Monday, April 9, 2012

from Matt


Monday, April 9, 2012
Dear Fam!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Things have been good here. Miracles out the WAZOO! Haha! My feet are doing SO WELL! I haven’t been wearing the brace... I need to. But they are doing well. No more sliver! Yeah! I wrote a list of things to tell you about, so here ya go:

Did I tell you I got pulled over? FOR DRUNK DRIVING? Hahah! A 2 weeks ago or so we were on our way home from washing our truck before we took it to Oxnard, and a state trooper pulled us over, and asked if I had been drinking. I said no, I don’t drink, and he made me GET OUT of the car and take a sobriety test! He was being way mean too! Then he said, "Just kidding! I'm from the Bear Valley Ward!" AGH!HHH!!!!!!!!! I was so scared! hahah it was pretty funny though! :)

I haven’t got your package yet... Maybe today? You can send packages here for right now, but everyone else and everything else to the office. I have been getting flat mail, so its good. I've gotten a couple letters from people in Westlake, telling me how much they miss/love me. :) Warms my heart! I thought I would never get in tight with those people! :) Life is good.

In the next package, SEND MORE PICTURES! (Please) I Love THEM! I loved the pics you sent today. Everyone looks so good! :) Send my love.

Monica is getting baptized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will be the first baptism in the Golden Hills ward in over a year we are told.:) The ward is PUMPED about it! Whenever we talk to anyone, they say how good we are (Not being prideful), but it s good to get the support and HELP that we need so desperately in missionary work! FIND PEOPLE FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES TO TEACH IN OUR HOME! You will love the feelings it brings. Have a non-member come to dinner and invite the elders. DO IT! It is amazing the spirit it brings. Haha! We had a lesson with Monica and Rachel last night at the Weavers - SOOO GOOOD! Love them. LOVE EM LOVE EM LOVE EM! :)

We had 2 people in the BV come to church yesterday, and 4 in the GH ward, so a total of 6 Non members! WOW!!!! That is so good, especially for here. We are blessed!

We actually have a lot of potential here. We are going to invite John and Michelle King, Bro. Minor and Seth Minor, and Amybe Sis. Ray to be baptized within the next week or so. :) YEA!!! Things are going so well here.

I'm struggling a little with my companion. He is a great missionary, but he doesn’t like me a lot. I'm not just saying that, he has expressed that a couple of different times, and he gets really down because of the (seeming) lack of work. When we don't have appointments, we usually don't have a lot to do, but we busy ourselves. It’s been hard for him to adjust, and you can tell he's really homesick and misses his mom and friends. I know how he feels! I remember when I was being trained, and I didn't care too much for ELder Manning either. But looking back, I know he was doing his best, and that he loved me! I even got a letter from him last month. I look back fondly on our time together. Any Ideas? Suggestions? Hints? Cheats? Let me know. I need it. Getting him to participate and talk in lessons and finding situations is like PULLING TEETH! So, I've got a head start on my dentistry and orthodontics program ;) hahaha! I pray for him so much, and I try so hard! We are different, that’s for sure, he's really quiet, and so I talk more. Then, he gets mad at me for not involving him in the lesson, but if I don't say anything he'll just sit there and stare at them. Haha i know he's trying hard. Keep us in your prayers! We need it. I love him lots :)

As for everything else, life is FANTASTIC! I really like Tehachapi, and we're getting in tight with the wards. We have lots of work, so it is good. People here are just READY to hear the gospel! I don't know the previous missionaries, but sometimes I wonder what they did with their time :) Monica is just itching to get wet! SHE CAN'T WAIT! So exciting. :)

Thanks for all your prayers and love and support. I love YOU! You are the best. Keep in touch! Snail mail would be fun if you have a second. Do you think you could send me some stamps, too? I’M SORRY! They are just so expensive. :) Thanks mom! You are an angel! I know you are an Angel because you always help me feel the Holy Ghost. And as we read in 2 Nephi 32:4, "...Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost..." So there you go. DOCTRINE as to why you, my dear Mother, are an ANGEL. :) I love you!


--
Elder Matthew Monk
  California Ventura Mission
          Jan. 2011 - Jan. 2013

No comments: