November 10, 2014 Letter

 Ok to answer your questions: Typical day (I am going to do this Taylor Aramburu style. I asked him the same question a few weeks ago and the response was hilarious, so here goes my attempt to imitate it)
6:54- The alarm goes off and I am very confused for like, a half a second because I always forget where I am and which side of my bed the wall is on, so that results in a really painful waking up experience.
6:59 I get up in an attempt to be more obedient than my very-obedient companion (kidding. I get up at that time so that I can get to the bathroom first. We share).
7:05- Exercise! This either involves going jogging around Madrid or stretching/doing situps in the kitchen. Depending on the day.
7:30 Either she showers or I shower. We run out of hot water EXTREMELY fast and something I have learned is that Argentinians take an EXTREMELY long time in the shower, so I like to get there first so that there is water left for me. The other day we ran out completely, so I boiled a pot of water and used that and a washcloth to sanitize myself.
8:00 Breakfast which means that I eat cereal and bananas and read the Liahona (my companion is not a morning person, which means that by this time, we still haven´t said a word to each other)
8:30 PERSONAL STUDY. My fav time of the day. Working on reading the entire Book of Mormon by Christmas. In Spanish. Also working on studying PME and other materials in order to be a killer teacher.
9:30 Buddy study. We sing a hymn, say a prayer, read from the white bible and then talk about what we studied and do practices. This is the first vocal interaction we have with each other all day. :)
10:30 I study some Spanish while Hermana Irigoyen studies English.
11:00 Out the door! Contacting, tracting, teaching appointments, saving souls and taking names (and numbers)
2:00 Medio DIA! I like Medio Dia. We eat and do some other stuff. Sometimes nap. Sometimes not.
4:00 WORK UNTIL 9:30.
9:30 Walk in, take my shoes off (my current companion has no sense of smell so that helps at this time of the day) and plan for the next day.
10:00 One hour to wind down, kick our feet up and read some scripts, drink hot chocolate and have hilarious conversations in Spanglish.
11:00 Try to remind myself which side of my bed the wall is on, prayers, and I am OUT.

So yes. That is a very detailed description of a typical day here in Spain. I love it. 4-9:30 is my favorite time of the day. Mornings are always weird but once we´re warmed up, things always get better.

Also, giving thanks is not a thing here in Spain.  Unfortunately, America is the only place that has turned that Christlike attribute into a holiday. But it´s alright, maybe we can start something this year (what day is Thanksgiving on?).  This week was a WHOLE lot better than last week. Whole lot better. I still haven´t taken any pictures since Hermana Irigoyen got here, so I promise I will this week. I keep forgetting that that is a thing to do. We worked super hard and had a real good time doing it. She´s awesome and we really are becoming great friends. We are super different, right down to the langauge in which we communicate, but it works! We are doing well as a companionship.

 On Monday we had a really cool experience. I was a little frustrated (as you saw) and I really just didn´t want to go out and contact. But we did. We were knocking doors and no one was answering and those that did hung up on us (knocking doors really means ringing timbres). We were approaching this building and I just looked at Hermana Irigoyen and said "We are going to find someone that is interested in the message here, I have faith that we will." Alas, we rang all the timbres and NOBODY was interested. As we were turning to walk away, this lady came up with her two daughters to go into the building (she lives there). She asked us who we were looking for and we just said something very cheesy missionary like "Just someone to share a message about Jesus Christ with!". She smiled and said, "Come back anytime, I´d love to listen". Like. What. And get this. We asked her what her name was- Milagros. Spanish for Miracles. We literally found our miracle. So cool. We have had one lesson with her and although she is stalwart Catholic, she is very interested in learning more! So I´m hoping Milagros can keep living up to her name.

 We´re praying to find a family to teach and so far, nothing. But we will find one, I know it! Families are the coolest. Let´s see- Spanish is coming along! I was talking to Hermana Irigoyen about something the other day and after we had been talking for about a half hour, I realized that I had been speaking in Spanish the whole time. Not perfect Spanish, mind you, but Spanish! It was such a cool moment! She helps me a lot with the language. I hope I´m able to help her just as much with English. She speaks really, really well, though.

 I feel happy and like things are going well. There are tough moments in every week on the mission, maybe even everyday. But there are more happy moments than hard and as long as we show the Lord that we´ll just keep going, He´ll help us get through it and bless us for it later. I have SO much to improve on and work on but Taylor said it best-"If you ever don´t feel like you´re changing lives, just look at  your own". It´s so true. I feel like my life is so different now than what it used to be. I mean, I´ve only been here for 4 and a half months but I just feel like a different, happier, stronger person. I know that´s because my testimony has grown and I´ve started to trust in God more and more. Still have a lot of work to do and a lot of ground to cover, but I know that I´m on the right path! Missions are WEIRD. So weird. So hard. But just because it´s weird and hard doesn´t meant that we can´t be so happy doing it. Not all the time- of course not! Nobody is happy all the time, even when they´re wearing a chappa. But really, at the end of most days, after all the hard moments and the grind, I am so happy! And I know that the Gospel makes other people happy too. It´s not just salvation for the next life, it´s peace during this one. God wants us to be HAPPY! And the best way to do that is by doing what He´s so wisely and lovingly asked us to do. SO yeah, I´m doing good.

I love you all! I hope all is well and that life is good! Keep me updated, I love hearing about everything. I hope you´re doing good, Momma! And Dad too, of course. I love you guys! I have the greatest family EVER!!

Love,
Sam