Letter - Received Wednesday, April 22, 2009

April 19, 2009

Dear Mom, Dad, and Hope,

I'm always so glad to hear good news from home! I wish I could've been with you guys at Disneyland; it sounds like everyone had their dreams come true last week. I'm happy that the Tidwell family had such an awesome experience, especially Uncle Gordon. He deserves to finally let out his inner child. :) Dad, I'm so proud of you for taking my requests to heart, I really believe your life is going to change drastically over the next two years. Mom, it is great to hear about how your experiments and school schedule is all falling into place now. I totally would've been in on the tye-dye extravaganza if I was home for it. It's also so encouraging to hear about Mom's studies in "Jesus The Christ" and my whole family's growing efforts to come unto Christ. That's my purpose in my mission, as stated in "Preach My Gospel" Chapter 1: "Invite others to come unto Christ..." and I'm glad that my family is following His example even while I'm not home. Hope, I'm glad to hear that you're being brave for me. I love you so much! Stick with it and I'll be home before you know it. I'm going to try and send you a birthday card, but in case I don't get to before I leave for Guatemala, I wanted to wish you an extremely happy 10th birthday! I'll be home for number 12 and I'll bring you back something pretty from Guatemala, okay? Again, I love you so much and miss you every day. Matt, get better quickly cousin. I know the Lord was looking out for you and that he truly does love you. I'm sorry about your car, but I'm just glad you still have your life. Ask for a priesthood blessing for your arm and you'll get well a lot faster. Stay safe, I love you. Aunt Metzie, you WOULD spend your time off work using power tools! So glad to hear your hobbies aren't changing. :) It brings peace to my heart to hear that Kim's family is attending church and that her boys are doing so well! Kim, I love you always, keep up the good work sister. :D I've always looked up to you as kind of my big sister (figuratively, because I have been taller than you since I was 12) and I've been so excited lately to hear how well you've been doing in church and school. Mom, thanks so much for keeping me up to date on family news. If you could, make sure that Josh got the letter that I sent him this week. I don't know how fast DearElders will get to me in Guatemala, but I do need to keep hearing from everyone. :) It keeps my feet on the ground underneath me. As for packages, I feel like I have everything I need, along with quite a few things I could only hope to have. I received my "Pack-It Folders" and I'm excited to see how much space they will save me. I have to pack tonight, so we'll see how it goes soon. One other thing that might be nice to have is a few more books of "forever" stamps, just like the ones you sent me to Provo with. Postage cost is going up in May and it would be nice to be prepared for the change.

Okay, now for a little more news. The bad: we missed a shot that I needed to go to Guatemala. It's okay though, the MTC gave me a Thyphoid immunization shot, so my record is complete now. The only bad part is that you, my parents, have to pay for it. I've enclosed the instructions and amount of what needs to be paid. I'm sorry, I would've paid it myself, but I have no way of monitoring my card balances and I didn't want to use my emergency cash if I didn't have to. Thank you for
taking care of so many things for me. You truyly are the best parents in the world. :)

As soon as I get the chance, after I get to Guatemala, I will email my new address to you at home. I'm traveling on Tuesday, which would be my normal P-Day/E-mail day, so I'm not sure when my next opportunity to write will be. I'm excited to finally be on my way. I know you all will constantly keep me in your prayers. Thank you!

The good news: Everything is going well for me at this point. The language is coming along better, but I'm still a little worried about being immersed in the language and having to get by. I have faith that I'll receive the help that I need. I completed my goal of reading through, cover to cover, my English copy of "Preach My Gospel". I can teach well in English, but I know I'm going to have to develop my Spanish much more before any of my teaching skills can "translate" in the field. Like Josh always says, "Just have FAITH!".

Alright, I'm out of time for writing. I love you all and miss everyone every day. I've taped my first memory card to this letter. Enjoy the news and the pictures of my district and I. I'm so excited to see my blog when I get the chance. Thank you everyone for all your love and support.
Love always,Elder Preston William Tucker

P.S. I heard an interesting quote today that I think one of you might find interesting. "When it hurts more to stay the same than it does to change, anyone has the ability to change." - Anonymous I applied it to my situation with learning Spanish and going to the Guatemala MTC and decided, it might easier than I think it will be. :P