On a mission

My best friend, Ryan Garrett, is currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cochabamba, Bolivia.  He has been gone for a little over six months now (1/4 of the through), so I thought I would write just a little bit about him since he has hit this milestone.  When Ryan left on September 22, he could not speak a single word in Spanish.  Well, maybe he could say hola, but that was about it.  When I got a call from him on November 23 from the airport in Chicago, he was throwing quite a few Spanish words around, but he wasn't very fluent.  Now, every week I get an email from him that is in Spanish.  I have let a few of my Spanish-speaking friends look at his emails and they say that he is doing really well.  It just blows my mind that in six months you can go from knowing nothing about a language to being completely fluent.  I'm sure that the ability to speak Spanish will open up many job opportunities for him when he returns home.  He also says that he is enjoying his mission a lot.  He has baptized two people since he has been in Cochabamba, and witnessed to many.  Even though I miss him terribly, I know that this is a great experience for him.  

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  Matthew 4:19