Well I'm finally on a computer for P-Day. I can't believe it's only been one week though. It feels like I've been here at least a month. I'm in the Intermediate/Advanced Spanish class somehow haha but it's good because I learn the language wayyyy faster. I'm already so much better than I ever was during high school. And I took it for five years! It just goes to show how much the Spirit and the Gift of Tongues helps and blesses missionaries.
My companion is great! His name is Elder Keeler and he's from Houston, Texas. It's kinda funny because that's where Elder Rumsey is serving!! Elder Keeler said he went on splits with him too which is sweet. I got lucky with my companion. He plays soccer like me and he ran track in high school. He was a pole vaulter and pretty good from what I hear. We get along great so far and I'm excited to see how we do these next few weeks here in Provo.
Today we got to go to the Temple which was really cool. The Provo Temple is soooo much bigger than the Palmyra one haha and it was a great experience. Our District, which has eight elders and four sisters, is so great. We're all so close which apparently is kinda rare for everyone to be this close. Our District Leader, Elder Payne is awesome. He's from Draper, UT and he's so fun to be around.
We always do the same things during our gym time which has mostly been volleyball. We played soccer last week a bit but the fields are closed right now for some reason. But volleyball has been sick. As most of you know I love any kind of sport and volleyball is one of them. I gotta thank my roommate Trent though for really converting me to it haha.
I've seen a ton of people I know here in the MTC too which was so cool. I saw a few Hermanas from pageant here and got to catch up a bit, saw a bunch of elders from my ward at BYU which is even better. Andddd I saw Alaena while she was at work!! Kinda surprised me haha we only chatted for a few minutes though cuz we had class anyways.
I'm pretty sure everyone in my District thinks I have a bajillion friends cuz I've gotten at least one letter every day and then a few days I've gotten as many as 8 hahaha. But just so everyone knows they're mostly from family which I greatly appreciate :) It feels so good to finally be able to email and write people! I feel like it's text that I got last night but I'm just now responding if that makes sense. But it just makes me appreciate everything I hear from friends and family.
The food in the MTC is so good. But it's so easy to just pig out and gain a ton of weight. I've heard tons of stories about elders or sisters that leave the MTC after three weeks with ten extra pounds. And my goal is to stay the same as I came in. So far so good too haha. The key is just to resist the desire for seconds and not to eat till you're completely full.
There are four of us in our room: me, Elder Keeler, Elder Iverson, and now Elder Questenberg. We originally had Elder Monterrosa but he dropped down to the beginner's spanish class so we got a new elder instead. He seems great so far though so that's good.
Thursday Elder Keeler and I have to teach the first lesson already! I'm really nervous just because we'll be teaching somebody we don't even know instead of each other or other people we know. And then next week we teach the first lesson in allll spanish. That's the one we're really nervous about though. We tried to teach each other in spanish today but that was so hard. We still understood each other and could talk in spanish...but we couldn't go into a lot of depth because we just don't know a ton of vocab yet. But hopefully in nine weeks we'll be better.
And I forgot to mention my comp is also going to Barcelona!! Makes it even better haha. Apparently when we get to the Madrid MTC they speak only spanish all the time. And some teachers don't even know any english. That'll be interesting to see how it goes.
Yesterday was kinda my bad day. I woke up feeling sickly and I ached all over, I didn't feel like I got any sleep whatsoever, and I just felt awful. I took some meds in the morning which helped a lot and I felt fine until around 4:00ish. We went to dinner and I ate the healthiest dinner I have ever eaten in my life: cantaloupe, honey dew, salad, an apple, and juice haha. But I wasn't very hungry to begin with so it didn't really matter. But I can honestly say that prayer works. Both me and Elder Keeler prayed for my health and strengthe and within two hours everything was gone. I still feel a little iffy today but I'm soooo much better than yesterday. Another testimony of prayer :)
Sorry I keep jumping all over the place. I only have 30 minutes and I just write whatever comes to mind haha. Me and Elder Keeler designated the cafeteria as a "spanish zone". Which means we can only speak spanish there. It's been really hard but really good for both of us. We bring our dictionary with us just in case and, if we desperately need to, we speak english. But for the most part we've been really good about it. We pray in spanish which helps, we study the language a tonnnn each day, and we talk throughout the day in spanish...mixed with english haha.
I can't believe that just a week ago I said goodbye to everyone at BYU and to Grandma and Grandpa. I think about everyone often and miss you all a lot. I find myself sometimes reaching for my phone to check the time or to see if I have a text hahaha buttttt I remember that I don't have my phone anymore! Makes P-Days all the better :)
Tomorrow we get to see the new Elders and Sisters! Even though I've been here a week I know I'll feel older than them haha just because of the time that I've been here and the experience of being here. I met an elder the other day that's been here 11 weeks!! I feel way bad for him because he doesn't go to class because he can't. He just helps as an "investigator" and just studies on his own. He's just waiting for his visa apparently. And I really hope that doesn't happen to me haha. But if it does I'll just wait I guess. Means more time in the mountains haha.
Thanks for all the letters and prayers and everything! They mean a ton to me. The work is going great and I love you all!
Love,
Elder Mathews
ps letters are appreciated :)
