Email rec'd 12-27-10 & pictures

This was at their Bishop's restaurant & they had a nice Christmas dinner for the elder's.

Some elders in Val's zone that work in the office. (they look a little silly)

Val's mission president & his family at the Christmas program.

The rat in the sink...the fly (is that a fly-- it is huge ) in the laundry...hmmmm what will they find next??? I dont know?

Val, Elder Burgos & Bishop Solarzano & his family. His daughter just received her mission call & will be soon serving in the Mesa, AZ Temple. Val said she will be arriving in Mesa some time in March.

Gift exchange with the elders, Val received some 1980's Christmas lights & a milky way bar.

Elder Galvan, Gricelda & Elder Burgos on Gricelda's baptism day. She was baptized on Christmas Day.

Mother,

it was really great to talk to you guys too! it honestly just felt like old times just having a normal conversation it was great. thats crazy that they all got released! i thought theyd be in there forever haha. how is trent doing? speaking of trent how is troy doing? yeah thatd be great if you could send those pictures whenever itd be cool to see nixon hahahaha i miss that little dude especially cause all the dogs here are all nasty and on the streets and stuff. hes like the rich white boy compared to all these hood dogs. thats crazy that dalton is leaving this week i cant believe it!! im proud of him though he'll have a good time. for my box i need those things and that neutrogena shave lotion i use dad knows what it is. i need vitamins, and thats all i can think of now. yeah go ahead and hold off on the memory card please. also, my bishop who you will see later and his family, had us over for dinner christmas eve and his daughter is going on her mission to the mesa temple she leaves in january for the mtc so im assuming she will arrive to mesa in march sometime but when you go to the temple in that time look for a Hermana or Sister Solorzano or ask for her and take her a bag of goodies or something that a girl would like haha shes kind of nervous to go down there so i told bishop and his wife that i would have you guys do something like that for her to make her feel more comforted. well i dont really have much to talk about haha nothing has happend since when i talked to you last. ill send some pictures in a bit. i love you mom!! thank you so much for everything you have done for me.

elder galvan

Email rec'd 12-20-10 & pictures

This couple was a contact that Val got to baptize this past week & these are their children. They had to get married before they could get baptized-- which is understandable, right. The funny, cute- interesting thing is that Val paid for the Marriage Certificate/Liscense? Maybe the cake too? I don't know. Sweet though, I think. Look how sweet their kids are & happy too!!!!

Elder Galvan & couple that he baptised, their childred & his companion.

Baptismal Font at their building. Maybe a thumbs up, that water is ready to go--

*Elder Galvan- i am assuming he is just "hangin" at the church in this picture.

Mother,

first off thank you for the package and i hope that i actually get it hahahaha. thats crazy about landon hes gonna have a ton of fun there. thats cool about Kyle too hopefully i dont lose that much weight hahaha things here have gotten way better. but yeah i was thinking about home a lot this week. especially cause of all the christmas stuff we do as missionaries but its been pretty hard hahaha but i know things are going to go way fast. ok so today i need you to call this number, the 001 i think is for out of the country im not sure but the rest is the number to the house where i live. call when you get this and hopefully if it works some spanish speaking lady will answer or girl. say yo estoy buscando por Elder Galvan en la mission sur del nicaragau and she should hopefully say something back with my name in it and when i get home ill ask if she got a call so do it like right when you read this and keep trying please. if not, espect a call from me at like 10 on friday the 24th, 10 am here idk what it will be there. but if it does work call this number at 10 am on the 24th please!! and thats 10 am here idk what it will be for you but yep! so if i dont find out then ill probably email you sometime before friday and then call friday. well i really hope you all had a great week and have a great christmas!! i love you mom

elder galvan

Email rec'd 12-13-10

Mom,

wow what a week haha. things are starting to sink in a little bit, but its still pretty crazy,i got sick last tuesday and my stomach is really weird now haha so i think i have parasites now.but yEAH IM pretty much sick of cuetes haha fire works sorry they go off all day everyday its not even like a show its just grown men and kids lighten off bombs and crap its like a war zone haha no joke.but yeah sorry i cant give you the password and stuff for my account because i dont know what it is but thank you for paying it! i really appreciate that what a great xmas present! speaking of christmas it gets crazy here cause the 7th of december they celebrate the conception of mary and it was nuts in the streets i can only imagine what xmas will be like oh and when you send a package send it with mary pictures all over it haha and tell kevin i got his letter but to email me instead and give him the correct email please.
so we have a baptism this saturday!! yep my first one!! well its 2 but they are getting married before then were baptising them so it should be fun! then we have another lined up for the 25th and shes awesome too shes actually our contact and everything so im stoked about that.haha i cant wait to call home the 24th!!! i dont know how its going to work out i might have you call me in a members home but we have to figure out where first cause if not ill have to pay for it so..... yeah ahaha but yeah everything was great this week. alright mom i love you!!!! i cant wait to talk to you guys!!! freak maje time is going by fast!!! alright i love you mom!

elder galvan


Cookies & Milk (leche)

Awww, Stuart Little came to visit Val & his companion. hahaha.

Pictures from MTC & Nicaragua

Val's new companion Elder Burgos, (in the middle).

Here are some picture's that Val sent to me when he sent us his first email from Nicaragua. He has sent us other pictures from the MTC, but these are the first he sent via email, that I can actually post on the blog- because the other's I have to scan-and I am not very good on the computer when it comes to those kinds of skills. I did not get computer scanning/photo skills-- hahaha.

Elder Weight (Val's companion in the MTC-) Elder Mower & Val

Provo Temple-- how beautiful is that?

Val & his Elder buddies having a little fun in the white fluffy stuff. Brrrrrr! It looks so cold!!

Here is Val & his new companion's humble casa.
I am sure he is appreciating is little room at home-- of course it is now mom's craft room. I think he does appreciate his family he's living with and the fact that he get's his laundry & cooking done for him. How sweet is that???

Greetings from Nicaragua!!!!!! Dec 6th 2010

Greetings from Nicaragua!!!!!!!

How the heck is everything going? IT seems like forever since I got to talk to you guys. Things are quite different then i had expected. I have a lot to write about! but first off I'll give you the mission homes address which is where you send everything including post mail. Elder Valentin Galvan
Nicaragua Managua Mission Sur
Apartado Postal 3527
Managua, Nicaragua C.A.

OK now that that is done well get to the good stuff. First off go ahead and give out this email instead of my address because I am allowed to email whoever I want just not any girls in nicaragua haha. ok, so when i first got here at 9 or so at night it was pretty nuts, first off we put all of our luggage on this little red truck that we had to push start haha that truck took all of our luggage to the mission home.

Then we went out to mcdonalds, yes mcdonalds, with the mission pres and his wife which was pretty cool. it really doesnt taste any different. Then we went back to the mission home and we all butt packed it in this tiny house and slept on straight mattress with no sheets haha then all 11 of us woke up to shower in one bathroom which took forever because some kids are just ding dongs. anyways after that we went to a chapel which all of the chapels here are pretty new so there all nice haha, but we ate there which was just bread and juice, then all day we sat and were talked to by our president and his assistants.

Then we went to lunch at this really suave place called The Place hahaha it was nice we had like a full on 3 course meal and it had to have been pretty spendy for the prez. after wards we went back then we did some more intro stuff and went back and slept in the mission home again then wednesday was the day of changes which is where we meet out trainers and go off to our areas.

My trainer is the only missionary here from Mexico! yep he's a mexican haha and only speaks spanish, well im trying to help him with English but he only wants to know the funny stufff haha. anyways his name is Elder Burgos and he is short and squatty like in the pictures you will hopefully see later in this email. Hes actually a great teacher though and i have a lot to learn from him.

OK so my first ever area in the field is........ THe great city of Managua!!! Yep im here in the city, my area is called Boer pronounced like BO AIR for you chelitos. Well to say a little bit about my area picture the worst slum of downtown phoenix times 30 and thats Boer haha. It is the straight up ghetto. All of my zone is like ´man you got born into the best area because from here it can only get better haha basically i am in the worst area of our mission and also in the second most sketchy area in all of both missions, the north has the first haha. It is a lot different than i expected, not a lot of people like me, but the people that do freaking love me they like send their kids to go buy us snacks and drinks at the pulperias which are like little stores all over the place in peoples houses and stuff haha. Any ways ive had gallo pinto about 8 times haha, the food here isnt bad but its very bland. i had cheese the other day which was a mistake its basically all salt and diarhea after hahaha but its all good. the drinks they make here are my favorite though. People we talk to just whip up some bebidas for us like Cacao con leche which is like horchata with chocolate, cevada which is pink haha um taborina all kinds of stuff, the gatorade here is a lot better too for some reason but hard to find.I havent had cold water since the mtc. we have these bottles that filter the water as it comes through the straw so we just put any water in the bottle which is nice but its never cold haha. most kids here end up just drinking the water and getting the sickness over with then theyre fine but i dont want to take my chances with that haha.

We visited this place called Devagon which was pretty bad. basically 10 years ago all these people worked in a factory then they all got cancer from the chemicals in the factory but the factory closed down and wouldnt pay them anything so in protest they moved to this park and they all have homemade tents out of trash basically and get water from a pipe that sticks out the dirt. It was pretty bad but there was a member there visiting her family so we went and talked a little.

Contacting here is hard because no one wants to listen to us. like i said no one really likes us here which i wasnt expecting at all so its been kind of difficult for me but ive been trying really hard to look on the bright side of things. i feel like all my spanish went away haha they have reaaaalllyyy bad spanish here because they slur words together and dont pronounce their S´s so it is very difficult but everyone in the mission says that the group i came with is the best at speaking spanish out of all the new group`s theyve ever seen which is a good sign.

We live in cement box basically hahaha theres some pictures of that too. Its 16 x22 with 4 cement walls and a shed roof haha one toilet and a shower which is a pipe coming out of the wall and the water turns off at 6 or 7 in the morning so we take bucket showers sometimes with water we reserve from the night before just in case haha. we live in the back of a members house and she also cooks meals and does our laundry as well which is very nice. theyre a great family and i love them alot im sad for them because her husband isnt around for her 2 daughters but its basically like that everywhere here. they all get married or pregnant at like 16 or 15 then the guy leaves later on its very common.

I hear american music all the time haha J Beibs is huge here!!!! hahahaha its nuts how bad they all try to be american like they all have knock off american eagle and abercrombie and fitch haha its funny. But yah, its been difficult for me, very difficult, but im trying my hardest to be happy! I actually kinda miss the mtc now hahahaha now i know what blake meant when he said that! anyways keep on doing what ya doing i love you all so very much and it was very good to hear your voices again im so glad i get to talk to you again they told us the 24th so il email next week with more details! I love you guys!!!

Elder Galvan

Letter 11-29-10

Dear Mother,
As I write you on this beautiful Thansgiving day I can't help but start this letter off with thanks from me to you. You have such a way of giving unconditional love for me and my sisters, something I really wish I could've recognized early in life. Just know that for as much as I took for granted you and your undying love for our family, I have made it up through careful prayer and repentance and how I can promise you that things will be very different after these next two years.
I'm glad Chicago was fun! That would be fun to go sometime!
That's also really cool about MacKenzie's patriarchal blessing, she is truely a great friend to me and I appreciate her example to C.J. I also really enjoyed your information and advice from Elise's husband's cousin (also serving in Managua). It's always helpful to know some inside tips. I got some from LaDawn Resendez a month ago or so but I haven't been able to write her back yet. If you see her let her know I'm sorry and that I'm workin' on it. Attached is my thoughts about the Sacrament that I hope can assist you on your lesson.
Today has been a weird Thanksgiving being away from family, but I also know that I'm not here to "have fun" and do all those things. I left all that behind.
Elder Holland spoke to us today and said something interesting, he said "don't talk to me about being homesick, don't talk to me about being alone, because everyone fled and rejected the Savior when push came to shove. You are here to help the Savior with his work becasue of what he went through for us." Let me just say, Elder Holland is the man. I can't believe Dalton is leaving the 10th of December, sorry the 12. That's crazy!! (he actually doesn't leave till the 29th) Speaking of him, ask him why he hasn't written his boy back yet, tell him bros before that H word that I won't say, hahahahaha.
Anyways, I love you mom, I can't wait to talk to you in 4 days! Keep up the good work! Our Father in Heaven is very pleased with you. Have a great Thanksgiving/week!
Love,
Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 11-25-2010

Happy thanksgiving mother,
just got back from a morning devotional with Elder Holland.Yep that makes it 5 apostles that i have seen while in here. one of the most powerfull things ive ever been apart of. the spirit was so strong that i barely got any notes because i was so fixated on listening and not missing a single word or phrase. What a great thing on this not so fine Thanksgiving day. As you know today is supposed to be our pday and since we are leaving on monday it is much needed to get done all the stuff we needed to get done. but they took it from us without giving us a make up day. so we had to go to the laundry room at 6 this morning and pretty much waited for 30 minutes for 1 machine to open because there were so many people there trying to do laundry, so that was already a bad start to the day. but then we had the devotional and now everything is alright, i dont see how anyone could be upset after that talk. he had his grandchildren get up and sing and i lost it. it just made me think about home and my sisters and my primary kids and the great life i had at home. then he got up and told us all about how poor the world is and how we have the opportunity to go out and to live and to suffer with them to share the message of jesus christ. I hope that as you all have a great thanksgiving day that you will remember those who will go to sleep hungry tonight. and to pray for them. thank you for the stamps haha they havent come yet idk if ill even get them seeing that i leave in 4 days but who knows. ill be sure to mail everyone my address when i get time when i get down there. its going to be so great to hear everyones voices and the stories! i cant wait! I hope that all is well and the next time we talk will be over the phone!!!!

ok so here is the part for the family. sorry this is the only time i could email.

***Val wrote this letter to Val's side of the family to read at Thanksgiving dinner-- none of them are members of the church. It was really neat, his Aunt Sally was able to translate Lil Val's testimony in english. It was very special. ********

Dear Galvan family,

Whhaddddduuuppp! How is everyone doing? I really hope that everyone has a great thanksgiving and that everyone is doing well. As for me, life is great and I couldnt ask to be doing anything else in my life right now. The language is coming along just fine and ive never felt better about myself in my whole life. I know most of you probably do not understand what and why I am doing what I am doing, but to understand all you have to do is remember the life of our savior Jesus Christ. It was his mission on this earth to bring people unto his gospel, and now that he is gone, it is our mission as members of His Church to bring the corners of the world unto him. I have a tremendous opportunity to go out and to talk about jesus for 2 years with people who literally have nothing but who are so giving and loving. I seriously cannot wait to get down there on monday. Here is my testimony of this work in spanish hopefully someone there can read it and understand my gringo idioma haha. yo tengo un testimonio de Jesucristo. Yo se que JesuCristo murio para mi, para ustedes, y para todos en el mundo hoy. JesuCristo sufrio en la cruz para que nosotros recibemos la vida eterna y remission de nuestros pecados. Yo se que Jose Smith trandujo el libro de mormon por el poder de Dios. Yo puedo testificar que el evangelio de jesucristo esta en la tierra hoy y ustedes pueden saber la verdad de este evengelio en el libro de mormon, yo testifico que si ustedes leen el libro de mormon, Dios contestara todos sus preguntas. Dios nos ama. Y yo se que vive mi senor. I love you all and have a great and wonderfull holliday season! Bye!

Elder galvan

Letter 11-20-10

Mother,
Well I am a little upset at the mail services in this joint. The letters I sent last thursday probably didn't get to you till Tuesday because of some Holiday! What the crap is going on in the outside world? I wasn't aware of any Holiday!? Quite frankly I'm not aware of much haha, but I can't wait to get out of here!! 11 days or less! We should be getting our travel plans tonight, which means next week I will be sending info for when I call at the airport.
That's way cool about stake conference (regional) and how the Prophet was speaking to you guys. I know what you mean about the spirit with them, imagine being 15 feet away as they specifically talk about missionary work and missionaries!!!! It's crazy!
Thank you so much for the package! I needed all that stuff badly --a brother was dyin' up in here! I don't know what was better though, the contents of the package or the note on the inside of the shoebox from MacKenzie saying "yeah, Dad actually bought these shoes" haha, what a funny girl.
Speaking of her, how are the girls doing? They seem to have stopped writing so they must be pretty busy. How's nixon? Sometimes I miss him.... sometimes.
Well I'm finally getting over my cold! Feel great now, my nose is a little runny but other than that I'm good.
I seriously can't believe that in 11 days I will be in Nicaragua....
These past 2 months have flown by I hope they have for you as well. I can't wait to talk to you guys. I've missed the sound of your voices, you know like you telling me not to do something that I think is funny hahaha or MacKenzie getting mad when I actually do it. haha, those were the days.
Well yesterday I had the opportunity to host, basically I was doing what that kid was doing on my 1st day when you guys dropped me off at the curb. I greeted 3 new missionaries and took their bags and escorted them around for a little bit. It was a good experience but very wierd. It's hard to act happy at a time like that because seeing all the crying parents reminds me of one of the hardest things I've ever done, and that was leave behind loving parents and caring family. It really hit me hard that I won't be seeing any of you for 2 years, but I then thought of a scripture in D & C when Joseph Smith and others are being kept in jail, and the Lord said to him, "peace be unto thy soul, for thine afflictions will be but a small moment."
I've noticed that I've grown a lot these past couple months, I've learned how to handle things like a man and how to conduct myself as a man of the priesthood. I'm truly grateful for this opportunity to grow up and bless and change lives.
I love you mother, stay strong and stay close to your savior. Su hijo,
Elder Galvan.

Email rec'd 11-18-10

well im glad that everything is going well there in the nice warmth haha, its actually not that cold here its weird becuause it warms up then gets cold, idk utah is just weird. Im also glad to hear that the girls have good friends and are in good hands in this great time of need, the world is a pretty nasty place right now, i know first hand and im glad that they are stronger than i was in highschool to have good friends and be obedient.
But thank you for the get betters. i am pleased to say that i am better now and the mtc is just that more bearable haha. i had a great experience this week when i was asked to host which is where we stand out on the curb and welcome the new missionaries and their families and then take the missionaries with their bags to their destinations. i must say it was a very weird experience. seeing crying moms all over made me think of what i left behind at home and how i wont see any body for 22 more months. its crazy but i also know i have alot of important work to do, more important than sitting at home, BSing around on my mac or whatever else id be doing right now. I was a host to one kid who was literally shivering from nerves, its crazy because i know how hard the MTC is, but im so glad i can say that i made it through and that i was able to push myself to learn and to allow myself to grow up. im very thankful for all of the prayers and everything else. i love you guys so much please please keep doing the things your doing and staying close to your father in heaven. i love you all very dearly and cant wait to talk to you in 11 days or so!

Elder Galvan

Letter 11-15-10

Dearest Mother,
Let everyone know how great it was to receive their letters this week, I can't tell you how much easier it is during the week with letters!! Thank you for sending the stuff I asked for. I look forward to getting that soon. I'll probably be sending you a package when I pack in a few weeks with things I won't need. Such as my blanket and maybe a few other things.
That's so crazy about Kyle losing all that weight, I've gotten pretty flabby here, all that lifting this past year went to crap pretty fast, so hopefully that changes in a few months. haha
Elder Ward from G town AZ got some pics from his mom, one of them was him with the Plowman's oldest daughter....WOW! how come you never hooked it up for the kid?? hahaha anyways...
I hope your biz is going great. Chicago is gonna be a blast, make sure to send me pics! Well, I love you and miss you! Just know that 2 years will be over so fast, I mean look how fast 2 months went by!
Tell everyone I love them and that I'm doing good. I love you mom!
Elder Galvan

P.s. Oh yeah I almost forgot, Elder David A Bednar says hey, yeah we had another apostle this week. How crazy is that! He was my favorite by far. Such a great speaker, I hear that we'll get someone big for Thanksgiving too... who knows! Well keep the letters coming! Love you!!!

Email rec'd 11-11-10 (dad's)

Dad,haha thank you so much for sending the package, i really needed that= stuff and thank you for sending it red! i dont know if ill get it today or= not but hopefully tomorrow, theyre kinda sketchy here with that kind of stuff.

well just some things that happened this week, we had yet another apostle visit, which makes that 4 in a row, and this one was definitely my favorite so far. Elder David Bednar says what up....yeah haha he is the man!=! when he walked in my heart started pounding, he gave such an amazing yet= simple talk on missionary work.

how is everything going for you? chicago= soon yeah? be sure to take pictures and send them or email them to me id= love to see it. thats crazy about tiger but it was bound to happen sooner= or later but i didnt think it would be lee westwood to take it! thats pretty cool though. anyways yeah im so happy= to be getting out of here soon, i cannot wait to get out of this cold,= its the butt crack of winter=over here haha but missionary work is pretty fun. ive gotten pretty decent at spanish, im to the point where i can= understand and read the scriptures in spanish so its pretty dang fun, i love this language so much i cant wait to use it when i get home too, well i love you, keep up the hard work, your the hardest worker i know and= the best example that i could of ever asked for, tell everyone i said hey= and tell shawn that im sorry his boy tiger dropped. I love you, keep the letters coming!

Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 11-11-10

Mother,

I am doing fan freakin tastic with this cold ive had since last friday haha.... it really stinks being sick in here because basically there is no way to get better besides blow your nose till its raw and pop bottles of pills haha but im on the upslope now and everything is going great! we went to the temple again this morning and of course everything is just so much bettter after the temple, when you walk out of the temple at 9 in the morning here in provo, you can see the whole city and the lake and the morninig sun is lighting up the city, its a wonderful sight. thank you so much for the package that i will be getting i really appreciate it because i need it so bad haha those things are exactly what i need. speaking of packages, dont worry about sending me anything for christmas, seriously, i have all i could every ask for and dont need anything else. keep the money and use it for something else or just save it for the girls presents or whatever you need. the lord is taking care of me now and i feel like you guys have done enough by paying for my mission. dad told me about bro hoffman thats pretty crazy, hopefully it will get dad out of webelos....haha hopefully. im glad to hear the girls are doing good. i got cjs letter and have been waiting on one from mack for like 3 weeks! haha her last letter was so funny and entertaining. its crazy how time flies in this joint, i cannot believe i almost 1/12 of the way done with my mission and am going to be headed to nicaragua in a matter of about 17-18 days. its pretty crazy but i cannot wait to get out of here. thank you for your prayers and your fast, i can feel the blessing of the gift of tongues everyday in my life as i get more and more familiar with this language that i am in love with. but at the same time i hear that once we get there, they speak so different and fast that we have to take another 4 months to build ourselves up to the point that we can be fluent but i am so ready! yeah i cannot wait to get out of this cold I HATE THE COLD!!!!!! haha well not hate, it can be pretty nice up here some times, me and blake were talking about maybe coming to school up here later in life... there are some fine hunnies that go to school up here.... hahaha but that would be later when the means are right. well i love all of you and thank you so much for all the prayers. i know that god is blessing you guys too because i pray for you in every single prayer and i have faith that he is carrying out those blessings. stay strong, and know that i am in the lords hands now and will be taken care of according to his will. just know that yes i will be in a dangerous place, but as long as i am obedient he will perform miracles for me and through me. i truely love this work, and i love all of you very dearly.

sincerely

Elder Galvan

Letter 11-6-10

Mom,
It was great to hear back from you today, i'm glad that you had some advice for me last week. I was pretty bummed, but the Lord is always there to pick me up. Ok, first off, I really need hair stuff. I'm completely out...shaving cream, some q-tips, and I can't think of anything else I need, but please send that and anything else you want to send. I'm dyin without it, haha. I look like a straight up dufus because my hair is so flat. But that would be greatly appreciated!
Also, some more pictures of what's been going on in the family and with friends! I know were not big on pictures but just send some recent stuff! I love seeing you guys. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and appreciate you so much.
I've gone to the temple 4 times since I've been here and everytime I pray that you guys will be blessed. I hope all is well, I love you and Heavenly father loves you, write back! and send that stuff soon, please!!
Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 11-4-10

hello mother,

this week has been all kinds of crazy. it all started with the buzz on thursday about who would replace our zone leaders since they are leaving tomorrow. wellllll my companion and i got chosen to be the zone leaders this past sunday haha and to be honest it is such a great calling. if you dont know how the structure of a zone goes it is as follows. Basically the zone is a branch. we have a branch presidency and the branch has about 5 districts which consist of about 8-12 misssionaries each. there is a presidency, zone leaders, then district leaders. to be quite honest i was a little upset a few weeks ago because our district leader was re chosen becuase they change them out every 3 weeks or so, but they re picked one for our district and needless to say it wasnt me ha. i was a little upset because i felt like the ones they had previously picked were lazy, and were not good leaders and not good examples. but apparently i was not picked for that for a reason haha because now me and my companion have the most responsibility out of everyone. we basically assist the presidency in everything, which means about 8 meetings on sunday and a few more throughout the week, its been bonkers but way fun i love being in this calling because i feel comfortable being in a leadership position. but seriously the best thing that has happened to me yet happened the night we became the zone leaders. a girl in one of our districts was pretty sick with a bad migrane and was in need of a blessing. as her new zone leaders, elder weight and i stepped up and did so. he annointed her, and then i sealed the annointing and gave the blessing. it was definitely the most precious thing i have done to date with my priesthood. i have never given a blessing before and really didnt know this hermana very well. but i can testify to you that it wasnt me that was giving the blessing, i was simply the mouth piece, for when the time came to give the blessing my mouth was full of words of advice and blessings for her, and i know it was from the spirit because i was literally about to poop myself from nerves because i had no clue what i was going to say. that was such a great experience. the lord has blessed her, in fact she is behind me now writing letters to her family! such a cool experience. we had ANOTHER apostle this week! M Russell Ballard. i seriously think something big is going on cause its a rarety that you get 3 in a row. anyways his talk was amazing of course, i mean he is an apostle of jesus christ. well im running out of time i love you guys!! hope all is well keep the letters coming!!

Elder Galvan

Letter 10-30-2010

Mother & Father,
It was so great to hear from you this week. Weeks go by so much slower without letters, but it was great to hear that everything was going great. Im glad golf was good for Dad, those places sound pretty amazing. Of course you guys went to Oregano's for lunch, that's just Shawns steeze, that and goattee.
Tell Tata the language is going great, it's hard trying to cram it all in 8 weeks, but we've learned so much already in 4, so I can't wait to see how well I'll speak in 4 more.
I cannot believe it's already been a month that's so crazy.
Mom, I heard you moved into my room already!!!
It's o.k. At least if you're in there I know my stuff is safe! Thank you so much for the package by the way. I'm gonna need more axe hair stuff really soon so that would be nice.
MacKenzie also told me about the golf cart incident, classic! Sounds like it would hurt though!
Well, I already told you about Richard G. Scott. What an amazing talk. He didn't even have much of a talk written, he just spoke by the spirit, so crazy huh! It's such a blessing to be able to hear from apostles of Jesus Christ.
The spirit has taught me many lessons already and I can't wait to learn more, I keep praying and keep asking God to bless you. I pray for you every night & I hope you guys are doing well. Keep me updated on things over there and keep the letters coming!
Love you guys!
Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 10-28-10

Mother,

Everything here is going pretty good, slow but good. it snowed the other night, the biggest snow flakes Ive ever seen crazy huh? yeah and now we have to wear our suits everyday which sucks because were only one suit elders. So idk how they expect us to get them dry cleaned when we have to have another one to wear. Its getting cold here, not too overwhelming but it was cold enough to snow haha the weather is weird here but I need to soak it up before i get to the heat.
THE box was sooooo great and greatly appreciated, i needed more clothes so that I could wash the other ones i always wore on p day haha. THE blanket has also come in handy seeing that there is a doucher that lives in our room that turns the thermostat down to 55 everynight when everyone is sleeping. But the best part of the package was definitely the pictures. Im not gonna lie i felt like a chump not having any pictures of you guys because we did an activity in spanish where we were supposed to have pics and describe our families. But its great to see all of your beautiful faces again, apparently some people forget what their family looks like after so long haha. But yes next time i print pictures I will get the cd for you. Yes mackenzie looked very pretty in those pictures and yes I got a few comments but i set them straight. Thank you so much for my blessing as well, i re read it and noticed many things i never picked up on before so that was awesome. I cant believe The giants and the Texans! Ive heard the sports world is just in a weird place right now. anyways I love you guys! I have to go finish my laundry haha. Oh yeah we had Richard G Scott come the other night!! 2 apostles of the lord in 2 weeks thats unheard of! it was crazy the stuff he said to us to. He put a protective shield by the power of the apostleship upon all of the sister missionaries and then by the same power bestoweed the gift of tongues upon all those learning a language, how crazy is that!!!!! it was so great. The spirit is so strong here, ive never learned so many spiritual lessons in my life, in fact i was humbled by the spirit just the other night. We had a task to teach someone in spanish, our teacher, and we go to teach he invites his "family" our other class mates to join in the lesson. So in full spanish we had to teach this family, and they were not feelin it and neither were we it was so hard. And to be honest it was the worst night ive had here so far, i really had thoughts about weather or not i was ready to be doing this. But then we watched a talk given by elder bednar the next day that talked about how the spirit will sometimes slap us down when we need to learn a lesson. and it spoke to me literally and said to me that i have a lot to work on and that the experience i had with the family was so that I could break myself down and work to build myself up into a better missionary. Yo se que jesucristo vive. yo se que jose smith fue un profeta. Me encanta el evengelio de jesucristo y me gusta la iglesia. Yo se que soy an missionero de la iglesia de jesucristo de los santos de los ultimas dias para una proposito en esta dia. I love all of you guys. stay strong and keep praying.

Elder Galvan.

Letter 10-23-10

Week 3, rations are low, food is repetative, and health is declining haha. Nah, but it's going pretty great! How's everyone doing? I hope everything is going well down in the Z. My friend Elder Ward from G-town (gilbert) got a letter from his mom throwin a shout out to me (his words exactly) haha. I guess his parents are good friends with the Plowman's. Small world huh!
He's a cool kid, but no Dad I don't think I will get to serve with him. I hope I get a native companion! Because I will learn Spanish faster and I will get to teach him English, think of how much it would benefit one of them to know English.
Anyways I have some very good new for you peeps. Apparently we get to call our families at the airport when we go to Nicaragua! How awesome is that? I guess we fly to Texas then to Miami then to Nicaragua, not sure but that's what I heard and I guess we get to call somewhere in that time when we have a layover. I don't have details yet, but when I get them I'll email you to let you know when to be home. so you get to hear from me then, and then 1 month later at Christmas!!! I thought that was pretty cool.
I told Elder Ward I gave him a shout out in this letter just now and he threw up a gang sign he's such a great kid. I would encourage you to seek out his family because from what I've heard and seen, his family is pretty cool and would get along with you guys! He also has a little bro for Mack... haha j.k. but seriousely... anyways I hope all is well. tell everyone that Im doing great doing work like a champ haha. I will be writing MacKenzie with some info so let her know she will be getting a letter as well.
C.J. I hope everything is going good. How's sports? Doesn't basketball start soon? I miss you guys so much but I'm doing good on my own for once haha, hard to believe but I make my bed every day and do laundry once a week! I grew up! finally! haha alright well stay good and keep writing! Love you guys!
Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 10-21-10

Mother,
First off happy anniversary to you and dad! congratulations on 20 succesful years of marriage thats awesome! haha there are some cutie pies here I must say but yeah Im sure JC's got my back on that one too. Ive been waiting for my package to arrive for ever!!! haha send that beast! i need that stuff. also i might need some extra shower soap/shampoo the gillette stuff i like. and another razor and some deodorant. I shower at least twice a day and have to shave every day so rations are getting low. So please send that package like tomorrow or saturday. Thank you for the cookies they were pretty good, i actually enjoyed the fruit snacks and the fruit bars more than the cookies haha we eat sooo much crap in here. Ive been running more than i have been playing bball to try to stay fit but its tough when all we do is eat poo haha. I swear weve had cordon bleu like 5 times in the last 3 weeks. But things are still going great here. We lost 4 good men on monday they left for Chile. The champ, miller time, raybans and Teskey. haha They were the oldest guys in our zone but were like our Best friends cause they took us under their wing when we got here theyre great guys. The champ is the one who told me I was going to have a hot girlfriend haha. Anyways i have some pictures to print out today but they probably wont get devoloped till monday so Ill send them when they are done.

Theres been some crazy stories that have happened in these past 3 weeks but I can never seem to think of them when the time comes to write them to you haha. oh wait..... i forgot to mention that at our devotional the other night we had a special guest... Russel M freakin Nelson!!! I sat probably 15 yards away in the 3rd row from an apostle that spoke to us about missionary work and told us how greatful he and the apostles and the prophet pray for us every day and not to worry about our safety because not only do they pray for us, but so do 14 million other members as well. This truely is a great work that I am apart of and I am so happy to be here. Its funny cause before he came into the gym where we have our devotionals this guy got on the mic and said "we only stand if one of the bretheren were to enter..." so we knew something big was going down. I guess they had Holland like 6 weeks before I got there he's the Man when it comes to speaking about missions. Go to google or something and search for the talk he gave in the MTC like a while back. he pretty muchs slaps missionaries in the faces and says WAKE UP! haha its so awesome. anyways that was a great experience, probably my favorite so far. We also got some newbs in the zone today 3 out of 4 of them are from utah haha yeah so many kids from utah down here its nuts, theyre all a bunch of BYU fans too its annoying haha. Alright well i have a few more emails to respond to that i didnt get to last week. I love you guys and I hope all is well. I pray for you every day! tell everyone i said hey.

Elder Galvan

Letter 10-16-10

Family,

I'm sorry I suck at getting personal letters out, we have like no time to write so I figured I'd write one to all of you, but keep the letters coming because it's really nice and uplifting throughout the week. If any hot girls want my address don't hesitate to give it to them either, haha. Everything here is going great.

The MTC definitely has it's moments, but I got lucky and have a great district. There's a kid from Highland in my district going to the same place, crazy huh? He's awesome though, I think him & I will be pretty tight when we get back. My companion is pretty sick (awesome) too, were very close. He's from Utah, but is a Utes fan so it's great to not have another person on BYU's jock. Speaking of BYU, I heard Max Hall played? Is that true?? Send me some scores & what not, if you get a chance, also some MLB & college football.
We found a Big 5 add in the trash the other day and that was our sports fill for the week, haha.
My basketball skills have come back!!! I play with the big dogs now, there's a group of about 7 or 8 of us who are all pretty good and we play every gym time, the cool thing is they're all like my zone leaders and other older guys, so I feel accepted now. I'm the only one in my district who can keep up with them.
Well, things are great, life is awesome & I absolutely love being a missionary. I really hope that I can bring some closer to Christ, even if I only baptise 1, I will love it! I love you guys! Stay fresh! Tell the Honda & Nixon I said hey!
Elder Galvan

Email rec'd 10-14-10

Mother,
First off yes I have the book haha!! but id also still like the blanket, my blue topsider vans, my eon shirts & my camo shorts. I only have these jeans and i havent been able to wash them. haha anyways yeah I got all the letters, were not allowed to write unless it is P day and that is every thursday which pretty much sucks but its all good. Me and my companion are doing great, we get along so well and i know Heavenly father put us together for a reason because without him id be going nuts in this joint. Tell all your woman friends I said hey and i hope theyre families are doing great. Be expecting pictures next week sometime, i have to get them printed cause i dont have a cord for the computer so ill take some more this week then send them hopefully next week. But everything else is going pretty great here. My spanish is getting better day by day and i can fully contact and testify to someone on the street in complete spanish its crazy how fast we learn things in here. I have to admit, it does get pretty rough in here. The food is repeated like every other week and the food is so fattening,ive resorted to just eating salad and cereal most days. They have a chicken wrap station which also comes in handy.I hope everything is going well for everyone there. I really miss you guys but at the same time dont haha i dont mean that in a bad way its just when your here and your doing the work you literally get lost in it and im glad i have a language to focus on becuase if i didnt id probably be not focusing and thinking about other things. But I really do love you all. Please get that package out as soon as possible! I love you mother. Stay strong and just focus on preparing the girls for their futures. I will be fine. I am in the Lords hands and I keep you guys in my prayers every night. I love you,

Elder Galvan

Received 10-8 to sisters

I added these pictures of Val with his sisters--they remind me of his sense of humor & his sweet personality with them. The letter is sooooo sweet.

Mi Hermanas!
How is everthing going? I just wanted to write you two a quick letter before I head off to bed. We don't get alot of time to write so I don't know how many personal letters I will be able to send to you guys. But I just wanted to let you two know how much I love and appreciate you. I know I didn't do a good job of showing it before I left but I really do love you both so much.
MacKenzie, you are one of my best friends and I always can count on you for an opinion because weve always been close like that.
C.J., I know I may give you a hard time, but it's only because I love you and I want you to be the best daughter and sister you can be. I love and miss both of you so much, but just know that I'm doing the Lord's work and not only will I be blessed for it, but you will be blessed too for giving the Lord your brother to serve.
If you're going through a hard time, hit your knees, that's what I did, the first night because I was missing you guys so bad! But I prayed and had faith and Heavenly Father has lifted my burden.
Well, Buenos Noches, be good and faithful and I will get to talk to you guys at Christmas!
Take care of mom, be nice and loving. She deserves way more than any of us ever gave back to her. I love you guys.
Elder Galvan
P.S. write me back on dearelder box #313 it's faster & free

Emailed rec'd 10-7-10

Whats up fam? Today is my official first P-day and I am currently waiting for my laundry to get out of the washer and they have computers down here for us to email which is pretty nice. Just thought id email you guys and first off thanks for the cookies!! they were soft and everything when they got to me!! haha and thank you to CJ and Nana for their letters. I forgot nanas email back at the room so tell her I will write her back. But I also wrote the girls and sent it before I got Cjs letter so the timing of everything is kind of weird but its all good. I love all you guys!! Later today were going to the Temple as a district which is going to be great I can already tell. Everything here is going swimmingly. I love being here. I will admit I was missing you guys and the bafoons pretty bad when i got here but as of right now Ive forgotten the world and become a waaayyy better missionary because of it. The Lord truely does love us all and I know that by making sacrifices and putting forth all the faith we have that he will bless everysingle one of us for me being here doing his work. He has already helped me a ton with my spirituality and the language too. I think that if any of you are having trouble adjusting to the new life we have for 2 years, hit your knees and pray every chance you get and have faith and he will help you so much.It sounds corny, just like i thought Blake sounded but it truely is the only way. through Him we can do all things and everything. I love everysingle one of you so much. Mom................ HAPPY BIRTHDAY:) sorry i didnt get a letter out sooner but this is the only time i have haha and I dont really have anything to send you but I have some things that I would like sent to me.... I need some P-day kicks so I was hoping you could send me my blue top siders vans and also some other t shirts like some of my EON T's. All i brought was workout clothes haha. but if you could send those and some pictures and some more goodies that would be greatly appreciated. Also if you could remind some other peeps to write me like the Bashas and whoever thatd be awesome cause everyone else gets like 5 letters a day haha Im the LOSER...jk but I love you mom, so much your the best and I know Im not the best at showing it but I do love you. Tell dad to keep his steeze up and tell the girls to keep working hard and that I love them all very much. Alright well they time our comp sessions so I have to go so ADIOS AMIGOS!

Sincerely,

Elder Galvan

Letter 10-4-10

Dear familia!
Como Le Va Gringos? How is everything going back home? This place is poppin!! Ha ha. I really never thought that hotties went on missions, but boy was I wrong. It's like Heavenly Father is just dangling them in front of me to test me, but I know better!!!
Conferencia General was pretty much amazing. I got 3 main things out of the 10 hours that I saw (yes, all 5 sessions), those 3 things were a way stronger testimony, 25 whole pages of notes, and a sore back. I actually paid attention during conferencia which I must admit is a first. It honestly felt like I could apply every single talk to being a missionary. I teared up a little during Priesthood session thinking about how dad was watching the same session & probably watching for me in the choir (I wasn't in it) But anyways I enjoyed concerence very very much.
Things here are going pretty great! I have a great district & an awesome companion. I swear God picks specific compeneros for a reason because me & Elder Weight are pretty good buds now.
Classes are also going great, spanish is pretty difficult but we pray as a companionship (in spanish) like 6 times a day and always ask for help. The power of prayer & fait is tremendous. We are actually learning & retaining info & getting better every passing day, but you have to have faith that He will help you or else He wont. God truly loves us as His children & wants us all to be happy.
I don't know if any of you are going through a hard time, but if you are, hit your knees and pray pray pray & exersise your faith and he will surely lift you up. I'd like to share with you my purpose as a missionary in my new language:
Invitar a las personas a venir a cristo a fin de que la reciban el evangelio pestaurado mediente la fay en Jesu Cristo y su expiacion, el arrepentemiento, el bautismo, la recepcion, dei clon dei espiritu santo y el perserverer hasta el fin.
I know my savior lives and he can work many miracles in our lives if we let him. I love you and miss you all very much! Write me back on dearelder.com my box# is 313 & my departure date is november 29th. I love you guys!!! Buenos noches.
Elder Galvan

Letter 10-2-10

Dear Familia!!
Como Estas? haha they already have us trying to pray in Spanish? It's kind of crazy how fast they throw us into everything. This is my second day here and I can say that it is way better than my first. Yesterday was so overwhelming with everything that happened. Watching mom & dad drive away was probably the hardest thing Ive done in a very long time. I immediately realized how much I love you all & how much I am going to miss you. I think the language is the only thing keeping me focused right now but the spirit is very strong here! My district is actually pretty awesome, something Im happy about. My companion is Elder Weight from Salt Lake UT and he and all the others in my district are serving in Nicaragua as well. We share a room with 2 other Elders. (were not allowed to say "guys or dudes") and there are secret compartments where other past missionaries left gifts such as christmas tree and about 15 empty bottles of sangria. This older gentlemen took our christmas tree away for who knows what reason (it's a good thing the sangria was hidden!)
Sleep last night was very minimal but not bad overall. The travel pillow is in the pillowcase with the provided pillow so thats a plus. I really hope that it doesn't snow till after I leave cause Im not one to like the cold! But anyways I hope all is well at home I want you all to know that I love every single one of you and that everything here is going to go great! I have a card that says Oct 2, 2012 is the day I come home! I can't wait to get to Nicaragua! I love you all so very much!
Buenos Noches!!
Elder Galvan
P.S. write me back Gringos!!!

Arrived safe & sound

I am writing this as Val's first official post. We delivered him safe & sound to the MTC in Provo UT on the 29th of Sept. We are so proud of his decision to serve the Lord for 2 years, in Managua Nicaragua. We know he will be watched over & protected. We are so excited for him to get over there and get to work. I cant wait to get his first letter so I can get it posted on here & let everyone know how he is doing.

Here is the picture of him standing outside the Provo Temple where he will probably be spending alot of time over the next couple months.