Week 62 (3/7/11) Email to Family

Hey family!
My new home is great. This is the best apartment I have had so
far. The area reminds me a lot of El Cruce, where I started my
mission. Its actually really close. I like it here. It's weird being
the new guy again, but after a week I feel like I already know my way
around. It's true, I'm the new guy again, but its different this time.
This time I speak the language and I've got some experience under my
belt. It is kind of weird though not being completely in the driver's
again. I felt kind of useless this week, just followed Elder Watt
everywhere haha. Elder Watt is from Los Angeles and went to BYU Idaho
for a year before his mission. He loves sports. He's super athletic
and is good at any sport he plays. He's a baller. He's a little
shorter than me and he's skinny too. We get along well, though it was
a bit weird this week with him losing his voice for a couple days.
Something about him that I want to take from my time with him is how
he never has anything bad to say about anybody or anything. He doesn't
really complain about anything. Something I could work on haha. If you
want to share something in your talk from me you could share some
scriptures that I came across this week in my personal study that I
really like. I was reading in Mosiah chapter 23 and verse 10 caught my
attention. It says that Alma recieved answers to his prayers AFTER
much tribulation. Then he could be an instrument in God's hands. That
verse made me stop and think and I looked in the footnote. That lead
me to Doctrine and Covenants section 58:4. I read that and read around
it too. I like 2-4. I don't remember exactly what it says and I don't
have my scriptures with me but it says something about how blessings
come after our trials, tribulations, hard times. It says that we can't
with our mortal bodies concieve the blessings and glory that God has
prepared for us if we continue faithful through our trials. That made
me think of a scripture that I like in section 136 I think in verse 32
where it says that it is necessary that we be tried so that we will be
prepared to live in the presence of God. Life isn't easy. It actually
can be quite hard at times. We will always have trials in our life. It
will never be easy. But that's not because God doesn't love us or has
forgotten us. Quite the contrary. Its because he loves us and wants
the best for us. He wants us to be the best we can be. Any good parent
knows that sometimes you've just got to say no. Maybe your kid won't
understand, but it's whats best for them. Opposition is how we learn.
And that's why we're here: to learn and grow. I am so grateful for the
trials that I have had in my life to help me learn who I am and to
help me become who I am. I know that God loves me and I'm grateful for
the things He has taught me. If you are going through a hard time,
know that God is watching over you ever closely. Know that He loves
you and will help you through your trials if you put your trust in Him
and ask sincerely. It says in the Bible that God will never allow you
to be tested above that which you can handle but that doesn't mean you
don't need His help. He wants the best for you because he is your
Eternal Father and He loves you more than you know.
Yeah I can't believe that Pete and Meghan have been married for a
whole year already. I've been here forever! I got the package finally
that was sent on January 3rd. We played bang with the guys today. It
was fun but we only played a few times until we got the hang of it,
then we watched Enchanted. It was awesome. It was really funny just
because of the situation. A bunch of 20ish year old guys all with
varying amounts of time here. There's a couple goofy Peruvian Elders
in the zone one of which has 5 weeks left and they were saying funny
stuff. None of the Latins had seen it before and we were all laughing
at their reactions. Good stuff. Before our time is up Elder Watt and I
want to go play tennis on clay, play handball, and play padel so
hopefully it works out. I really like the zone here. Its smaller just
7 pairs compared to the 11 pairs in Mt. Grande. More unified. I like
the Elders better here too. Good guys. Well I hope all is well with
you guys and I love you guys a lot! We'll be talking here shortly!
Chau chau.
Love, Matt