Week 4: One Month!

Hello all!! I hope all is going wonderful at home! Thank you all for the love and support coming from home :) There is no better feeling than knowing how much support and love I have coming all the way from the other side of the world. 

Geez where do I start? I will start off with what I remember most. Today for P Day, we took a tour of the Real Madrid Stadium! It was the sweetest thing ever! I can honestly say that I have gained a lot of respect for soccer and soccer players. I have a man crush on Ronaldo. Holy crap he is a soccer God. I miss FIFA a lot now hahahah. 

Tanner and Elder Wahlster at the REAL Madrid Stadium Tour. 

Close up!

Tanner and Elder Romney.  This is like the Dallas Cowboys Stadium of Spain!  

The place to be!

Funny story of the week:  I can't remember if I told about this last week or not but I was shopping at the mall and there were these guys who were selling stuff off the streets and it was all nice stuff and super duper cheap so I bought a 95 Euro jersey for 20 Euros hahaha! Then when I bought it they saw the cops from a distance and so they picked up their bags and ran away haha I couldnt help but laugh! 

Spiritual story of the week: Anyways, today in the temple, I had just finished my temple session and I was sitting in the Celestial Room and I looked up and immediately started thinking of Jenny (My special needs aunt that passed away eight years ago) and I got the biggest smile on my face and I started crying but it was tears of joy. It is so good knowing that where she is now, is the best place for her. I know for a fact that she is happier than she has ever been and I know that I am making up for all the times I would bug her while she was doing her business on the toilet and making her say "Shut the fweekin doe Tanno!" Hahah I miss her so much but I know she is watching over me and making sure I am doing what is right and I love knowing that she is happy :) 

I have learned so much since I have been here. Thinking more about others and less about myself is one of the things that I wasn't really used to but now I don't really have a choice haha! I have learned that if I focus on my investigator's needs and what they need to know and what they need to learn about, the spirit is always there in the lessons. Having the spirit as my constant companion is the best. 

The language continues to press forward. We learn about 2 new things per day and it can be frustrating at times, but it'll all come to me if I continue to work hard. Like Dad said, the language and words are easy to get. But it's the conjugating that is the hard part. He wasn't kidding haha. I am just glad that I don´t have to learn a language that I have never heard of haha :) 

Both of my "investigators" are coming along really well! One other thing I learned this week is that the law of chastity is an awkward subject to teach! I won't go in to detail! 

That pretty much sums up my week! I promise when I get out of here my emails will be more interesting! We do the same stuff here everyday but I love it! 

Thank you all for everything! Keep sending the love my way and I will send it back! Dont forget to read the BOM and pray daily :) I love you all!

Elder THam

Week 3: Halfway Done with the MTC!

Hola amigos!! 

So good to write and hear from you guys again. I miss and love you all so much! This week has been full of pretty much the same things, but different opportunities and different lessons learned and taught!

On Sunday, we watched a devotional of President Nelson, (of course I told everyone he is in my ward) and he said something that really stuck out to me. He said, "Be the missionary your mom thinks you are"!  When I heard that it hit me so hard. If I do that, I would baptize all of Spain! I told myself I will do the best I can to fulfill that responsibility but I doubt I could be that good ;) 

We went to the park and taught again and I was paired up with Elder Allen again and also Elder Porter. We told ourselves that we were going to try and talk to every person. We did just about that. At the end of the day we counted how many people we contacted and it added up to 35! We gave away about 30 pamphlets and 2 Book of Mormons. Saturdays are so fun for me to get out of the MTC and walk around and try and help others come unto Christ. I was so scared to go the first week, but now that's all i look forward to! 

We have been teaching a couple of "investigators" and we commited one of them to get baptized! Its super cool seeing their progress. I have learned something really important during teaching these lessons and it's that if you teach by the Spirit, nothing can go wrong. I have learned to be confident in what I want to say and to just say it. My Spanish is coming along well. I hate conjugating but I will eventually get it!! 

To answer questions: 

Questions:

1. How was McDonalds? Was it expensive or did it seem normal?  Do they have the same menu? McDonalds is weird, they don't have sweet n sour sauce haha 
2. What have you been doing on PDays? Temple every week.  We went to a Palace, and shopping
3. What was a funny thing that happened to you this week? I have been learning to play the guitar from Elder Garcia haha 
4. What was the most spiritual thing that happened to you this week? Our district sunday school meetings are always spiritual. I bawl everytime I talk about how i got my call to the same place on the exact same day as Dad.
5. How’s the food at the MTC? Food is decent, dont like the fish very much. I always try it with a bunch of different sauces but I still don't like it.  
6. How’s Brady doing?  He mentioned that you guys were talking every night! Me and Braids see each other when we can.. I love him haha we are doing good!
7. What are your responsibilities as a Zone Leader? I actually just got released from being Zone Leader! Everyone switched out halfway through so that everyone got a chance to do something! It was easy we just led the devotionals!
8. How do you like your MTC Mission President and Mission Mom?  What are they like? Do you see them often? The MTC Pres is awesome. His wife is mean to me but it's only cuz she knows I can take it! She's really nice haha!
9. What do you do on Sundays? Sundays we go to sacrament.. Sunday school, study and then we sing every sunday night and watch a devotional! 
10. Are you writing in your journal? Marie sent you five beautiful journals that have your name and mission engraved on them. I can send to you when you get to Malaga.  I haven't missed a single day of writing in my journal! and yes I am going to need more journals haha please send them!

I love you all! Thanks for all the love and support!! I will talk to you guys in a week :)

Love, Elder Hammond

​This was me and my district today after the temple. The kid with his mouth open reminds me exactly of Jason Ward! The  kid on the far right is the one that lives next to the Players (Tanner's Aunt). 

This is where we went today for PDay. That whole area is where everyone goes to celebrate after Real Madrid wins! Scooters and motocycles EVERYWHERE!

THam and his "homies"... I mean roomies!

Spain MTC Facebook photo of the group singing on the Temple grounds.  "There is sunshine in my soul today" in Spanish.  Tanner is second row, far left.

Week 2: Settling In

Hello all! 

TIme is starting to fly by and I am loving it. 

My district is getting along super well and we haven't had any problems! :) We bought a little basketball hoop and have been dunking on each other haha. :) 

Well, last P-Dday we went to this really old ancient palace! It was super cool but I only got pictures out front because they don't let you take pics inside! The picture outside the palace is with Elder Reese (WR at Lone Peak) and Elder Gearig (QB at Bingham). They are super cool and we always have a good time. The other one is of my companions at the park from the first week. 

Elder Allen (my week 2 companion at the park) and I taught this lady who was Budist and we gave her a Book of Mormon. She has lived in Spain her whole life. She didn't want the Book at first but I bore my testimony about it and she totally changed her mind! The spirit was undeniable. We both had tears in our eyes by the end of it as we were walking away. I am so happy to be here. 

The homesickness is gone, but that doesn't mean I dont miss and love all of you. I hope all is well. My companion and I are
teaching 2 new investigators and we have already taught both of them the 1st, 2nd and 3rd lesson! We are getting so much better at speaking Spanish. The improvement that I have seen in myself is incredible! Not only language wise but also spiritually! 

Time is short on the computers so i have to go now. Please stay safe and don't forget to read the Book of Mormon and pray often! Feel free to keep me in your prayers too ;) haha I love you all! 

Hasta la proxima mañana! 

With a lot of love, 
Elder Hammond.

Elder Beckstrom, Elder Smith and Elder Hammond on PDay.  

Elder Hammond, Elder Smith and Elder Wahlster (all from Woods Cross High School) at the airport getting to travel together to Spain.

At the park teaching and serving the people of Spain.  

God's Team at a Spanish palace:  Elder Reese (WR at Lone Peak), Elder Hammond (QB at Woods Cross) and Elder Gearing (QB at Bingham).  

Week 1: FIRST EMAIL HOME!

We are so relieved to get Tanner’s first official email from the Madrid Spain MTC.  It’s been a long 10 days for the parents.  

A few additional tidbits of information. 

• Tanner mentioned in a letter that there was a missionary on the plane with him that put two 35 lb. dumbbells in his carry-on bag.  They were all cracking up and had to help him lug the bag through all the airports and lift it in the overhead bin.  Ironically, his Mom works across from one of my clients’ offices and we met and took a photo.  Even more ironic is that this Elder (Elder Hildebrandt) is now Tanner’s MTC companion.  At least we know he will be working out for the next six weeks!

Elder Hildebrandt's Mom, Jodi.

Some additional information Tanner sent in a handwritten letter he mailed to us.  It was written on 8/20/15:

• I miss you guys so much!  I haven’t been able to sleep and in the morning I feel super homesick but then once I see everyone else and study my scriptures and read all the letters that I have opened, I feel much better.  Thank you for the letters.
• I am a Zone Leader for Zone 1! The first day we got here we had to get interviewed by President Lovell and his wife.  He asked me and my companion (Elder Hildbrandt from American Fork) if we would be Zone Leaders. Elder Hildebrandt is way funny and nice and we get along very well.  
• The food isn’t great but my stomach hasn’t failed me yet!  
• We had our first activity time yesterday and we went to the place called The PIt.  It’s like soccer court outside where all the locals play pick-up games and everyone stops and watches them. It has graffiti all over it.  It’s way cool and its funny to watch all of us try and play soccer. 
• Today we became citizens of Spain. I was the first one and it was our first time using real world Spanish haha but I made it out alive. 
• Our schedule is, wake up at 6:30, study and plan and breakfast from 7-8, class from 8-9 to about 10:30 or 11:00. Then we do something like meetings or like a fireside.  Then we have lunch from 12-1.  We have another class and then physical activity from about 4-5. Dinner is usually at 5:30 and then we have another meeting then our last classes are till about 9:30. Finally bedtime with a little bit of personal study.  
• These first few days have been pretty long, but they’re starting to go by a lot quicker. 
• The language is coming along pretty good and it’s way fun with all of my district.
• The flight was MISERABLE!  I was so glad to see Elder Smith when he got to London.  We hugged for a long time! I get to see him often and we have long talks whenever we can.  So glad he is here with me.

EMAIL SENT THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 @ 4:00 A.M.

Hello family, friends, loved ones and all others who this is being sent to! Let me start off by saying that the spanish keyboards are a little bit different and the enter button doesnt work haha so I apologize for that. The first week has been good and hard! We have classes all day and only an hour for physical activity. Saturdays are the best because we get to go proselyting in the park that is here. I was with a kid from highland named Elder Romney. We did the best we could to communicate with our broken spanish. We talked to this couple from Santiago and told them about El Libro De Mormon. They were interested so we let them keep it. We also gave them a Joseph Smithpamphlet and then they asked us where the temple was so we tried to give them the address but we didn’t really know if it was right or not haha. Other than that experience, it was mostly us saying Hola and them saying Adios. I didn’t think I would take getting rejected as hard as I did. It was weird because I wasn’t used to it. If people felt how we felt when they would take our message, this whole mission thing wouldn’t be so hard! The homesickness comes and goes. Sunday was the worst. I miss taking the sacrament from L HAM and trying to get him to laugh haha. My companion is Elder Hildebrandt. We get along pretty well. Everyone here is basically from Utah haha. We have been teaching an "investigator" named Sarah. We keep trying to teach her the first lesson, but everytime we go off on something else she has questions on. Its so hard to communicate with her and understand what she is saying. The language is coming along pretty good. I can understand mostly everything people ask me but other times (like in the park) I just say "No se" or tell them that I have only been in Spain for 4 days. Or I just bare my testimony to them. Those are the times when the spirit is there the most. Now that I got to email home and see everyones love and support it has really helped me. I am so greatful for such wonderful people back home. I miss and love everyone. Feel free to send mail through DearElder.com. Thank you all for everything! 

You´ll hear from me in a week :)

Love, Elder Hammond

He has arrived!

Today we got a random email from Tanner's Spanish teacher, Bruno Visitin.  He included the photos below.  It was good to know that Tanner is still acting the same! Also, a glimpse at all the missionaries that arrived with Tanner to the Spain MTC.

Brother Visitin (teacher), Elder Hildebrandt (front left), Elder Epperson (I think he from Clearfield High School - with the spoon in his mouth), Elder Walster (from Woods Cross High School and a good friend of Tanner and Brady Smiths), and Tanner in the back.  The teacher's email said... "I teach them from 4pm to 9:30 pm! I am impressed how many words they have memorized yet! But I don't wanna say a lot of things cause they are excited to talk to you soon ;);).  They are happy and they are always smiling, laughing... maybe too much somtimes!  Just kidding!  They are awesome!

The Church is True... See you in Two!

Words can't describe the send-off.  Tanner was so strong and so ready to go and we were all blubbering idiots crying our eyes out at the airport.  Tanner's flight was from Salt Lake City to Dallas to London to Madrid.  Long day for these missionaries.  Longer days for the parents!

Last Car Selfie!

Tanner, family, Bailee and cousins

No caption needed.

Grandma and Grandpa Watson

Grandma and Grandpa Hammond

I didn't want to let go!

Reece misses him!

Luke loves him.

Even though Berklee gets his car, she misses him.

This awesome lady sent Garet a random text message with a photo of her and Tanner on the plane.  She said he was going to be a great missionary and that two years would be here before we knew it.  So sweet of her.

Farewell Announcement