The DR

Hey,
The plane ride was long. and i can't believe that you didn't know who i was when i called you. gosh. you made me feel special. jk. anyway, the mtc here is just called the ccm. the temple is right beside us and it is huge. everything is taken care of here and it looks really nice. but everywhere else it's crazy. i don't have enough time to email mom and dad, so send them this. My p-day's are on Thursday now. and we only get mail on wednesdays. we can only send mail on fridays, and it takes forever to get there. The weather here feels alot like home. The tropical trees throw me off though....and seeing the ocean. and it raining everyday. and the power going out everyday. and eating the same thing rice and beans of course, but i like it. We went to the university here and it was crazy. We were told that 100,000 people go there. We walked in at it looked like a city. it was nuts. i felt so weird on the way there because everyone was just staring at us as we walked. Seeing people with guns was weird too. Everyone here has a tiny motorcylce that can barely pull them. it's so weird. The streets are so chaotic too. It seems like there's no rules. if you want to go somewhere then you do it anyway that you can. crossing the street felt extremely weird. We talked to alot of people. Alot knew some english. It was so frustrating talking to people and then they would answer and you couldn't understand a word. they speak so fast, and cut out half the sounds...it's nuts. and i bet that you still know more spanish. like i said, everything that we've done was just review for me. Talking to people is so hard. I can write and read alot, but talking is way difficult, but i'm getting better, especially since we are teaching the lessons here in spanish. tomorrow is going to be our first TA here (here it's called a simulation). Well i have to go do my service project (pick up trash at the university, i'll try to write more later.) bye

Quick Email from the DR

hey, I'm here in the Dominican Republic. sorry about the phone, but there was only four in the whole place and plus there's always email and letters. but i'm really sorry for not calling back, i should have. anyway things are great here. it feels alot more like home here. hot and humid. bugs. etc. the temple is right in front of the ccm. i have a new companion and district. it's really pretty here and i can't wait to get out in the world. well that's all i have time to say. we only have 3 minutes. bye.

Letter to The Keiths

Letter on August 13, 2008

He says that it's awesome that the Spanish group is a branch now. He gets along really well with both of his companions, and it's not too weird having a threesome. He is trying to work on his speaking ability (in Spanish).

I guess that's pretty much all he said except for answering some of our questions.

Email to Val

Well I can't see the pictures you sent....the computer won't let me. I plan on printing some pictures today and sending them. Not too many, just the ones I like. I have gotten all the DearElders, and about my visa I was told that the flight back to Miami is for another elder...that way the church doesn't have to spend so much money to send elders home. So I'm assuming our visas are all good. I never thought that doing laundry would ever become a break time...it's random, but true. Yep, it's my last P-day and I can't wait for 3:30 to come Thursday morning. 30 minutes isn't enough time to tell everyone what I want to say, so if someone doesn't get something, I am sorry. I had to talk in sacrament meeting too. There was two districts leaving (including ours), well i guess only 1.5, but anyway I was the only one out of 15 people to speak...and President Breinholt was there. and yes the MTC President is still President Boone. We also had to sing a song, the 5 of us, and I had to say the opening prayer in priesthood, which is essentially everyone anyway. This week we won't get to teach at the TA, and it seemed like it was going to be waaay fun. But oh well. I can't believe that in a few days all I'll ever hear is spanish...it's crazy, but it's going to be great. well i have to email other people...i spent over half my time talking to you, so feel good.

Email to Mom

Hey,
this week has been alot of fun. The TA was really good and my teachers are way cool. they have the greatest ideas. I only have a few minutes left on here so i can't really type much. There's 402 of us leaving this week alone. 28 to the dr and 16 to puerto rico, so that's cool. well, i've got to go
bye.


Mom also said this about her last letter from him:
In his letter, he is pretty pumped about heading to the DR on Aug. 21. He had a lot of advice for those going on a mission or any of us who want to help the missionary efforts at home. Read scriptures and pray regularly. Keep a study journal. Read "Preach My Gospel" and practice teaching even if you feel silly. -- He has gained weight about 15+ lbs. I hope his suit pants fit him still. -- Lorra

DearElder.com

Hey, I just used this site for the first time, and it is really cool. You just type in the site www.dearelder.com , and on the left hand side there will be a line that says "Send Stuff" then, Provo MTC (Free). Click on that and enter your name and address, as well as Stephen's which is:

Elder Stephen Sherwood
MTC Box # 279
Mission Code DOM-SDOE
Estimated Date 8/21/08

They will print out whatever you type in the box, put it in an envelope and get it to him within a day! All for free! He would love to hear from you, and this only works while he's in the Provo MTC - he's leaving August 21st, so get in some free letters while you can!

Valerie

First Letter to Val

Aug. 8, 2008

Hey Val,

11:00 am Everything is going great. I don't know what to say because I emailed mom and dad pretty much everything. [lol - yeah, you can see how extensive his emails are . . . ] Did they get it? I hope so. Yeah, I can only email on Mondays. But if you want to get a letter to me faster, while I'm in Provo anyway, go to dearelder.com. It's same day delivery, but handwritten letters are cooler. Anyway, my district is way cool, and my teachers. My zone is good too. The first two days were a little, well, way overwhelming, but once it got to Sunday it was all down hill. One of my comps (Elder Gregson) has already gotten 8 packages. We're expecting another one today. The Spanish is way easy. I already know most of it. But I'm learning a lot from Preach My Gospel. Our first TA (teaching appointment) was Thursday. At first I was nervous, but it's amazing what you can say while teaching. The person was Kayce Orven (or something like that). He went to UCA, and went to Conway 1st Ward. He knew Brandon and Allie, so that was way cool. Oh, and one day at lunch I left my name tag on my suit jacket which I hung up somewhere and some guy from Snowflake asked me if I was a Sherwood. It was cool. One of the Elders in my district, Elder Walter, reminds me of our Burton uncles. He's way cool. Well, I hope everything is going well for you guys. How's the missionary work going?

1:30 pm Sorry, but I have few spare moments, so it takes me a whole day to write one letter. I got mom's today, so good job on Sis. Burchfield's neighbor. I also got my flight plans today. It's so exciting. We leave the 21st at 3:00 am. Go to Dallas, then Miami, and finally Santo Domingo. Then I go back to Miami on Sept. 20th, probably to get my visa. My roomates go a couple of days after me. Well, it was nice to hear from you. Tell everyone hey (and Elder Gregson did get his 9th package.) It's awesome.

Adios.
Elder Sherwood

7:30 Well, I couldn't get stamps or envelopes in time, so I'll have to send this Monday. Sorry. That's the problem with mail. It cost too much and I don't have time to buy stuff. Adios again.

9:30 We went to the RC again and I actually got a hold of someone. It was way cool. And it finally rained for the first time. It was so nice.

Quick note to Mom

I don't know what to write since I wrote almost everything in my letter home. I decorated my tag with a lot of stickers and it was sooo sweet, but it needed a little more work....but I just washed it. Now I'm sad. Luckily I took a picture of it, but at least now I can start all over and get cooler stickers in the DR. I'll send some picures eventually. Maybe even on the computer next week. This week I don't have time and I don't have very many good pictures. I need to hurry since I only have one more P-day left here. And sorry if I don't respond to letters very fast; I'm just too busy. Well, I really like it here, it's as if it's the only thing I've been doing my whole life...it's weird. But I'm glad that I'm here for only 3 weeks and then go to the DR MTC for 6. It's so exciting and I can't wait to get down there and meet/teach the people and learn more spanish. I already have to get another haircut since I'm leaving....it's the rule. Did I already tell you guys about my teachers? I know that I told somebody, but I don't remember who. Well, if I think of something else I'll write later. Adios.

Quick note to Val

Yeah, everythings going great. we do alot of both (spanish and doctrine). I'll have more details in my letter that i'm sending. i'm sorry it took so long...i just don't have time to do alot of the things that i want to do. i can only write [emails] to family members. if someone else emails me i'll have to write them. and if they want to hear from me fast tell them to use dearelder.com while i'm here in provo; it's same day delivery.

First Email from the MTC

Hey, everything is going alright. Well, how's everything going...even though it hasn't even been a week, so not much could've happened. I have two comps, Elders Mortensen and Gregson. They're awesome; I was worried about meeting them, but they were a pleasent surprise. Elder Mortensen is from a small farming town like ours in Colorado and Elder Gregson is from Orange County, California. They're hilarious, and really nice. Elder Gregson has already gotten 3 packages from his mom. It's awesome because we have sooo much food. The food here is alright, but I haven't tried the cereal yet, which is crazy. The first few days were a little overwhelming, but now it's not. It's hard for me to remember what I used to do at home...it's like it never happened; it's weird, especially since it's only been a few days. Alot of elders seem homesick, but not bad. A few people (including Elder Mortensen) are stressing over the spanish. I'm so glad that I went to those spanish group meetings. It helped alot. At one point Elder Mortensen thought about leaving to home, but we've got him believing in himself now. Well, I don't have too much time left, and you guys are probably tired of reading. I guess I'll email you guys on my next p-day. Later.

Elder Sherwood