Studying Like Mad

Ever since the last day of Winter 2008 classes at BYU (April 15) and during the finals period, I've been putting in 3-5 hours per day on Spanish and gospel study. I'm studying Predicad Mi Evangelio (Preach My Gospel, the "Guide to Missionary Service") as a means of preparing to preach the gospel in Spanish. I encounter an unknown Spanish vocabulary word about every 4-5 pages. I look it up either online or in my hardcopy dictionary, type it into my Vocabulario document, give its meaning, and write a Spanish sentence that uses the word. Each day, I go through my list of new vocabulary words and try to use them in a new sentence.

My main goal in my pre-MTC study is to be prepared to give all five missionary lessons by the time I arrive in Peru.

My secondary goal in my pre-MTC study is to improve my Spanish grammar and vocabulary. To achieve that goal, I'm studying The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice by Gordon and Stillman. It's the recommended study guide for returned missions to help them brush up on (and improve) their Spanish. It's a great book. Even though I've been studying Spanish on and off over the past 10 years, I still need to shore up a few finer points of Spanish grammar.