El Fin...

Well, this is it.  My very last email that I'm writing to you all while I'm here on my mission.  It has been an incredible past few days and I can't believe that it's actually here.  I'm honestly not going to write much because I don't have time and I'll just see you all tomorrow/talk to you, ha-ha.  Tomorrow we get up around 5:45 and leave for the airport at 7:00.  So we'll be up nice and early :P.

I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for all your support, letters, prayers, and love that I've felt during the past two years here in Spain.  And don't worry, I've got lots to tell ;), ha-ha. 

Hasta mañana!!!!

El Fin Se Acerca...:(

Hola familia y amigos!  I hope that you've all had a fantastic week.  I know that I sure have :)  This past week we worked a lot but for some reason just didn't exactly see the fruits of those efforts.  But that's happened before so I'm not really that discouraged.  We were really excited going into this week because we had planned on meeting some new families and other people that wanted to listen but for some reason or another things ended up not going through.  But this next week should be a lot better.  We already have some good things set up and some new visits planned and we're excited to see how it goes.  This past week we did exchanges with the elders in the mission office and I got to work with Elder Watkins here in Badalona.  It was great to work with him again.  Especially since I had the opportunity to train him when he first came into the mission.  It was exciting to see the growth and the change in him as a missionary. Overall the exchanges went well.  We worked hard, talked with some good people, and we also had fun remembering the "good days" together in Tarragona, ha-ha.  We also had to go up to another area called Vic to do some baptismal interviews that we found out about on Tuesday, ha-ha. Talk about short notice!  Usually we know a lot more in advance but apparently they had two people whom they had been teaching for a while who finally decided that they were ready.  So we went up there on Thursday afternoon to do that.  It was a really great experience to see these two people and their desires to take this step in their life and to hear them share their testimony.

I think the best part of the week though was Sunday.  Yesterday started out like a normal day.  We got up, got dressed and left for church.  On the way we ran into a lady that we teach and we stopped to say hi and she was with a few friends which was strange because you never see a group of people like that at 9:30 on a Sunday morning, ha-ha.  Well, we soon realized that they had beer in their hands and had been drinking quite a bit. And they were just a little on the tipsy side, ha-ha.  We talked and two of them asked how they could change their lives.  They said that they want to stop drinking and be better and right when they said that one of them just took a big swallow from her can, ha-ha.  We got their info and they said to call us so we'll see how that goes.  It was a pretty interesting start to the day.  At church everything was fine.  I was playing the piano, the meetings started, and right after the sacrament part of the meeting,  the first counselor in the bishopric came over to me and whispered, "You have an 8-10 minute talk today about your missionary service since you're going home soon."  And then he went and sat back down, ha-ha.  So I was left to think real quickly about what to say and then after a few more minutes I had to get up and speak.  And it was honestly one of the most memorable things of my mission!  I will never forget that experience.  I don't remember everything I said.  But I remember the feelings that I had and the overwhelming spirit that filled the room.  As I bore testimony towards the end, I looked over the congregation and it just hit me just how much I love these people.  Over the past 7 months or so I have come to know so many of them in such a personal way and grown to love them so much.  I caught a glimpse of how the Savior feels for us and I will truly miss these people of Spain.  There are not words to describe what I felt during that talk.  But I know that the Spirit of the Lord was there present and that everyone there felt it.

I have one more week.  And honestly I can't believe it.  That just means that I have to work just that much more to make sure that there are no regrets.  I love you all so much and I can't believe that I will be seeing you all within the next week and a half.  Time to go to work though :)

Last Zone Conference

This week we had zone conference and it was my last one ever :( So sad to think about right?, ha-ha. It was really good too and I learned so much and I know that everyone else there did as well. We got there early to help finish setting up the chapel and stuff and to practice the musical number that we were going to sing. I got to sing with four other elders and it turned out pretty good. And I got to sing with Elder Keeler again which was something special since we also sang the same musical number together in the Madrid MTC. We started together and ended together. Not bad, ha-ha.

Elder Call and I also gave a presentation during the conference that went pretty well and then for about half the conference I had to go translate for a sister missionary who doesn't speak any English. I honestly love translating! It's such a neat experience hearing and understanding in English and then having it flow out your mouth in Spanish. It's just a really interesting sensation to have it flow so fluidly and easily and I hope that I don't lose that ability as I get older. I'll just have to keep up studying I guess :).

Overall the week went really, really well. We've been finding a lot of new families to teach and we're really excited for them. One is a family from Bolivia that consists of the mom, dad, and daughter who's probably around 6 years old. They're really nice and we'll see how things continue. Another family whom we are teaching are doing fantastic. I love them so much. The husband is less active and his wife isn't a member but they both want to come to church and go to the temple someday to be sealed as a family. The wife knows what she has to do in order to go to the temple and she said that she wants to do it and so we're helping her prepare for baptism and everything else. They're incredible. We had a Family Home Evening with them last night since they work a lot during the week and they loved it. I also said my first real goodbye to some people that we knew here. We taught them months ago and their daughter was baptized but they all just went back to Peru to live there now. And so they invited us over to say goodbye one last time, which was pretty sad. I hate saying goodbyes. The mom, Lucía, said that I needed to go visit them in Peru, ha-ha. She said, "Don't worry about food or housing. We've got you covered. Just the plane ticket", ha-ha. So I might consider the offer sometime :) Wouldn't be a bad little trip.

Everything is going so well. I'm excited for this week because we have a lot of new people to see and teach and we've got lots to do. Just can't stop moving!, ha-ha. If you do, you miss out on all the things that the Lord has for you to do.

We went to seminary this past week to help out in the class. We were pretty tired the rest of the day but it was great. And we'll probably be having to help out a bit more in the coming weeks. But we'll see...

I love you all and hope that everything is going great now that school is in full swing. Thanks for all your love and prayers. They really do help.

Back to School!

Hello once again! I honestly don't really know what to write, ha-ha. It's not that nothing has happened. I guess it's the fact that so much has been happening that I just can't really think of how to put it into words...The work is going so well and there is never a dull moment. Never. The people we meet on the streets, the families we teach, the ups and downs in the progression of investigators. Everything just contributes to amazing weeks out here.

This past week we had a little block of time and so we decided to go to a part of Badalona that we hadn't really been to before and to work around there. Well, it was a very Catalan area, ha-ha. Everyone had their Cataluña flags hanging out their windows and balconies, everyone was speaking Catalan, and it was funny when we talked with them because you could totally hear their accent when they spoke Spanish, ha-ha. It was a good experience because we got to work out there and find some new people to teach which will be exciting. At one point we started talking to a man who was sitting on a bench and we found out that he was a professor at a university and that he had even been out to BYU-Hawaii! Pretty crazy huh? In the end he wasn't interested but the best thing about that contact was that we spoke to him in Spanish and he only spoke to us in Catalan. And the biggest miracle was that we understood everything he told us! We've never studied the language or even spoken it! But we understood the whole 15 minute conversation. Now, Catalan is somewhat similar to Spanish in some words but also has its differences in pronunciation and vocabulary. And considering the fact that we don't even speak Spanish as our native language, I know that there's no way we could have understood that man without a little help from on high. It was a really neat experience to see the miracles the Lord performs in His work.

The work out here is progressing and we have some new families whom we're really excited to teach this coming week. Some of the other investigators that we had have stopped progressing as much so we're moving on to other ones and letting the previous ones take a break. Their time will come in the future though. We've been doing really well, working hard, loving the people and the members of the ward. This ward is truly such a great ward. I love the members here and the people in this area. I don't want to leave it. But that's why you just have to take advantage of what you have and make the most of it. The members have been treating us incredibly well too. Almost too well I think, ha-ha. They all want to feed us and we've been having an eating visit every day. I try to eat less at breakfast and dinner now since they feed us a ton during lunch, ha-ha. But at least I don't have to cook as much now and we get to eat wayyyyy nice :). Anyways ha-ha.

I love you all lots and hope that everything is great back home, at school and work, etc. I miss you all but before you know it I'll see you all again...too soon if you ask me...

A Break from the Heat

This week has definitely been a lot better and in a few ways too. For one, the weather cooled of a lot, thank goodness. It rained pretty hard this past week one day and after that the temperatures just dropped. So we’ve actually been some good weather to go out and work in and not sweat too much, ha-ha. The downside is that it's been pretty cold in the morning now so I actually have to wear my long pajama pants and close the windows when we sleep so that we don't freeze at night, ha-ha. But it feels great now :).

The week itself went well too. We saw some pretty neat little miracles throughout the week and a lot of the people we are teaching are doing really well. This past week we did exchanges with the Elders in Barcelona and Elder Schwartz came here to Badalona to be with me. He's a brand new missionary who’s only been out for about two weeks now and he's fantastic. He's half Korean so whenever people would ask about him I'd say that he was my cousin and a lot of people believed us, ha-ha. It was great. We later told them that we weren't related at all though but it was still kinda fun, ha-ha.

On a bit of a less happy note I sort of accidentally erased everything on Elder Call's pin drive....yep. Everything. All 16 GB of memory. He had his pictures, little church video clips, and some other stuff on it. We had a little movie night as a ward activity and we brought the movie (Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration) and as we were pulling it up on the laptop, I just sort of accidentally formatted his pin drive and everything disappeared. I felt terrible. And I still do. And the worst thing is that I can't bring any of it back and there's not a whole lot that I can do to replace that. Sooooo that's about it, ha-ha. Luckily he didn't get really mad at me but still. I feel bad. Definitely not gonna do that again. But anyway…

The work has been progressing really well here and we have quite a few investigators who should be getting baptized by the end of this month. We're really excited for them. Especially a man named Carlos who has come to church the past few weeks but we just haven't been able to coordinate our schedules since he works a lot. But this week we're going to visit and we're excited.

I hope all is well back home and that the summer has been going well. I love you all so much and can't wait to tell you all about this coming week. It should be great :)

Kimberly!!!

This will be a lot shorter since I hardly have any time. But I just wanted to write and update a bit about this past week. First off, Kimberly was baptized!!! And it was a great experience for both her and everyone there. I've never seen her smile so much and be so happy, ha-ha. Her dad even came as well to support her even though he had previously said that he wasn't going to come so it was nice to see him. He's not a member but everyone went up to talk to him and stuff and it was really good. The bishop baptized her because his family was what made it all possible. His daughter is actually Kimberly's friend and so Laura, bishop's daughter, shared her testimony and it was really powerful. It was just overall a really good experience :). That's one of the best parts of being out here. You get to feel that way all the time. The rest of the week went well. We had to help someone move but luckily he was moving to a first floor apartment so we didn't have to bring it all the way to the top without an elevator. Today we have another meeting so that's why I don't have tons of time. I just wanted to say that I love you all and miss you lots. Good luck to those of you who are starting school now, ha-ha. I'll join you next January :).

Nice and Sweaty! :)

I think this has been the hottest week I've seen on my mission, hands down. And on top of the heat it's been sooo humid so whenever we step outside we just start sweating. Gross huh?, ha-ha. And a lot of people don't have air conditioning. Actually, a vast majority don't. So even when we're inside their houses, it's still really hot. But we've been doing well, toughing it out, seeing miracles, and loving every moment of it :). I've resorted to jumping in the shower every night right before bed so that I don't feel as gross, ha-ha.

This past week overall was pretty good. But the best thing is that Kimberly is getting baptized on Saturday!!! We're so excited for her :) And she's really excited as well. It's probably been one of the biggest miracles of my entire mission to see her teaching process and the changes that have been going on. I'm so happy to see her arrive at this point and the rest of the members are excited as well because they know her so well. She's been coming to church since November so she's well integrated in the ward and everyone is really supportive of her. Next week I'll let you all know how it went.

I also sort of forgot to tell you all that today is transfer day, ha-ha. Woops. Luckily neither I nor my companion are leaving. So we can just have a normal, relaxing Preparation Day here in Badalona. So that also means that I'm fortunate enough to be able to finish my mission in this incredible city. I'm so glad too because I still feel that there are things I need to do here. So I need to keep looking and working until I finish what I've been sent here to do.

I just wanted to also write about an incredible miracle that we had on Sunday. Well, it actually started about a week or two ago. But one day a few weeks ago, a member in the ward was moving apartments and needed help. We couldn't go since we had a few visits during the exact time she asked so we said sorry and that we'd try to see if we could run by for a few moments later. Well, it turned out that both visits fell through and we felt that we should go up and help the lady move. We got there and no one else was there. The men from the ward didn't come and the moving van wasn't there so we couldn't do anything. She said that a member was coming with the van within 30 minutes so we waited with her and tried to help her in other ways. She went upstairs to her apartment for a few minutes and we stayed outside and while we were out there talking, a man walked by to go in the building. He opened the door then came back and asked where the church was. After talking with him for a little bit we found out he was a member from back in Ecuador but hadn't been to church in a long time. We got his info and everything and he came to church this past Sunday with his wife who isn't a member. We visited them later that day to get to know them and to teach and it was interesting to hear their side of the miracle. Apparently, two days before Fabian, the man, had met us, he had been talking with his wife about the church and about if they should look for it and start going attending again. And then the Lord sent us literally to his doorstep. They said that they don't believe that it was by chance that we happened to be there. And I don't either. The Lord sent us there to find this dear brother who has been inactive for many years and his wife who has a strong desire to learn about the church right now. We are so excited to teach them and we developed a really good relationship with them right off the bat. I feel that the Lord has something really special coming for them really soon.

Alrighty. I have to get off now. But I just want you all to know that I love you all so much and miss you lots. Work hard, get ready for school for those who are going, and never forget what the Lord has in store for you as long as we are worthy :)

Vacation Time!!

August is the month of vacationing here in Spain. Lots of little businesses close for a few weeks at a time and lots of people get a couple of weeks to take off and rest. So a lot of them go on vacation and go out of town. But some also just stay at home and bum around, ha-ha. We've met a lot who just bum around and rest because they don't really want to go anywhere and stress out. Makes it easier to teach them and to also visit the members and everything. It's been great.

This past week was so good. We were truly blessed with so much success and so many people to teach. The week started out great from day one, Monday. We visited two new people right after our Preparation Day ended and they seem incredible. Later in the week we were blessed with little miracles and other friends and family members were in the homes of other people who we were just visiting and they too said they want us to come by and teach them. The Lord truly blessed us for our hard work and diligence. Now all we have to do is make sure we don't get prideful and slack off. If anything we gotta keep working. And work even harder than this past week.

We also had exchanges with another area which was really really good. I felt that both the Elders that we did it with ended more excited and upbeat about the work and I know I did too. I went up to the other area called Vic. It's a small little city that's pretty far out there from Barcelona. But I really like it because it's nice, small, quiet, and everything. We ended up helping a member lady move some furniture that she needed from her old apartment and man was that stuff heavy! She said that it was but we sorta didn't believe her because there were two of us and everything. But she wasn't kidding, ha-ha. Afterwards she gave us a really good lunch to thank us :).

During the exchange we had a few contacts that I probably won't ever forget, ha-ha. Two of them really stick out to me because the people whom we were talking to were so....I'm not sure how to put it. But the first one was on the train up to Vic with my new "companion". We were sitting next to a young girl and then we saw a newspaper on the seat in Catalan and we of course don't really know Catalan. So we asked her what it said since there was a little thing about Romney and Obama, ha-ha. And then, like always, she asked what we were doing here in Spain all dressed up. And we started talking about what we do as missionaries. And then she just sorta took off and started sorta attacking us, ha-ha. It was kinda funny because she wouldn't answer questions we asked her and tried to just ask us questions. And all we could do in the end was bear simple testimony about what we know to be true. Someday we'll see her again and say that we tried to talk but she just wouldn't listen.

Another little experience happened on a bus on our way up to another little town outside of Vic. We were the only two on the bus with two other young Catalan women. We were speaking in English and so the girls asked where we from and so we started talking and once again we got onto the topic of who we were and they started questioning us about beliefs and why we do it all. They were a lot nicer and less attacking but still. Not exactly what I'd called "prepared" to receive our message. They were great learning experiences though :)

Overall, I'm doing fantastic. Nothing to complain about. I got a little sunburnt today since we were outside all this morning for preparation day. But it was great! Love you all back home! Hope all is well and that summer isn't too hot ;)

August heat

August has begun and the heat seems to have cranked up a bit. This past week was a bit on the warm side to say the least. Got lots of sweating done and ice cream and popsicles have never tasted better, ha-ha. Even the people who live here complain about how hot it has been. Hopefully it doesn't keep going up. This is about the peak month for heat so there's some hope that we've reached the hottest part, ha-ha.

This past week was great apart from the heat. Our meeting this past Monday was incredible like always and I left rejuvenated and ready to work more than ever. President Pace, our new mission president, is doing fantastic. He's such a great person and I love working with him. He makes you feel important and that you matter which I think some missionaries need to feel right now.

We've seen some incredible miracles here. One of them with a young woman named Kimberly (ex Elder Corbitt knows her well, ha-ha). When I first got here to Badalona we taught her a bit but after a while we stopped teaching her so that maybe in the future she would be prepared to receive the Gospel message. Well, not too long ago we saw her at church again and we set up a visit just to see how she was doing. And she's doing incredible now. She's expressed her desire to be baptized when before she wasn't sure at all. She's obviously had a few doubts and worries but we've been able to help her to know how she can overcome those doubts herself. And the best part is that she's learning and recognizing how to do so through prayer and scripture study. She's currently preparing to be baptized on the 25th of this month and she seems a lot more excited and determined this time. So that's just one little thing that we're really excited about at the moment :).

We did an exchange this week which went great as well and I got to work with an Elder from Finland! Crazy huh?? I got to know him a bit and to talk to him about his life and things back home. He's a pretty big Elder too: tall and just big, ha-ha. He's got a great heart and I'm glad that I got to know him a bit better. The culture is definitely different though, ha-ha. The Olympics aren't too terribly big here. I see people watching it now and then but a majority of the people whom I've visited or talked to don't really watch it. Kinda strange. But every now and then we walk into a home and we have to ask them to turn off the TV so that we don't get caught watching too, ha-ha. Talk about a huge temptation! But everyone knows that we can't watch it during the mission so they all cooperate so it hasn't been that bad.

Life continues on and I'm loving it. We've been blessed in the work and we're so excited for this month. We've got lots to look forward too :). I love you all so much and hope that things are going great. As summer winds down make sure that you take advantage of your free time, ha-ha. Hasta la próxima!

Short on Time!

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment so I'll write quickly. This week was definitely nothing like I thought it was going to turn out to be, ha-ha. It started out really well and we were seeing lots of success and lots of little miracles all over the place. We did exchanges with some other Elders as well and I was here with another Elder who's from here in Spain. I've known him for quite some time now and it was a great experience to see how he has grown and changed over the course of his mission. We met an old investigator that he had in a previous area but now lives here in Badalona. Small world huh?, ha-ha. We met with her and her husband who are both from the Dominican Republic and they fed us a great lunch. They were really friendly and open and were excited to have a return visit set up. They're a young couple who have a tonnn of potential and I feel that they can progress really well in the next week or two. As we were ending the exchange, Elder Call and I were coming back to our area and when we got home I just started feeling sick, crashed on the couch, and fell asleep, h-aha. That was Thursday and we didn't leave our apartment to do anything until Sunday when we went to church and then after that we came back home and I went back to sleep. It was definitely not fun at all. We had to cancel a bunch of our visits and rearrange a lot of things since we couldn't leave our apartment for a few days. But now I'm fine and ready to work again :). Those few days of rest did a lot of good. Today we have another meeting so that's why I'm really short on time. But just know that things are going soooo well here. This work is just phenomenal and I love it to death.

I love you all so much and I'm glad to hear about you all every now and then. Enjoy summer while you can! It's going by way too quick :) Hasta la próxima!

Hola!!!!

Hello everyone back home! I hope this finds you all safe and sound and that you´re all enjoying your summer. Everything is going great out here in Badalona. Summer is in full swing and the sun is shining and the heat is just great :) ha-ha.

It's been a great week full of learning opportunities. We didn't have a ton of lessons and it was a little rougher with some investigators but I in no way feel discouraged or feel like we didn't work hard. It's something really important that I've come to learn. Earlier on in my mission I used to think that if I didn't have a big teaching pool and if I wasn't teaching a lot of lessons each week, I wasn't a very good missionary. But as I've learned and grown out here, I've come to realize that that really doesn't matter. What truly matters is your own personal dedication, your diligence, your faith, and the amount of effort you put into the Lord's work. And if you do all of that, the success will naturally come. And I feel that even though this past week wasn't our best, I feel like the Lord is pleased with what we've done. And that's all I can ask for :).

Last week I said that we had a man preparing to be baptized for this weekend but we just got news a few days ago that he won't because he has to travel to Bulgaria. His family lives there (mostly his two kids) and there was a terrorist attack in the airport there and his family lives right next to it. So he's going back to see how his family is. He said that he wants to come back and he was really sad that he wouldn't be getting baptized this weekend. But I know that the Lord has His own plan and time for everything. And I know that this man will someday in the future be baptized and receive the fulness of blessings and joy that the Restored Gospel brings.

This past week as well I got to work with Elder Keeler on exchanges! I started my mission with him and we were companions for the whole nine weeks in both Provo and Madrid MTC. But since we've been out here in the mission field, we've never ever served together or even been in the same district or zone until now. He's now in the same district as me and we got to do an exchange this past week and it was an incredible experience. I felt like I was back in the MTC again studying and practicing again, ha-ha. And it just felt comfortable teaching with him because we just clicked together so easily. So that was a pretty fun learning experience.

I can't really think of much else...I know lots happens but I feel like it's just all a blur, ha-ha. Next week we have another meeting on Preparation Day so we'll see how much time we have to write and do other stuff. But I'm excited for it :)

I love you all and miss ya lots! Talk to you all soon!

"Oh Está Todo Bien"

We had a satisfying week I'd say. Everything seems to be just going along well and there's not really much I can even complain about. Actually, I don't think that there's anything to complain about, ha-ha. We've been working hard and finding some great people to teach and seeing a lot of success doing so. We found a family of three from Ecuador whom we started teaching this week and they're really good. They're really open and nice and receive the message well and we're excited to see how they progress next week. Another man who we're teaching, Giovanni, is doing fantastic. He came to church yesterday, loved it, and even participated in the classes. He's preparing to get baptized on the 28th of this month and he's really excited. And so are we :)

We had exchanges with some other Elders in Barcelona this past week and it went pretty well. There's a lot that I learned and there's a lot that we can do to also help the others to continue to improve. It was also pretty neat because I got to go to Barcelona and work in parts that I hadn't been to before and to meet some of the people that the Elders have been teaching. And it's always incredible to me to see that the Gospel blesses everyone who actively and willingly try to learn of its truthfulness. No matter who you are or where you come from, the Restored Gospel blesses those that let it. That's one reason why I love doing these exchanges.

Well, this past week I said that I was probably going to buy a new suit...I didn't. I came really really close though, ha-ha. I had tried it on, it fit perfectly, it looked fantastic, and I had it in my hands and I was debating about whether or not I should buy it then or wait a little longer. And I decided to wait. The thing with these sales here is that they last for about a month or two and about halfway or towards the end, the prices drop again. But you run the risk of something not being there the longer you wait because whoever gets there first gets the item. But both my companion and I decided to wait a little longer until the prices drop again. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake, ha-ha. Oh well.

Today we have interviews with President Pace and I'm really excited about that since it's my first real opportunity to talk with him one on one and to just see what he's like. I'm sure it'll go well though. After the interviews we're just coming back to our area to relax a little for the rest of our Preparation Day.

I can't really think of anything else for some reason, ha-ha. I know lots happened but nothing that really sticks out other that what I've mentioned already. I hope all is well back home and that you're all loving the summer. Take advantage of vacations :) ha-ha. Love you all!

La Segunda Cosecha

For those who don't understand what "La Segunda Cosecha" means, when translated into English it means "The Second Harvest". And that's what we're experiencing right now in our mission. When Spain was opened to missionary work about 40 years ago there was incredible growth. But over the course of the years things started to slow down just a little bit. And now we have entered into another amazing stretch of growth here in the church. Hence "the second harvest". It's truly been incredible to see just what the Lord is doing and just how much He is in control of us and His plan. We have been incredibly blessed up to this point in the year to see growth that we haven't seen in a long time. This past week was an incredible week and we were blessed to see miracle after miracle in our zone and the missionaries are catching the excitement. I could go on and on about all of this but I'm sure I'd bore you all, ha-ha. So I'll switch to some other stuff that's been happening here lately...

I got sick this past week unfortunately but I still went out to work, ha-ha. I know that mom would probably get on to me but thankfully she's not here right now to do that :) ha-ha. Plus I wasn't in my own area. I had gone to Vic, a smaller city in our zone on exchanges and that's when I started just aching all over, I had a headache, I was dead tired the whole time, couldn't eat, but we still went out and worked. It was still a rewarding experience and everything but man am I glad that I'm over that sickness now, ha-ha. Not fun at all. Had a fever, sweated it out every night and then it would come back, but now that I'm back in the comfort of my own area, I can take care of myself better.

While I was there in Vic, the other Elder saw a little booth in the middle of the plaza and wanted to ask where he could buy a Catalan flag and we started talking a little and they found out we were from the US so they gave us stickers of the Texas flag! ha-ha. It was pretty neat and I stuck it in my journal. That doesn't happen too often out here, ha-ha.

The work has been going great! We had a miracle this past week and every time things like this happens I'm always just blown away. But while I was in Vic on exchanges, my companion stayed here with another Elder. The visit that they had scheduled fell through and so they began to walk down the street to pass by someone else and to contact people on the street. As they were walking, someone came running up behind them and said, "Elders!" It was a lady from Nicaragua and she said that she didn't know that we were here in this area! She had only been there about 7 months and she was so happy to find us. She works as a cook in a restaurant and she had literally just dropped everything she was doing when she saw them walk by and came running after them, ha-ha. A visit was set up and she was really excited and we went there and met her roommates. One is named Giovanni and he's also from Nicaragua. He said that he met with missionaries a little bit in Bulgaria and Italy but never had time to do much because of work. He said that they had invited him to be baptized but that he didn't feel like it was his time. But he said that when he heard that we were coming and how we had met Mary, his roommate, he said that he felt like it was a sign from God and he said, "I think I'm ready to be baptized." It was incredible and this man is so humble and sincere. It's just another example of how the Lord brings His prepared children to us. The work is amazing and there's nothing better. I love it and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

I gotta go now but I'll keep you in my prayers and I hope that all is well. Love you all!

July!!!

Hello to everyone back home!!! Hope all is well as the month of July begins. Here it started out nice and rainy. But the rain was sooo needed because it cooled off the heat a bit and now it's a gorgeous day full of sunshine and a slight breeze. Great for a Preparation Day :).

This week was a bit rough. Not sure why. We worked really hard and we had planned to have a bit more going on this past week than we actually had. But that's ok. It's something that happens every now and then and you really don't know why. We still have tonssss to do here and we're still working hard, relying on the Lord, and doing everything that we can to achieve our goals and to help others come to know the truth of the gospel message which we share. We've been talking with a lot of new people and there are a lot who have tons of potential and we're excited to hopefully meet with them this next week.

It's been pretty hot this past week. I'm not quite sure how hot it got but we were sweating quite a bit, ha-ha. So like I said earlier, the rain was welcomed.:)

We finally got to meet President and Sister Pace this week!!!! They arrived Friday morning and we met them Saturday in a "Welcome Conference". They're so great and I'm really excited to get to know them a little more and to work with them here in this mission. President Pace is taller than President C. Hinckley and he was pretty tall to begin with, ha-ha. His wife is a little sweetheart and is just such a loving lady. I'm so grateful that they're here and that we can start working with them. Next week is transfers as well so President Pace will be starting to look at all of that this week and it'll be interesting to see what happens. But it's also crazy to think that another transfer came and went so fast. I hate that about the mission, ha-ha. Time goes by so extremely fast and you don't want it to.

Today as a zone we have a Fourth of July activity. We're just getting together and having some food and sports and stuff like that which should be fun. I'm sure that the pics will be coming sometime in the near future; probably next week actually. I don't have a whole lot of time left so I have to wrap this up. But just so you all know, I love you lots and pray for you all. This work is the best that anyone can ever do and I love sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the world that will bring us greater joy than by living and obeying what the Lord has commanded us.

Until next week!

The heat is on!

Summer has definitely arrived! It's pretty warm now and it looks like the heat is here to stay. Should be fun outside now :) ha-ha.

This past week went pretty well. I've seen better but I don't have anything to complain about. We didn't have as many visits as we would like and a few people aren't progressing that great anymore so we're in the process of finding some more prepared people. We've been talking to everyone we can in our free time and we've been seeing some results. It's incredible just how much of a difference talking to strangers and sharing your testimony can make when things don't go the way you plan. It brings the Spirit because you testify about the Gospel and then you're doing what you've been called to do: to call people to repentance and to bring them the news of the Restored Gospel. So when people say no or that they're not interested, I don't feel guilty because I know that I've given them a chance. That's all I can do.

I went back up to Mataró again on exchanges and it went well. The Elders there are brand new to the area and have only been there a few weeks so they're still getting to know the area and working on finding people. So that's why I went up there, to help them out a bit.

Also this past week, on Saturday actually, was a big holiday here. It was pretty much like the 4th of July with all the fireworks and stuff. It's called Sant Joan (in Catalan) and San Juan (in Spanish). I asked a member why they celebrate it and they said that it's supposedly to celebrate the shortest night of the year...kinda strange right? ha-ha. But it was really neat and we got to go on the roof of our building and watch fireworks going off alllll around us.! It sounded like we were in the middle of a war because of all the firecrackers, explosives, and rockets that were going off. And it didn't help that it's mostly buildings and concrete and asphalt where we live so everything echoed. It was crazy! ha-ha. Didn't fall asleep until a bit late that night since the noise went on foreverrrr but I managed to fall asleep somehow.

Today we have yet another meeting so we will not be having our Preparation Day :P. But next week we're trying to plan a 4th of July thing with our zone and the neighboring zone :) We're excited about that. We're thinking of having some sports and stuff like that and of course food. Gotta have food to celebrate that.:) Unfortunately no fireworks because we can't really use them as missionaries, ha-ha.

Oh! Yesterday Elder Corbitt, my previous companion, came to church here in Badalona with his whole family! It was so great to see them and I got to meet his siblings and stuff. It was pretty weird to see him though, not gonna lie, ha-ha. He didn't have his name tag and I couldn't call him Elder anymore. So weird. But he's doing great and he seemed really excited to be back to visit everyone. And now in about two or three weeks he'll be back in NY with my family since his family will be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, too. So I told him to say hi for me :).

I gotta run now though. Time to write to president and then run to Barcelona. Love you all and talk to you soon!

Summer Fun!!

This week went really well :) We were incredibly busy working, visiting people, and then having to call other missionaries and doing other planning and stuff at night that I haven't even written anything in my journal for the past week or two! I feel really bad about that though and I know I'm going to regret it when I want to look back on it all...I should probably repent and start writing more again, ha-ha. This past week was really, really busy though. We had to do two exchanges with a few missionaries and then we were just running all over visiting everyone we have to teach. It's always way fun and the best feeling ever when you get home exhausted because you know that you've been working hard and doing the work of the Lord and seeing His hand in the work. But on the other hand, sometimes it's nice to have a little break, ha-ha. That's why preparation days are sooooo great. You can sit back for a little and relax :) Today I'm not even sure what we're going to do...and then next week we have yet another meeting which means we'll be losing our preparation day. But this past week I actually missed church in my ward! That never happens! I missed it because we had a "special" exchange that we did with the Elders in another area on Saturday and Sunday. It went well and I learned a lot and I hope that the other Elders learned a lot as well. Investigator-wise we're doing pretty well. We have some really great people whom we're teaching still and a few who can be baptized soon...but they just need to realize it, ha-ha. Sometimes they just lack something and sometimes we have to try to help them realize what it is that they are missing. Sometimes they're just scared to make a change in their life. But when they do finally do it, it's the best feeling because you know that it'll help them forever. And not just them but also their families :) Missionary work is the absolute best thing that anyone can do. So for those of you at home who actually read this, I invite you to try it out. And I promise you that if you do so, you will get to taste a little bit of what we go through every day out here :)

On Saturday we had an activity in the ward and we had a few investigators come which was really exciting. We had a little hike activity where we applied things to the vision of the tree of life that Lehi had and it was actually pretty fun. We hiked up a mountain/big hill thing to an old castle ruin and my companion & I, as part of the planned activity, brought a tonnnn of water balloons and we ran ahead to the castle and set up our little attack station, and as the youth and leaders were hiking up we just starting throwing the balloons at them, ha-ha. It was great! The point was to help them to see that even though they were really, really close to their goal, that there would still be some sort of "opposition". Luckily it was a warm day and the water felt good, ha-ha. But later as we hiked down, they all decided to gang up on the missionaries and pour cold water on us. But overall, it turned out well. I got a bit of sunburn too actually, ha-ha. But now it's just dark. Elder Call on the other hand looked like a tomato ha-ha-ha! He's still a bit red but doing better now. Lesson learned: sunscreen :).

This next week we have zone conference. It's the last one that President Hinckley will be at here in our mission and then on the 30th he and his wife go back home and we get a new mission president :( It's a little sad to see them leave but I can't say I didn't know it was coming. I guess it's the same about the mission. It has a beginning and an end. But luckily I haven't had to think about that a lot, ha-ha. I gotta go now but love you a lot and miss you too! Let you know how things go next week :)

Hello!!!

I'm not exactly sure where to start, ha-ha. There's always so much that happens and goes on that it's literally impossible to write it all down. Even the "most important" stuff doesn't even fit!;) But this past week was overall good :) We took a little dip in some stuff and it didn't turn out as we had planned but it still went well and I have no reason to complain.:) This past Monday we had a meeting in the mission home so we didn't really have a preparation day at all. Just enough time to write the family and to president but after that we went right to the meeting. So that means that we didn't exactly have a lot of food in our fridge, ha-ha. But we finally managed to take some time out of our mid-day lunch/study time that we have every day to go grab some stuff to hold us over until today. The members and investigators here treat us wayyyyy too well and we've had a ton of eating visits and we have a lot next week as well which should be great :). I always enjoy a good meal prepared by someone else, ha-ha. Plus, we get to teach them and then invite them to keep working hard with sharing the gospel with their friends. And they do a really good job at it. So things have been rolling along nicely :)

Yesterday in church it was really, really hot in the meetings and everyone was complaining about it and I was sweating quite a bit in my suit. Well, it turns out that someone had put the heat on instead of the AC! The little control panel for the central air is in English and instead of asking someone who knew English what the panel said, someone just decided to guess and turn on the heat, ha-ha. That was a brutal three hours to say the least. But it was a good day. We had one of our investigators finally come to church today, which was so good. He really liked it and the other members his age really took him in and helped him out which was great to see. He's actually getting ready to be baptized on the 30th of this month and he's looking pretty excited for it. And so are we of course, ha-ha.

Elder Call and I are getting along great and working hard together. We set a goal to talk to as many families that we see as possible to share the gospel message with them and we've seen tons of success from that. We've gotten so many people's number and address and they said that we can pass by and visit to share more, which is really exciting. The only problem is that we have so many that we have to keep track of them all now! Ha-ha. But that's a good problem to have.:) It shows that you have a lot of work and a lot of good things happening in the area.

The summer heat is finally here and there isn't a day that we don't work up a decent sweat. At first I was not looking forward to it at all but now I've just gotten used to it and it's pretty normal. It's just the first little while that takes some getting used to, ha-ha.

Overall, it was a really good week :) It definitely didn't turn out as planned and wasn't as fruitful as we had hoped but I know that as we continue to work hard, the Lord will bless us and guide us to His children who are prepared to receive the restored gospel. This work is incredible and I'd never trade it for anything in the world! I love you all and talk to you next week!

June!!

Baptism of Carolina & Margarita with their parents & Elder Call

Hello everyone!! I am so happy and excited right now :) Things continue to go incredibly well out here and I'm just constantly amazed at how the Lord truly prepares His children to receive our message, and how He leads us to them or them to us. This past week we saw just another example of that. We got a phone call from the mission office and they told us that they had a reference from the church website of a man who had been looking for the church here in Badalona for about a month or so, and we finally got his contact info and so we called him that same day and set up a visit. Well, the first visit we set up didn't actually go through because he couldn't because of work or something but we set up another one and that one went so well. It was incredible! We just talked a bit to get to know him and asked him what he expected from us and how he even came to know the church. He told us that he has a girlfriend in Mexico who is a member and he was out there and went to church, met with the missionaries a few times, and just felt that it was meant for him. He felt that this is what he needed in his life and that it was what the Lord wanted for him. And he said that he wanted to be baptized and how he could do that. We just sorta sat there a little bit stunned because normally that doesn't happen, ha-ha. But we told him that we would love to help him do that, and we set a baptismal date with him for June 23! He's an incredible man who already has a testimony of the church and the restored Gospel. It was a really neat experience for me and strengthened my faith and testimony that the Lord is always preparing His children in so many different ways and that He will always lead them to us or us to them as long as we are worthy and actively doing our part to do His will.

This past week we also had the baptism of Carolina and Margarita :) It was a really great experience and I'm so happy for them! They're two twin girls who are 13 and their mom is a member who is getting reactivated and we're also helping the dad to learn as well. Their family is so special to me and I love them to death! They love having us over and they say that we can come over any day and any time, ha-ha. But obviously we don't do that :). It's been amazing to be a part of their lives and to help them grow and learn and come closer to Christ. We're going to keep visiting them because we're still teaching other members of their family and I can't wait to see their entire family come to the restored Gospel!

On a little less of a missionary work note, summer is here and it's getting pretty warm, ha-ha. I've definitely had my share of sweat and it gets pretty warm outside. But it's good I guess. I've lost another kilo already and I love it, ha-ha. Things are going really well with my new companion, Elder Call. We get along really well and we're working hard together.

Oh! Funny story, ha-ha. So we had district meeting in the stake center the other day and we usually always stay for a little to eat lunch together and then go back to work. So this time we decided to make a joint lunch and we were using the stove top to heat up some water. Well, I'm not sure what happened but while the sisters were making the food, something started smoking and set off the fire alarms in the entire building, ha-ha. And then they couldn't figure out how to turn it off and we were just there for about 10 or 15 minutes with the alarms blaring but eventually someone figured it out and got it turned off.;) But lesson learned: probably not a good idea to cook like that, ha-ha.

All is well with Elder Mathews. Badalona is great. The ward and the members are incredible. I couldn't be happier :) I love you all and miss you lots!

New Transfer, New Companion

Clarisell's baptism!

Poor Elder Corbitt flies home tomorrow :(. I served with him for two transfers and we were blessed with so much success and miracles. I don't know how the Lord does it but he continually pours out His Spirit upon those who faithfully seek and serve Him. I've learned a lot from Elder Corbitt and I'll miss working with him. He's got a funny sense of humor that's unique to him and he's such an effective worker, planner, and just knows how to be a great missionary. I just hope I can fill those shoes.

My new companion is Elder Call. I've known him for quite some time here in the mission and I'm really excited to work with him. He's a great missionary and loves to work. I'll keep you all updated how things go :).

This past weekend we were blessed to see Clarisell be baptized and confirmed. She is such a special lady and it's been amazing to see her change and accept the gospel. The members are doing great with her and I'm so happy for her. This next weekend we have two more young women preparing to be baptized and they are really excited and so is the ward. Carolina and Margarita are their names and their family is one of the very special ones that I've been able to meet out here. I'll send pictures of that next week too :).

This weekend and yesterday were great days but also some of the hardest, ha-ha. They were great because we taught a lot of really good investigators and we also had a little surprise farewell for Elder Corbitt. The members thanked him for all he has done and there was a bit of food and pictures, etc. But then Monday, yesterday, was great and terrible at the same time, ha-ha. The only bad part of the day was that we ate with almost everyone we met with yesterday, ha-ha-ha! That's one of the worst things about transfers! We ate at 1:30 a hugeeee lunch, then at 4:30 another family gave us some desserts, at 6:00 some more desserts, at 7:30 another surprise dinner that we did not plan for, and then at 8:30 another surprise dinner, ha-ha. Let's just say that the three of us were beyond full and I have no idea how I was able to eat in every visit. We got out of our last visit a little late and we didn't think we were going to make it home on time because we couldn't run at all since we were all way too full of food, and we were a little ways away from our apartment. But right then a member drove by and waved at us and we, without even pausing to think, asked if he could give us a ride and he said yes! Talk about a blessing, ha-ha.

Everything here is going great and I'm loving every minute of it. The heat is finally starting to arrive unfortunately but that was expected. Time to sweat off all the weight I just gained yesterday from eating so much, ha-ha!

I love you all so much and thanks for your incredible examples. Until next week!