Happy Mother's Day!!!

Request from Elder Mathews' parents: Please pray for Elder Mathews' and Elder Parry's safety. Thank you!

Another week has come and gone and it was a muchhhh better week than the past few.:) This week just flew by and we actually had some good visits and saw some more success this week which has been amazing. I guess I'll start with yesterday since it was the best day, haha. Yesterday was incredibly full. We were running from church to a visit and then another visit, back to church for a fireside, and then to another visit in a neighboring town. What a day! But the best thing that happened was that we set two more baptismal dates with two amazing people. Angelita and Lady were old investigators in the past but they couldn't meet a whole lot so the missionaries dropped them. Well, we decided to try them out and we got in with them. Angelita is a friend of one of the members here, Juana, who we visit a lot because her husband-to-be is a non member and investigator. So we brought them both to help us out on the visit and I'm so glad they came because they were able to help support and answer some questions that Angelita had. The visit was amazing. I felt the presence of the Spirit so strongly and originally we weren't even thinking about extending the invitation to be baptized. But I just felt that I needed to. Especially to Angelita. She at first said no because she was a little nervous and scared because it's hard for her to come to church on Sundays a lot. But I just felt driven to help her with this. A scripture came to my mind in Mosiah 18 about when Alma is teaching the people at the Water's of Mormon and he invites them to be baptized as well and I shared it with her and asked, "What is keeping you from being baptized like these people? You know that this church is true and you know the happiness it brings. So what is holding you back?" She thought about it and said, "I'm not sure to be honest." After bearing testimony, I again invited her and told her that we are here to help her along the way and to help her realize that she is ready. And after the second time, they both accepted. It was an incredible visit mostly because I haven't had a visit like that in a little while unfortunately. But I know without a doubt that the Spirit of the Lord is preparing people everywhere to hear the gospel and we only have to find them.

The rest of the week was pretty crazy as well. On Thursday we left our piso and it was sunny and great out. We went to a visit, left, and it was cloudy and windy. We didn't think much of it until it started to sprinkle. And then it started to pour, hahaha. We didn't have any umbrellas because it was sunny when we left so we were kinda just walking in the rain. Usually I'd be a little upset that I got caught in the cold rain, in church clothes, but for some odd reason I just had a blast! I was just singing "Called to Serve" as we were walking and I was just in the best mood ever!:) But it wasn't fun walking back home that night because we were wet, haha. We went to a visit that we had with Juana and Nestor and they saw us all soaking wet and gave us a towel to wipe off a little, haha. And then they gave me another white shirt to put on! I was wetter than Elder Parry so he just wore the same clothes. But it was so nice of them and totally not necessary, but I was thankful still :)

On a little less of a happy note, this guy we've been avoiding finally found us. Bleh. There's this guy named Chaz who's from Nevada that lives in Mataró and he works here doing something that I don't know what. But Elder Raban and his former companion found him one day and after talking with him decided that he wasn't a good guy to be honest. He was more interested in trying to test our faith and take away our testimonies than to investigate the church. He's marked in our phone as "Chaz. DONT ANSWER!" lol. And he's tried calling a few times. But we just ignore his calls and stuff. But finally the other day, Friday I think, he found us in the train station. And long story short he set up a visit for Wednesday and he told us he'd send us the address via texting. We're just thinking about not going because we just don't feel good when we're around him and I don't want to play with things like that. But we'll see what happens.

Some of you may remember that I said that people mix us up with the Jehovah's Witness people. Well, the other day we were walking down the street when this guy stopped us and said he wanted to ask us some questions about what we believe. He said he was Muslim at first and started talking to us and asking trivial questions to us about God and the Bible and why we preach. I didn't think he was Muslim at all and it turns out he wasn't, haha. He later said, "By the way, I'm a Jehovah's Witness." The questions he asked were worded and formed to make us look worse than them. But to be honest, he sorta failed...miserably, haha. He would ask a question, wait for a little for my response, and then without letting me finish, say something and pull out the Bible and prove how he's right and then move on to some other random question without letting me answer again. I've come to realize that people that try to disprove the church and everything we believe will go to any lengths to do so and that they have no fixed or set way to do it. The questions they may ask are so random, so trivial, and are all over the place and when you disprove them and shut them down, they don't know how to respond. But man, it was quite the experience! And instead of taking my testimony away, it strengthened it because I know what I know because of the testimony which I have developed. And I know these things because I know we have a prophet today that speaks and reveals God's will again. I know the church is true and I want you all to know that. So when someone tries to question your beliefs, just share your sincere testimony because that is one of the only things that they can't take away. It's something that we give up by choice.

Happy Easter!!...yesterday :)

I hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday! Easter here was ok I guess, haha. I guess it's not as big here because there wasn't that much going on. The week before is crazy since it's Semana Santa and they show Christ, His life, and crucifixion and all. But they don't really celebrate the actual day of Easter. Kinda strange. But that's alright. I ate my chocolate bunny anyway :) lol. But this was so great!

We didn't have a fantastic week teaching-wise, but we did just have a great week. Tuesday we missed our bus, yet again, to District meeting, haha. We were there on time and everything and we got on the bus and I tried to use this pass that has 10 trips on it but apparently it doesn't work to District meetings. So I tried to pay with some cash I had and it turns out I didn't have enough. Sooooo we had to get off the bus and wait another hour. I kinda felt dumb but hey it happens. We still made it to District meeting and only five minutes late. Not bad!

That night when we were back in Mataró working, we didn't have anything to do that night. So we decided to pass by some less active members and schedule a visit with them. We were about to leave their building when I just turned around, grabbed the door before it closed, and said, "We're knocking this building." hahaha. And to be honest, it was probably the funnest thing I have ever done. I have no idea why I loved it so much but I was just so happy and upbeat and everything even though soooo many people just shut the door on us lol. It was great! We did get to talk with a few people though but didn't get in to any doors. One lady we were talking to was way nice and we got to meet her mom, too, and we stood there talking for about 20 minutes about the Gospel and then other things just to build a good relationship with them. And probably the thing that made me the happiest out of that whole night was when the lady complimented me on my Spanish! She said, "Wow you speak really well. How long have you been here?" And I told her only six months and she couldn't believe it! She said that I sounded native! hahaha. I kinda just tried to say nawww I still can't speak very well and all that but she just kept going on about it haha. So at least somebody can understand my Spanish and when I talk I don't sound too American lol. I felt bad for Elder Parry though because when she was complimenting me, she paused and turned to him and said, "He needs to practice a bit. He still speaks with a big accent and not as well." I just felt bad because she said it right in front of him, lol. But that's the Spanish people for ya.;)

This past Saturday was el Día de Sant Jordi. It was such a blast. Our ward set up a table and we gave out copies of the Book of Mormon and other pamphlets and stuff for free allllll day. We were there from 9:00am until 9:00pm! We went to a visit at 4:30 but it turns out that they couldn't meet so we stopped by our piso and then came back to the stand we had. It was such a blast to be there with the ward members and to give away books and talk with the people. Some people were nice about saying no, some were just so rude, and then some loved that we were giving away free books, lol. We got a few references from it and we're gonna try to visit them this week so we'll see how that goes. I found that the older ladies were the easiest to contact because they have all the time in the world to read and they also wanted to give the Book of Mormon to a family member. All you had to do was sweet talk them ;) haha But also be sincere about it obviously. It was funny though because we were talking to these two older women and they just fell in love with us and called us guapos (good looking) and all this other stuff lol. It was so much fun and such a great missionary opportunity.

Part of the tradition here the Monday after Easter is for the Godparents to give something called a "mona" to their godchild. A mona is this thing made out of chocolate that is made in the shape of basically anything. I saw a soccer stadium with soccer players, soccer balls, dragons, houses, Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer, haha. Everything and anything. Some monas have cakes too and some chocolate. Well, one of our less active members, José, decided to give us one! We were just shocked and we were all excited afterwards, haha. It was totally not necessary but I'm not complaining :). What's funny too is that we had just gotten this big cake from one of the members because we had written a thank you note and hid it in her refrigerator, haha. And to thank us for the thank you note, she made us this huge cake that is soooo good. So basically we got loaded down with junk yesterday, haha. And today we're going to a member's house to eat and she's celebrating her birthday. So even more junk, haha. Sorry if I get home and look a little bit bigger around the waist.

In short, it was a great week as you can see. I hope the work picks up and everything though because even though we had lots of other little things happen, the best stuff comes when you're working for the Lord. I'm still working my hard to find those that are prepared to listen to us and to help others come to Christ. But man, it is definitely called work for a reason, haha.;)

I love you all. The Gospel is amazing and changes lives. So open your mouths and share it!

Semana Santa

Bon dia a tots (which means good morning everyone in Catalàn). I hope everything has been going well back home and that the cold is finally leaving and summer is coming along great! Mataró is going fine. This week the temperature dropped a little but it was still gorgeous outside.

It was another pretty tough week here though in Mataró. We've been trying new things to keep the work going and to pick up if we can. We decided to go to some other little towns along the coast and everything that are in our area and we went to one called Premià de Mar. It's a nice, pretty little town and we passed by quite a few old investigators to see if by chance they were home or were still interested in listening. And I gotta say it was a much better day out there. At first it took some convincing to get my companion to want to go but when we got there and had a little success, he ended up loving it, haha. We're actually going back up today because we have a few visits with some of the people that we met. But the rest of the week was tough. We didn't find any other new people this week and our numbers were low yet again. I got an email from my mission president in response to my weekly email to him. I had told him that it's been rough and that we're working hard and doing what we can and in response he sent a nice, short, but much needed message of support. He said basically, "I have no doubt Elder Mathews that there are people waiting to meet you in Mataró and they have been prepared to hear the message you share. The Lord will put them in your path or you in theirs." To some it may not sound like much but that was something I needed. I've been able to have a much better attitude towards the work this week and I know it's because of the much prayer and study on my part and the comfort from our Heavenly Father. This week already looks really good so I'm pretty sure next week's email will be much more upbeat.:)

As the title states, this week is Semana Santa, or Holy Week. Here they celebrate the week up to Easter with processions that portray different aspects of Christ's life and other Catholic aspects of this time of year. I haven't really seen anything yet but it sounds kinda interesting. I'll probably end up sending home some pictures soon. They also have this holiday called San Jordi. It's this Saturday and the guys give a rose to the girls they like/love and the girls give the guys a book. It comes from a legend that this dragon came and was destroying a city and to pacify the dragon, the city would offer up a young woman as a sacrifice. But one year, the king's daughter was chosen and the king sent San Jordi to save her. He killed the dragon and where the blood fell on the ground, a rose bush grew. San Jordi gave one of the roses to her and in turn she gave him a book to record the deed. So that's where it comes from. Our ward here is setting up a stand, which a ton of people do on San Jordi, to give away books. Instead of selling books, we're giving away copies of the Book of Mormon. Good missionary opportunity right? At least we think so. So I'll update you all next week on how that went.

I must say that some things here just bring back floods of memories from home and everything. One of them being sports, haha. We were walking down the street one night and we stopped at a crosswalk. I just turned around just to look around me and I saw this big running store! And let's just say that I was drooling at the window.;) There were a whole ton of running shoes up on the wall with pictures of athletes doing various events and everything and I just kinda zoned out and thought back to all my days on the track and everything. Oh how I miss it. And now that track season is starting, it's even worse, lol. But that's alright. I'll make sure that I get back into running when I get home :).

As a missionary, we kinda stand out from the normal crowd. We walk around in suits and ties or just white shirts and ties. Well, you'd think that we're one of a kind and it would be pretty easy to recognize who we are right? Wrong! It's so frustrating when people think we're Jehovah's Witnesses. We walk down the street, contact somebody, and almost always they ask if we're JWs and of course we say no. I don't really get how they can confuse us though because we have name tags and we don't speak Spanish very well. The JWs go out once in a while, without a name tag, and stay in their own country. It's just crazy frustrating for me because they give us a bad name because everyone tries to avoid the JWs, haha. But that's what happens. And another mix up happened just the other day. We were in a neighboring town and this guy was sitting outside a bar and called to us. We went over and he basically asked if we were with the CIA, hahahaha. He asked if we worked for George Bush, too, and were looking for Bin Laden, lol. It was soooo funny and we just told him that we were missionaries and that we don't really worry about Bin Laden. It was hilarious!

Yesterday in church was probably my favorite and one of the best. We got there early and we were talking to people when one of the Bishopric members came up and said, "Elders, one of the speakers isn't going to be here. So can one of you give the talk?" Of course we said yes and originally Elder Parry was gonna give it. But after talking to me for a while I said that I'd give it. I had no idea what I was going to say but I said a quick prayer and started thinking. A flood of ideas came to my mind along with a couple scripture references and I just had a plain thought out in my head to talk about our Savior, Jesus Christ. I got up and actually gave a decent talk, I feel. I felt the Spirit guiding my words and the things I said. I said things in a way that I normally wouldn't say them in Spanish, but I knew that what I was saying was what the people needed. It was a great experience and the Spirit filled the room and I know that the members felt it. But to go on top of all that, I had to play the stinkin’ piano!!! And for those of you who know me, I don't play the piano, lol. I just played the top hand and that's all. Let's just say that I'll be practicing a bit every now and then just in case, haha.

I love you all and I know that the Lord lives. Stay strong and know that you are all children of a loving Heavenly Father :)

All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience

To start off, it has been way hot out lately! Luckily we got permission from our mission president to work without our suit jackets now so it's a lot cooler but still. We've had to walk quite a bit and when you're in the sun for a few hours a day, it gets way hot. And let's just say that I'm gonna get a nasty farmer's tan haha.

This week Elder Raban went home :( It was a pretty sad thing to say goobye to him because he was such a great companion, but it happens to every missionary so it's not something new. We went to Barcelona on Tuesday, our P-Day this past week, to send him off and to spend our day there. We went all over the place and it was sweet to see parts of the city finally, haha. It was kinda funny walking around in a big group of missionaries though. There were about 12 of us just walking around Barcelona so we attracted a lot of attention. Later that night we went to an event called "Singing for the Angels" where whoever wants to come to this plaza in Barcelona can come and we sing a few church hymns to send home the missionaries. It was a lot of fun and I got to say goodbye to a lot of the missionaries I've met. But it's just not the same coming back to Mataró without Elder Raban.

This week has been one of the hardest on my mission. For one, Elder Raban accidentally took all the investigator information with him when he left so we don't really have addresses or phone numbers of a lot of them; and then it's also just been really hard to try to find new people to teach, and to work with a totally new companion. But I know that these difficulties and small obstacles are here to help me grow as a missionary and as a person.

My new companion is Elder Parry who I was with for a little with Elder Raban. He's from Washington state and has been out a little over a month. It's been a little different working with him because he's just got a different personality. I won't say we don't get a long, because we do. It's just that sometimes I feel that he just doesn't step up to the plate if you know what I mean. Technically, he's the senior companion but I've had to step up and grow up real fast this past week in order to have even a few visits with our investigators. I've been patient and working hard to help this area to grow and progress and to keep my companion a little upbeat, but sometimes it doesn't really work. So let's just say that I've been praying and studying the scriptures sooooo much more and I've actually had help.:) It's amazing at how much Heavenly Father knows your situations and what you need to hear or read or study because even though this area is still a little difficult and my companion is different, I have the comfort that I needed to hear.

Unfortunately I don't have any fun or neat little stories for you all this week :( Hopefully next week will pick up and it'll be a better email. But I love you all! I miss you so much and thanks for all your prayers, letters, and support :)

Back in Mataró!

Just thought I'd apologize for not writing last week. It was hectic and I had to travel back to Mataró. But I'm writing now so that's all that matters.:) This past week was sooooo crazy, but absolutely amazing! This was Elder Raban's last week in the mission :( and it was a little sad. We had so many crazy and fun experiences together this week though which made it so great. One of the best was that we ate with members and investigators so much! We ate more than half the week with members and then on somedays we ate two or three times a day which, honestly, was not fun, haha. You can only eat so much and then when you get to the other home and they tell you to eat everything, you can't! So it was good and bad at the same time.

One of the most hilarious things that happened this week was sleeping in the chapel. Yes, we slept in the chapel, hahaha. We were out working and stuff and we got back to our piso and realized that no one had the keys! We tried to ring the bell for the owner that had the spare but they weren't there. So we decided to wait for a while to see if they came back but they never did. We called all the people that we visited that day to see if we had happened to drop the keys there but no one had seen them. Luckily we had the keys to the church and we decided that instead of sleeping outside that we'd sleep in the chapel. So we went there, pulled up the softer chairs in the bishop's office, turned on the space heater, shut and locked the door, and tried to sleep. We tilted the chairs on the ground and used them as pillows and used towels for our "bed", hahaha. Let's just say we all woke up and felt like we got hit by a train, and we all woke up quite a bit during the night, too. But it definitely made a very interesting journal entry, haha. And it turns out that the keys were left in our piso!

I also had the very strange opportunity to go to a babyshower! We were invited over by a member to visit and we thought that it was for an eating appointment. Well...we did eat but it was also the bishop's wife's babyshower, haha. So it was kinda awkward being there since we were missionaries and we could've been out doing other stuff. We stayed for a little bit just to say hi and talk a bit and to eat and then we went to another visit. But it was definitely something that you don't always do on the mission, haha.

Monday, yesterday, we got some rocks thrown at us which was pretty fun. It was the first time that something like that has happened to me, but I sorta expected that sometime on my mission. We were walking down the street and all of a sudden this decent sized rock came between me and Elder Raban and we looked back and then another rock came at us and missed us again! We couldn't see who was throwing them but we didn't really want to stay to find out, haha. So we just kept going and I'm just glad that they didn't hit us at all.

My new companion is Elder Parry. I'm not sure how long we'll be together but I have a feeling that I'll be in Mataró for a while. So here's my new address for all that want to know :)

Address:

C/ President Fransesc Macia

Numero 1, 2º,3ª

08302 Mataró

It's been a bit sad seeing one of my favorite companions go home this week, but it's also been one of my favorite and most rewarding. General Conference was amazingggg and I absolutely loved it. I have never looked forward to it as much as I did this time and I loved it. I love and miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!