November 28, 2011

hi mommy!! how is it going?? 

well my thanksgiving didn't really feel like thanksgiving honestly! i missed grandma wagners!!!! but it was still a pretty good day. we ate at a members house that night. they made a turkey but we didn't even have mashed potatoes :(!! dang spanish people haha. it was good though. then we sat in their living room and sang hymns while my companion played his ukilali. it was fun! then we had a little activity where we wrote things we were thankful for. it was fun. 

i'm excited to call for christmas! that'll be good to talk to everyone. 

me and dad have done our share of black friday shopping! i'm not suprised he said
no. actually i am. ronald you bum!! ;) haha a smart phone for 96 cents! that's cool! so is the contract still with at&t or is it verizon??   

that's cool about allie. what a special experience.

tell deb and diane happy birthday for me! and tell them all to write me!  

so do they know when they tabernacle temple is going to get started/finished?? that's going to be so cool!  

so the pitbull. i'm sure i was being protected but i also think the dog had some common sense that if it would have bit me, it would've hurt him a lot more than it hurt me ;) haha and we didn't see the dog until we were in front of the house already. and the poeple were on their porch. so i thought they would've had a little common sense but that was apparently too much to ask for! haha. it's good though.

my new companion is elder crowley and he's from michigan. he has been out on his mission for almost 18 months so he's an oldy. he's cool i like him a lot! he's
a little weird but heck, so am i!!! hahaha. we are getting a long good though. we teach really well together. so i'm excited for this transfer! 

that is kinda funny/sad that lukey asked rachel where i was! i miss that little boy! i'm glad you got to see her though! she's the best :) i like her. 

i haven't gotten a letter from you mom... and i'll probably get the package this week. thank you so much for sending me stuff! you're the best! and thank you for
all the pictures and everything. i love you guys! thank you. 

did sister alarcon add you on facebook mom? we put up her christmas tree the other day and she wanted to send you a picture. she's really cool.  

the first councelor in our branch presidency, celso, has been here for 11 years. and his wife is in guatemala. so he hasnt' seen her for 11 years! or his kids! and he is finally moving back in april. but he is going to go to utah first for like a
week and go to general conference. maybe you could meet him! he's the best. he helps us teach so much. he's amazing.   

so that's about it!!! i love you guys so much!! thank your for everything! have a great week!!! love you!

November 21, 2011

well hello there!!! how's everything going this week?

it's weird to think that it's the holidays again... i will miss all our traditions!! for thanksgiving we are working like normal haha. then going over to a members house for dinner. we'll see how it turns out. it will not be a jean wagner/linda daley/virginia daley thanksgiving though. that's for sure! 

i'm looking forward to the package! thanks for doing that mom. i really appreciate it! you guys are the best! thanks for finding my face mask too. i just have a feeling that will come in handy. :) the wind blows here a lot so that's what really makes it cold. 

i think regular christmas carols would be fine cause one elder has a cd where motab is just singing christmas carols? the rule is just anything that you can feel the spirit listening too. and doesn't dull the spirit with it's beat and tempo ya know? 

so i am staying in south jamaica for another transfer! i get a new companion tomorrow.... wish me luck... haha. i'll make sure and tell you about him next week. but ya! 

that's really cool about brooke! i actually had written down to ask about her! i bet gary and sheila are thrilled. it sounds like you have a ton of stuff going on
haha! good luck at your expo!   

that's sweet that you heard from jet blue! do you think you answered the questions
well? is that the job you want to get? that would be fun for you and dad to be able to go fly somewhere for free! 

ok you wanted some experiences... well i feel like i haven't really had these grand spiritual experiences ya know? it's more just been the "right place right time" experiences. but i realized that that is the spirit!! there is no such thing as coincidence! there have been times when we've gotten off the bus and the person we were going to see was walking right there leaving their house. if we would have been 30 seconds later they would've disappeared ya know? the spirit puts us in the right places at the right times. 

oh and last week i almost got attacked by a pit bull... hahah these ghetto people just left their gate open and the dog was out and it was really aggressive. it
kept running past us barking and growling. and it kept running in and out of their yard. so we just kept like slowly walking cause we had to get by. and all of the sudden when we got past the gate the dog shoots out growling and goes for the back of my leg!! but for some reason his head just like rammed my leg instead of biting me! it was pretty cool... there are some scary dogs in this city hahaha :) so yeah. that's about it! next week i'll have more to talk about!!! oh mom is there anyway you could send me the piano sheet music for "where are you christmas" by faith hill? maybe you could ask sister messenger or sister beeston? thanks!! 

i love you so much! hope all is well! have an amazing thanksgiving! have fun with rachel too! i love you!!!!

November 15, 2011

what????? tasha is coming to my mission???? that is crazy!!!!! we will probably go home right around the same time then. that's really cool! this is the best mission in the whole world!! what a small world haha. 

that's sweet of jake to write you back. haha he told me about the note. we laughed about that every single time we saw that! we wrote in on new years eve. remember when we were at the house? and nobody ever noticed it hahah. so funny. 

gabe got your letter too! he loved it! 

yay!!! my afgan! no i want it waiting on my bed, never having been touched by human hands other than granny's, for when i get home :):):) hehe i'm so excited!!!! 

thanks mom for all the packages and stuff. i appreciate all you do so so much!
i'm not really sure what i want for christmas. i think i might send some of my extra tshirts and stuff home. i have too much stuff. i'll think about what i want ok? do you have any ideas? 

as far as cory and megan goes, i'm not sure... i'll have to ask president nelson. i was hoping that they'd be in utah. oh well i'll ask and let you know what he says. 

that is cool about alice smith. was he a nice guy? i hope so! lawrence is on a mission?????? what???? that is crazy!!! i am so happy for him! he's the coolest
guy! if you see them again tell them how happy i am! i miss our ward. we have the best ward in the world. honestly! will you tell the creers hi for me and that i think about them all the time? they did so much for me. i love them! yes i did get a letter form sister mote. i'm going to try and write her back soon. it was really nice of her! 

this last week was a crazy week. maria fuentes probably isn't getting baptized next week... bummer. she is having some problems with her husband i guess. she told him she's never going to his church again but now she's afraid to come to our church cause she doesn't want to make him mad. and she said she doesn't feel right with god or something. i was like, well that's exactly why you need to come to church!! haha. she just needs to put her trust in the lord and know that he'll bless and help her. we all need to trust in the lord more. he'll never put us through anything that isn't for our good. it made me think of dad not getting the job again. i think he's pretty discouraged. but i know that heavenly father has a plan. D&C 6:36. one of my favorite scriptures. this will make us stronger papa! we just have to put our trust in him. and know that he knows what is best! 

we have been working really hard this week. i think i'm going to be getting a new companion next week. my 2nd transfer ends next sunday! i'll most likely stay in jamaica just get a new companion. elder parker has been pretty good. we've gotten along well. it's been hard sometimes but that's life! i'm nervous to get a new companion! haha i don't like having to get to know someone all over. but it's time for a change. i'll be better at providing more details about the next one :)

tell grandma and grandpa i've gotten their letters and stuff! i just need to find the time to write back. i love them so much! tell them that and ninny too!!! i love you so much. i'll be better next week with details ok?? i love you! have an amazing week! tell brad to email me back!!

November 7, 2011

yes!!! i get 10 on my envelope!!! i'm really practicing haha. if you think the mailman wonders about your envelopes you should see rachels!!! haha :) i'm so cute!!! 

that's awesome about Judson! i can't wait to meet him. i haven't heard from the
workmans. tell them to write me a gosh dern letter!!! 

that is so cool that brad was the lead manager!! he's such a smart guy. good for
him! i hope he's doing good. he emailed me last week finally! it
made me so happy! 

luke is so cute! haha i can just see him saying paxtons whole name. luke is the cutest kid. i can't wait to get back and see him! i will make a seperate email for the pictures, i didn't know it would effect it. 

it's funny that you mentioned the temple. we had stake conference and the Manhattan temple president spoke. i could feel the spirit so strong when he was

talking about the temple. and i think you and poppa need to make a time where you go. like once a month or something. ya know? it's so important that we go often! so you and dad make a time ok? and go together!   

mother, i'm not worrying about you. i just like hearing what's going on. all i get is mission misison mission. i need some real world! i didn't even know it was daylights savings! i just need some real life ya know? like your fishing trip!
what happened with that. you like to hear about me and i like to hear about you :)

find out the info about the kid coming here. that's really cool! he'll have an interesting experience!! that's so awesome. this is the best mission in the world!!

i'm excited for a package :):) also some christmas music would be great and that cd by steven sharp nelson called sacred cello. you can take the money out of my account ok? any of that would be great! 

yes mommy we eat great. the spanish people feed us like crazy!! i know what cory meant about beans and rice though... oh so much beans and rice haha   

this week we got a baptismal date with maria fuentes! she told her husband that she doesn't like the church he goes to cause they ask you for money all the time and she's never going there again!! then she told us that she wants to get baptized in our church!!! yay! she's really cool. her date is the 20th. so
i'm hoping!! hopefully we don't run into any problems with the husband. she just has to come to church the next 2 weeks and she's going in the water!! yay!! we don't really have anyone else really close. but we are working with some good people that will just take time!   

i love you so much! i'm doing good! the branch here is great. i love the members. they are all converts. its cool to see how young the church is. tell bishop svendson to count his blessings cause the branch president has been in for 9 years! haha crazy! 

well i've gotta get running. i love you so much!! i'm not sure if i'll get a chance to write this week but next week for sure!

love you!

October 3, 2011

Hey family!

So, I didn't get an email cause you guys are hunting but Megan told me you had quite the experience!! I want to hear all about it! I hope everyone and everything is ok though! I got the package Mom. Thanks, it was great!

So 2 of the biggest spiders I have ever seen in my life have been in New York! Last week we were knocking on a door and Elder Parker had a HUGE grey and white spider crawling up his sleeve towards his neck!! So having spent 19 years of my life living with my mother and roughly 5 years with Megan, my first reaction was to say a 4-letter word that started with S.  BUT I caught myself and instead just swung at it right as it got to his collar!!! I missed on the first one but knocked it off with the second and then CRUNCH!!! the victory was mine! I did wait just long enough for Elder Parker to get a glimpse of his would-be assassin before I stomped it to the infernal pit! It was epic...haha Mom you literally would have had a heart attack!

We had interviews with President Nelson last week. I LOVE him. He is one of the greatest men on this Earth. He's amazing.

How is everything going back home! I haven't heard anything from Nini so tell her I love her. I'm still expectingb some pictures from the Workmans, and from you guys. So get that taken care of. :) Conference was really good! I loved it! I definitely missed watching on the couch though! In my pajamas! We went to the chapel and watched it! It was great though. President Monson is so funny. I love him so dang much!

I just love you guys so dang much! I hope you got back from the mt safe and sound. I don't really have much else to tell this week! I sent a letter off today too! So you'll get that this week. I love you so much. I'm doing good! I'm learning to rely on my Savior more and more every day. It's not easy being out here sometimes but I'm loving it! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I love you guys!

September 26, 2011

Hey Family!

So mom got on me for not writing a letter! haha yeah mom it's payback! No, P-Days just get busy. And I write Rachel because I can't email her. So if you don't get a letter every week I'm sorry, but I'll write as much as I can. How is everyone doing? Hows the hunt? Those pictures Uncle Pat sent dad were sweet! I hope to see some pictures of Pops and BJ holding some big ole buckskins!

I forgot to tell you in the email but I got to drive last week! Oh how I missed driving! It felt so good. People here drive CRAZY. It is kind scary haha. They're so rude too. They are constantly honking at each other. I miss the quiet streets of Provo. I have such a new love for home! Those clean quiet streets. Fresh Air. Houses. Yards. Green Grass. White people. Mountains. Oh the mountains! Provo is so beautiful! I met a lady here in Jamaica who knows Blake Roney is because of NuSkin. She works for them or some jazz. She was telling me how nice the people in Provo are. It was funny.

Right now we have some cool investigators. Francisco is still doing good. He still works on Sunday though so we can't really go anywhere until he comes to church. He's so awesome though! Dang work! Then we have the Castellanos. I think I sent a picture of them. They're not doing so good. Miguel (dad) is an alcoholic. And he tells us all week he'll be at church, then doesn't come because he's hung over. And Teresa (mom) just doesn't want to come to our church for some reason. She's got some problems from her childhood that make her kind of a mean person. It's sad. Then we have the Feuntes. They're a cool family! They are married! So that's a plus. No Spanish people are married. It's sad, but they are good! She has a lot of questions! The problem is they didn't come to church and they aren't reading that much! So we'll see. They're close! We got a new investigator yesterday named Nahum. He's pretty cool. He was hesitant at first. We have been trying to find him for like a month but he's never home! Then yesterday by "luck" (spirit) he was outside his house! So we sat down and talked to him about the Book of Mormon. It went really well. He asked us about our church and said he wanted to come check it out. Cool, huh?! We made fun of those churches who worship with rock music, cast out devils, and speak with tongues. haha it was funny. He was going off! He called them a naughty word in Spanish meaning "dumb butts". Thank you Timpview autoshop! haha

So it's going good! We're working hard! I"m tired all the time and it's the best. The mission is an emotional roller coaster! Constantly ups and downs. I'm so glad I'm here. I love it.

Thank you for all your support, Mom and Dad! I love you both so much! I'm sorry for being such a butt-head sometimes. I really am. Thank you for loving me anyways. I owe you guys so much! I love you! Hope all is well!

Love, Matthew Judson Daley

PS - Dad, how did our garden turn out this year?

Week 12

September 5, 2011

Hola Padres!

So...I don't know if I should tell you where my area is ha ha. Cause it's in the HOOD! I'm a legit ghetto preacher!  It's not bad mom, don't worry! I like it. We have two different projects in our area. The South Jamaica Houses and the Baisley Projects. Cool fact about the Baisley projects - the rapper 50 Cent was born and grew up there! He was also shot in my area once haha.  Mom I'm sure I'm giving you a heart attack, it's totally safe. I like it here. For the first time in my life I am the minority! We get ont he bus and 50 black people/Latinos (sometimes) start at you haha. It's cool!

My new companions name is Elder Jake Parker. He is from California. I like him. He's a hard worker and he knows the area really well. It's good. The first full day I was here I got my first baptismal commit. His name is Francisco. He's like 57. I really like him. There's only one problem, he works on Sundays. So he has to talk to his boss to get his schedule changed. So let's keep our fingers crossed!

So I heard BYU beat Ole Miss 14-13! Woo-Hoo! I miss Puma football. That's so legit! I hope they beat Texas! This season could be the season - right pops? Keep me updated! Dad, someone told me the Nets is moving to Brooklyn. Is this true?? Look it up, let me know!

I'm doing good. We walk a lot. All day actually. So that's tiring. On Wednesday we had a dinner appointment at a Dominican family's house. Dominicans are crazy. Let's establish that right now. And they do NOT speak Spanish. They speak Dominican. haha So ya, it's cool. My Dominican is coming along well. The hardest part about Spanish is listening to the Natives they talk fast and mumble. But it's coming!

I love you all so much! Hows the job hunt going Madre? Pops, what's up with Uncle Layne? I want the whole story! So the hunt starts this month right? Yay!

So what happened after I hung up the phone? Did Rachel go right afteR? It was so fun talking to everyone! I am excited for Christmas! I love you!

Love Elder Matthew Daley, Ghetto Preachin in the Projects!