Well... another MTC week. And no visa. But I did get an Apostle.

¡Hola mi familia!

I am having a good time here all things considered. I´m still waiting on my visa. No new news, but as the old adage says, no news is good news. So, I will continue to wait with baited breath.

So, last night was the MTC devotional. My district was betting on an apostle, so we went an hour early to get good seats. A security guard came out and asked if anyone wanted to be ushers for the night. We promptly volunteered. We were lead around to the front and given little pins and then told to put our stuff on our seats. See, as ushers we got reserved seats right up front. Twas a sweet deal. I then got to help people find seats and make sure that they didn't have any backpacks or cameras. Then, about 5 minutes before the start of the devotional, everyone stands up. I watch as Elder L Tom Perry walks up onto the stand. Then, we are told to now take our seats, and I sit down no more than 20 feet away from him. So cool. We had an amazing musical number , a cello/piano piece. Don't remember what it was called, but it was muy bella. I loved his talk too. He shared his testimony of the converting power of the Book of Mormon and a story of when he met a man who told him a story of when he was young and had Martin Harris testify to him that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. That he held the plates and had an angel testify to him of the veracity of the work. This work is true, and I'm so excited to be a part of it. At the end, as he walked out, he passed like, within three feet of me. I could have touched him, he was so close. Really an awesome experience.

This past Monday, we had a marathon. During two hours, we contacted ten people in Spanish, taught the first lesson, passed off eight scriptures in Spanish, read 20 min in Spanish, and mastered one grammar principle on the computer and watched a conference talk in Spanish while reading along. It was awesome. Never had two hours go by so fast in my life.

Lately we've been playing sports outside because the weather's been so nice here. It is giving me some killer hayfever, but nothing beats getting out for an hour of beach volleyball.

Lastly, today marks the start of my 11th week here at the MTC. It has been long, but I've learned a valuable lesson. That of patience. I can't wait to get to Colombia, but I can. I have learned to keep working hard, despite not knowing when my efforts will come to fruition. It's like my own personal second coming. I know not when it will come, but I must prepare myself as best I can.

Have patience in all things.

Love you all,
-Elder Gabriel Rallison