"Although you are missing your son, be confident that he is being well cared for and loved while he is away from you. He is part of our mission family and we love him all ready."

Friday, 24 August 2012

Dear Brother & Sister Forshee,

I am writing to let you know that Elder Forshee arrived safely on Wednesday in Bulgaria after a long and tiring trip.  He was brought to the Mission Home where a light lunch was served to the newly arrived missionaries.  After what seemed like endless paperwork was completed, interviews with the Mission President, President Wilstead, were conducted.  Then he was taken on excursion to a local park for a brief introduction to Bulgaria and an opportunity to talk with the people.

A pair of local sisters prepared a delicious Bulgarian dinner for the new arrivals. There was a testimony meeting held for them and then they were taken to their accommodations for the night.  It will be a memorable day for him, once he recovers from jet lag.

On Thursday Elder Forshee attended orientation and training meetings then he departed after a lunching on Domino's pizza with his new companion, Elder Barber, for their assignment in Stara Zagora.

I am enclosing a picture that was taken at dinner with President and Sister Wilstead on their first evening together.  Although you are missing your son, be confident that he is being well cared for and loved while he is away from you.  He is part of our mission family and we love him all ready.

Thank you for all you do to support Elder Forshee in his service to the Lord.

With warm regards,

Sister Segeberg
Bulgaria Sofia Mission

Bulgaria Sofia Mission Contact Information

Bulgaria Sofia Mission Contact Information

Mission Office

Bulgaria Sofia Mission

yl. Marin Drinov No. 21

1504 Sofia, Bulgaria

2013053 [at] ldschurch [dot] org

"Thank you for the fast yesterday, I am feeling great!"

8/20 (6:15 am!!!)
Okay, so I can get the luggage tag here. My big black one already has one built in. I can't really think of anything else that I might need at the moment. Maybe one extra thing of deodorant? I'm on my last one. I am so excited to leave!! Sorry this email is so early, but we are doing our laundry right now, and we will be in the temple most of the rest of the day. I am hoping that my carryon won't be too bad, but I will just pay any overweight fees they want. Hopefully they won't even weigh it. How is everyone doing? I hope great. I am very excited to leave. This time tomorrow, I will be on my way to the airport. I am sending the package home today, and there is a book inside of it. You need to GATHER everyone, and then read the inside cover. (Little surprise.) Thank you for the fast yesterday, I am feeling great. It just hit me that, I don't have to be here in the MTC anymore! But now I get to go to a country where I don't understand a single word anyone is saying. Oh well, it will be a great ride. I am not even going to care about time limit today, so if I get a free spot, I will get back on to email. I love you! Wake up and email me back, and I'll talk to you tomorrow. :)

Старейшина Форши

8/20 (5:47 pm)

Sorry, it has been a CRAZY DAY!!!! Laundry at 6, Temple from 8 - 12:30 (inititories and session), then on to packing! It took me SO. LONG. I was overweight, so I sent a very heavy package home to you guys. You should be receiving it in just a couple of days. Ummmm, yeah so I leave tomorrow!! I can't believe the day is here! I am going to check for your package in just a couple of minutes, and I severely hope its there. I tried to buy luggage tags for my bags, but they were out. My big important bag has one built in, but my other one doesn't. I will either buy one at the airport, or just hope that it gets there safe and sound. I leave here at 6am, arrive at the airport by 7:30, check in and security, I will probably plan on talking to you at about 8:30 tomorrow morning, if not earlier. My flight leaves at like 9:30 i think? Then we get to DC at 3:50 DC time, so i don't know the conversion. Then our flight leaves there at like 6, and we get to Frankfurt at 8am frankfurt time, then an hour later off to sofia!!! I'm so amazingly excited. We are having a huge (and illegal) party tonight with all of your food. I wrote some letters to everybody in the big package, and it looks like I should be okay on weight. I'm prepared for any overages though.... SO! I'm so happy to be leaving, because I know that the Lord will help me through all of the challenges in my life. I can't wait to share the gospel with the people of Bulgaria. I might be able to get on again tonight, but Im not quite sure. I miss you all, and I hope that you are doing well. Peace out!!!

-- .
Старейшина Форши

"We will have a kick butt party on Monday night!!"

8/18

Hey! So we just got the huge package. Thank you so very much. It really lifts spirits around here. I love you all so much! Tell everyone thank you for contributing, and we will have a kick butt party on Monday night!! Everyone says thank you so much for the gum and the card. We really do appreciate it. I love you so much!

 

I'll think of anything else that I may need in the next little while, and send it off to you. Love you so much!

Старейшина Форши

"Countless times he has told us how numbers do not matter to him, and if he is simply doing his best, he knows our Heavenly Father will be proud of him."

8/13/12

Dear Forshees,

My name is Elder Spencer Hoy. I am from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and I have been called to serve in the Bulgaria, Sofia mission. Here at the MTC, I have been blessed to have had your son, Elder Nick Forshee, as one of my companions.

I am writing this letter to thank you for raising a son like Nick, I mean, Elder Forshee. He is a great role model to all of us. Thank you especially for encouraging him to develop his musical talents! He has a beautiful voice, and our entire district loves to hear him sing.

He has a great knowledge of the scriptures, and his ability to apply them to life has been a huge benefit for us as we have taught our investigators.

But above all else, thank you for raising him to be an optimist. Countless times he has told us how numbers do not matter to him, and if he is simply doing his best, he knows our Heavenly Father will be proud of him. I am trying to develop that same optimism in my own life.

In short, thank you for being awesome, for I know for Elder Forshee to have turned out this way his parents must have been amazing!

I wish you the best of luck with whatever your future may hold!

Your fellow missionary,

Elder Hoy

Ps: Elder Forshee does not know I have sent this letter. I don’t plan on telling him, but you may tell him if you wish.

"Can you believe that I leave in a week! That is crazy!!"

8/13/12

How are you? How was Bear Lake and you are going to California? I won't be needing an international calling card, because I will not have any time in the layover in Frankfurt. Can you believe that I leave in a week! That is crazy!! I am seriously ready to get out of here. I don't want to be at the MTC anymore, I want to be away from here. My 30 minutes starts now, so write back!!

Also, I am going to be sending a package home the monday before I leave. I am out. of. room. I am actually having to sacrifice a couple of things to get it on the plane. I am flying Lufthansa from DC to Frankfurt, and also from Frankfurt to Germany. I NEED someone to research carryon specifications, because the paper I was given only said 18 pounds. I can't do 18 pounds. No clothes, I will be sending stuff home. My companions are still Elders Hoy and Stratton. My entire district is going that day unless our visas don't come. We still haven't heard anything. And no family emails. I haven't taken any other pictures, so there won't be another card. I will email anything I get to you right away in bulgaria.

The airline. I need you to research their carryon policy. The paper I was given says that I can only have 18 pounds. Also, I need at least $500 in my checking. I will be reimbursed in Bulgaria, but luggage will be expensive.

OH and in answer to your question, yes I will be calling you, not the day before, but the day in the airport. I leave the MTC at 6:30ish in the morning, probably getting to the airport at 7"30. I need to check my bags, do security and whatnot, so I will probably be able to call you in Salt Lake around 8:30 8:45ish. Will you and Dad be together?

K I think I know what this is. We just got 700 new missionaries this week. The servers are completely overjammed. I have to go start laundry now, but if there is an open computer, I will go and take it. Love you both!

"So, I got my travel plans!!"

8/12

Hello family,

I hope you are all doing well! I haven’t heard from you in a long time!! Either dearelder is screwing up or something is going wrong because I haven’t gotten anything in like a week! But oh well, email is fun! So I got my travel plans!! I leave the 21^st at 6:00 am. I get to SLC and leave SLC at 9:41 am to Washington DC. I have about a 2 hour layover there and leave at 5:55 pm (DC time). I have to be at the gate at 5 though. I should have about 20-30 minutes for a phone call. My flight over the Atlantic gets to Frankfurt, Germany at 8:05 am (Frankfurt time). Another layover then at 9:40 we go to Sofia, arriving at 12:50 pm (Sofia time). I will be exhausted but excited! I’ll talk to ya Monday with more info. Love you!!!

~Nick

Another SD card!!! YAY!!

8/8

Hello again!

 This would be your favorite missionary if you hadn’t guessed before. J So, here is my SD card (hopefully). This one can not get lost! There are some pictures of Taylor and I, and the guy in the blue with red hair and glasses played Joseph Smith in Prophet of the Restoration. Way cool!!

Hope you all are well!

Love,
Старейшина Форши

"I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday, and that was really cool."

8/6

I'm on, if you would like to chat. But I'll start writing my big letter now. :)

Hey!! So this week was just about normal. Lots of language (which is starting to come along), and study. I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday, and that was really cool. Everything here is just about the same. Sick of the food, and the schedule. Just wanting to get out there!!!! I leave here 2 weeks from tomorrow. I ended up having a couple more pictures to take, so I sent the SD card on Friday. It should be getting to the new house today or tomorrow. I took extra precautions to make it very safe. I am relieved you got my package. I haven't been in the loop! I haven't gotten a single DearElder this week!? Are they just not getting to me? Tell the girls I LOVED their letters. They made my week. Yesterday after Mission Conference I was preparing my lesson on enduring to the end, and the fire alarms went off. I ended up having to wait outside while the fire department checked everything out. I'm doing well here, and I bought a phone card for the airports. Only suckish part is they only work in the US. So I have 500 minutes to talk to you throughout my layovers. Hopefully they are long. Sorry about the shirt mom, it was actually a gift. One of the elders in my district received it from their grandpa and it was WAY too big for him so he gave it to me. But I would totally get you one if I could. :) I just got an email, so I will close this up and start chatting! I love you all and I miss you!

Yes Dad, I got your email. I loved it! Thank you for the words of encouragement. And Mom yes, I'm here. :) Ready set go

I have no idea! Maybe I will get a ton today. Oh, and as of my schedule. This is basically it:

Monday : PDAY

up at 6

temple at 7:30

laundry at 11:30

whatever until dinner at 5:30

class from 6 - 9:30

Tuesday

up at 5:50

Gym at 6:05

Study until lunch at 12:30

class at 1:20

dinner at 5:30

Devotional at 7

Review at 8

Wednesday

up at 5:50

service at 6

breakfast 8:30

class 9 - 12

lunch 12

study till 2:30

class 2:30 - 5:30

dinner 5:30

gym 8:10

Thursday

up at 6:30

breakfast 8:30

class 9 - 3, with lunch in the middle

study

class 6 - 9

Friday

up at 6:30

basically same as thursday but gym at 3:10

Saturday

up at 6:30

study till 2:30

class till 9:30

Sunday

Sacrament 8

Priesthood 10

district meeting 1:45

Temple walk 3:30

dinner 5

devotional / movie 7 - 9:30

And that's my week! (S

No I haven't, and yes I still love all of them. They are amazing. I'm close to really everybody. And the shirts at the bookstore are order only, and mine took 4 weeks to get here. No time anymore :(

So they told us that the LDSMail servers are way overloaded right now because the MTC is filled to capacity. But I may be able to get on once more this afternoon. I love you all, and hopefully our little chat things will work better in the future. Обичам вие, и чао!

I will later. Maybe in a letter. I'm getting kicked off now. :) Love you!

Hey I need to send in my dry cleaning. However, I do not have any pants to wear. If you could send me a pair of washable dress slacks (probably black) that is 40x34 that would be fantastic. Like by tomorrow? I have no pants..... :)

Love you!

Grama Cindy to the rescue!!! She and Tom went right out and bought and sent him some pants. We can't have a pantless Elder running around now can we?!?

My response to him: Hi baby boy. I just talked to grama cindy. She is going to get you a pair of pants today, but they will not be there until tomorrow evening. She will have it to the same day delivery by tomorrow at 3, but that means it will be to you after 4. That is the best I can do. Your grama must love you lots. Not as much as I do, but I am out of Town. :) hope that works for you!!!  Question: Why do you not have pants? ;)

 That's awesome. Tell her thank you so much, and I owe her. I'll repay her in about 2 years.... :) And it's just cause I will be sending everything to dry cleaning on Wednesday. Tell her thank you so much and that I love her and you as well!!

"I had to say goodbye to Taylor today. I gave him a big hug from all of us, and wished him well after some pictures."

7/30

Hey Im on 27:00 ready go.

Hey!! So I'm feeling a lot better, and the only thing that I have now is a cough. I am working on the letter writing thing. They literally give 0 time. I will be writing some stuff today. I will be mailing a package today to the new house. (Which I still would like some pictures of....) I had to say goodbye to Taylor today. I gave him a big hug from all of us, and wished him well after some pictures. I just got back from the Temple again! It's finally open. I was so happy to be able to do a session. I have been getting a dearelder from you about once every other day on average. But then again, we don''t get them friday nights through sunday nights. I should get a lot of backup today. How is everyone adjusting to the new house? Is everything settling down? As far as me leaving, I don't need anything. Thank you for the little fanny pack (I totally thought of your race and started laughing hard) And the Kneaders was amazing. Also the gum. Tell Sarah I love her and she''s amazing. How are the girls? It''s killing me that I can't see them. I will be buying 2 phone cards this week for use at the airports. It will be a total of 1000 minutes, and I am free to talk as much as I like on my trip.

--
Старейшина Форши

Good good. Did you get my bigger email? And trevor would like you to forward him my emails if possible. Trevor.pierce@myldsmail.net. Also! Tell Grandma Cindy that I am here with her previous home teacher Elder Vernon, going to Poland. She will get a kick out of that.

It depends on when you send them. DearElder delivers to the MTC only at dinner each night. So if it is after that, it goes to the next day. I am sending my old scriptures, some letters, some souveniers, and some excess stuff to get my weight down a little. And an SD card. :)

I got to see taylor for about a half hour yesterday at the temple, then at dinner, and finally today in front of the map of the world for a little while. We talked, shared testimonies, and said goodbye for 2 years... :(

Hey so my time is up. I love you so much and I can't wait to talk to you soon! I'll get that package sent off right away. Give the girls a big hug from me, and I'll talk to you soon!

Love you!

--
Старейшина Форши

Haha I will send you some letters. Also, I just got taught a hack to avoid the timer that kicks you off. So, I can technically be on as much as I want on pday.... ;) We'll see though. Just go ahead and email me and if I get on later I'll respond. Otherwise, lots of dearelders!!!

--
Старейшина Форши

In bulgaria, Dearelder doesn't work. I get physical mail once every 6 weeks. Email is the only way to communicate. I like the house! Get me some pictures of the inside! And sorry about your leg! :(

Saying goodbye to his cousin for the next 2 years.:(

"Bulgarian is coming along nicely. I feel like I'm making progress, and I can say things that I would like to."

7/23

Hello everybody! How is everyone? I hope you are all doing well. How is the selling-the-house thing going? Did it close? Are you moving to a rental in like a couple days? How are Dad's gigs going? Is Mom holding everything together? Is Ally still working like a mad woman? Is Jesse still being her awesome self? Is Kakes still writing me cute pictures?! Is Maya still looking for me? :) :)
Well, not a ton to report this week. I got pretty sick however. I had a migraine all day Wednesday and Thursday, and now I have a chest cold. But I think I'm coming over the hump. I don't remember if I told you this or not, but I got a new companion. His name was Elder Prymak from Virginia, and he is going to the Czech Republic. He was supposed to leave last week, but he had some surgery so he was delayed. He left this morning. It was kinda sad! He was the first one that I had to take to the shuttle to say goodbye to. Oh well. He has 29 hours of travel to look forward to. :)
I am absolutely loving the new scriptures! They are perfect! I will be sending a ton of stuff home in the next little while. I packed my bags up again as Elder Prymak was and I weighed them with all the new stuff in them. I think I will be okay, but I'm sending stuff home just in case. Did you get the memory card that I sent last week? And I haven't gotten a single dearelder. Did you send some? I must admit, I am getting a little sick of being here at the MTC. The food is old. The classes are old. The people are awesome. I can't wait to get out of here.
Bulgarian is coming along nicely. I feel like I'm making progress, and I can say things that I would like to. I just need to now build up a bigger repertoire of nouns and verbs. I can conjugate anything into the tense I would like, I just dont have the words to back me up. I will be buying a Bulgarian/English dictionary the SECOND I get to Sofia.
So I wrote this letter in advance, so my ½ hour starts now. I love you all, and I miss you so much!!

Старейшина Форши

Dang it. That sucks about the SD card, because we CANNOT back anything up here. That was the only card that I had. I knew I shouldn't have sent it. That had all the LA pictures and my college friends here at the MTC. The computers here do not accept cards or camera cords. That feature has been purposely turned off. :(

Haha it´s okay. I am feeling better now, but Wednesday and Thursday sucked big time. My companionship now goes back to the original threesome. But then I get a new companion on the 18th of August because Elder Greenacre from England already has his visa so he goes in like 5 days before us. I then get his companion Elder Bellows, who is basically my best friend in the MTC already. It´s a little crazy.

I have only seen Taylor twice. We have completely different schedules unfortunately.

Everything will be okay. The house closed, so the Lord wanted you to move. I will be sending that new package, so I need our new address?

Hey, so my time is up for today. Hopefully the whole chat through email thing will be better next week. I love everyone so much, and I'm praying for you. I listened to yours and dad's messages on my ipod. I loved hearing your voice so so much. Dearelder me, and I'll write during the week. I love you!! Good luck with the whole house thing!

Letter from President Wilstead:

Included in the 7/16 email

Dear  Elder Forshee ,

We are looking forward to you coming to join us.  Sister Wilstead and I are studying your application and letters to get to know you.  We are also praying for you.  We are excited to see you.  You are on your last few laps in the MTC so despite the monotony of the food and you desire to just be here, please take this precious time to focus and learn all you can and SYL.  You will look back with envy on your time in the MTC and wish you had more time to study once the whirlwind of finding and teaching begins.  Here is a brief overview of your schedule.  After you arrive in Sofia we will spend time the first afternoon filling out paperwork, conducting interviews, and preaching the gospel to people on the streets.  We will have dinner and a testimony meeting together that evening.  The next day we anticipate training together and we will introduce you to your trainer and send you off to your assigned area.

Because of the number of missionaries coming to the Mission Home, we are asking you to help us make your experience here in the Mission Home more enjoyable.  Please carefully consider your packing.  We don't have room for all of your luggage in the Mission Home so we ask you to pack your bags so that you can live for  two days out of one bag.  Then we can just store one or two pieces of your luggage when you arrive.  We will take extra bags directly from the airport to secure storage until you depart for your assigned area, so please try to manage your packing to help us both!  We suggest that for the time you will be in the Mission Home you have available the following: Preach My Gospel (Eng), Missionary Handbook, Scriptures (Eng), journal, lesson plans, note taking material, basic language study materials, toiletry items, documents, passports & photos, clothing for two days.  If you can fit this into one bag plus your briefcase/personal item carry-on, that would be wonderful.  Then we can keep your other luggage in storage.  If you have any questions please email us and we will try to respond.  We love you and are praying for you.

Warm regards,

President Michael Wilstead

Bulgaria Sofia Mission

PS  Please have current email and cell phone numbers for your parents to give us when you arrive--
Стареишина Форши

"Haha I am proud of you for not hiding in the trunk of Nikki's car. But I would have forgiven you I promise :P"

7/16

Thank you so much for the scriptures!! They were PERFECT!!! The blue would have been fun, but the black looks so classy and awesome. I've been using them nonstop! When you talked to that lady in the office, I was sitting right there. I could hear your voice through the phone. . . :) No stalking or anything. Dad has 26 gigs!!?? That is crazy!!! That's going to be a ton of money though! Just as long as he is still having fun doing it. So about the house. Are you getting a bad feeling about it falling through? Do the people like really want it? How did the inspection go? Did you purchase the lot? And the rental in Cedar Hills, where is it ish? I dont think it will fall through. But if it does, it just means that the Lord didn't want us to move quite yet. Everything will be great. I will send you another memory card today. :) You'll think some of the pictures are funny. They are all of my district and me. My district is crazy awesome. I love all of them. I just got a "new" companion too. He is going to the Czech Republic, but had to have surgery so he was delayed for a week or two. My room was the only one with an empty bed so I got put with him. I hardly ever get to see Elder Welker. Our schedules are all different. But I've seen him a couple of times. Haha I am proud of you for not hiding in the trunk of Nikki's car. But I would have forgiven you I promise :P And no I wasn't in the parade. We aren't allowed to leave the MTC. That's awesome about Ally's rodeo! Tell her I love her and that I'm sad that I couldn't make fun of her for falling off ;) Tell Kayla she's super cute and should be expecting a letter this week. It makes my day to receive her letters. Tell Jesse that I miss her a ton and her "Nacho" has rubbed off. I find myself quoting it when I'm lonely.

Answers to my endless questions (pretty self explanatory...): 

The Temple is closed for maintenance. I actually got to go in last week and clean it! It was way fun. But the Temple opens again on the 25th of this month. It's been closed for forever!

Haha no I'm not by myself, but each room has 4 beds. I have myself, Elder Stratton, and Elder Hoy (my companions), and now Elder Pryvak taking the bed that has been empty this whole time. DON'T SEND COOKIES. :) I love them, but there is too much food here at the MTC. I'm keeping myself to a strictish diet. I eat a salad with every meal, and get only one entree and one dessert. :)

I am a little worried about luggage. Books added 24 pounds!!!!!! But I'm very careful with what I buy just so that I absolutely need it. We'll see how it goes. There is a luggage weigher in my building so I wont leave without it being underweight.

Haha and to be honest, I haven't really been homesick! they don't give you time to breathe, let alone think about family.

My favorite meal at the MTC is a chicken patty sandwich with lots of lettuce and pickles (I dont know why, but I am falling in love with pickles), with a small salad, and ice cream.

And LOTS of caffeine free coke. (Which I heard won't be the case in Bulgaria. The water isnt okay to drink, so lot's of coke for me!!) Haha and by Coke I mean Diet Coke. You raised me to hate the stuff.

Haha tell her (Kayla) I love her so much! Here is a big virtual hug for her. (((((((((((((------------))))))))))))))

Language is hard. Literally how it went was they through you at a native investigator day 2 and expected you to teach a lesson all in Bulgarian. It was crazy. Now the language is coming a lot faster, but there is so much. I learned Spanish in 5 years, not 9 weeks. My companions are awesome. Elder Hoy is from Edmunton Alberta Canada. He is so funny and always makes me laugh. Elder Stratton is from Layton, and is into musicals and stuff like that. We find ourselves singing Wicked when we get bored. The lack of music here is crazy and is killing me. No Ipod in the mtc, no exceptions.

I take a melatonin either every night, or every other night. I dont sleep through the night hardly ever though.

Haha those are awesome! She looks beautiful! (after receiving the pics of Ally in her first rodeo)

Haha yeah. Well, our hair appointment is right now, so I love you! And I'll be writing you this week. Talk to you later!

Here's the pictures taken by Aunt Nikki when they dropped off Elder Welker. Nick was waitin at the curb for his cousin. This is why he was proud of me for not hiding in the trunk...

Nick's new scripture request

7/10

Do black. Elder Nicolas Forshee. If they have silver tinting do that, if not gold is fine. The MINI kind right? They are smaller than standard. And a nice case. Love you so much.

I got them, and theyre wonderful. love you

"Bulgarian is SO. HARD. But it will be worth it in the end."

7/9

Hello everybody!!

Wow this week has been crazy. I haven't even had time to write anyone any letters! This week was cool, but it was hard as well. Bulgarian is SO. HARD. But it will be worth it in the end. How is everyone!? I miss everyone so much. I wanted to get on and send a Happy Birthday to Dad yesterday, but I didn't want to break any rules. How is the "selling the house" thing going? Is packing just crazy?? Is Tay super excited to come in? I can't wait to see him! I just got back from being able to clean the Temple! I had never done that before, and we can't go right now because the Temple is under rennovation. But my district to go and clean the locker rooms for a couple of hours. I am just having the best time here. I am best friends with all of my district and I love them all. Did you get my SD card?? I sent it last monday and didn't hear anything. If so, PLEASE send it back asap. I am also going to be buying a new set of scriptures today. I am getting them engraved with "Elder Nicolas Forshee". I'm super excited. It should only be about $40 with my missionary discount. I'm going to send this now so that you can respond with me on. Love you all! Tell the Girls I miss them so much. And Mom and Dad. I love you more than anything!

Обичам Те!

"The Spirit that resides here at the MTC literally is comparable to the Temple."

7/2

Hello Family!
How is everybody!? I hope you are all doing wonderfully. I am having such a great time here at the MTC! Bulgarian is so cool, but i wouldn't have even imagined it to be this hard. Like it is SO. HARD. But it's way fun and I'm loving it anyway. My trip to Los Angeles was amazing too! We woke up at 4:30, got on a plane, went to the Bulgarian Consolate in Los Angeles and signed our Visa Applications in person, went to In-N-Out Burger, then got to take a trip to the Los Angeles Temple before our flight back! The LA Temple is one of the most beautiful Temples I have seen in my entire life. I got some great pictures with all of my district in front. My district (the ones who are going to Bulgaria Bulgarian speaking too) are like family to me. Everyone comes from different places, different backgrounds, and has different stories. We have myself and my companions Elders Stratton and Hoy, then Elders Goodwin, Mock, Greenacre, Bellows, Killpack, Wall, Von Neederhausern, Maxwell, and Sisters Frame and Roper. They are all incredible and I cannot wait to share this Mission with them. As you know, I did have a chance to speak with President Wilstead, but I got to actually see them once more right before they left to Bulgaria. We got to talk for like 10 minutes and they are incredible people. I cannot wait to get to Bulgaria. This week I got to go to the Provo Temple with my companions and district, and that was a wonderful experience. Everyone loves to be there and loves each other so the Spirit was way strong. While I was in LA, apparantly 10 of the 12 apostles were here for the new Mission President conference and gave a talk, but I missed it unfortunately.

Mission life is definitely crazy. While waking up at 6:30 isn't a horrrrible thing anymore, it still sucks. :) But after like 15 minutes it wears off. I am learning so much, and the Spirit that resides here at the MTC literally is comparable to the Temple. Seeing all the missionaries every day is just incredible. Before I left, I didn't think that my testimony could be any stronger. I was so. dead. wrong. It has been strengthened so much here, and I will be very excited but sad as well to go. How is Ally doing? She still driving everywhere? Is there a new car in her future? And Jesse!? Still needin' to borrow some sweats? :) And Kayla! Is she still with Lexi 24/7? Does Maya come and try to find me? I hope so. I got the nicest letters from Sarah, Grandma Cindy, Janelle, and lots of other people. We have a little competition here at the MTC with who can get the most letters. Letters are 1 point, packages are 5. I am in the lead with 24 letters and 3 packages! Way to be ya'll! Keep it up! I love you all, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I cannot wait to get to Bulgaria to Preach His Gospel. I have about 25 minutes, so if you are on email, shoot me one! Love you guys!
Стареишина Форши

Oh, ps Yes I got the ATM card, yes I got your letter dad (thanks a ton by the way it was amazing), I sent the SD card today, so it should get there tomorrow or the next day. I will only send you sd cards in the mtc, because they will aparantly not make it back in Bulgaria. I will email you pictures and send you hard copies as well. That is way funny about the temple worker thing mom! Tell everyone I miss them and Tell MISSY to stop whining that I haven't written her back because she hasn't put a return address on anything :) I love you all!

“I had so much fun in LA!”

6/28

Hi!!! How is everyone?! This letter writing thing is harder than I thought. They give NO TIME to write letters or even do any personal stuff whatsoever. I miss you all a ton! Thank you to the girls for the kind letters, I appreciated them greatly. Big hugs and kisses for them. And Mom, very funny card! I laughed out loud! J Yes, I got the ATM card and it works great. I had so much fun in LA! 2 planes, lots of new friends and a day trip! My favorite things! I ran into a problem. The printing service for pictures is down, so I’m investigating email. Not sure how it’ll work but I’ll try! I miss and love each of you. Dad, Mom, Ally, Jesse, and Kayla! You each have a huge hug and kiss from me!

Talk to you soon!

Elder Forshee

"The language is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. It is crazy. But I know that with the Lord's help, I can do all things."

6/25

Hey guys!

So yeah! I'm rockin' the MTC! First and foremost I want to say that I love it here and I cannot wait to get into the field. It is a hard transition to be here in the MTC, but I think that I have adjusted well. I don't have a companion, I HAVE TWO!! :) Elders Hoy and Stratton are amazing, and I couldn't have been luckier to get them as companions. Yes Mom, I loved the Licorice, and that debit card will be very helpful. Just to let you know, use www.dearelder.com as much as possible. It gets to me either same day or next day and I can read the letters and think of responces because I only have 30 minutes on P-Day. Yes, Monday is my P-Day but stay away ;) Did you get a blog going? I got to meet President Wilstead and his wife. I love them both, and I'm excited to help them pioneer this mission. The language is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. It is crazy. But I know that with the Lord's help, I can do all things. I don't know if you got my letter in the mail yet, but I get to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow! I have to go sign my Visa in the Bulgarian Consolate tomorrow so my entire mission is going. I leave tomorrow at 5am and get back to provo at 8pm. I'm way excited! How are the girls? I'm missing them a ton. And Maya.

Hey, if you have some time, some things that I think I'll need are:

A small bottle of Docusate Sodium 100mg. It's a laxative in the Pharmacy area. Like 20 pills should do.

I need to know how much is in my checking account, because I will be traveling tomorrow.

I need addresses for the following people:

Missy

Nikki

Cindy
Forkus

Footey
Brockbank

Trevor (on  his blog)

Colleen

and anyone else you could think of.

I got to see so many of my friends from college here! Austin didn't get to show me around, but I did see him later on. I am in the same building as Wes and Joey from my dorm.

I loved the cupcake too! I tried writing letters to Nikki and Taylor for the cupcake and birthday but I didn't have the addresses so I had to guestimate. Hopefully the post office will get it close.

I am online for the next 20 minutes, so if you reply I can reply back.

I love you all, and remember dearelder is the way to go.

Love,

Elder Forshee

Star-ay-shi-na Forshee - Elder Forshee

Стареишина Форши.

Ob-i-cham ki-ni-ga-ta na mormon E iss-us Hr-is-tos - I love the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ

Обичам книгата на мормон и исус христос.

and it is pronounced SOFia. like so in sock. sofia.

Софиа Бвлгариа