Under the Knife Again

This week has probably been one of the best weeks of my mission if not the best. It started off on Tuesday with a nice long hike up to the mountains of Mataró. Remember the man I told you about that lived in the monastery in the mountains? Well, we had to hike up there to visit him Tuesday since we didn't have a car. So we brought our regular shoes and changed once we got to the dirt road and started the excursion. I have to say we looked a little ridiculous with a suit and running shoes on, haha. But it was a neat experience. We hiked up the mountain for about an hour and visited Miguel for about 15 minutes. By the time we were done it was getting dark and we hiked back down. We decided to take a different path down because we thought that's the way we went the first time we went up. But we obviously thought wrong, haha. At a certain point we both just stopped and looked at each other and said, "This isn't the way we went last time." haha. But we kept going anyway because we had gone a long way already. We kept going and after a while we came out to the highway. Not some dinky little neighborhood road but the highway. And we looked at the road signs and we had just come out to the neighboring town called Argentona which is forever away if you're walking. But that's what we had to do. We walked along the highway and then finally got back to Mataró. So instead of taking an hour or less to get down, it took us 2.5 hours hahaha. So lesson learned, don't take a path that you aren't sure about. But that was a fun experience: walking in the dark on the mountain and just goofing off with your companion and laughing at your stupidity. Oh how great the mission is!

This week was also the baptism of Jorge, Maria, and Tania. They're a family that Elder Raban and his other companion found and I came in about halfway through. But they warmed up to me really fast and I just fell in love with them. Tania is only 10 so she reminds me a lot of Jenna, my little sister. And she just seemed to have a little soft spot for me, haha. Friday was their baptism and Elder Raban baptized Maria and Tania while I got to baptize Jorge. It was an incredible experience. But what was even more incredible is what came on Sunday when they were confirmed members of the church. Maria was confirmed first and then Tania came up. Elder Raban and I participated with the bishop and his councilor and the bishop asked Tania who she'd like to confirm her. And she looked right at me and said, "Mathews." It caught me completely off guard and I was shocked. I had never done something like this before on my mission and all of a sudden I just got nervous. But as soon as I started, all the fear and nerves just left. It was an incredible experience for me.

Later that day they invited us over for dinner since I'm leaving to have surgery tomorrow (I'll get to that in a bit) and we had just started eating at home. So we stopped and put everything in the refrigerator and went over to their house. It was such a good meal, too, and they just seemed so much happier than they had ever been before. The gospel has changed them dramatically and I love the feeling I get being around them. Before we left I said goodbye to them because that was probably the last time I'd get to see them. And as I went to say goodbye to Tania she told me ,"Tienes que volver ¿vale?" which means, "·You have to come back. ok?" I don't want to sound like a big ol softy, haha, but it kinda touched me. I didn't realize how attached I had gotten to this family and at how attached they had gotten to me, especially little Tania. I will forever be grateful for these two short weeks I've had here in Mataró.

But now for the update on the hernia… As I said earlier, surgery is tomorrow. Yep, I go under the knife yet again. I'll be in the hospital at 1:30 and getting taken care of and then they start the actual surgery at around 4:00, I think. I'll be spending the night in the hospital and then the next day I go to the office to spend about a week there doing absolutely nothing. It'll be frustrating but hey, the sooner I recover, the sooner I can go back and work. But the doctor did tell me some kinda sad news. At least for me it's sad. For those of you that knew that I liked to lift weights before my mission might understand why it's a little sad for me. The doctor said that after the surgery, I will never be able to lift heavy weights again for the rest of my life because it risks having the hernia re-open and we don't want that. He said I can lift little stuff but my heavy lifting days are over. So sad huh? :( But it's alright. I'll just focus more on training for a marathon or whatever. But that's the update.

As I said earlier, this week has been amazinggggg. I love being a missionary and the joy that I feel when I'm working and doing the Lord's will. I love you all and think about you often and I hope that you aren't suffering too much in the cold, hehe. I'll update you all next week about how surgery went :)

Elder Mathews

I think I left my mission...

Well, sorry about last week. I had basically no time to email but now I do. I've been transferred to a city called Gerona. It's up north of Barcelona. But there's an Elder named Elder Raban who is in Mataró, another city right on the coast, who is waiting for his companion to come from the States. So president sent me to be with him while we're waiting for the other Elder. We had planned that I'd only be here for about a week, but we just got a phone call from the office and they said that they found a tumor in the other Elder's hip. Crazy huh!? So we have no idea how long I'll be here now or even if the other Elder will be coming now. So I'll be in Mataró for a while longer. But I don't mind at all. I'm seriously in paradise! The beach and the sea are right next to us. You can literally see it from our city and where we work. And the weather has been soooo nice. I feel like I'm on vacation now haha. But I’m obviously working don't worry :)

So for those who want to send mail...I'm not sure what to say because I have no idea how long I'll be here. Maybe just send it to the mission home because I'll be there a lot the next few weeks with medical stuff and all. And so if i don't respond for a little while, I'm sorry! I don't mean to. It's just been crazy and everything lately and the work has been going better than I could have imagined.

The other day we got a phone call from a man in Madrid and he told us there was a man named Carlos that moved to Mataró who wants to be baptized and he gave us his phone number so we could call him. We tried to call Carlos soooo many times but we were just playing phone tag. We finally got a hold of him and he told us the most amazing story! He lives and works in a monastery, but doesn't believe in that church anymore. He said he is still there because he has work and a place to live. But we set up a time to meet and he told us to drive up to the monastery entrance and he'd meet us there at the gate because he didn't want anyone in the monastery seeing because they could kick him out. So we set up a time because he only had a short window open that he was free. We were all excited because this was like a secret undercover "mission" haha. We called our Bishop here, told him the situation, and he said he could drive us. We drove up using the directions that Carlos gave us and we totally got lost. We had to call him a few more times to get there and we ended up driving off road on this dirt path up this mountain to a monastery that was in the middle of nowhere. There is no way we could have found it just driving around. It was such a crazy experience. We got there and he met us outside the gate and we talked for a while and asked why he wanted to get baptized. He said that he had met with the missionaries 11 years earlier and then again a few years ago and then he moved from Madrid to here not too long ago. He said he pondered and meditated about what the missionaries had taught and he said he felt that it was true and that he needed to be baptized! He knows so much about the church already but it's almost like a too good to be true story haha. We gave him a Book of Mormon so he could read and he sent us a text this morning saying that he was so thankful for us and for our help. It was such a crazy experience; and you better believe that it went in my journal. We still don't know what's going to happen because he lives in the monastery, but I know the Lord will provide a way. But that's the story. It's amazing at how many small and big miracles happen here. It's incredible. I absolutely love my mission!

The other day as well, we were talking on the phone with a member and she's Filipino! She found out that I was half Filipino, and she got all excited and she started asking my companion if I knew what certain foods were and I had no idea. She said that she'd have to change that and she invited us over to eat. And I have to say, it was sooooo good. I was so full after but it was so worth it. And they were so nice, too. Maybe we'll get to go back again:) But there you have it. This week has been amazing and crazy at the same time. I'm sorry if I haven't written anyone back for a while. I really am. I just haven't had a ton of time to do it, but today I finally do. And then write back to the MIssion Office address for now until I update you all.

Thanks for the love and support. You're all great!!!!

Transferred!!!

Unfortunately, this entry is going to be short because I don't have much time because we have to go to a visit. But just so everyone knows, I've been transferred! I'm now serving in Mataró for about a week with a great Elder named Elder Raban until his other companion comes, and then I go up to Gerona. I miss Pamplona a tonnnnn, but I know the Lord needs me somewhere else.

This past week was great. A little sad because I had to say goodbye to everyone, but it was really good. We had many great lessons with our investigators and a ton of amazing experiences. I'll have to write them next week because I'm way short on time though. Sorry! But so everyone knows, don't send anything to the old address haha. Because I won't get it for another month or so if you do. I'll have my other address soon enough though so just be patient. If I don't write back soon, it's either because the letter was sent to my old city and I haven't gotten it yet, or it's in the mission home still. But don't worry, I won't forget about any of you :) Once again, sorry this is so short. I wish I could share all the million experiences I had this week, the emotions, the miracles, everything! But I'll have to write a nice, long email next week.

Love you all and I miss you all tons!

Prayers requested: Elder Mathews will be going for a pre-op on Thursday for a hernia repair and next week they'll schedule his surgery. Pres. & Sis. Clark Hinckley called us today to reassure us and explain the situation at hand. He said that they just had another missionary go thru a similar repair not too long ago, and that he is impressed with the staff and facility in Barcelona, which he said is almost better than some or most of the facilities in the U.S. It is also close to the mission office!:)

While this is a routine/minor surgery compared to others, we ask for prayers on his behalf and even for those who will be attending to his needs, especially with him being in Spain and away from us. We trust in the Lord and know that Elder Mathews is in good hands. We are thankful that Pres. & Sis. Hinckley can be there for Elder Mathews.

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support!:)

Sue Mathews

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Hope you all had a good one. For Valentine's Day we were in Bilbao for interviews with President. It was way cool. We only had about 10 or 15 minutes to meet with him but it was way neat. I got to talk with him about things on the mission and everything and while we waited for our turn, our Zone Leaders taught us. I loved it. But let me rewind and go back to last week.

We are now in a trio!! On Tuesday, Elder Southwick went to Barcelona to pick up a brand new Elder while I stayed with another missionary named Elder Jiménez. He was great and it was a lot of fun and we got tons of work done. It was a neat experience.

Wednesday afternoon Elder Southwick and the new Elder came and we headed back to Pamplona. The new Elder is named Elder Reeder. He's from Bountiful, Utah and he was stuck in the MTC for 13 weeks! I am so glad I didn't have any visa problems. But now I'm kind of like a trainer. Elder Southwick is the real trainer but on paper it says that both of us are trainers. Kinda cool huh?

Elder Reeder is great. We all get along really well and what's even cooler is he likes soccer, too!! That makes three of us in one companionship haha. All the members think it's weird that three American missionaries like soccer haha. But it's cool.

This past weekend we had a baptism!!! Alisson was baptized on Sunday and it was one of the best experiences I've had on my mission yet. I remember when me and my trainer found her in the end of December and I remember our first visit with her. And then Elder Southwick came and we kept visiting her and she progressed so fast. She just soaked up everything and accepts everything. She wants to go to the temple someday and might even serve a mission she said. It's so cool. I can't describe the happiness and joy I felt during her baptism. She even said herself yesterday in our visit that she wants to be baptized again because she said she felt so good and amazing. I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had to take part in teaching her. She's an amazing girl and I can't wait to see what happens to her down the road.

Now back to yesterday, Monday. After the interviews, the Hermanas that are in Pamplona traveled back to Pamplona with me and Elder Reeder while Elder Southwick went back to Barcelona for a doctor’s appointment because he had pneumonia a while back. So yesterday and most of today, it's just the two of us. I was a little nervous at first because I'm still learning and Elder Reeder is brand new and his Spanish is still getting there. But everything went really well. We had a visit with a less active member and it went way good. His wife isn't a member so we set up a return visit to talk with both of them. After that we walked around to try to do contacts, but there was like no one outside. We had no idea why and then we realized that it was the night of Valentine's Day and everyone was in restaurants or bars or inside their homes. So let's just say we didn't get many contacts haha. We had a visit with Alisson too and that went great as usual. So overall, we had a good night, just the two of us.

Today is Preparation Day since we had interviews yesterday so that's why the email is so late. Sorry if I worried any of you. Also, heads up about the coming week. I may or may not be getting transferred. With the new Elder here, there's three of us and chances are that I might be leaving. But I might not. I find out Sunday night and so I'll let you all know next Monday what's going on.

Thanks for all the letters and support :) I love hearing from you all and I hope you're doing great. Love ya!!

Spring in February??

As you can probably tell by the title, it has really been Spring here. This past week it has been at least 20ºC (68ºF/70ºF) here which is way warm for this time of year. We've just been going out in just our suit jackets and no coats or gloves or scarves. It's been awesome! We went from bitter cold with wind to this amazing weather. Hopefully it doesn't end real soon and then we get another batch of cold haha. But we'll see.

This past week was just awesome. Not just because of the weather though. We had quite a few little miracle experiences that made my journal entries a whole lot longer than normal haha. This past week, Elder Southwick and I planned to stop by a few less active members in one part of our area called San Juan. We went down the street towards the building number when we passed this one young mom and her three year old son. We just passed by and then the son said, "¡Hola!" so we decided to stop and talk. We were expecting it to be just another contact like always, but we were in for a big surprise. It turns out that she was a member! And not only that, she served a mission!! It was crazy! We started talking and she said that she served her mission in Ecuador, where she was from, and moved to Spain sometime after. She hasn't come to church in a few months because she said she's kinda lazy haha. But we had a good conversation with her and we're trying to get her back to church. She lives in the Hermana's area so we had to hand over the info to them. But it was still a really neat little experience.

After talking with her we headed down the street to do what we had planned and we got to the building. We got there and my companion asked what piso floor it was and what the name was and I told him and then all the sudden we heard this voice behind us that said, "Soy yo." which means that's me haha. We turned around and this big, tall black guy from the Congo was there. He was way nice though. We talked for a while and set up a time to visit him this next week. And if you think the success and little miracles ended there, I got one more haha. This street was just waiting for us. After talking to this man we didn't know what else we were supposed to do. We both felt like we had planned on doing something else on that street but we just couldn't remember what and it was driving us crazy. We pulled out the sheets of paper we had with us and looked at them but no one else lived on the street. But we just felt like we couldn't leave yet. And right at that moment, a young family walked around the corner. We didn't even think twice before we went up and started talking to them. They were from Bolivia and they had their young daughter who's six years old with them. We asked if we could stop by sometime and they said of course. We were supposed to visit them yesterday, but the lady called and said something came up so they couldn't but she asked if we could come another day. After we were done talking to that family we felt that we could leave the area. The Spirit was guiding us to that family. I don't know if much will come from me and my companion that will help them but I do know that we were supposed to talk to them and maybe down the road someday they'll accept the Gospel. So that's my little miracle story. It was a great experience for us and there are so many like that every day and every week.

This next week one of our investigators is getting baptized! :) Her name is Alisson and I'm pretty sure you've heard of her...I think haha. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned her in some emails. But after about a month of meeting with her, she's getting baptized on the 13th. So next week when I email, I'll have an update on that.

Yesterday was a very interesting day. It was normal at church and everything and we got to eat at a member's house and that was so good. They're a great family. The crazy part came after the meal when we were walking back home for a quick stop. We got a call from the Assistant to the President and he told Elder Southwick that we were getting another Elder with us in Pamplona! He told my companion that tomorrow he's traveling to Barcelona to pick up a brand new missionary and that he is going to be training the new Elder. I'll be up in Bilbao for a few days with another Elder while Elder Southwick is picking up the new Elder. We just got that all thrown on top of us and we've had to cancel at least seven visits that we had for Tuesday and Wednesday. We were kinda frustrated because it sorta messed up a few things. But it's exciting to get a new missionary. But we also have to figure out how to fit everything in our piso now haha. Our piso is kinda smaller so it'll be interesting trying to fit another Elder here. And then we'll see if he speaks any Spanish. I hope so. But getting this info basically means I'm probably getting transferred after this transfer. Unless they keep us three here for another or send the other Elder somewhere else. But I have a feeling I'm leaving :( I don't want to but I know the Lord guides the work here in Spain. I've gone through two companions already and I know the Lord is preparing me for something. Even Elder Southwick told me that. I don't know what but I am His servant here in Spain and I will do His will. The Gospel is true. My testimony grows everyday I'm out here.

Thanks for the love and support. Until next week...