Happy New Year!

This week was quite interesting. A few days before Christmas, we ended up getting stuck in Logroño, another city in our mission for about four days because Elder Gerber, my companion, got sick with a “bathroom issue”. We made the trip to Logroño because as a District Leader, Elder Gerber had to interview a person for a Christmas day baptism.:) Logroño is about 1.5 hrs. away from our area. The day we were suppose to head back on Christmas eve, had us just missed the last bus until Sunday. We were stranded there and didn't really have a change of clothes. So we had to use what we had and do some laundry. But it was kinda fun being with the other Elders there. We ate with a family there and they were great. Their daughter, Sara, just got off her mission to Malaga about two months ago and she's going to BYU in about a week. So some of you might meet her. But now I'm finally back in my own city, and it feels great to have my own clean clothes and food and everything.:)

It was really frustrating this past week because I couldn't do much at all since Elder Gerber was sick. If he's sick, I have to stay with him. So we didn't get to teach anything or anyone, and we were stuck in the piso for a few days. It was awful. And you can only read for so long haha. I just felt like a bum. But now he's all good and we're back to action :).

Hope you all had a great Christmas! Let's just say that this year was wayyyy different than expected. But at least I got to talk to my family :). That was the best part. And of course, I got to delve into my Christmas stocking when we got back!:)

Sorry this one is so short and doesn't really have a lot of stuff in it. It was a pretty boring week to be honest. And we have to run to a visit in a few minutes, again, so my time got cut way short again. Hopefully next week's email will be better.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!!!

¡Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I know it's not quite Christmas. But since I won't be able to email again until after, I decided to say it now. Hope it's great! I'm not quite sure what we're doing here for Christmas...I think we're going over to a member's house with the Hermanas and doing something. Should be fun.

This week was crazy. Tuesday was our Christmas Conference with our entire zone. It was awesome. We got to exchange white elephant gifts and we ate an amazingggg dinner. President and Sister Hinckley also gave all of us a couple of presents. Since our mission nickname is "El Faro", which means lighthouse in Spanish, they gave us all a Lighthouse Christmas ornament. It's way cool. We also have cookbooks coming haha. But they weren't quite done at the printer so they'll just mail them they said.

After the conference I went on my first Exchanges!! For those that don't know, an Exchange is when you and your regular companion split for a day or two and go with another missionary. I got to go to Bilbao for two days with Elder Ramirez who, lucky me, is a native haha. But it was really good practice for my Spanish. Bilbao was an awesome place. Way different from Pamplona but still way cool. We also had to walk soooo much. And Elder Ramirez loves to walk fast. So I was actually way too warm for my coat haha. But overall it was an amazing learning experience.

The rest of the week was iffy. We didn't teach many lessons because we had a lot of appointments just fall through. It's really frustrating when that happens because you don't really have a whole lot else that you had planned. So instead of teaching, we usually just go by people who are listed in the Area Book or run by references. And it is definitely not one of the most effective uses of time. But this Saturday we had a baptism! It was awesome! Her name is Lisa. Her whole family are members but she was the last one. It's awesome to see the hand of the Lord in this work. I love it here :)

I would email more but we're really short on time. We gotta get somewhere soon. But next week I'll have more time. Hope you all have a great Christmas!!!

¡Feliz Navidad!...casi (Merry Christmas!...almost)

I gotta say that this has been one of the fastest weeks ever. And it's also been one of the most emotionally trying haha. But don't get me wrong, I've loved being out here. This week started out pretty dang bad. We weren't having a whole lot of success and everything with contacts, and it was really frustrating. We also had a ton of citas (appointments) fall through. So we had to just pass by other people that we had as references or people to contact. But then there were just some days that were awesome. We had some citas that were amazing and you could feel that Hand of the Lord working on the people. When we had some of our lowest points, that's when we'd have one or two great experiences. The Lord blesses us with just enough to keep us going. And it's working haha.

Living in NY I thought that I had experienced some crazy weather, but I guess not. I swear that the weather here is bipolar. On Wednesday it was 23ºC which is around 70ºF! It was soooo warm and I was loving the weather...but then we woke up the next morning to -3ºC. Talk about quite the change. But even though it's been around -2ºC every morning, it usually gets up to 11º. So it's actually not too bad. And I still have yet to experience the realllll cold stuff haha. But I don't think I'll be experiencing that here. It rarely gets below freezing and rarely snows. But still, add the wind and its pretty cold in church clothes haha.

For those that don't know exactly what missionaries can or can't do, we sacrifice two years of our lives and go and serve the Lord wherever we are sent. I was sent to serve in Spain and I love it. One of the sacrifices we make is devoting our time and energy to the work and to the Lord, which means that we don't have distractions from girls here and cell phones, facebook, etc. So we can't hug girls or anything. It may sound kinda strange but I don't mind it. It's just something you get used to haha. But we went to one of our investigator's piso (apartment) and her friend, Adriana, was there too. And the typical greeting between two women or a man and women is a kiss on each cheek. But as a missionary, we don't do that. But...she didn't know that and she proceeded to greet us like normal haha. It was a little awkward because I wasn't able to react fast enough to say anything. But we explained afterward and she apologized a lot and everything. It was pretty funny. We just laughed afterwards.

This past week, along with the emotional rollercoaster, was our English Fast. And for those that know what fasting is, this is the same thing. Instead of abstaining from food, we didn't speak English for the entire week. It was kinda hard at first because I wasn't used to speaking only Spanish for the entire week. I'd done it for a day at a time but never for this long. But, surprisingly, it became a lot easier. By the end of the week I was thinking in Spanish and speaking fairly easily. Obviously there are still a lot of words and phrases I don't know but I'm amazed at how quickly I learned.

This morning was the first time we could speak English and I kinda forgot so I was still speaking in Spanish to my companion haha. And then we realized that we could switch. But today I've still been going back and forth just because it's a habit now. And now I even form sentences in English based on the Spanish grammar haha. This morning I said something like, "The food's hot, no?" instead of saying, "The food's hot right?" haha. I guess it's a good thing though because it means that the language is becoming part of my daily thinking.

With Christmas just about two weeks away we've been listening to lots of Christmas music haha. I'm lucky that I actually have a companion who enjoys listening to it like me. And we get along well so I can't complain. But it's weird because here in Spain, Christmas isn't that huge. Yes, people still give presents and acknowledge the birth of Christ. But the lights, and the trees, and the Christmas spirit in general is kinda lacking. It's kinda sad to be honest. So we make up for it in our piso. Tomorrow we have a Christmas Conference with our entire Zone and that should be pretty awesome.

There's a quote that Elder Gerber, my companion, said that I want to share. He said, "The time on a mission is kinda weird. A year seems like a month, a month seems like a week, a week seems like a day, and a day seems like a year." And it is so true. I haven't been out in the field for a month yet so I can't quite say that yet haha. But the weeks just go by so fast. I can't believe that another one has already come and gone. But there are definitely some days that just seem like they don't want to end. That's why he said they feel like a year sometimes. But it's all in the attitude.

I guess I'll finish with a scripture I found studying this week. It's Luke 12:34. For some reason it just popped out to me. So there's your spiritual enlightenment for the week haha.

Love and miss you all!

I'm here!!!

After nine fun weeks I am finally in the field! My first area is Pamplona! For those of you who don't know where that is, I'll just let you use a map. And an interesting and really cool thing about Pamplona is that this is the place where they have the infamous Running of the Bulls every July! Unfortunately, we can't go to that but it's still cool knowing I'm in the city where that takes place.

My trainer's name is Elder Gerber. He's been out about a year and a half now so he's well-seasoned and knows the language really well, thank goodness. It's kinda funny though that I'm paired with him because we have a lot in common haha. It's actually a little creepy. We're both from NY, we're both the oldest child in our family, we both shared a car with one or both parents and it was the same car, we both have slightly Asian eyes haha, and we were both at the same multi-stake activity a few years ago but didn't know each other at the time. I think I'm forgetting something but oh well. We have quite a bit in common and we get along really well.

We've had quite a few lessons and it's been really fun going around and teaching people. And what's even better is that I've been able to understand and participate in every single one. I've actually gotten compliments from some people about how well I can speak haha. But I know I still have a longggg ways to go.

This past Sunday we had lunch at the Echarri Family's house. They have three kids at home but I think they might have more that have already been married and moved out. Their kids come with us when we teach a lot which is great. After that meal at their house I was so full. But it felt soooo good. I hadn't been full since I arrived in the field. I only went shopping for the things that would carry me until today so I didn't buy like anything. And then today is a holiday so all the stores are closed. Just my luck. But we're gonna stop by tomorrow so we don't die of hunger. I'll survive though.

I did survive the snow that we got my first day here so if I can survive that I think I'll be fine. The first morning here we got up and looked out the window and there was about 3" of snow outside and it was still coming down hard. It was sweeeet. And by the time we went out for our District Meeting there was another two or three inches. It was awesome. But it was really cold and the snow was everywhere. The cold only lasted for a few days along with the snow and now there's no snow and it's now 13 degrees (in celcius) which is way good haha. But I'm used to the cold since we have it forever back home.

This morning we woke up and I was like, wow I feel great! And Elder Gerber said the same thing and then we looked at the clock and it said 8:30! We totally overslept somehow and apparently the alarm didn't set right haha. But luckily it's P-Day and we don't have things with investigators in the mornings. We're supposed to get up at 7:30 in our mission so we got another hour of sleep. So let's just say we feel awesome today haha.

At night we have to be back to our piso, or apartment, by 10:00 and then be in bed by 11:30. People are up so late here and it's so weird. We taught one lesson at 9:30 the other night and we're gonna be doing it the rest of the week. I'll get used to the schedule though soon enough. The only thing that kills me is we have to wait to eat dinner until we get home for the night. We eat lunch from 2:00 until about 3:00ish and then dinner after 10:00. I'm probably gonna actually lose weight out here cuz of how far between the meals are, how little we can eat since we have to make all our food now, and we walk everywhere. But that's definitely not a bad thing haha.

I think that's about it for now. Or at least that's all I can remember. Miss you all! Keep them letters comin! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well here it is. In less than one week I will be out in the mission field putting to use the things that I've been practicing for the past nine weeks. Yes I'm crazy nervous haha but I'm so excited and looking forward to getting out and actually doing the work that I've been sent to do. I know that I still have a long ways to go before I'm even close to being able to talk fluently in Spanish and to teach the best I can but I feel like I have been prepared well.

I guess I should also say Happy Thanksgiving!!! It's so weird to think that everyone back home will be eating nice, big, juicy turkeys or whatever you eat along with pie, potatoes, rolls, and everything. I gotta say I'm a little jealous haha. But we get to have our own little Thanksgiving meal today too which is pretty nice. We're apparently having turkeys, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies, etc. So it won't be too bad. I just wanna sorta fly back home for a day and have Thanksgiving there haha. And it's kinda nice that it's on P-Day too.

This past week was pretty crazy. So much happened and I hope I remember it all. I had to write down some of the more important stuff so I don't forget. I guess I'll start with last Sunday. Last Sunday we were having study time and our District Leader, Elder Thompson, came in and told me I was giving a talk on Modern Day Prophets. So I stopped reading in the scriptures and started preparing my talk. I originally was just gonna go off the top of my head and bear testimony but for some reason I felt like I should write it out. It was the easiest I have ever had to write or think in Spanish. The words and the sentence construction just flowed and I felt like I was totally immersed in the language which was so cool. And then when I gave it, I didn't speak like an American. I'm sure I had a slight accent and that some of my Spanish was wrong once in a while, but overall I was able to speak fluently and easily. I can only contribute this ease to our Father in Heaven. It was an amazing experience and I'm sure there are many more to come.

This past week I also got both my suits dry cleaned finally! I've been waiting to get them done until right before I left because they'll be clean for when I leave on Tuesday and I saved money these past nine weeks haha. So that was pretty fun. It cost €11 for two pants and the jacket which is a lot cheaper than I thought. But still, it's money and I probably won't get them cleaned again until after New Year's haha.

E. Thompson, Keeler, and I also had to go somewhere to do some more visa stuff. Apparently missionaries that need this done don't get it until they're already in the field but ours came early somehow. We had to take the metro for 45 minutes which was a pain and then we went to this big, yellow building which apparently is for visa junk, and then we had to wait in line for another 30 minutes. And the guy that was taking us there and helping us was 30 minutes late picking us up. So overall, it was a pretty boring experience and I felt like I wasted lots of time. And all we had to do was get our fingerprints taken. We left at 1:45 and didn't get back until 5:30. I could”ve been studying or something! haha. But whatever. It was a necessary waste of time.

After we got back we decided to go to the gym to see if the other missionaries were there because we returned during our exercise time. We got there just in time to see Elder Raiano spike the volleyball in Hna. Nalbandyan´s face. We just stood there and had no idea what to do. It's kinda funny for all of us now that we look back on it. But at the time we were just thinking, "She's gonna kill you Elder." haha. Luckily she didn't though. But yeah I can't really join in the sports anymore which stinks because of my hernia. Hopefully you all know about that by now haha. If not...I have a hernia. So whenever we play soccer or basketball, I just play goalie or just shoot around on the outside during basketball. But still, I hate not being able to play for real. But whatever. My health is more important right now.

This past week, Elder Keeler and I set a few goals, like usual. And one of them was about the language. We decided to only speak Spanish from after breakfast, 8:00, until our gym time, 5:00. It was pretty hard at first but it's been getting a lot easier. I still don't know some words but I can communicate with all the Spaniards here. The problem is when I get out on the streets haha. They speak way faster and they mumble their words a lot more. Most of the other missionaries here are from South America and they speak a lot clearer so it's easier to understand them. But I'll get used to it eventually.

I'm still loving the food here. We have a lot of sea food which is pretty cool. The crawfish and clams and stuff I still haven't gotten up the courage to try haha but the fish and shrimp is fine. Tastes really good too. But...I miss good 'ol home cookin once in a while haha. Once in a while I crave the taste of "American" food, whatever that is. But I haven't gone without a meal yet so I guess I'm doing pretty good. I think my favorite sweet right now is churros and chocolate. That stuff is soooo good. Apparently it's really big here, especially in the winter. They give you a cup of hot chocolate. Not the hot chocolate that we're used to though. It's thicker, creamier, and richer and sooo much better haha. And then you dip the churros in the chocolate and eat it. It's so good. I took a picture of it so if you wanna see it, just ask my Mom. I'm pretty sure I'll be having lots more of that before I go home.

The mission is going great. I've never been happier in my life. Yes the days are long sometimes and I feel like dropping dead from being tired, but it's all worth it. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now and that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Thanks for all the support, love, prayers, and letters! I miss you all but I know that I'll see you before you know it.

Elder Mathews