Tarragona!!!

I guess I should start off by saying that I've been transferred!!! I was so sad to leave Mataró though. :( I was seriously heart broken saying goodbye to some people and it was really hard. We got a text from our leaders saying that the calls for transfers were going to take place Saturday night from 8:30 to 9:30. So we were just waiting to see if we would get a call. The time ticked on and 9:30 came and went and Elder Carroll and I were just thinking ‘sweet, we're both staying!’ But then at 10:30 we got a phone call saying that I was leaving :( I told a bunch of people that I was leaving and we had a lot of visits Sunday and Monday to say some goodbyes. I took some pictures with some people to save for memories and we had quite a few eating visits, haha. I was pretty full Monday night. But one of my all time favorite families in Mataró gave me a few little presents, haha. They gave me some marking pens for marking my scriptures and other things, a nice written letter that really meant a lot to me, and a jar of peanut butter!!!! Hahaha. For those of you that don't know, peanut butter is almost non-existent here and it costs a bit of money. So they went out of their way to buy me a jar. I was so happy and excited when I saw it, haha. They will forever be in my heart and prayers and I told them that if there is a family that I want to visit when I return to Mataró, it's them. Who knew that you could get so attached to people? I feel like I'm leaving home again, haha. But I know the Lord needs me in another part of Spain.

Speaking of that, I've been transferred to Tarragona!!! It's a sweet looking city and I'm so excited. There are four missionaries here now instead of just two which is exciting. My companion is Elder Tyler and he's from Ogden, Utah. He's been out the same amount of time as Elder Carroll who I just left. So I'm basically picking up right where I left off, haha. I'll include the address at the bottom.

But this past week in Mataró was crazy. Elder Carroll got pretty sick and we even ended up having to go to the hospital. Wednesday morning we had Zone Conference and I was all excited to go but Elder Carroll woke up and I asked him how he felt. He said not good so I told him to take his temperature and he had a fever and so I said that we weren't going. He woke up later and his fever had gone up to 102.4ish and then an hour later it was up to 103.5. So that's when we really started worrying. I called a member to take us to the hospital and they came and man, Elder Carroll was not doing well. We got to the hospital and the doctors took care of him, and luckily his fever went away with the meds they gave him through his IV. They think he ate something bad because he also had a little bathroom problem...no details, haha. So we were told to stay inside for a few days which was not fun. It was ridiculously boring, haha. You can only sit and read for so long and then after that there's not much to do. Luckily, he got better by Sunday. But talk about a great way to end the transfer :P With me, all is well. I continue to eat healthier, work hard, and all is well out here in Spain. The temperature is slowly starting to change and it's getting a little colder outside. But I'm sorta excited because I love winter out here :) Mostly because I get to wear my coat which I absolutely loveeeee. But anyway, all is well :)

I love and miss you all so much but time flies. Next week I hit a year man! I cannot believe it and I am not going to count down, haha. It'll go by too fast. But until next week!

Here's my address:

Elder Justin Mathews

C/Rambla Nova 125,3,3

43001 Tarragona

Spain

The Last Week of Yet Another Transfer

Well, we're at the last week of yet another transfer. This has gone by so incredibly fast. But that's why there's the sense of urgency in the work. Gotta keep the flame burning :). This week though was probably one of the toughest weeks ever man, haha. And I am not kidding by any means. I'm pretty sure that we had more visits fall through than the total number of visits that we ended the week with, haha. It was brutal. And on top of that, our two fantastic investigators who were going to be baptized this coming week can't anymore. Well, one can't because she can't stop working on Sundays. She's still good though other than that. But the other one, Blanca, just one day told us that she can't continue anymore. She said it was because the son of the lady that she takes care of and lives with doesn't want us passing by. But then we saw her a few days later and caught her in the lie with a few questions. She came up with all these other random excuses that she's never had before so basically we aren't teaching her anymore. It was honestly one of the saddest moments I've had here in Mataró. We put so much time and energy into her, she progressed so well, she loved everything and had no problems whatsoever. And then one day she just gives up. Talk about a dagger to the heart, haha. We did all we could to keep her but in the end we can't. Just means that we gotta work even harder to find those elect and prepared children of God. No worries :). We were on our way home that night after talking with Blanca and we were just frustrated and probably a little mad, too. And we decided to take out that frustration by contacting people on the street. Probably not the best idea but hey, it worked, haha. We had an awesome little miracle with one of them, too. We were going home for the night and we took a road that we don't usually ever take to get home and we were in a hurry. This one lady was coming towards us and my companion told me, "Contact her." So I did. And you know what? She's a member! She said that she joined the church in Honduras before I was even born, haha. But she went inactive before she moved here which is sad. We met with her and she said that she too had taken a road home from work that she doesn't usually ever take. Heavenly Father places us in the paths of those that need the gospel at this moment, members and non members alike.:)

Well, on a little bit less spiritual note, haha… You'll all be proud to know that Elder Mathews has lost some weight baby!!!! hahaha. Yes, I know that's probably not that special to you all. But the other day I got sent a letter from a member that I know in a different ward and he had a picture of me and him on it and holy smokes, I was a chub! But some of that chub has disappeared and I'm actually doing my morning exercise a lot more and doing it every day :). So there is still yet some hope!:)

School has all started up here finally. They started today so we'll see how that affects the schedule of our investigators. I'm sure it'll be fine though. Even though things were rough this past week, we have high expectations for this next week. And since it's the last week of the transfer, it's sorta a little push to do that much more since you never know if you're leaving. So I'm sure I'll have lots to tell next week.

I love you all and miss you tons. Until next week!

September!!!

This week was a fantastic one full of ups and downs, heat and rain, miracles and rejections haha. There's no better week than that...dead serious too. We saw so many miracles. Less active people whom we've been trying to get to church finally came, we've found new investigators that have so much potential, and just everything. One of those miracles was this man named Fari. He's Dominican and he's a member of 14 years. He went inactive about 10 years ago, I think, because he found work. We ran into him doing a contact one day a while back and he said we could visit. We didn't know he was a member already until he told us! But we've been working with him to get him to come back to church and with his family as well. His wife isn't a member but is very supportive of us and likes our visits. So we're hoping to work with her as well. But yesterday they both came to church! We didn't expect them at all because we hadn't been able to visit them this past week. But we came out of our meeting and we saw them and it just made me so happy! I sat next to them the whole time to help them feel a little more comfortable. Another little miracle was with this man named Carlos. He's Catalan and one day he just walked by the chapel while we were having a ward cleaning activity and just stopped and asked what we were. So we pulled him into a classroom and talked with him for a bit and the visit went really well. That was about a month ago. Now we see him all over the place and one day he looked completely different. He had cut his long hair, he looked healthier, and he said he needs to turn his life around. After that visit he said he knew he had to change. We asked if we could meet again and he said of course and luckily he lives right down the street of the church, haha. We had a good visit and the Bishop came with us and we gave him a Book of Mormon. He said that he wanted to read it a lot and said that he'd read this next week and we could talk again this coming week. It was incredible to see the hand of the Lord touching his heart and preparing him to receive this message. We'll keep meeting with him and see how he does :).

But how about some other things....well. This past week we had quite the awkward situation on the bus, haha. We went up to see the mall for Preparation Day last week just to see what's up there and we went shopping for our groceries there too since they have this huge shopping store kinda like a Walmart or something, haha. But while we were there, this fight broke out a few lines down. This Spaniard guy grabbed this other guy by the collar of the shirt and was shouting at him and then this Muslim lady took something and smacked the guy on the head and everything shattered on the ground and they were all screaming and man what a scene they made, haha. Everyone in the store was watching and security came running and had to literally carry/drag the ladies to a private room to talk with them. What a day to choose to go to the mall right? Well, unfortunately that's not all, hahaha. We took the bus down to our piso and well, we got on the bus and this creepy little guy was sitting up front and as we walked by he touched us and said hi. We kept walking and set our stuff down and by accident, Elder Carroll set his stuff down on a lady's bag and she tried to pull it out and she broke it. She got all mad at him and was saying stuff that I won't repeat. Luckily, Elder Carroll didn't understand her, haha. These three girls of about 25 were sitting across the way and watching and I guess they didn't think we spoke Spanish because I was talking to my companion in English. And so one girl said to a friend, "What are they?" And then another said, "I think they're Jehovah's Witnesses." And then I just turned to them and said in perfect Spanish, "Nope we're not." They all just looked at each other and said, "Oh shoot they speak Spanish." Hahaha It was so funny. Gotta love that. Well, remember that creeper? He decided to come and stand by me at one point on the bus and I just tried to ignore him. It sorta didn't work too well because he tapped my arm and said hello. To be polite I said hi as well and he said, "You know, people like you get along really well with me." And man that was just creepy. The way he said it, his smile, everything lol. He proceeded to shake my hand, rub my stomach for a bit and then hug me around the waist a few times. It was sooooo awkward. Why is it that missionaries attract the weirdest things and people? haha. I was just praying to get off the bus ASAP and luckily we did. But man, talk about a crazy Preparation Day! Hopefully today isn't like that....But we'll see, haha.

I love you all and think about you often. Have fun as school starts up again and I wish you all the best of luck. Luckily, I don't have to do all that for another year :) haha but it will eventually come. Oh well.

A Little Rainy Day is Sometimes Needed

Another week of heat! But thankfully on Thursday or Friday it cooled off sooo much. A small cold front came through with a little bit of needed rain :) It felt soooo good. But I sorta missed the sun for a while, haha. Saturday though was just an incredible day weather wise. I hardly sweat at all and I was just in a great mood. The week overall was pretty good as well but with a few spots of hard times. One was that our investigator who was going to get baptized this past weekend didn't :( We had everything lined up and ready to go and then we found out that she wasn't going to be able to come to church Sunday which meant that she wasn't going to be able to be confirmed. She was called in to work all weekend at her family business because they had some big party or something and she was needed. She tried to get off and all but nothing worked. So we've had to push back her date until the 17th of September so that she has enough time to make sure she has Sundays off now. She's excited that she can still be baptized and still wants to be so we're still working with her and we're going to make sure that she follows through on this one :) Our other two people, Blanca and Zulma, are doing well. Blanca is a solid investigator and loves to read the Book of Mormon and loves meeting with us. The only thing hindering her progress right now though is tithing. She always thought that tithing was however much you wanted to pay and so when she found out it was 10% she sorta struggled with that because she has to send money to her kids, and she has to pay her own rent and everything. So we've been working with her on that to help her develop the faith to pay a full tithe. We've been praying a lot for her too so it's all up to her and the Lord.

This past week I went up to Girona again on exchanges and this time it didn't rain! That's the first time it didn't rain while I was up there! haha. It was some nice weather, a little hot, but a great experience. We had some fun up there but worked hard as well so it was a good learning experience. This past week we had a neat little miracle happen. We visited a less active lady who's recovering from cancer treatment. She's a great lady and loves it when we come over. She's doing so much better and is so much happier and healthier looking. She has two kids: fraternal twins who are 18 or 19. The girl is a member and the boy isn't. He's never been really interested in listening and we've tried teaching him in the past but he's just never wanted to listen really. But this time when we passed by to visit, he stayed the whole time! Usually he'll go to his room and play on the computer or just watch TV. But this time he decided to stay and listen and pray with us. It was incredible. And on top of that, while we were talking he said that he had a question. He paused for a moment and then said, "I remember a few months ago you talked about living with God and families again. What happens with all that?" It just caught me way off guard because for one it showed that he was actively participating and that he was thinking about all this, and second that he had paid attention and remembered something from months and months ago. Maybe he wasn't ready to hear the gospel back then. But maybe his time has come now. I know that angels are preparing people all around us to receive this gospel and we may not know who they are. They might be family members or friends. But I know that the Lord knows who is ready and who isn't. That's part of the thrill of being a missionary. I get to see the gospel change lives and bless people forever and I get to feel the satisfaction that comes of knowing that another child of God has heard and accepted the truth. There is no greater joy that comes from seeing someone change and accept our Savior Jesus Christ. And only a missionary would be so determined and so driven to go through rain, snow, wind, slammed doors, days without a visit, to just see that one person enter the waters of baptism. I know that my Savior lives and that this is His work. I am not here to have fun and to goof around. I am here to bring others to Christ. And when I do that, then comes the fun and enjoyment. Even though I don't go to the beach, I don't watch TV or go online, I don't need that to enjoy these two years. I've learned that true joy and happiness comes through serving and loving others :)

Cannot wait until Winter :)

This week was a scorcher! It was sunny and hot all week long. Even the people here were telling us that it was a really hot week for them. Now, it wasn't anything outrageous but when you're outside, it feels pretty ridiculous, haha. I can't remember what day this week but apparently it got over 41ºC (I think that's around 103ºF or something) and we could tell. And to add to the craziness, we played soccer with our ward and some investigators on Saturday in the good ol blazing heat. I was sweating pretty good afterwards and during. But it was soooo worth it. I haven't played a good game in so long and it felt good to play again :) I got to score a few goals and I gotta say that some were pretty sweet. But I am definitely out of shape, haha. Time to start doing more in the morning exercises. It was still a great opportunity to play and have some investigators come to meet some members in a setting that's not so overwhelming. They loved it and hopefully they can come back to play :). At least I know I want to play, haha.

Like I said earlier, it was a way hot week and for some reason we had to do a lot more running in it this week than in any other week on my mission so far. And when I say we went running, I mean we had to run to visits or the train station or the bus in our shirts and ties. I felt so disgusting pretty much every day and I ended up taking showers at night as well. They weren't lying when they said that the real heat of summer comes in August here, haha. We went to this one town called Blanes, which is way up north in our area and we were working there and we realized that we had to catch the train in time to get to another visit back in Mataró. So we had to run for 20ish minutes up and down hills and through the streets of a town that I had never visited before. It was a miracle that we didn't get lost and that we made our train, haha. It was awesome. But man we were soaking wet and just standing in the sun waiting for the air-conditioned train. We did get to our visit in time but not without a little bit of work and sweat, haha. And our work has been paying off because we have a baptism this week!!!! I'm so excited! Ana, the lady who I've been talking about is set to get baptized on the 27th. She came to church this week and it was incredible because she was out of town this weekend and she came all the way back here just to go to church so she could be baptized this Saturday. She's such an awesome investigator. She's progressing well and she's asked that I be the one to baptize her. Elder Carroll, my companion, is pretty excited too since it's his first on his mission. So things are going well and we'll be working hard this week to make sure that this goes through still :)

Another pretty incredible thing that happened yesterday came from our recent convert's daughter. It was her daughter's 11th bday and she came up to me at church and told me that she had just finished the entire Book of Mormon! I just looked at her and couldn't really believe it! I asked her, "Are you serious?? No way!" But she said yeah and you know, we've been trying to work with her to see if she can also be baptized and if she can read the Book of Mormon just like that. To me it seems like she wants to learn more and to follow our Savior. She's even said to her Primary teachers and mom that she wants to be baptized. The only problem is that her parents are divorced and she's with her dad for two weeks every month so teaching is a little tricky. But we'll do everything we can to help her make this step in her life :)

Things here are going incredibly well. I couldn't ask for more. Well, maybe some cooler air but that's about it, haha. I love you all and I love hearing from you. Thanks for your support, love and prayers. Talk to you all next week!