Transfer #12 :)

27 Octubre 2014

Where do I start with all of you goobers?!?!  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE BIRTHDAY WISHES AND LETTERS AND PACKAGES!!! Wow, I can almost hear you singing to me :) Wowowowowow how time has flown.  It was a miracle that the packages came! The last day that packages could arrive was Friday and the timbre [doorbell] sounded and we weren't sure who it was, packages never come that early and we were about to leave for the day. If he had come just 5 minutes later we wouldn't have been there! Heavenly Father is very aware of me. It really has already been such an incredible birthday.

So, you have made me cry twice this week! From reading this thoughtful email and I also received the envelope of letters and pictures from Grandma and Grandpa Powell. I was just brought to tears as I read all of those words. I have always wished that I could have known Grandma and Grandpa, they sound like incredible people, but I cannot tell you how perfect the timing was to received their words. I feel such closeness with them, especially grandma. I NEVER EVEN KNEW SHE SERVED A MISSION! I felt like in so many ways she just took the words out of my mouth as she said over and over again "This sure is proving to be better than I even imagined, and I expected it to be a grand experience" or saying how she wanted to enjoy every minute of her mission. I felt like Grandma Powell was sitting next to me telling me these things. I felt her love and the impression that she is proud of Wade and I as missionaries (wow it’s hard not to get emotional even just thinking about it again). I felt their presence stronger than ever, and I know that they are close to us, every step along the way. Did you feel that too Wade? Have you received their letters? Do we realize what a blessing it is to have this in our lives? The missionary work in general may have changed quite a bit, but the message has always been the same. Grandma and Grandpa Powell felt the same. I sure loved Grandmas story of how she and Grandpa met. haha I felt like I was reading a really good love story novel, but it really stuck out to me that their first date night together they spent a lot of time talking about their missions and how much it all meant to them, I hope that I can make this year and a half here in the service of the Lord the same in my life, it means so much to me this opportunity I have had here´, like it meant so much to them. THANK YOU for sending that to me, I can´t wait to be all together with those I love in one place someday and meet your parents, mom. I think it will surprise me how familiar they are to me :) They sure do sound wonderful!

SO! Today begins Transfer #12! Hermana Carroll and I were debating all week what might happen... our time together. I just said goodbye to Hermana Carroll, I can't believe how time flies and I feel so grateful for the time that we had together. She taught me so much. I feel so blessed by all of my companions! I always feel just a bit nervous to area train or get a new companion, but I am so excited to meet my new companion and finish off here in Gijon, I feel like the Lord expects so much more of me. It’s hard to explain, and it’s crazy thinking that these will be the last six weeks to serve with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. There are so many feelings of excitement and happiness and most of all, gratitude for this great opportunity to serve. The more time I have in the mission, the more in-debt I feel to Him, and even though my body feels tired and I wonder if I can keep going, the best way to show my gratitude and love for Him is to give it ALL that I have this last transfer and not leave anything behind. I realize more and more what a sacred time this is, even though it's not always easy. I have so much to give because of the Gospel. My heart just feels overly full with gratitude for my Savior and for HIS WORK. I know that this work is true, I have never felt something so deep in my heart, because I feel so happy doing it. I know that when we go with The Lord to do His work, He magnifies us. He has given my everything I have. I have handed over a year and a half of my time, and He has taken that, magnified it, and made it SO MUCH MORE that I cannot even comprehend right now, but I have begun to see a small glimpse of it. I have just had a lot of that on my mind, and I am determined to serve with all of my heart these last 6 weeks. It’s still a lot of time :)

I am in Oviedo right now waiting for my new compie!!

Hermana Mather

Last day for Hermana Carroll with our Gijon Relief Society

Javier!, Hermana Carroll, Hermana Mather

Hermana Carroll, Amanda, Eduarda, Hermana Mather

Hermana Mather's new compie, Hermana Orrego from Argentina!
She has lived in Chile most of her life

Dios es Amor‏ [God is Love]

20 Octubre 2014

It’s funny, sitting here at the computer, thinking about the week, wondering what happened, and there is always SO MUCH TO TELL! As I have come towards the later end of my mission, everything points toward LOVE. Heavenly Father constantly shows me what it truly means to love others as Christ loved others... unconditionally and perfectly, even when it’s a hard day or we aren't sure how to express to others that we love them.

I told you a while ago about Eva (a recent convert from Paraguay that moved here a week before I was transferred here). I have learned so much from her!!!! She truly is what this ward needed! She is FULL OF LOVE. The Branch here in Gijon can be difficult to work with sometime because so many of the members have been offended and left the church or don't get along (I don't mean to sound negative, but it’s important to realize to be able to teach to their needs). But I have found no better solution than to care less about WHY or HOW it all happened, and simply just see everyone as a Child of God and see the best in them. Being a missionary has taught me that people all truly need to feel this love of Christ expressed through others’ actions, and it’s important we know how they receive that love. I am not sure if I am making any sense, haha. Eva could talk hours and hours and tells us every day over and over again how being baptized in Paraguay changed her life and the happiest day was when her grandchildren were baptized. She has needed to work on Sundays for the time being but meets with us almost every week day after 4:30 to go visit people, she is so willing to trudge through the rain and walk all across town with us even when appointments cancel and we are talking to others on the street. But she has an amazing influence on me and on others, warmly inviting others to join and learn and testifying of how it changed her life. As we have met with her, I have loved seeing her testimony grow and blossom.

We taught a lady named Isabel (pretty old and very Catholic) that the Hermanas found when I first got there because they invited her to come to a baptism. She was interested to ONLY to see them play violin and piano, and said she was still very happy to be Catholic, but that really opened up doors for her to accept our message little by little and build open the wonderful truths that she does know, and understand that she can learn more! Eva told her of her Catholic background (she was very Catholic as well) and told her that we love her (of course!) and that because we love her we are more than willing to walk in the pouring rain to get to her house. She always says with such conviction "Dios es amor" over and over again. And constantly testifies that this gospel is where she has found that love she has looked for all of her life (60 years!) that cannot be found anywhere else. It is all so true isn't it? Just a funny side note, Isabel is pretty old and has two cats that are basically her two children. She has to cover the couch when we go over so we don´t get hair all over ourselves haha. The other day we ate Spanish tortilla with cat hair flying around everywhere. We had to eat fast before it attacked the tortilla. She also talks to her plants and prays for them to grow. Hehe  What a sweet lady. She came to church yesterday and has sincere desires to know the truth of the Book of Mormon. She said she would be baptized if she knows the truth of it! She as slowly progressed so much!

I also wanted to tell you about July. She lives with a member named Angela. They are crazy Dominicans (I love Dominicans!). When Angela was taking the missionary discussions a little while ago, she never really talked to the missionaries, and in fact avoided them. She didn't want to feel obligated to do anything, and found it too confusing to find the truth because there are so many religions. But I know that she has been prepared. When we visited Angela about a month ago, she actually stayed in the room and listened :) and we read the Promise of the Book of Mormon... for the first time she began to open up and accepted a return appointment. She said we could pass by anytime we want. Since then we have seen some incredible changes in her! Rather than sitting at home doing nothing like she had been doing all day before, she has started working and taking classes again. Every time we go over, she says that she has NEVER felt such peach and guidance in her life. The nightmares that she has had for all of her life have completely stopped and she feels the NEED like a hunger to read because the peace comes from the Book of Mormon and the Bible. She said that the first time she met with us was different. She didn't feel obligated and there must be SOMETHING to what we are doing because why else would young American girls be here doing this 24/7 away from our families? That really caught her attention, and her boyfriend says that we should come over more often because she is always calmer and nicer afterwards. hehe. I love teacher her. She always prays at the end of the lesson asking God to give us patience with her and keep visiting her so she can keep learning more. That patience is needed, it’s hard to get her to come to church, but I love seeing her progress! It strengthens my testimony of Christ’s perfect, individual love and patience for each of us.

Well, I am running out of time! Just so you know, missionaries are awkward at weddings, haha. Two of the recent converts in our ward got married and we went to the wedding for a little while, they started dancing Bachata and we left.  hehe.  It all went well and Isabel came.

We have loved listening to the conference talks over and over and over again in our free time getting ready and eating breakfast and such in the morning. I am reminded over and over again that these men are called from God and EVERY talk from EVERY apostle can be applied to us. We are so blessed to have this gospel in our lives, and I know without a doubt that we have living prophet to guide us. Have you been reviewing the conference talks?

Also, what have you been reading in the Book of Mormon? I am really working towards finishing by December 9th... My eyes are opened everyday as I read that incredible book and I learn something new. I LOVE the BOOK OF MORMON! I hope you are having your own similar personal experiences! :)

Si no escojemos el Reino de Dios, realmente, no importa lo que hayamos escogido en su lugar :) [If you have not chosen the Kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead]

Have a great week!!!

Love, Hermana Mather

Buenoo..... (:‏

13 Octubre 2014

WEEEELLLL ...BUENOOOO... This week! Something amazing happened! Various amazing things happened! But, I don´t know if Bill Busath has talked to you recently, but Gijòn was the first area in his mission 23 years ago, and so I come in contact with a family, "La Familia Villa" (Emilio, Begoña, Natalia) many times a week and it amazes me how small this world is. I am filled with gratitude for being here and for Brother Busath serving a mission here! I wrote him this week and said:

BROTHER BUSATH!!!!  I wish I had hours to tell you all about the branch here in Gijòn! I love it here! It has been incredible to make that connection, I feel so blessed to serve here 23 years after you :) YES! I met Presidente Villa, Begoña, and Natalia. They are all very active here in the branch. They each bore their testimonies yesterday in church, and I was touched thinking about how you changed their lives and I am able to witness the fruits of your labors here in the branch. They each testified of simple truths like reading the scriptures together as a family (I loved that, they are such a united family!) and Begoña said something I loved: las decisiones màs importantes en mi vida que he tomado son 1. mi esposo 2. mi decision de bautizarme. [The most important decisions in my life are: 1. My husband 2. My decision to be baptized.] Could you have imagined all those years ago when you had just started your mission that this family would be such a strong foundation for the branch and district? Natalia is young women's president and teaches seminary, Begoña teaches institute and taught in relief society on Sunday, and Emilio has served in various District callings for the past 10 years. They told me that you could hardly speak any Spanish yet when you came, and they would speak very slow for you to understand, I can't relate to that! It’s incredible to see how the Lord uses us as humble instruments in His hands to work miracles! I feel so grateful for your decision to serve a mission years ago and for being worthy and faithful, La Familia Villa es incredible! I want to meet Raquel. She married a man who isn't a member, but we are going to try and visit her! I would also really like to visit the man who was president while you were here, I will ask Natalia about him.

Tenemos una capilla grande ya aqui en Gijon, tendrè que enviarte fotos![We have a large chapel her in Gijon, I have to send photos!]  Yes, I ate Fabada [stew]. It is so delicious :) made from true Spaniards, the morcilla [blood sausage]. I ate it not knowing what it was and liked it, but now, knowing what it was, haha, I am not so sure! The Spanish bread here is to die for, and I will make sure to eat a palmera [palm] for you.

We will be going over to the Familia Villa’s house sometime soon and she will teach us to make paella and tortilla soon, I will send ya pictures of them, but for now, here is one of all of us!

This really strengthened my testimony of how we NEVER know how we are impacting the lives of others. Although we feel incredibly inadequate for the task we have been given, or unable to speak the language we have been assigned, we are making a difference in God´s eyes! We never know who's life we can touch when we simply smile or choose to spend time with someone. We never know how our service spent will impact the lives of others. I believe the more we study and learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it truly is all about LOVE and learning how to share it with others, teaching them how to access it, and losing our lives in search to feel Christ´s love for others all the time. This family was a result of that! Selfless service as a missionary.

Also, have I told you much about Javier? He was a man that came to conference last weekend on Sunday, expecting to see a regular sacrament meeting (he had been invited by the sister missionaries a year ago and never came). He ended up liking it and came for another two sessions! His parents are from Spain, and he grew up most of his life in Venezuela. He is looking to come closer to God in his life, and we began teaching him this week, and he is already progressing very rapidly. We also teach him English! He is basically fluent, and very fun to talk with! haha. The Lord is blessing us greatly with many miracles. We will be teaching him tonight as well.

I will attach pictures of Covadonga! We went with Carmelo and Vicky and the Elders here :)  It was like a fairytale! And pictures with La Familia Villa.

Have a great week!

Love, Hermana Mather

La Familia Villa: Emilio, Begoña, Natalia :)

Covadonga is part of Picos De Europa. Its looks like the shire!!

This chapel is in a cave!  And this fountain has seven drains.
They say if you drink from all seven of them you will be married in the next year! haha
I may or may not have drank from all seven of them.

Elena, Hermana Mather, Rosa Vela, Hermana , Eva! (left to right)

Our District!

Corina, an older lady in our Ward that we visited!
She knows some of my good friends in Alcobendas,
they started attending church in Cuatro Caminos,
the first ward in Spain.  Small world!

General Conference!!!‏

6 Octubre 2014

hoooooooooolaaaaa!!!

The Lord is blessing us here in Gijòn :)

I am never sure exactly where to start these emails, so much can be packed into one week here, it really surprises me every week! The highlight of the week, definitely General Conference :) I LOVE watching it in English or Spanish. The spirit truly speaks the same language and all of the questions and worries that I have are answered and I feel peaceful :) It sure is nice hearing the speakers' voices in English though, we watched two in English, and two in Spanish! I really felt the need for that spiritual recharge... we are SO BLESSED to have prophets and apostles that know what we need to work on for the next six months. I have so many goals set that I want to start working on. How about you? It amazed me how this conference felt so UNITED with this world, they could speak in their native tongues, we saw little children singing songs in the native languages, etc. We spent all day Sunday in our ward building watching the sessions with ward members and investigators and eating lots of delicious food, it sure was a day to remember, we felt sooooo happy. I still need to see the Sunday Afternoon session though, it was broadcast too late here, I am excited to see the other talks.

The entire time we were watching conference, I just felt an immense amount of gratitude for all that the Lord has blessed me with and permitted me to experience, especially here, serving a mission. At times, we can reach a point in our lives when we seem to be going through the motions, almost as if we feel a bit numb to many things, especially to the Spirit. We are still doing the right things, going to church, etc., and I feel like I have found myself in many situations like that before. But here, yesterday especially as we listened to conference I found myself thinking, “WHY DIDN'T I FEEL THIS WAY BEFORE?" Have you ever thought that too? I have gained a testimony of the importance of personal preparation and always remembering the goodness of God in our lives and letting Him soften our hearts. I pray that we never reach the point of becoming beyond feeling, because it is SUCH a wonderful feeling to be full of purpose and know with a surety that God is aware of us and can speak to our hearts. Even when those feelings and thoughts that we may have are not even very related to what the speaker is saying, I know that is personal revelation coming directly from the Lord! This was my last General Conference as a missionary... and I was reflecting a lot, I began to cry a few times in gratitude for the way I have come to know that Lord by serving Him and how any sacrifice I think I might have made for the Lord has been paid back to me in tenfold. I am grateful to be able to speak Spanish, to be a part of this incredible work, and for feeling full of light and discovering truth. I hope all of this makes at least a little bit of sense. I know this church is true, I know it is Christ's church and I know that God lives!!

Mom and Dad, I thought of you when Elder Tad R. Callister and Elder L. Tom Perry gave their talks. Thank you for making your job as parents your number one priority and not just giving us your leftover energy after work and studies and cleaning was done :) I am so blessed to have you as my parents, I can never thank you enough for all that you have done for me.

In the last session we had in the chapel yesterday afternoon, we had a miracle! We had been doing our best to call people, and stop by their apartments to help them come to conference. There reaches a point when you can only do what is in your power and let them exercise their agency, but from all of those that we had invited, they hadn't showed up! But Carlos, the mustache man from Gijon came to the last session! The talks were perfect for him too, and he really liked it. We had a lesson with him afterwards, and I always enjoy his prayers, they are the most sincere, intimate conversations with God as he has been learning to communicate himself with our Father in Heaven. He consults with God telling him that he will for sure meditate all of these wonderful words that he had heard this day and ask to truly know that these men are called of God (didn't you love those talks about received personal conviction and confirmation of the truth?). And he also said that he was grateful to have made THREE NEW FRIENDS in church that day. I love his little mustachy smile, he sure is happy when he comes to visit with us, and he had a good first time at church.

Oh I neeeeeed to tell you more about Eva (a recent convert from Paraguay) and Rosa Vela (a lady that has been inactive for 10 years and three weeks ago just decided to put her life into order and come back to church!) Both of them are sooo strong and really brighten our lives. We can count on them to help us in lessons. I can't believe they were not a part of our lives three weeks ago. Eva came here about when I did in search of her missing husband and they both come from very different backgrounds, but we will be helping the both of them prepare to go receive their endowments in the temple. It was fun to spend conference with them; they loved it.

I LOVED Elder Jorg Klebingat´s talk and Elder Neil L. Anderson’s. It stood out to me how much they emphasized truth and how to gain truth through personal revelation, they can see the spiritual wars we have ahead. The temple protects and prepares us. Both talks from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf really spoke to me, too.

"Why does the Lord allow opposition? Because it sends seekers of truth to their knees" -Neil A. Anderson

LOOOOVEEE!

Hermana Mather

What Kind of Witness Will You Be?‏

29 September 2014

HIIIIII FAMMMILLLYYY!! hoooooolllaaaa!!

So... this week!! I have so many thoughts and things I would love to share. There truly are so many things I could share every week, I pray that what I DO share comes out right, haha. Getting towards the end of a mission can be HARD. I can´t really describe it in words, but the adversary works hard at my weak points and I want nothing more to finish strong serving the Lord here! With the amount of time I have left, like Wade said, I know the Lord expects us still to serve with all of our Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength, and it ALL truly starts with our desires. I feel blessed to have Hermana Carrol here, she is a strong, diligent, good-hearted person and we have fun together. The Lord knew I needed her!

We had a zone conference this week, and listened to a talk from Dieter F. Uchtdorf, called Fear Not, I Am With Thee, and he related the story of how "This act of love (the Resurrection) transformed a band of frightened, worried disciples into a dynamic group of fearless missionaries who changed the world. The events of that day have the potential and power to do the same for every servant of the Lord, for every missionary, for everyone who is proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Can you imagine how pained Mary and each and every one of the disciples felt as Christ was taken to His tomb? Would we be like Mary, seeking to know where Jesus was laid? Who do we seek? I believe desires truly are of the most importance, because when Christ asks "Whom seekest thou?" that is a question for each and every one of us!! Whom do we seek? According to Mary´s desires, He appeared to her. We will all pass through time of trial and darkness but according to our faith and the desires of our hearts, God´s word will be completed in EVERY DETAIL! I know that is true.

Will we be able to recognize His voice like Mary did that day? Will it be familiar because I have heard His voice as I follow Him and listen to Him every day of my life? Because of the event of the Resurrection, EVERYTHING changed. President Uchtdorf says that Jesus´s disciples before were mostly witnesses and followers, they observed and learned. I feel like at many times in my life I have merely been a follower, if that. We all, at time fear what others might say of us and maybe we were just observers from the outside. As I have come to know my Savior here while serving a Him, I understand that I really don´t know much at all!! But I DO KNOW that coming to know Him and believe that He lives and resurrected that day has transformed me. It´s not so important what the world may think of us. We are to fear no man. How has the knowledge of the Resurrection changed your life? Something to reflect on. Everyday we are faced with decisions... with those decisions, What kind of witness will we be? Will we be able to recognize His voice?

While serving a mission, I think we learn to recognize little miracles along the way every day, and that keeps us going :) God´s little tender mercies are there to tell us all will be well and He is pleased with the work we are doing, however imperfect it may be. About a week ago, we were walking home and it was late at night and we talked to an old Spanish man with a big mustache walking into his door (the mustache in an important detail, haha). We didn't think much of it, passed by another time and his wife told us not to pass by again, but we decided to call him. He said he would meet with us at the church this past Saturday, we weren't sure if he would come, but he did! He was even 30 minutes early. And we were there talking for almost two hours!! His name is Carlos, he is from Gijon, and he is such a GOOD man. I wish I could have video recorded the lesson, I just felt so astounded how the Spirit touched him. He began saying he didn't know exactly who God was, and was convinced that we cannot know truth, but as time went on, we described the Plan of Salvation and bore testimony of the role the Christ plays in that. As a father, he said that he loves His children--more than his wife--and he would be willing to give up his life for them. And it made me think so much profoundly about this scripture.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (John 3:16-17)

God has such a perfect love for us. He sent is Beloved Son to die for us. That is such a key point of doctrine, and it really touched Carlos' heart. Everything he said brought scriptures to our minds and little nuggets of truth that we could testify of. haha. By the end of the lesson, he said casually "Well, I think I might pass by this afternoon, will you to be here to talk again?" That NEVER happens!! haha We gladly met with him and invited some other members to come with us, turns out, they were acquaintances already! It was a day full of miracles! We tend to get scared to approach the people from Spain here, because they can be generally a lot more close-minded, especially the older generation, but we felt the Spirit so strong in our lessons with him, and we could see such sincerity in his eyes, searching for something. I could have sat there all day just enjoying that feeling of letting the Spirit teach us. I will let you know how Carlos is next week!

Just a closing funny thought, hahahahaha. Our ward mission leader. His name is Santi. He is from here, Gijon. He thinks the best way to do missionary work is feeding us and giving us chocolate. He has one arm. He took us out to lunch this week and as we ate he told us how he had copied pages of the Gospel Principles book to study while he was in the sauna that morning. I just about died laughing and had a hard time eating when we all pictured him preparing to talk about how families can be together forever (his little one-armed self) in the sauna. Hehe, he said he tried to share some little spiritual thoughts with the other people in there. I wonder how that went.

I hope you have a fabulous week! We will be doing the same thing at the same time, hearing the prophet's words!

I LUFFF YEWWW!!! I miss you!!

Love, Hermana Mather

Scriptures of the week (I hope you actually read them, they are incredible!):
D&C 6:20
Juan 16:12-13
Juan 21:15-17
Matt 16:24-25
1 Tes 2:8
1 Tes 2:17, 3:9-10

p.s. Are you sooo excited for conference?!?! Have you been preparing?! Have you got your questions all ready? :)

p.p.s. Hermana Philips, who served here in Madrid, and Wade met her in California on his mission (he interviewed her brother for baptism)… She was featured in Church News! Cool!

The two hour bus ride we took to zone meeting in Leon was beautiful!!!
This is a shot out the window

Elder Ward, Hermana Carrol, and I.
Do you remember Elder Ward, he was in the MTC with me, he was the elder in the train crash?
He is incredible, so funny :) He can play or make up just about anything on the piano, its incredible.
We had a special musical number, he played piano and we sang. So fun!

And… this is what happens when there are mirrors in elevators.. hehe

Gijon! This is about a 40 min walk from our apartment!
We went here for my first time today!!
Tis so beautiful! We just jumped for joy  :)

Thought you might like this Wade and Aaron... paddle boarding!
Our favorite family beach activity! They do it here in Spain too! 

I was speechless!
These are my feet, we were standing above this beautiful overlook of the ocean!
There are little stairs leading down from the grass patch to the ocean here.
It was a fun, relaxing pday today.

Embrace Change!

22 Septiembre 2014

Amber, I have been thinking about you so much this week, I randomly say to Hermana Carrol, "My sister is going to Cochabamba, Bolivia!!!" And even though I have said it out loud randomly countless times this week, it still doesn't feel real! I have met a lot of people from there (Victor and Marcela, investigators from Tenerife are from there!!!) and you will love it :) More than anything, I am so excited to see how you grow and develop and Come to know Our Savior, Amber. It will be the best experience of your life, not because you fully enjoy every moment of it, but because you will truly come to discover so many things about yourself and about others of different cultures that you never knew. And we learn how Christ's Atonement applies to each and every situation and person. I am not sure I could possible express the gratitude that I have for the opportunity I have been given to serve. It is the hardest thing I have done mentally, intellectually, spiritually, etc. Just in every way! But you will love it Amber. You will be "investida con poder" in the temple and come to realize personally all of the blessings that The Lord has in store for you and His children. You will spend more time on your knees than you have ever spent in your life. You will be amazed at the humility and diligence it takes to learn a language!! But I can tell you one thing: IT WILL BE WORTH IT. Please look up and read the talk "Rise to Your Call". I thought of you when I read it this week :) You will do INCREDIBLE things Amber. You will touch many lives with the gifts you personally have been given. That’s also an incredible thing about missionary work. We are all called, we all wear the chapa [nametag], teach the same lessons, but the talents and gifts YOU HAVE will touch others in a way that no other person could. The Lord has called you, He will guide you, and He will magnify you :)

This week has been sooo interesting!! Overall, it’s been one of the smoothest adjustments from transfers that I have had, despite all of the traveling from one end of the ocean to the other, haha. Hermana Carrol is a gem. She is 25 years old and has great desires to be obedient and learn Spanish and touch others. I received such peaceful feelings before I came and various times this week, knowing that this is where the Lord needs me in His vineyard. I realized something though! She is my first companion from the United States in 7.5 months since Hermana Aagard! Wow! It’s been weird being able to speak English again. My brain is so Spanish oriented and sometimes the Spanish words just come out when I am speaking English, haha it’s embarrassing! I miss speaking Spanish so naturally 24/7. I am realizing what effort it will take on my part to continue to improve and progress in speaking and learning the Spanish language. I love helping Hermana Carrol too.

So many missionaries in the northern Spain have a mindset, that is it very difficult and the people are very close minded and it's close to impossible to baptize people here. I do not want to ever let that get into my mind! I know there are many prepared people here. It is different for sure, but we will see miracles!! There is a lot of work that needs to be done with less-active members here that we feel need help, so we have been working on reaching out to them. It can be difficult to really get to the bottom of their struggles and understand how to help them feel the spirit and help them. I have come to be very grateful on my mission to catch a glimpse of how Christ felt during His earthly ministry.  I love thinking about what He would do if He were here in my situation. Sometimes we need to feel the heartache of rejection or misunderstanding or pride (we felt that one lesson this week with a man, it was a difficult night for me… he was not very open learn and feel the Spirit) to feel a portion of what Christ felt. He, The Son of God, was rejected and spit upon and He continued, knowing that what He taught was eternal truth that would save their souls. Wow, it amazes me how He truly learned line upon line, precept upon precept, and continued forward. I truly believe that I need to experience tough moments like that to understand the hurt that Heavenly Father has when His children are too far from feeling to feel His presence. But it is so true (and we see this pattern over and over again in the Book of Mormon) that "His hand is stretched out still." I have gained a testimony that because of His love, His merciful hand is ALWAYS stretched out towards his children.

Oh! Hermana Carrol and her former companion started teaching a Dominican family here: Antonia (the Mom), Fran (son, 17 years old), and Aaron (son, 8 years old). I love Dominicans!!! We teach English and the gospel to them each week, and she also brought us some yummy peanut butter :) I am excited to get to know them better. They have a baptismal date for October. I have already felt so welcome in the ward here.  The first night we went to President Florin´s house (he is from Romania) and met them, ate some wonderful Colombian food (his wife, Gladis, is from Columbia!) and got to know them. Gladis is so wonderful and willing to help the missionaries. This is my first time serving in the branch, and there is a lot of drama that goes on. Many people have become offended and gone inactive, so we plan to really SHARE THE LOVE with everyone. It will be different and interesting. We are up for the challenge!

And Gijon! We were going to go to the beach today buuuuttttt it is really rainy. Next week! Ha, we really need to improve on taking more pictures. This is the only picture we have really taken this week. He is an incredible ugly but cute dog Carmelo and Vicky have (members here). His tongue doesn't fit in His mouth and his is veeerrrry wrinkly. haha. Enjoy.

Oodles of LOVE!!,

Hermana Mather

p.s. "If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power." Rise to Your Call by Elder Henry B. Eyring (read it!!!)

p.p.s. One more thing! To prepare for General Conference, read the talk General Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony by Elder Robert D. Hales! Start getting your questions ready and preparing. I am so excited!  :)

Sacrifice, Enjoying the Journey, and Transfers!!‏

15 Septiembre 2014

Buenos Dias!!! My mind feels all boggled from the family email and from Amber. I was expecting an email of your mission call in at least two weeks!!!!! AH CONGRATS AMBER!!! How do you feel? Are you excited? When will you go to the temple? WE CAN SPEAK SPANISH TOGETHER SOON!!!! Wow, I did not expect to get this email today, I am so happy for ya sis!!!! You have so many blessings and challenges and adventures awaiting you :) I can't wait to be "companions" with you and do mission prep with you when we are home together! YOU´re goin’ on a mission!

These past few days have been a roller coaster of emotion!! We were at stake conference (afterwards) Saturday night, when we received the news about transfers! I was nervous about leaving this area and especially my companion. Everything felt so comfortable and fairly smooth!!! But that’s pretty much why I was leaning towards the fact that I would be transferred. I am learning more and more that the blessings come in the storms!!! The little storm we were thrown: Hermana Palomino will stay in Santa Cruz and area train, and I caught a flight the next night to Madrid and stayed the night then rode a train to...... Gijòn!!!!! Oh the train ride was BEAUTIFUL, it is so green and mountainous... surroundings that I have missed for so long!!! I feel like we are in the shire from Lord of the Rings, or that we rode a train to Hogwarts. hehe. It feel definitely be a change to work here, I feel like I have started a different mission all over again. Please look up pictures of Gijòn to get an idea of it, I tried to take pictures on the train ride and they all turned out terrible, hehe. I have always secretly dreamed of serving here! It was an adventure to get here, traveling from the very bottom of the mission, to the very tippy tip of the peninsula, but we are here we are here we are here!!!

AMBER ROSE... I can´t believe it... you’re going on a mission!

My new companion is Hermana Carrol from Arizona! She has about 10 months in the mission and I just love her to death, we had met in Madrid on intercambios [companion exchanges] and had a good time. When we were told the news, it was all so bittersweet, lots of goodbyes said and it was hard to think of a chapter in my life closing, BUT NEVERTHELESS I felt a peace. The peaceful feeling always comes and I find myself reflecting a lot, thinking about if I had accomplished what the Lord has asked of me.

As we sat in stake conference I felt so strongly that all of the recent converts we have in the ward will just flourish and do so well! A patriarch was just called for the stake there, and it just gives me chills thinking of all that Luis and Ana have in store for them as they seek to have an enduring conversion the rest of their lives, receiving their patriarchal blessings, etc. If I have learned nothing else on the mission, it is that the mission changes lives (I am a witness of that, they say that the first convert of our mission should be ourselves, and I have felt so many changes in myself along this journey). If I have learned another thing it is that the times in our life of greatest trial and feeling uncomfortable is when the greatest growth comes. And lately, especially this last weekend, I have just felt an outpour of blessings and feeling so in debt with the Lord. I can never get even with Him.

AMBER I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU ARE GOING TO COCHABUMBA [Bolivia]!

I wanted to share these from the last zone conference with you!...

Being twelve years old is a drag! I hate being a Boy Scout and I hate these long hikes. If only I were like my brother and could go to High School and have a car and drive everywhere instead of walking, then I would be happy.

Man, High School is a drag! Tests every week. Mary likes you, not me. Gas costs so much and Mom and Dad never let me have the car. College would be an easy life. No parents to bug me. Then I would be happy.

Boy, I wish Mom and Dad were here! Mom could fix me a good, hot meal. So much homework. Never have any time. But soon I’ll be going on my mission -- that will be great. And I hope I go to a foreign country so I can go to the MTC and learn a new language. Then I’ll be happy.

If only I had gone to an English speaking mission. Life here in the MTC is really a drag. I can’t pass off the second discussion. Have to cut my hair every two weeks. I got a “Dear John” that everyone seems to think is very funny. Spend three hours in the lunch line and can’t say families correctly. I can’t wait to get into the mission field to be with people and to teach them. Then I will be happy.

Boy, what I’d give to be back in the MTC where at least if I did speak English someone could understand me. Here I sit in Puerta del Sol, in Madrid, Spain and wonder what my girl friend is doing. Wonder what  Mom’s cooking for supper: can’t really wait to get home again, get into life, get married, have some kids, really want some kids and then I’ll be happy and life will be good like I always dreamed.

These kids are a pain! They’re always getting into stuff, business is bad, never have a minute to myself anymore. The kids always need this or that. When I retire and have all day at home with my wife, then I will be happy and life will be good like I always dreamed.

I wish those kids would come home and visit sometimes. The place seems empty with everyone gone. There’s nothing to do. Don’t have the strength and enthusiasm I used to. 

Boy, I wish I was a Boy Scout again. I remember when I was 12 years old and a Boy Scout. Those were the best days of my life.

And a letter President received from a returned elder who served in the Spain Madrid mission:

“I was reflecting yesterday if I would call the mission a sacrifice. And for everything it seems I might have sacrificed, I feel like I have been given tenfold. If I say I have sacrificed time with my family, then I must realize that I have been rewarded with a family more united and loving than ever. If the mission has been a sacrifice of time, I have been rewarded with knowledge that no university in the world could have taught me. If it has been a sacrifice of my talents, I have been rewarded with more than I ever had before. I can speak Spanish, I care more genuinely about people, [and] I am less quick to judge and more anxious to serve. If it has been a sacrifice of human relationships, I have been rewarded with practice in speaking to men and women from all walks of life and in diverse situations. If I have sacrificed my earthly possessions, I have been given new ones that I value infinitely more. For anything I have sacrificed I have been given more.”

This really touched my heart. No wonder we ask members of the true church of Jesus Christ are asked to sacrifice so much. Along the way we are just taught little by little that we really aren’t sacrificing after all, and that is how I have felt this week, thinking about the people I have met, the experiences I have had, things I left behind, but so many things worth so much more that I know and cherish. I can never pay the Lord back for what he has given me :) But we can always live our lives in a way that we thank Him for all that He has done. That is the happiest way to live :)

You may all send letters to this address... I live here now!!!!  Letters are always welcome :) please send some to this lonely mailbox soon!

Hermana Emily Mather
Calle Jove y Hevia
#19 1-D
Gijòn, Asturias
33211
España

I love you all so much!!! I pray for you and think of you daily :)

Love, em

Marcela!!! The lady we taught the entire 6 months I was there in santa cruz!
I wasn't sure if you had ever seen a picture of her.

And Pablo, I don't even think I have told you much about him.
He is a little miracle, I will have to tell more about him later.
He is progressing so fast and LOVES coming to church and being involved. haha
He wore a white shirt and tie without us even asking him to on Sunday.
Well, he brought the tie because he didn't know how to tie it, we helped him.
After stake conference he said he was just so inspired to be nicer to people
and say hello to them even when they don't give him the time of day.
He says he needs to be better and more friendly and an overall influence on others. Haha
He is a cute 64 year old man!!

Saying goodbye at the airport yesterday to Hermana Palomino and Mary and Paco

and.. suprise!!!! Augustina!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got to see her in Alcobendas this morning, all the plans just worked out and we ended up having time!
We grabbed a video and everything, we surprised!! hehe
I walked up the stairs, she saw me, and she fell to the floor!!!!
It was the happiest reunion EVER and the greatest surprise for myself and for her :)
Wow, it felt like time had not passed, and I was back with my Dominican grandma :) hehe.
She is doing so well, she is firm and faithful and always going out to help the missionaries with lessons!

This morning, getting ready to board the train after some great reunions with an Elder I have not seen for over a year!!
Wow its so good to run into other missionaries and members and recent converts :) 

My new companion, Hermana Carrol!!!!!!!!!!!!