excited and happy and terrified I am about that though. It was a really huge deal to me. Still is. I'm gonna be in Rica so soon! I can't even believe it. It's gonna be an adventure. I can't wait to share this gospel. I know it's true, and that it brings us more happiness than anything else in this world. Prayer is so powerful and real. We just need to have faith that we'll receive help and strength and answers. Everyone have a great week! My next email will be my last MTC one! So thrilling. I love life. You all should too. The weird picture of me is just a gem from like my second week here.

--Elder Hampton

PS: I don't know if you ever answered: I'm not supposed to have my passport, right? It's with my Visa? I don't know anything about that stuff. It says I'll get my travel documents the day I leave.

Conference at the MTC

October 6, 2012 (Saturday night)

Hello Family (and friends)!

We were sent back to our Residence buildings early tonight with an invitation to write our families about Conference. Let me start by saying that there is absolutely nowhere else in the whole world I'd rather have been than in a room filled to every corner with full-time missionaries this morning. The second President Monson announced the new mission ages, everyone went ballistic. The room erupted into a roar of cheering like a bunch of fun. fans hearing the intro to "Be Calm" at a concert. I must admit that for a split second, I was filled with all kinds of emotions as I thought about how much sooner future missionaries will get this opportunity, and how I could have left a whole year earlier if this change had occurred earlier. HOWEVER, those feelings were replaced extremely quickly by a powerful witness that the Lord changed the requirement at this time for a reason. All of us here at the MTC right now are supposed to be here right now. Also, the people I met and experiences I had during my year of college are crucial parts of who I am. So, in summary: I'm glad to be here at age 19, but I'm also super excited for those who get to come at 18, and the sisters who now get to serve 2 years earlier! Do you guys happen to already know of anybody, guy or girl, who has decided to serve sooner than they would have? *ANYBODY affected by this change, PLEASE write immediately and tell me how you're feeling about it!! So yeah, things were crazy today. Everyone was deeply discussing the effects this will have on Mormon culture and BYU and stuff all day long. We got to walk to the temple between sessions and we were like celebrities at the intersection because all the people driving by were so psyched about missionaries. This is so historic. I can say that I was in the MTC when they lowered the age requirements. Anyway, conference will be over by the time you get this. What were your favorite talks? I especially appreciated Elder Andersen's talk on enduring through trials with faith. I'm sure many more fantastic messages lie ahead in the Sunday sessions. I've never enjoyed conference this much. It helps to not be on a couch in pajamas with a bunch of food. I'm way better at paying way more attention to each talk. I'm literally sad that I have to wait 13 hours before hearing more from our prophet and apostles! I LOVE CONFERENCE! I'm so grateful for it and the revelation we can receive through it. So this coming week is going to be full of exciting, new things. I'm going to save those things for my email, though. There's a good chance that I'll be emailing on Saturday instead of Friday this week because our schedule will probably be different, so heads up.

Oh yeah! I could really use a cheap watch. I have no way to tell time and I'm always asking my companion. Anything will do. The cheapest of cheap. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed conference! Hope to hear from you soon. 2 more weeks till Rica!! Can't wait. Love you all! Oh yeah, Dad, I'm really sorry that I haven't been able to go to Priesthood session and dinner with you as much the past couple years. I was thinking tonight about how much I miss that tradition. I'll look forward to doing it again in October 2014!

I miss everyone! Love you, bye!

Week #6! Counting Down the Days Until Rica!

Hola otra vez!

Thank you for the updates on other missionaries. I loved reading those, so for sure keep 'em coming while I'm at the MTC... which should only be for 16 more days! I know my address says I leave the 23rd, but a white card I got on my first day says Sunday, the 21st. From what I hear, that card is the real date. I should get my travel plans within the next couple days, so I'll know for sure before my next e-mail. I'll also know if I'm flying Delta, which will apparently mean that I'll need $75 dollars to have a second suitcase no matter what it weighs. I don't know if you'll want to send me money for that, or if that's what the cash you gave me is for. Anyway, just thought I'd give that heads up, but we can work it out next week. That phone thing sounds perfect and amazing! I would love to do that. Thanks for getting my last check! I kept forgetting to remind you, but thanks so much! Sorry that happened. Mom being in the paper sounds totally hilarious. If you guys are able to get an extra copy, you should cut one out and send it to me!

I keep trying to think if there's anything else I'll need before I go, but I haven't been able to. Thanks for the Pop Tarts and Milky Ways! Breakfast around here will be so much better now. Thank you also for sending the CD for Hermana Stum! I'm guessing you'll do the same songs for my iPod? It seems like there would be more than 18. I know it's asking a lot, but for my iPod, can Morgan or someone just listen to a little bit of each song on the album to determine if it's religious/spiritual at all? Because I feel like some of them have weird not spiritual titles, but the actual songs are really spiritual, and I want to be able to listen to as much of the album as I can while still keeping a good environment for the Spirit. I would love to have that piano CD you guys gave me on my iPod. I'll send that to PostMart today along with those replacement pants. The zipper is broken on those too! Not broken off, but it doesn't work. They don't zip up. They were a little too big anyway. So sorry, you don't even have to find a good exchange if you don't want to. I have a decent amount of pants.

I totally did see Addison Soelberg in a car at the temple! I didn't think she saw me, haha. That's hilarious that she mentioned it. Funny, funny. It's weird seeing people I know from the outside world. I still see more missionaries I know almost every week. Most of them are just distant acquaintances though. Man, this email has really been strictly business. Sorry about that. I should share something I've learned. I've never been good at feeling that I should do something and thinking "That's a spiritual prompting, and I'm going to do it." I've always been bad at knowing which things are my thoughts, and which things are from the Spirit. Something I've learned here, through hearing certain talks and having experiences, is that it doesn't matter. I already knew that in a way, and would try to tell myself that if I have an idea to do a good thing, I should just do it no matter what. I've now learned that it might not even be as clear as a thought coming to my mind.

Being in tune with the Spirit doesn't necessarily mean being able to decipher promptings. It means living righteously enough that the way you live and the things you do are naturally the things God needs you to do. You're guided in everything you do. We might do something good just because it's who we are, without having an official sudden thought that we should do it. We might not know it was the guidance of the Spirit until we learn the results of our action much later in time. We may never know it was the guidance of the Spirit. The most important thing we can do is be obedient, and live righteously and worthy of the Spirit so that He can guide us whether we're aware of it or not. I hope that made at least a little bit of sense! I'm getting uncomfortably anxious for Rica. The countdown is on. Love you all. Miss you. Everyone hurry and write me before I'm in Rica where the mail system is poo! Keili: I see Carsen here sometimes since he's a teacher! Tell me about your life! Jared: Tell me about your life and online album sales! Please, I'm dying to hear from you guys. Anyone else reading this: Please write me. I love letters so much. Thank you everyone, God bless.

--Elder Hampton

Jake and Chance Werner

Jake and Sam Grover

Week #5

Hola!

With 3 1/2 weeks to go, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm maybe getting somewhat near the beginning of the end of my exhaustingly long stay at the MTC. Don't worry, Dad, I've been a diligent journal writer. I write every day, and always try to focus on how I'm doing spiritually and concerning the work rather than things like what we ate for breakfast. We did get to watch the temple dedication on Sunday, so that was pretty cool and great to experience! We watched the 9:00 session. Thanks for that story/thought you shared with me too, Dad! It was really something I needed to hear and got me thinking about things the way I should. The CTR shoes do fit perfectly, and I've been wearing them a fair amount. I think an iPod shuffle will be great! Thanks! I hope you can find one for dirt cheap. I don't want you guys to have to spend a ton of money on me. I've gained 5 pounds since I've been here, so I don't need very many more snacks haha. I still have half the jar of peanut butter though, so it could be nice to have some more Oreos to finish that off (a plastic spoon would help too!).

We finally got new roommates this week, but we're super upset because they're still going to be leaving before us!!! They're going to Bolivia, but they're only going to be here for three weeks because they're switching to the Peru MTC. I kind of wish I'd got to do that with like the Guatemala one or something since it's on the way to Rica, but at the same time it'll be nice to just have a constant training experience in one place, then just head out to the field. Anyway, the newmates are pretty cool I guess. One is from Kansas, the other is from Kaysville. We get along fine but there are some little things every now and then that they do and I'm just like "...what? What on earth?" It's hard to explain. I think it's just that our personalities and views on like everything don't quite match up. I try to crack awkward jokes with them to break the ice sometimes, but it ends up just feeling awkward and not like a joke. They stare blankly a lot. Haha, they're cool though. I'm sure once we get to know them better there will be less moments that feel strange.

I like my camera just fine! I don't have any pictures to send this week though... We keep doing the same thing every day of every week so there aren't really any developments that I feel a need to capture images for! I should have a couple next week though. Chance leaves in a few days, so we're going to take a picture tonight. Also, Kevin Fisher got here this week so I'll be sure to get a picture with him. Then I can send them to you guys and you can put them on Facebook and everybody will go cray! Have you guys even been getting my pictures? I tried to send two last week, but it sent me a return email saying it didn't work. Thanks you everyone who has written me! I love all types of letters. Love them. Thank you so much Lythgoe family as well for your encouraging letters and words of wisdom. I was so pleasantly surprised to receive those! Thanks so much. Sorry this is so short, but I really don't have much else to say! We rarely do anything different here. I'm sure my letters from the field will be huge. Just know that I know that this gospel is true, and that I'm so grateful and happy to be here. I'm progressing every day and I can't wait to serve the Lord in Costa Rica. Love you and miss you.

--Elder Hampton

ONE MONTH!

Hello there.

Can you believe I've been here for one month tomorrow? I can't. We're gonna have a huge district anniversary celebration and party till the wee hours of the morning, or maybe we'll just teach some lessons and learn some Spanish. It really does feel like I just got here in some ways though. In many other ways, not so much. We've officially watched another district in our zone arrive to the MTC and then leave for the field, so we feel like old fogeys/MTC super seniors. Halfway done though! I get so excited when I see other missionaries leaving with their luggage early on Tuesday mornings, looking so happy and thrilled, because I simply cannot wait until that's me. I had no idea there was a regional conference. We definitely did not watch it here. Congrats on doing so well in the marathon, Dad! I'm not the least bit surprised. You're amazing. One of my biggest victories this week was in a zone-wide debate that began with Elder Keysor and me. He insisted that the Jimmy Neutron movie came after the TV show, and I knew that was absolutely absurd. The movie SPAWNED the TV show. He gathered a large band of followers, and I only found a few who would stick to what we knew in our hearts from our childhood. We got a teacher to Google it on his phone, and my team was gloriously correct.

I'm so sad that Grandma and Grandpa won't be here while I am! Tell Grandpa I hope the surgery and recovery go well. Also tell them that I met a senior couple called The Wilkins, and that the guy was their stake president! They say hi. An MP3 player sounds great. You can rub it in my face all you want, Mom! Haha. Getting one and loading it with songs was just one more thing I didn't want to have to do in the crazy days leading up to my departure. But now it sounds very nice, and I would love it. Another song that I would love if you can find it is one called "Precious Savior, Dear Redeemer." I don't know any specific versions of this one either, but I'm sure any will do. I also realized that if you haven't been able to find the Sufjan Stevens album, you can download it from my iTunes account with the Cloud thing. I'll give you that info if you need it. Also, can you burn an extra copy of the Sufjan album onto CD's and send them? A sister, Hermana Stum, in our district heard me mention it and said she would really, really love a copy. She realizes that's kind of asking a lot-ish though, so if not, that's fine.

Thank you to all the friends who have written me in the past week! I loved it. Please keep it up! Letters are what keep me going on the harder days. NALISE AND SISTER OLSEN! Oh my goodness. Thank you SO much for the many, many treats. I am absolutely loving them, as is the entire floor of our residence building. That was so thoughtful and nice of you guys. Nalise, I want to write you back, but I don't have an address! But really, thanks so much. Thank you everyone for everything! I'm just filled with so much love for everyone I talk to here and receive letters from. The Spirit is so abundant. Part of the reason why is because I watched a life-changing talk last Sunday. It was an MTC Fireside, so I don't know if it's available to the public online. But if you can find it, everyone reading this watch "The Character of Christ" by Elder Bednar. I promise you'll see things differently.

I'm also loving teaching more and more every day. Even though they're not real investigators, I get so nervous every time we knock on the door to a "house." However, the Spirit guides us, and I leave feeling so fulfilled at the end of each and every lesson, and time just flies by while we're in there. Oh yeah, family, Sister Toleafoa is a sister in my district and her family lives in Orem. So if you ever happen to meet them, you'll have a fun connection. I think that's all I really have to say this week! Again, thank you so much everyone for everything. I'm enjoying my time here decently, but I can't wait to get out into the field! Love you all and miss you as always.

--Elder Hampton

Here is the link to the talk Jake mentioned:
 http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/ReligionSymposium/2003_01_25_Bednar.htm

Week #3!

Hola everyone,

Time is passing more quickly the longer I'm here. Next week I'll be about halfway done! It's weird sometimes to think that my actual mission hasn't even started. I'm hardly getting the tiniest taste of what my life will really be like for the next two years. I'm still loving this experience though, and know that I'll love that field infinitely more. I'm jealous that you guys got to see Wicked, and in the front row!!! I can't believe that someone in our family actually won a contest, and I also can't believe you happened to sit in front of people from Orem. I'm glad you guys had fun in New York and were safe (especially flying back on 9/11), and I'm so glad that Dad's kidney stones subsided while you were there! I hope you're able to run the marathon tomorrow. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

I don't think I remembered in my reply to thank Addy for the candy bar that came with her letter! It was delicious, as are the peanut butter and oreos. Thanks so much for all the stuff you've all sent me! My mail traffic from friends has slowed down, and actually almost stopped. I would love to hear from my friends. All of you reading this, please write me! If you don't want to handwrite a letter, use DearElder.com. It's super easy! Tan, Keili, Jared... still waiting on all of you!

Our roommates left for the Guatemala MTC on Tuesday! It was really sad. We'd bonded a ton over the short three weeks. So now our district is down to 9. I don't think we'll gain or lose again during our time here. I think and hope that we'll get nubes (that means clouds in spanish, but we use it to mean newbies/n00bz) next week, but I don't think they'll be in our district. Are Grandma and Grandpa coming on Monday? Even though they'll only be here for a week, I think I'll definitely see them if they're here at the same time as me. I see so many senior missionaries all the time everywhere. I really hope they come next week. I will be so thrilled to see them. We've been teaching another "investigator," and it's been way more difficult than our other one. I like it though. It's a challenge, and I think he's a lot more realistic to how many people will be in the field. He's actually the guy that's been our teacher since we got here, but he's an amazing actor because I don't see him as our teacher at all when we're giving him lessons.

Music is still causing me to suffer some days, but not as much as it did at first. When I went to the post office today, "Kill the Messenger" by Jack's Mannequin was playing quietly. I was so satisfied. It was so weird and amazing to hear that kind of music again, even if I really haven't been here that long. Music! I keep forgetting to tell you guys. I meant to pack the album "Songs for Christmas" by Sufjan Stevens, because I hear most mission presidents allow it. Can you guys get it to me in some form? It's two discs... I think you should be able to find it in the bin of stuff that I packed and left by the treadmill. There's a HUGE bag of CD's in there, and I think it's in there somewhere. They're burned CD's that probably just say "Songs for Christmas," but not Sufjan Stevens on it anywhere. Let me know if you can't find it and we'll figure it out. Also, in one of the first devotionals I went to here, these Elders sang a song that I think was called "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee." It might have been my favorite church song I've ever heard. I don't know if you guys can find a version of that song you think I would like and somehow get it to me, even if it's a CD with just that song, or like an MP3 player with Sufjan and that. Either way, I won't be able to use it till the field.

Anyway, I'm learning so much here every day about being a missionary, an effective church member, a disciple of Christ, and so much more. I love it. This is such a huge, important experience for me to have, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Thank you guys for all your love and support and postage! Love you all, miss you and think of you often. Adios!

-- Elder Hampton

Week #2

Hello all,

So apparently there was an earthquake in Rica? That's sad that someone died, but I'm glad it wasn't worse. I wonder if there will be lots of cleanup stuff for us to help with when we get there. Should only make things more adventurous, so I'll look forward to it. Tell Kenny I say congrats on his mission call! That's so great. Thank you for already being faithful to my DVD/CD list haha, and for all the donuts and Swedish fish and letters! I thought of something I would love to eat: oreos with peanut butter. If you sent me some, I'd be like three points happier. I'm usually pretty happy here already though.

I love the Sunday and Tuesday devotionals here. I'm waiting for the day that an apostle comes. I'm sure I'll see one if I'm here for a full 9 weeks. Everyone always starts rumors each time that the prophet is coming. It's fun. This past Sunday we got to watch President Monson's 85th birthday celebration which was really cool, and sort of a chance to hear non-hymn music. We watched an old video after called The Labor of Love. It's a cheesy 80's movie with a returning missionary telling his experiences to a stranger on his plane ride home. I absolutely thrived on every single second of it. Our district started this game called "Aspasins" where we all have two lives represented by these little sticky notes we keep with us. When you hear someone speaking English when they could have been speaking Spanish, you shout "Aspasins!" and take one of their lives and keep it for themselves. The last person with lives wins. It could be pretty helpful and sort of fun, but nobody's really playing it. It is making me speak more Spanish than I would be though.

The room next to us was quarantined or something because they had bed bugs!!! We're gonna die. The pictures you should get with this email are a picture of our district and one of just me and Elder Keysor and our roommates. Their names are Elder Moberly and Elder Sparacino. They're leaving on Tuesday for the Guatemala MTC, which we're really sad about. It's gonna be weird without them. We'll laugh significantly less. Anyway, I gotta go. I've felt the spirit so much in the past few days though while reading Jesus the Christ! It's so amazing. I highly recommend. Love you all, always missing of you and thinking of you often. Adios!

--Elder Hampton

The district

Elder Hampton and his comp Elder Keysor, and their roommates Elder Moberly and Elder Sparacino

WEEK #1

Hola!

Thank you everyone for the letters you've sent, and also for the cookies. Overall, I love the MTC so far. After you guys dropped me off, they walked me to a building to check in, and the way it was set up really reminded me of joining the DHARMA Initiative. My companion's name is Elder Keysor. He's from Danville, California. He's a pitcher for BYU baseball. He's going to Costa Rica as well, and he actually won't even turn 19 till we're there. We get along great. It's only been like ten days, but it already feels like I've known him and our roommates for a lot longer. Somehow, I came here thinking that I'd have to be pretty serious 24/7 for the next two years, but it's actually been the opposite. I've laughed to the point of tears more in the past week than I have probably all summer. We have so much fun, and so many inside jokes already. One of my roommates is one of the funniest people on the planet and he doesn't even know it. We're all serious when we need to be though. Elder Keysor and I were the first one's to get our district's "investigator" to commit to baptism! Even though it was just a practice, it still was the best I've felt since getting here.

Our district has already changed a couple times, and will change again in a couple weeks, but for now, there are 11 of us total: 7 elders and 4 sisters. My companion is the only other person I've met that's going to Costa Rica, but a few missionaries have mentioned they have friends here going there. The rest of my district are going to Guatemala, Chile, Louisiana, New York, and PROVO (all Spanish-speaking of course). It's just one of the Elders that's going to Provo. His name is Elder Page and he's from Minnesota. He's half black, tall, skinnyish, and his mission covers Orem, so if you ever meet him, feed him dinner. To answer Dad's question, we do only get to go to the temple on P-Day. We went this morning and some of us ate in the cafeteria after. It was a good, spiritual time. It was nice to be in a building I was familiar with.

The food here ranges from 2/5 to 4/5 on my scale. A lot of it looks really moist and delicious, then turns out to feel and taste like a plastic toy. I wasn't hungry at all the first few days. Last Friday was the first time I actually ate more than a few bites. It was Papa John's pizza. I still don't get hungry very often, but I eat most of what I get at meal times. I always try to mix Sprite with the different juices they have, but they're all gross except for when I do it with apple, because then it tastes a little like apple beer. I've seen tons of people from OHS here. I've seen Tay and Chance. I see Evan Johnson (Ventana/Tie One On) several times a day. We talk a lot during gym time. Gym time... I like pretty much everything at the MTC, but if there are two things I don't like, it's shaving every day and gym time. I've kind of established myself as the weirdo who bums around the track alone humming to himself. I'm not really kidding. I know it's a commandment to exercise though, so I usually try to mess around on a bike or eliptical for a lot of the time while my companion plays basketball.

I really do hum a lot. I hum through entire albums sometimes. I miss music SO much. We can't listen to anything here, but even if we could listen to mission music, I'd still be dying. It's really been hitting me the past couple days now that I've been here longer than a week, because I've done a week without music before for scout camps and things like that. I'm slowly getting over it though haha. To answer some other things people have asked me: there's nothing really specific we do on p-days here besides temple and laundry, and of course e-mail. I'm really liking learning and speaking Spanish. It's nice to be using it and hearing it a lot again. I weirdly missed it after I was done with it in high school. There's a returned sister missionary who I think actually lives near our house. Tawni (spelling?) Christensen? She came into our classroom. She lived in Costa Rica this summer and told me and Elder Keysor about the living conditions and taught us some Costa Rica slang.

I'll try to write replies to Morgan and Addy's letters today, as well as other people reading this who are awaiting written replies. I'm sure you'll post this on Facebook and stuff, so I need to say a couple things to people: Sam, thanks for writing me that letter! I hope this email answers most of the questions you asked me, because I can't write you back without a return address! Marci, thanks so much for the nice letter! It made me feel so good. Tan, you should probably write me sometime since Sam and your mom have and you haven't haha. Also, give my family $40.


Love you all and miss you! Sorry this is a little short, I'm scared that it'll kick me out of the account when my 30 minutes are up! I'm not sure if it worked, but there should be a picture of Elder Keysor attached. Adios!

Until next week,

Elder Hampton


PS please send me a picture of me getting my black belt, just like with a package or letter. My companion and roommates don't believe me

Jake and his companion, Elder Keysor