Week 5

Hey everyone,
Great week here. I got my travel plans and I leave in a week from today and I couldn't be more excited. It will be hard to say goodbye to all of the great friends that I have made here but I will make more in the field. Today will be my last time going through the temple in 2 years so I better make it count. Hopefully I will be in Portugal during the groundbreaking of the new temple there. Keep the letters coming. I love you all so much.
Love,
Elder Ruggles

Me and Ty

Ty and his companion

Cool guys

Week 4

Hey Everyone!

I am having a good time here in the MTC but I want nothing more than to go to Portugal and serve actual people. I caught wind that the West campus MTC gets to go off campus to Jamba Juice and a burger joint which really got me upset so I wrote a letter to Thomas S Monson but he has yet to get back to me, I guess I'll call it a bust and give up on the dream of eating real food until I leave. One of my fake investigators agreed to be baptized in 2 weeks and it made me so happy I could not stop smiling! I know it's fake but just imagine how happy I will be when I get to Portugal and convert real investigators! I am a little sick of the MTC. I guess the things I miss the most would be my phone, and free time to hang out with my friends. I still see Ty everyday and even though we are not in the same zone we still are on the same schedule so that is a huge blessing! This week was my 3rd week so I got to host on Wednesday and I knew one of my friends was coming in that day so I prayed really hard that I would host him and the people with the last name P had already come and gone so I thought I missed him but then he pulled up a little late and I got to host him!!! It was a great experience and proves that God answers prayers!!! It was a great blessing for me and for Elder Poe! Thank you for all of your support! I love all of you!

Love,

Elder Ruggles 

Sittin at the temple

Class time!

Selfies

Week 3

Hey Everyone,
This week has been pretty good but uneventful, the MTC is great but it is the same old thing everyday so unless we have a party there is nothing really to report about. It has been raining a lot here which makes for some good staring out the window and deep thinking but other than that it is just class time class time class time. I am really enjoying myself here and my zone is the best zone ever. I already have a really good friend named Elder Willes and he is one of my best friends ever. We have a lot in common, he is from San Diego and he surfs but we have similar personalities. I am half way done with the MTC and even though I like it here, that 3 weeks could not go by any slower! I just want to be in Portugal and smell the ocean and teach real investigators, then all of you will actually have a reason to read this, haha. I love hearing from you guys so keep the letters, emails and Dear Elders coming! I love all of you and appreciate the support, talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Ruggles

Week 2

Hey everyone! 

I am doing great here in the MTC, there has been a little bug going through our residence hall and I caught it so I have a little bit of a sore throat but other than that all is well! I love hearing from all of you and love getting your letters so keep them coming. I have been having a lot of fun here. The other day there was a rap battle right outside our room and it was one of the funnest things that has happened since I got here. A kid from upstairs named himself white cheddar and he thinks he is Eminem! I took like an hour out of class time to explain the A-team principle to our whole zone and everyone thought it was soo funny. The A-team principle is that any group of four has to have a brain, a brawn, a good lookin' and a wild card. Everyone was trying to apply the A-team principle to their own district and they thought it was hilarious. My zone leaders even did it and we called them the ultimate A-team. I was sad because they all got their visas to Brazil and I really like hanging out with them but before they left they decided who the next ultimate A-team was and we had a ceremony and everything. They chose a kid in my district as brains which is not surprising and then they chose the biggest kid in the zone as brawn. Then they chose Oglesbee as a wild card which you wouldn't guess but he is wild then they chose me as the looks which I did not see coming! I was honored but confused but everyone respects the new hierarchy so I am the looks! My zone is awesome and I couldn't have asked for better friends, it just goes to show how much Heavenly Father blesses me everyday. I have been teaching a fake investigator for some time and we got him to stop drinking coffee and he wants to get baptized and we did it all in Portuguese! We also got a new teacher who teaches for the other 3 hour block we have and he is way cool, all of my teachers know Collin Toyn because he went to Portugal on his mission with some of them and they said they are going to ask him to come in as an investigator or do TRC with him which is like family home evening! I really hope it works out so that I can see him again. Anyway that's all I have time for today. Thank you for your letters and support! Keep them coming!

Love,

Elder Ruggles

My room

The guy to the left of me is my favorite zone leader and I was way sad when he left. The one 2 down from him is the brawn and his name is Bleazard and then 2 down was Lowder and he is the one who gave me the looks. 

Me and my zone in front of the temple

Week 1

Hey everyone! 
How are you on that side of the gate? I am doing great here and I love all of your support, it means so much to me! I feel the spirit very strongly here and it is really cool. I feel homesick a lot but I know that the Lord knows what's best and for me and that He will help me through this! I am learning the language very fast but not as fast as my district, one of which is fluent in Portuguese and the other in Spanish so it kinda sucks. We have been doing a total room makeover I named fung shua which includes a zen garden and a couch we acquired through means I am not at liberty to discuss ;) It was in the lobby in our building and barely fits but it really ties in the whole room! I give all the elders in my district a hard time and we all really get along well. My district leader is Canadian and has a funny accent so we give him a hard time for that. I see Elder Bianucci at least once a day despite the fact that we are in different zones! There are only 2 Portuguese zones and we are in opposite ones. We are in the same building so I visit his room often and we sit together at lunch so it's almost like we never left. I would love to hear from all of you so make sure to write me and dearelder.com me!
Love,
David

Me and Elder Anderson

Me and Elder Nix

My zone at the temple

My district