Letter #32

Bon Jour!

I was able to use a little bit of the french I know this week.  A ward from France  had a temple trip and they are always at the church.

It is crazy how much change is going on at home while I am gone. It feels like the world is spinning a mile a minute with how fast time is flying. I was able to do intercambios with one of my zone leaders and he told me ''Don´t worry it only gets faster.'' Josh applying to the U, Jenna being in High School, Jonny going to a new middle school!  There is a kid in a differenct stage of life right now! Exciting times for the family .

I am jealous to hear that you had a great time at the Taylor's! It is always so fun to go down there and be with them, not to mention the guns, four wheelers, and waffle cookies. That is really cool that Heather has decided to serve a mission. 

¿Que Lo que? Espero que toda esta hevi y tranquilo. Dominican slang :) I love the Dominicans, they are really nice and cook the best food. 

Me suena que tuviste una buena semana si tomas en cuenta que trabajaste todo los días. Estoy disfrutando el campo misional y mi llamamiento de ser líder de distrito. Por cierto hay mucho responsabilidad pero me gusta. Me ayuda a enfocarme en la obra mejor. Me siento un amor mas fuerte por los misioneros en mi distrito por que estoy serviendoles. Estoy pensando en las maneras que pueda ayudarles a progresar y mejorar. He recibido un poquito mas como siente la amor puro de Cristo, que es la caridad.  

I am not quite missing the freezing cold of Utah but it is getting a bit more fresquito here in Madrid. I am wearing my sweater every day to keep a little more warm. My mission clothes are holding up great! There are not many signs yet of the wear and tear. I am so used to wearing the missionary clothes now. Whenever I get into Pday clothes to play fútbol I feel like I am getting into the wrong clothes.

The Halloween party was a smash! Tons of people showed up and they even brought friends and family. It started off pretty slow and it was a little awkward but about an hour later (like we planned) it started to really get going. We were able to schedule a couple lessons with some non-members which was great. There was normal music which I couldn't help dancing but, I had to resist of course. Spain celebrates the Día de los Santos. I am not quite sure what the difference is between that and Día de los muerte. I baked about 75 of those little no-bake cookies for that thing and it seems like everyone enjoyed them.  All in all it turned out great.  We were all really excited on that success. One of the member told us that they hadn´t seen a party like that in Barrio 8 in a long time. 

It was a little strange having a normal day on Halloween, especially for my companion because he loves Halloween! He makes a crazy awesome costume for it every year and this year. We ended up switching sweaters and ties and we were eachother. 

The ward is doing well. Elder Anderson and I are trying to get the ward more involved with the missionary work. Last night we visited a family that cooked up a cake and hot chocolate which was delicious, very nice family needless to say :) Tonight we are going to a recent converts house for hamburgers and fries. He is from Honduras and the food there is muy paracido to the U.S.

I have my first babtismal interview to give this Thursday night. I am a little nervous but I am excited aswell. It is a 14 year girl that the hermanas are teaching, I will let you know how that goes.

Answers of the week:

What rule is the hardest to keep?

As of right now my companion and I have been doing really good on obedience. Sometimes it requires some running to get home on time but other than that obedience hasn´t been too much of a challenge.

When should Josh go on a mission? 

I think that Josh could handle the mission right after High School. I think the sooner he gets out the less destractions he can avoid. If he does stay home for anytime I think a semester would be sufficient. Intitute helped me a lot.

Can you buy some soccer shirts for the family?

I can buy some soccer shirts this next week for Pday. They are pretty pricey for the jerseys so I would probably find some Real Madrid brand t-shirts or of the sort. There are really cool Soccer Real Madrid Stores here.

How has your testimony grown since being on a mission?

I feel like my testimony has grown all around in every aspect. Josheph Smith, The Book of Mormon, Christ being my Savior. I don´t know if I can quite narrow it down. I have grown in testimony a lot being out here. 

I love you and pray for you.

LOVE you all!

Elder Jayden