Hola from Spain!!!!

First of all... I got your PACKAGE!!!!!! Yay that was SOOOO EXCITING!!! I have REALLY REALLY REALLY appreciated all of the letters that you all have written. Oh what a highlight for my day. I was having a bit of a down day yesterday, and was a bit discouraged, so that was wonderful!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I plan on scrounging all of my time today to write letters back to the wonderful letters from Mom and Amber and Eliza and Amanda! I really needed it.

The mail seems to take about 7 days to get here.

There is a fire there? It sounds huge... I am so glad you are all okay! Stay safe please.

Anyways... how is everyone?!?!? I miss you all and LOVE the letters and pictures that you sent. Oh also there is an elderly couple here serving in Spain and they have a blog you should look at! It is thesullivansinspain.blogspot.com. Hopefully it has videos of us singing on the temple grounds!! We do that every Sunday here, it is so fun. They even bring out the piano. This couple was in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

Oh my goodness I can´t believe it has been a week since I have emailed you all! Nathan, I am companions with someone that you know! You served with an Elder Heims, and his sister is MY COMPANION! He said you’re a great cook! haha.

So.... SPAIN! Wow! It was incredible to go to the city last week. What an adventure!! BUT I have to say, as much as I loved seeing Puerto del Sol and the queen’s palace, the highlight of my day was the bus ride back, (I told you the whole story on the postcard that I sent!) but it was so neat to have one of our teachers, even though it was [Preparation] P-day, to help us talk to people on the bus! It was an incredible experience. He wasn't even still on his mission, but was so enthusiastic and happy to share the message of the gospel with her, and he had my companion and I tell her in Spanish what we know about this church and how INCREDIBLY happy it makes us. We spoke in such simple Spanish, but the spirit there was so strong. Just incredible.

So I heard that you all watched the announcement about missionary work! EXCITING!!!!! I was thinking of Wade that whole time and I kept looking for him in the audience!

Before I go, I just wanted to tell you how INCREDIBLE the temple is here. We went for our first time this morning. I think of all the temples I have been to, this one is my favorite. Yes, I know I am a bit biased, but the celestial room is JUST beautiful. It was so bright. I feel so happy in the temple and I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to go once a week here. I feel renewed for the next week. The temple is such a blessing, and I think of the family often there.

Last Saturday, when we proselyted in the park, we switched companions for the day... it was fun! My companion for the day didn't speak much Spanish either, but what a neat experience it is to talk to people with the little Spanish that we do know! Ha-ha, we have come so far, but I feel like I have so far to go! We had an amazing experience that day though, we met the nicest old lady that wanted us to sit by her on the park bench, and we talked to her for a long time. She was so sweet and patient with us and knew a tiny bit of English which was nice. She was patient as we spoke broken Spanish very slowly. But, we came to find out that she has breast cancer and is going through chemo treatments. She loved reading the passages of the Book of Mormon that we showed to her, and said that those words were beautiful. We wanted to just say everything that we could in English to help her, like how this church has blessed out lives so much, and we know that it can help her through this hard time,. I wanted to tell her that Christ came to the Earth to atone not only for our sins, but also for our weaknesses and infirmities and sorrows. It was so hard not to say those things, but I think we planted a seed in her that day. I have a testimony of seed-planting now, and having the faith to be the missionary that plants the seed rather than picking the fruit. She seemed like such a golden opportunity to share the gospel with, and she wasn't quite ready to accept it. She kept saying that it just wasn't her time. It was so hard not to share everything with her, but I know she has a special place in heaven.

Sorry, that is most of what I have time for this week. What else do you want to know? I wish I had an entire day to email you all, but then I still probably wouldn't be able to say all that I want to and ask you all about home. Just know that I love you, and I should be sending letters in the mail soon! Please keep sending snail mail!!! It is like holding precious gold in my hands!

I Luff Yew!

Love, Hermana Mather

My MTC companion Hermana Heims

Hermanas Fowers, Heims, me, and Nydegger with the Madrid temple in the background

This is our MTC district!!
Elders Franklyn, Dunn, Holt, and Benton. Hermanas Fowers, Heims, me, and Nydegger!
LOVE THEM!
I knew Sister Nydegger at BYU.

Madrid temple and city skyline (looking to the southwest from MTC window)

Madrid skyline (looking to the northwest from MTC window)