"WHO IS?" IT'S THE MISSIONARIES!

HI HI family/ mom and dad

     So I was just going to write one letter but also answer to both your questions just because it’s like work to type this stuff. I’ll have to send you an email next Monday right off the bat so we can talk for a little. Sorry I didn’t call you guys. :(  I really did want to, but when I got to the airport at 5:30 I didn’t want to fight my way to a phone only to have to call you and talk to you half drugged up from no sleep, so I was planning on calling you in Atlanta, only there’s no payphones in the Atlanta airport. I asked like the head question place and they told me they took all of them out. So that’s why I never called you. Um to start off I'll just start from the landing. So we met my mission president right down the stairs when you’re leaving the airport. He’s like 6'6, a big guy. We shook hands and were then like caged outside so none of us would get lost. He seems like a nice guy but he comes off hard. We all went over to his house to eat and have interviews. During the interview he was like, "So basically I’m going to guess none of you know how to work and this mission is super hard so, ya your screwed unless you learn to work hard." For like the next hour I was like super worked up about it. I don’t know why, I was like “Really I just spent 2 weeks getting killed in the MTC” and I get this guy telling me I’m going to have to learn how to work and not think of myself. I just about lost it so I went up to him afterwards and was like. Hey could you not say like we’re all 10 years old and can't wipe our own butts.... thanks I’m Elder Aldana. It was alright, I mean like I see now what he was trying to do, but ya I was like you just can’t tell people they suck at working and then go on for an hour about how we need to learn how to work. I think that he’s a good guy but he’s like a millionaire. I guess he made the Cheetos guy. The character and stuff so, ya he just like runs everything like a business so, I don’t know. I just came up and told him how I felt and I think we’re good now. But ya he’s a good guy just I don’t know hahah I want to like him I just don’t agree with some of his ideas. I hope it grows on me because I could care less about his work horse picture telling me I need to work hard for stuff to happen.

      As far as my companion I love him. We’re like super close after 5 days, he’s not really the type of guy that I would hang out with. He was a starting quarterback for the football team and the starting pointgard for the basketball team. So after he saw me and was like. WAIT your 6'4 and don’t play basketball....... little does he know that I’m a HUGE nerd :) were having a lot of fun down here. We're both kind of sick so the work is slow, but we're working. I get us up at 6:30 every morning and flip on the light so that he won’t go back to sleep for 5 mins. My first day in our dump of a house place I had canned beef stew for breakfast. It was not the best but hey. We didn’t have any food and my companion wasn’t going to help haha. We learn fast about each other. He doesn’t like to eat with me for some reason but I don’t think it’s because of me. He just doesn’t like to eat at the table.

     As for the people here, they’re the best; I love everyone that I get to see here. First off everyone is black. Just ya 9/10 are black and its way good. Black people are sooooo good. The black people listen to you.  When you knock they will say 1 of 2 things. 1 is "WHO IS" you then yell back through the door "ITS THE MISSONARYS" they will then yell back "WHO" and then you yell even louder "MISSIONARYS" by then you will be coming to their door. You have to do this for about 4/5 doors. It’s alright haha it makes me so happy every time. If they don’t yell "WHO IS" they yell "COME IN" so you super awkwardly walk into their house and start saying "Hey yall we’re the missionary’s". Most people here have some sort of religion but everyone takes the time to listen to you, or says they will. Normally you have to say can we come back another time and they will say sure and you come back the next day. So it’s alright only you never get to have lessons with people. But they’re all so good. There are a few nice white people, we have this one lady named R. She reminds me so much of grandma. She LOVES the missionary’s. She’s Catholic and she feeds us food. She’s going to heaven or we’re not because she’s so good. Also we met this lady named J while tracking last night. She came in and was like MISSIONARYS how are you. She’s Baptist? But she also loves us we talked to her for about 10 minutes about Jesus and how we should all try and be like him.

    Um our house is like SUPPER ghetto. It’s like SUPER brown and moldy. When I first walked in I saw 3 cockroaches crawl under our oven I almost just walked back to the car and slept there. Haha it’s such a joke the bathroom is a joke the shower is like 5 feet tall so I have to duck down just to get under the shower. We also had no food. And the little food we did have was just thrown into the cupboards. We just cleaned for like 5 hours. I told my companion we’re cleaning this up today or he’s sleeping with the cockroaches in the kitchen. We’re in a duplex.  Our neighbor is the Baptist preacher. They have 3 little girls. I told my companion that we should go listen to him this Sunday and then next time we speak invite him to come to our church. I think it’s a good idea. But were good friends. We respect each other religion and just like each other as people.

    I think that’s about everything I’ll send some pictures. Oooooo ya I almost forgot. So our 3 hours in church, we talked about the Book of Mormon play........ ya the play..... I guess it’s coming to Alabama and so they had an hour in church to just bash on the makers of it and like say how bad it is and that it makes fun of Jesus and all religions. The whole hour I was like REALLY...... we’re talking about this in church. Come on it’s a play, like who cares if people want to see it, let them and if they have questions about the BOM great the plays doing good. Anyway they were not too happy about it, haha and told everyone that if they were asked to say anything about it from a reporter or something that were not supposed to say anything for the church..... Was a great 3rd hour for our brand new investigator coming to church for the first time ever.....

      The work here is slow. We have to spend a lot of time with the kids before we can even see the parents. But it’s alright; Alabama is great I love it down here.

Loves your Elder Aldana/Elder Tall/ Elder slimshady

Landon's first assignment: Columbiana, Alabama, population 4,000 Welcome to Mayberry- Opie

Landon has arrived at his first area:  Columbiana Alabama also known as the Mayberry of Alabama.

It's in the middle of Alabama.

Mayberry, NC and Opie and Andy

This whole MTC is soooo hard!

Well Hi there sis, mom, and dad. I'm only writing you now because this is our P day so don't be all sad that I haven't wrote you yet haha. um to start off it's going great! Also if you want to just like forward anything that's in here to everyone that would be super cool, Butttttttt ya to start off I got into the MTC on Wednesday? sooo also I forgot so when everyone was dropping me off at the MTC I guess that David Archeleta??? if that's how you spell it was at the car right in front of us so that's cool :). 

Alright so you walk in and all these missionary people are like here this... also take this... also you look great... also take this and go find your room........ and I'm just standing there looking around this tiny class room the only one in here like.... 0.o "hello.. anyone home." About 10 mins later this teacher walks in, Her name's sister R. SHE'S SOOOOO GOOD. We started talking about like where are you from, hows the mission so hard and everything you could ever want to know about someone in 10 mins. And all this time I'm just sitting there like, "What did i just do when I got out of that car?". After that the first person I met was Elder T.  A little while after that another elder walks in named Elder N.. HES MY COMPANION!!!! and we talk for a little bit. He's from Payson Utah and graduated 2 years ago I think. But we started to get along super good. um after that came Elder F. we're not the best of friends but we get along fairly well. He's from Utah also I think in Lindon or something?  Then came in these 2 sisters ones name is Sister T and the other one is Sister Johnson and they're both like tunnel vision won't say a word to us. Kind of like ya hi we're here we also live in Utah around Eagle mountain. Also everyone in my district is going to Alabama, other then Sister J and Sister B. So Sister B comes in like 3 hours late, she's from Arizona and she seems like kind of down to earth. So far everyone else is like the Gospel is like the best thing in the world and like if you don't have it you're evil and its my job to get out there now like. The only reason we're here is to go teach people so this MTC thing is easy and stuff. and I'm sitting here like HOLY CRAP..... what did i just get myself into. That's kind of how my first day went. Right after we all got to meet each other we had class for like 4 hours............ :/ and were just like learning about what to expect here and like rules and stuff, it was ruff..... after like 10 hour of listening to people and devotionals we get to bed. I'm sitting on my bed top bunk there's 4 people in my room, and I'm like soooo I sleep with a fan is that cool with everyone? And they're all like "ya sweet, do it, I love sleeping with a fan." I WAS SO HAPPY! I was like WHATTTT you guys too?? We all started talking way more and having fun. hahaha

I guess the next few days are all going to be summed up here. THE SINGLE MENTALLY UNSTABLE 6 DAYS OF MY LIFE. This whole MTC is soooo hard. its not like physically hard but its just soooooo hard. I've cried more in the last 6 days then I think I ever have before. The goal of the MTC is to just KILL, BREAK, BEAT YOUR BRAIN and SOUL into a humble state. I've never felt so helpless my entire life. We have class for 9 hours a day here + we have study for about 5 hours. All you do is work in the scriptures and preach my gospel. I've had the HARDEST time that I've every had before trying to learn all of it. It wasn't till about the 3rd day when I just started balling my eyes out in class because of the spirit that this place has. It wasn't till I prayed, prayed to god for the fist time in a long time from the bottom of my soul and just cried to Him. I knelt down on my knees and just cried and just asked God for help. I said "God I can't do this alone.... I need some help. I've put 3 days in and I'm ready to go" 

I've never felt a stronger spirit in my entire life. I felt like I would get crushed it hit me so hard. I understood for my self that without you having faith in God and putting in the work here. This MTC was set up to to where it DESTROYED ME. I just can't even put into words how hard this is for me, but I cant bring myself to leave. I push myself as hard as I can to learn all I can. So that I can know for myself. So for the next 2 years I can say that I KNOW... GOD LOVES ME. I KNOW THAT HE DIED FOR ME, AND MADE A WAY FOR ME TO COME BACK TO LIVE WITH HIM, AN THAT I KNOW THAT GOD WILL ALWAYS BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED HIM MOST. 

hmmmmmmm its hard for me to put into words everything I've felt here. Its not all hard also. Its soooo much fun here now hahaha. Me and Sister B are like best est friends ever. She's so much like Shea. We just tease and mess with each other all the time. I also relate to her the most. We both came out here not really knowing what we were doing and have both grown so close to God and each other. We're way good friends haha. That's all I can make myself say. I hope that all you kiddies reading this are like crying right now, thinking like heck Landon why do you do this to yourself come back.. we miss you. I'm having some of the best days of my life out here. I would love nothing more than to come live back home and hang out with everyone, but I cant right now. I can't bring myself to leave everything, that I've learned to think that I might have not met these people. 

It just kills me to think about that. Sooooooo too bad for you all I'm going to stay out here for 2 years. bwahahaha. But just know that I miss you all sooooo much. I pray for you. I think about you. I love you guys more then I could ever tell you in a letter or an email. But just know that whatever happens in the next 2 years I'll always remember you guys and love you. 

Well I could write for days, and I'm not kidding DAYSSSS if I had the energy and time to do it. So I'll finish up here fast. PLEASE just write me anything. The Sisters get like 10 letters a day I swear and same with all my other elders. Only me and Sister B don't get letters, we both got one yesterday saying WHY HAVE YOU NOT WRITTEN US YET...... I'll write all of you!

WELL I love you guys miss yaaaaa

LOVE ELDER ALABAMA er ALDANA

P.S. feel free to email me. We get a letter every time you email us so. ya email me please I want to hear about how much all of you are crying, and also for Mama I don't have your email so someone email this to mom.... Shea plz 

so the pictures-  Elder N is the one in with in the second picture? we look like were dating or something haha

 Sister Burup is the taller girl on the far left? in the red dress. sister Troter is the one in the white dress and sister Johnson is in green one? Elder Farr is the other elder in a grey suite and elder Tanton is the other guy you don't know.

Landon entered the MTC on 1-7-2015

                Landon entered the MTC on January 7th, 2015