Madrid

Dear family,

it´s been such an exciting week here at the Madrid MTC. Jet lag was really difficult to get over, and there are still some random moments in the day where it suddenly hits me again. I told Sister Thompson that jet lag is two fat creatures hanging from my eyelids. She thinks it´s the best analogy for jet lag she´s heard. Probably because it´s the only analogy.

President Sitterud is very kind, and he told me a story about dad that I hadn´t heard before. Apparently at one stake conference (or something like that) Dad stayed up until 2 in the morning translating Pres. Sitterud´s father´s journals from Norwegian to English. I love it. Thanks for being such a good example to me, Dad.

So, Madrid reminds me a little bit of Santiago, but with a little more European flair. The Spanish is totally different from what I learned in the MTC, but it´s a little familiar- it can be a lot like Chilean Spanish. My teacher (Sister Delgado) is from Malaga and she drops her s´s and the ends of her words like it´s nobody´s business.

It´s also strange that we can actually leave the MTC, unlike Provo. The best is proselyting on Fridays. We went to a city center called the Goya and talked to the people on the street. We actually managed to distribute 3 copies of the Book of Mormon, got one woman´s contact information, and had 2 pretty good gospel discussions. They say it´s even easier to talk to people in the park (where I´ll be going tomorrow). I´m so humbled by all the people there are that don´t have the gospel, and how inadequate I am to bring it to them. But I know the Lord is on my side, and that He will strengthen my weaknesses.

Our new district is a fun mix- Sister Christian is hilarious and can do any voice impression, Sister Flake and Sister Nielsen are nice but quiet. Elder Alhovuori is a finnish man who is VERY confident in himself (well, he is fluent in four languages, I´ll give him that). Elder Malan went to Jordan High and was in Madrigals the year after me- he´s very goofy. Elder Sharp is very interesting- his favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice and he is terrified of snakes. Elder Webb is a silly person with a straight face.

I love my teachers- Brother Lopez speaks incredibly good English, and actually teaches us grammar, which they avoided at all costs in the Provo MTC. He´s also really funny and fills his lectures with entertaining sound effects. Sister Delgado is a firecracker. When she role played as an investigator she actually put on a smoker´s clothes and lit up a cigarette as we were walking up to her- (didn´t smoke it really)- when none of us could keep a straight face, or breathe, she finally put it out. She also loves Elder Moreno from the district- when we watched a video clip with him in it, she sighed and said, "Elder Moreno is a creation of the Lord." When Sister Christian had a hard time staying awake in class, Sister Delgado grabbed her by the arm and walked her out the door saying, "Come, we get drugs for your problem." Sister Christian says she isn´t sure if the pill actually helped, but knowing that there was a mysterious pill in her body kept her wide awake.

The cafeteria food is interesting- so far I´ve eaten squid and swordfish. We´ll see what other fun sea creatures I can consume by the end of my mission :)

Today I´m going to the Prado with Sister Thompson. Europe is so beatiful- it´s already pretty hot and humid here in the middle of the day and at night when the window is open, but I love it. I´m excited to get out in the field too. Well, my time´s almost up. I love you all and will be praying (and fasting) for you.

I love you!