Hey everybody! I have so much to say and not enough time to say it. I will get started! First of all, I am doing very well and things are going great out here. I am healthy and the weather has been sunny for a week! This week will be the last sun I see for months I'm afraid, as there is a storm coming in this weekend and then rain from there on out.
I will start by answering all of your email questions. Things are going ok with Elder Cashin. We definitely have our differences and there are times I get frustrated, but I am working on patience.
Brother Child is the first Mountain View ward member I met and he is not the mission leader, but works as the 2nd counselor in the Elders Quorum. He told me in church he was going to call you and I told him how happy and grateful I was for him doing that.
I have Elder Cashin beat on the Rubik's Cube! I was able to solve it in just under 2:30 the night it came! Thanks for sending it and mixing it up and also for the other package. I did receive both packages and everything got here perfectly well! Thank you so much for sending it and also the month package! It made my entire day and week! I was so excited to get that from you, although I don't expect to be that fortunate my whole mission!
Justin Hurley is excited to be baptized and everything is great with him. We taught him again a few days ago and he was interviewed last night and is set to go. It is for 2:00 this Saturday. There is a 5:00 baptism for one of the zone leaders' investigators and then at 7:00 the other 2 elders in our district are having 2 baptisms! What a great day for baptisms!
The bicycle is holding up great. I am officially a professional at fixing flat tires, working with the chain, etc. We went to a members house for dinner on Tuesday and he looked it over (he is really good at fixing bikes) and helped me work out the last of the kinks, so everything has been running smoothly since. We ride our bikes every day for quite a while each day. It's a good thing I am in shape (Bran, I can understand how one's knees could become chronically inflamed!). Hopefully we get a car soon, as the rains are coming soon and it will make for a wet, cold bike ride.
I am still learning lots out here, but getting more used to things over time. I really like working with the less active / recent converts. They are very receptive and seem to appreciate us the most. Tracting is not my favorite thing. We have been rejected almost every time, with a few exceptions. I am getting good at starting conversations and giving pass along cards and also bearing testimony, as this seems to be all we have time to do on most porches. I had my first jerk experience a few nights ago. This couple was telling us how we should be ashamed of Joseph Smith and that we are fools for believing him and being LDS. My testimony had never been stronger. I wanted to yell at them and a million things flooded my head that I wanted to tell them, but I quietly listened as they vomited up their insults. The spirit told me to be patient and listen. I did this and once they stopped vomiting, I bore my testimony about what I know. I wanted to cry it was such a powerful experience. They were quiet and didn't rebut my testimony. I told them that we might have our differences of opinion, but that I know what I know and that nobody can tell me differently. It was such a great experience, although scary for a while during the vomiting part of our conversation.
We work mostly with less actives and recent converts. They are so cool. The Dreier family that we fasted with last week is doing great. He just needs to get off work on Sundays and come to church a few times and then he wants to be baptized and his family does too. It is awesome! They are so cool! I am getting more familiar with teaching, although I still have my flaws. I am becoming more and more familiar with scriptures and the lessons. There is not a greater feeling than when a family truly wants to listen to you and follow through on commitments and be baptized and come to church. There is about a few hours worth of door to door each day, and the rest is mostly working with getting appointments with less actives and helping them get back on the right track. There are quite a few people in this category in the Clark YSA ward. We cover all of the YSA's in all of Clark County, which is the county we are in. We also cover the Mountain View Ward, which is just a regular family ward. The leaders in these wards are so nice and welcoming and receptive to me.
We have been eating good meals at members' homes lately. We ate at the Kennington's last night. He is American, but she is Italian. He was working and could not be there, but she makes the most amazing Italian food. It was so good, but mom I miss your Italian Chicken! The homesickness is still there, but gets a little better as time goes on I guess. The worst times for homesickness are usually in the early afternoons when I would normally be golfing with Mom or something. The evenings are when I rarely feel homesick, although I think of home a lot throughout the day each day. I am working on focusing more, though. Whenever I think of how much I miss home and how much I want to be there, I just think of how sad I would be if I was home. I would not be happy if I was there because I know I am supposed to be here. As much as I miss home and everybody and everything there, I would not truly be happy if I was there.
I am as ready as I can be for a cold, wet winter. Everybody is saying this is supposed to be one of the coldest ones in a LONG time, although cold is a relative term, because I am from Utah, where we eat and breathe cold in the winter. I hate rain though and by my next E-Mail it will be very rainy I assume.
Spiders..........Guess what dad? Remember the night I was looking up spiders on the computer? I have seen some gnarly ones since I have been here. They are in the homes, yards, etc. They are everywhere! I have some cool pictures on my camera of some of the big ones I have seen. I have lots of good pictures from the MTC, Washington, etc. and when I figure out how to print them or just send home the chip that has them on it, you can see them. I can't wait for you to see the pictures! Look at pictures of Vancouver on the computer if you have a chance because it is so beautiful. There are pine trees EVERYWHERE and I mean EVERYWHERE! If you have a chance sometime (It does not have to be super fast), I would love to get a family picture. Lots of the Elders have them of their families and it would mean a lot. Don't worry too much about it, though.
Bran, I love your advice in the letters. It is great. Keep it coming!
I wrote down a list of things throughout the week I thought of that I wanted to tell all of you so I will start the list now. I had sushi and gross food like that (fish eggs, etc.) my first night here and it was awful. I hated it, but every new elder in this area has to go there and eat it. I survived though and learned how to use chopsticks. Dad, you would be proud. I have had lots of Chinese food since being here, which I am not a huge fan of, but I've had worse.
Ether 12:27 has become probably my most favorite scripture since being out here. I absolutely love it and I remember Dad saying once that it is his favorite scripture, too (I think he said that!). It is such a great one. Please read it if you have a chance and maybe talk about it for FHE or something. IT IS SO GREAT!
Elder Cashin, I am not sure if I told you last letter or not, has been in the field for 17 months and has been in this area for 6 months! He is probably being transferred, but we will see. I love the music you got me here. It is great and I listen to it every night. It is awesome stuff and even on the way over to the library we listened to it. I love it! Pretty much every restaurant we have gone to has ESPN on the tv's! Satan is working hard on me! I swear, it is impossible to avoid sports out here, as weird as it sounds coming from me. I never thought I would say that! I understand BYU lost 30-3 or something like that to TCU, but I am not sure. I will probably get a letter from you all soon telling me the gnarly details. I knew we would lose, but that isn't extremely bad on the road against the #4 team in the nation. I think we lose to Utah and win the rest.
If you could also in a letter or something tell me a list of the people that our acquaintances know that live out here that would be great just in case I run into any of them. I am pretty sure I heard a familiar name the other day and was not sure if they knew somebody from Centerville, but if you could find out, that would be greatly appreciated. Everybody I introduce myself to knows of Centerville, Utah and has some story of being there at some point, whether just traveling through, or something. It is crazy. I had no idea so many people had heard of it. Mom, there is an Elder Willey out here and I did get to see him the first night here. Tell Bruce Barnard that Elder Willey is a cool kid and next time I see him I will have to tell him I know Bruce! How is he and Christy doing? Hopefully everything is as good as it can be. We pray for them daily.
I taught in District Meeting yesterday a little bit about patience. It went so great. I told about how one night Dad and I sat outside watching the stars and talked for a while and we talked a bit about patience with companions, investigators, etc. I miss those talks, Dad!
In my personal scripture study, I am all the way to Alma 52 now. I am whizzing through there understanding it all and I love the B of M and especially Alma. It is no longer the "huge book that takes forever to read". Where are you at in the family scripture study? I think I just passed a scripture marker in Alma 49 or something and was not sure if that's where you are at. It is good stuff.
I did laundry today and we are getting ready to go shopping, get a haircut, and play ball till this evening, when we will be busy back at the work. Bran, the people in my area are huge Portland Trailblazer fans because we are very close to Portland. They like the OKC Thunder (Previously the Seattle Sonics), but their loyalties are to the TB's. They laugh when they hear I like the Jazz, but respect the Jazz!
Well, I have 20 minutes left and need to E-Mail President Greer still, but will wrap up. Dad, good luck with your lesson. I know it will go well and I wish I could be there to hear it. I pray it will go well and that you don't overwork yourself at work. Every time you drive into Provo to the courthouse, look at the Y and remember me! I miss those rides going around to the different areas with you. They are something I miss a lot. I use you in a lot of my lessons in reference to the things you have taught me. I am fortunate to have such a great father who supports me in all I do and teaches me so much. I pray for you daily and appreciate all you do for me. I enjoy your letters thoroughly!
Mom, it is 11:11 here right now and 12:11 in Utah, so you are still at your 18 hole league, but I want you to know how much I love you and think about you EVERY DAY! Your example has helped me keep pushing along out here. I miss you more than you could even think of and didn't realize how close my relationship to you was until I was without you. Keep up the good golfing and keep watching Food Network for me. Good luck with the 18 hole organization next year. You will be super busy, but it will be a good experience I think. I love you and appreciate all of your letters. I pray for you daily. I want you to know how I appreciate your support and prayers. It is easy to work hard when I have such great support behind me.
Brooke, Rocky, Jacob, Taylor, and Hayden, how are you all?! I think about and miss you all, too. I hope things are going great and that you are surviving with everything on your plate! I love you all and appreciate your support and prayers. I want you to know that I miss you so much and can't wait to see you all!
Bran and Anni, I love you both and appreciate your prayers and support, sports info, etc! I love getting your letters. Keep me updated on BYU, Jazz, Utes (unfortunately), and all other sports info. Take care and hang in there!
Erin, I know you are busy and everything and I pray for your success in school every day. Know how much I love you and pray for you every day, too. You are so amazing!
To all other extended family, grandparents, friends, neighbors, etc. (So much support I can't even name everybody), I thank you for all you do for me. Your prayers are felt by me daily and I am so lucky to have you all in my life. I can't wait to see all of you when I get back. If I find the time, I will write personally as many of you as I can!
I know that the Lord wants me out here. It is not easy most of the time to be a missionary, but the feelings of the spirit I feel as a missionary, the blessings I feel, the love I feel is enough to push me along through the work. I know everything I do is by the help of all of you and I can't do anything by myself, but get help from Heaven, too! I want all of you to know that I have a testimony that this church is true. No matter how discouraged I get, no matter how homesick, no matter what happens, I can always hold to my testimony and it can get me through tough times. Well, I can't wait to write you all next Tuesday and I love you all. Know how much I love you and pray for all of you daily. Hang in there family!
Love,
Elder Matthew Larson Bates!
P.S. The Turner's would love to talk to you, too Mom and Dad. They are so great!
P.S.S. My church building is on Hearthwood (A main street). Look it up on Google Earth, you might see it!
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