My Last Change!

Good Afternoon Family!Sorry again for writing later than expected. Yesterday the mission had a soccer tournament among all the zones. Elder Bergquist and I attended and it was fun to be around all my missionary friends and see a couple guys that I hadn`t in a while. The only bad part was that I was having shin splints in my left leg and I couldn`t run or play. It was fun though,.I changed into comfortable clothes and hung out with the guys, drinkin 7UP, waiting for the secretaries to bring us pouch. This will probably be the best news of this entire email...I got my Christmas Package!!! =) I got the package that you all (Mom, Dad, Hope, and Whitney) sent, and I also got a package from my good friend Lillian Cruz! They were wonderful! FULL of candy and love. haha I`m actually wondering if I`m going to be able to finish it all becfore I come home! haha I`ll share the love and make sure everyone gets a taste of good old Tucker Love. =P The only bad thing is that only packages came, no letters. Still waiting on the letters. President Lorenzana has now been personally informed by me about my situation and the fact that I haven`t received physical mail for 5 months. He authorized me to ask Elder Ava, the pouch secretary, to call the Central Mission, make sure nothing got sent there by accident, and also to revise the whole Xela Mission office to find what he can for me. If it`s not there...I guess it got lost and it`ll eventually get to me. It may have just been the Lord`s way of trying my faith, but don`t worry, my faith is still VERY intact. =) I love you all and know that you`re always thinking about me, praying for me, and missing me. Never doubted it for a second. I love my Family!

This week was interesting. I don`t know what it is about the difference in the Latin and North American cultures and our seperate upbringings, but sometimes it creates tension and small problems out of no where. At times lately, it`s been hard to understand the actions and attitude of the latin elders that we live with here in Sija. Sometimes things will be fine, but suddenly the atmosphere will change and I feel like I`m walking on eggshells. It`s okay though, it`s teaching me to adapt and to love unconditionally. Today I had a good dose of the relaxing powers of preaching the Gospel. Tuesdays are the usual day that we have district meetings, and lately the focus of the mission has changed from focusing on entire zones, to focusing on the wellbeing of the individual districts. I have a wonderful district full of a mix of experienced and relatively new missionaries, and we have good times together. So, as a part of the new focus on districts, in my calling as a District Leader, I`ve been asked to direct and teach everything in the meetings. It`s a little tough to prepare for 1-2 hours of instruction, but the Spirit helps me to find the right words most all of the time. =) However, today, in our house, we woke up with tension in the air and me not knowing how to fix it. Elder Bergquist and I left early, without Elder Solis and Elder Barrios, to the meeting and I was fuming a little...I wasn`t in a good mood and didn`t have a good attitude. I wasn`t in good shape to teach with the Spirit at all, but I was going to try anyways. Before we began, I told Elder Boren, our zone leader, that my message was going to be maybe 10 minutes long at the longest and he looked a little worried. However, as I began to pray for guidance, calm and love filled me and I was shown what to teach. I taught about how we can help our investigators go to Church and experience the right Spirit throughout that experience. I also taught about the follow-up that we must give those investigators that accept baptismal dates, and the importance we have in that short time from commiting them, to entering into the water. The words and lessons just flowed...I didn`t open the Scriptures or Preach My Gospel not once, but the doctrine and teachings flowed perfectly. I felt peace, and my heart was conforted. By the end, almost the entire district was feeling the Spirit strongly and we all left ready, enlightened, and willing to put in practice what we learned. The Lord continues to remind me, every day, of the lessons that I`ve learned in the mission. The only difference now is that he`s helping me apply those lessons to how I will live my life once I`m home and released. It`s an interesting experience and I`m loving every day. =)

I love Elder Bergquist, and I hope that tonight (change night) they tell us that nothing is going to change for us and that we will finish my mission together. =) Keep your fingers crossed for me, okay? I love you!Okay, so I have to admit something, I`m not going to send a Christmas package this year...hahaha BUT, I AM constantly on the look out for fun things that I can bring home as souveniers for everyone and for my own personal mission collection. It`ll be a very fun show and tell the night I get home. By the way, Mom and Dad, if you could help me out with a little cash, the day after I come home, I would like to take a trip to the Distribution Center and buy a whole new set of garments. I was folding my garments last night and realized just how trashed some of them are, and it was kinda embarrassing for me. I want to start out my new adult RM life with new, white, clean G`s. Let me know if you`re planning on helping me out with that. =P Today I got a true blue Guatemalan hamock! =) You`ll all love it, but it`s MINE okay, so don`t steal it from me once I`m home. =) hahaha I`ve also bought some other cool little things that I can`t wait to share. Be excited. P.S. Dad, if you wonder where my personal funs go...that`s where, I`m buying up memories and getting ready to show off my mission once I`m home. =P Any requests of stuff that you`d all like me to look for? I`ve looked all over the place for traditional Christmas stockings here, but there aren`t any...they were just a thing I found once in Antigua Guatemala that one trip as a zone...sorry.Okay, about my phone call. I`m planning on calling you all at about 9AM on Christmas morning. I`m glad you`re all staying home, just so that the reception on both ends can be great and not a word will be lost. As far as I know, it`ll just be Mom, Dad, and Hope, so you`ll have me all to yourselves. Just like I do with President Lorenzana before my interviews, I think you all should think about what you`d like to talk about and what questions you`d like to ask me. I don`t know how much time I`ll have to talk, but we`ll live it up while we can, okay? I`m sure there wont but much to arrange for the day that I come home or anything, so I`m not going to worry about that. You`ve got my flight plans, you know where to be and when to be there, I`ll just have a couple requests and questions for you and then we`ll talk about other things. =) I don`t know if Daylight Savings time will mean that when I call it`ll be 8AM or not, but be ready. haha Plus, it`s Christmas, Hope will have you all up before 8 anyways! hahaha I love you Family! Can`t wait to hear your voices again!

Love Always,-Elder Preston William Tucker