Week 6 - aaaaaaahhh yeah

August 8th, 2011


What up family?


So week six is almost complete! Can you believe it! i cant. but at the same time i can! so, let's start off with some questions! what has happened with megan. she has gone camping more in the last two months than she has like....ever! i love it! and lucas shot his first gun! following in my footsteps! what a cutie! anybody been up to the property lately??? i better start seeing some deer pictures!! 


ok, so brad, or megan, or rachel. someone. i need you to get on my facebook and print me off some of my

hunting pictures. this week!!!! please!!!! i want the one where i'm holding up the coyote, holding one of the rabbits (christmas/hunting photo album), all of my deer kill pictures please!! one of each, and possibly the ones where we are skinning out jakes elk! please do that for me! no one believes that i am a redneck!
so today i whipped out my belt buckle and started revealing my true self. and i need my pictures!! i met an elder from colorado and we talked hunting for a while! it was great!! so send those :) 

did my mission plaque get made?? how does it look? i want a picture of it! 

this week was a pretty easy week. tomorrow we will be the oldest district! cool huh! wednesday we will get a new district. unfortunately no one that i know! but 3 of them are going to my mission! so that's awesome!! 

OH MY GOSH. ok failure. no one told me that amber was getting married!! so.... thanks! haha i'll
forgive you this time, but i expect to know things like this! that's exciting for her!

how is the roof dad? have you almost got it done? have brother cook come and help you! 

did you guys talk to tommie for me? i hope so. i need some letters from him! how is ninny. i need to write her a letter. uncle layne's hunt starts soon right? that's pretty cool. i'm so jealous that i'm not going to be there! i expect some daggum pictures! and i expect him to shoot a monster! 

so an update on my back. my rib is doing a lot better. i learned how to pop it back into place with a chair so that helps. but i hurt my shoulder playing volleyball. did i tell you this? anyway, it was a pretty good game and i was SMASHING the ball, as usual. but i hurt my rotator cuff, same thing as when i hurt it playing baseball. but it's getting better. i'm not supposed to play volleyball anymore... i still do, just left handed. don't tell anyone! :) 

any news about the line of authority? thanks for doing that ma! 

so me and elder stauffer are going to attend george strait in 2013. so i don't know exactly when they release the tour schedule but if someone could research that that'd be great ;).

oh! who loved my envelope??? i hope you did mom. cause i worked hard on it! plenty more where that came from! haha 

i haven't heard anything from aunt jen! when do they leave??? tell her to write me!! 

spanish is coming better every day! there is just so much to remember. but it's good! i love it. it's fun. it's going to be a shocker when we get to new york tho!! being a zone leader is good. it's fun helping the new districts out. 

dad are you and brad going to buy muzzle loaders?? 

oh my gosh! why did the rockies trade ubaldo??? ugh. who did they get for him? i hope someone good. 

i'm running out of things to say. testimony meeting yesterday was great! i love sharing my testimony in spanish. it's fun. the spirit was strong. 

well i love you guys!! i hope everyone is doing well! send me those pictures ok :) thank you! oh i sent some pictures and the memory card to rachel so she could download the pictures on her computer and

then you guys can download them somewhere. is the computer fixed???

anyway, so get with her and she'll give you the pictures.

i said goodbye to alex yesterday. it was fine until he started crying and then of course i had to cry too! it was hard but he'll be a great missionary. i know it!

i love you guys! write me!!   

love, Elder Daley aka "el gringo"

Week Five - PS

ps what has happened to megan!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are going camping!!! i am so proud!!! haha let's hope it lasts! tell cory to take care of my trailer! i love you guys!

Week Five - Untitled

Blog Followers :) :) :) (i have a blog...and followers:) )

Well folks, we have made it pas the half way point!!!! that's crazy huh!!!!! I can't believe it but it still seems like i have an eternity left in here! so first off, ok dear elders don't come on saturdays so send them friday if you want me to get them! and they only print them in the evening so i only recieve them in the evening from our district leader, keep that in mind!

ok, first of all, ashley workman told me she saw some huge bucks! i need pictures and proof! i also need pictures of all megan and cory's camping trips and also dad and brad's scouting trip! dad, did you see any bucks? where did you go?? i hear layne is pumped for his hunt! tell ash i better get some pictures.

i don't know what to talk about so i'm just going down my list of things for a second! Grandma sent me the obituary of tommie's dad last week :( i keep forgetting to say something. well you guys tell him how sorry i am and that he is in my prayers? i love that guy, he's a great example. tell him to write me a letter also!!!!

oh!!! can you guys print me out my priesthood line of authority and send it to me? i think it would be useful to have.

how is aunt jenny and uncle zach? i'm sad that i'm missing them! i better get some daggum letters! my 1st counselor in my branch presidency was the mission president of the carlsbad mission, which includes mission viejo! cool huh?? also, an elder in my zone is from carlsbad, elder larson.

so my first week as zone leader is over. quite uneventful other than meetings...but it's good. it's fun to help the other missionaries. last night i sat with alex at the fireside! he leaves next week! crazy crazy. and afterwards we watched a movie about joseph smith! it was amazing. i could not believe the spirit i felt while watching it. Joseph was the prophet! God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and through him the priesthood was restored. I can't believe how faithful he was to the Lord. he was constantly ridiculed and abused but he remained ever faithful!!!!

i want everyone to do something for me. mom and dad, i want you guys to sit down and read the book of mormon TOGETHER ok? and cory and megan, you guys do the same! (include Jared). The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. it is so important for us to constantly study it. it'll bring a great spirit to you. so do it!

i really don't know what to talk about!! this is so short...i'm sorry! umm....send me a list of questions if you want them answered ok! this week the MTC curriculum changes so class is going to be different. i'll let you know how it is.

oh we went to the temple today! elder heaps and i did sealings. it was fun. our names were native american names. some of them were: blue blanket, brown cow goes first, shot in the eye, kills his enemy, and red bear. yeah it was great. haha very memorable!

mom did you and kristy have fun in vegas??? tell me about it! today the elder who lives next door, his grandpa died :( it was sad. that better not happen to me! so you tell ninny and grandma and grandpa wagner it's not an option!!! i love you guys. write me letters!!!!

love you!!! sorry this email was kind of worthless - i sent a letter too! love you!!!

week 4!! you're fired! (like donald trump)

July 25th, 2011

hello dearest family! how's everybody doing?? mom, you have me a little worried when you said there's a lot going on and didn't write me back. so what's the deal??

when does aunt jen get here?? are you guys going camping this week? i hope so! dad NEEDS to scout for his hunt!!!! 

oh man it's been a pretty crazy weekend. so i got released as district leader after only one week. yes it was an honorable release ha ha.  now me and elder heaps are the zone leaders....yep the zone leaders...we have 3 other districts other than our own and we get a new one on wednesday. so it's pretty cool. i don't know why it's us and not another set of elders. it's very humbling that the Lord trusts me enough to serve the rest of the zone. It's a lot of responsibility and kind of overwhelming but i'm excited to do it and i'm excited to help the zone. it was really surprising because there is still a district older than us here and the zone leaders usually come from the oldest district so it was surprising. 

i don't know if i told you but my branch president owns kneaders!! he is...intimidating....when he says jump you don't ask how high you just jump! but i love him. his name is president gary worthington and he lives in lindon. our counselors are brother brady from orem and brother sitterud from highland. they are good leaders! i've learned a lot from president worthington. he knows his way around the church! so yep. 

today at 3am one of our districts left for argentina :( it's sad to see them go. you create friends so quickly here! i love them and then our roommates/zone leaders left this morning at 1130. that was really hard! so hopefully our new roommates are as cool as they are!

ok, so you asked about the food here. so it's just a cafeteria! i don't know how else to explain it. it's the same food that they serve at the byu cafeteria, but the quality isn't as good. it has it's days. some are good, some....ya. but i'm thankful for everyone who prepares it and helps cause it's a huge job!

what has everyone been up to? i sent a letter today. how's my blog looking? really classy????? i hope so cause i'm a classy guy.

so i guess i'll share an experience with everyone. so the other day one of the elders in my district came up to me with tears in his eyes and asked me if i'd give him a blessing. i told him that ya we could do that. so i went into my room for a second to ponder the situation. i know that him and his companion had been having some personality clashes here and there and he was down on himself cause of the Spanish. as i was pondering what to do i had the feeling that i should have his companion administer the blessing and i could just stand in. so we went into their room and i asked if his companion would do it. so we put our hands on his head and his companion started the blessing. i can't even describe the feeling that i felt during that blessing. my face was literally burning. i didn't feel warmth, it was heat. it was such a special experience for all three of us. i am so thankful for the spirit that was there. Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. and i know that!

i saw alex yesterday!!! it sucks because we are on different schedules so i'll never really see him. but i had to go to dinner early because of a zone leader meeting and i saw him! he looked good! i think his first week was hard too. i wish i could've talked to him more! hopefully i'll see him soon. he is only here for three weeks so not much time!

feel free to send me pictures of any fun outings! i miss you guys and love you!! i hope everyone is doing well. tell cory and brad that they better write me soon!!!! and tell brad that my bathroom was a present to him :) ha ha

so have you started on my room yet?? i hope not. just leave it the same for two years. oh and pack my bedspread! i want that after my mish.

well things are going well. i love you guys so much! i'm happy! this is worth it! i've already been out a month! that's crazy!!! when i leave the mtc i will be 1/12 of the way done. 2 months after that i'll be 1/6 of the way done. that's crazy!!!!! time flies. i'll be home before you know it!!

did you guys see harry potter?? you better have. the day i realized it came out i cried a little....no big deal! ha ha i love you guys!! i expect some info this week!!!

ps it's all good :)

Love Matthew Judson Daley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week Three - Part Two

July 18th, 2011

Hola Padres!

Como estan? Estoy muy bien! Espanol es deficil pero posible! enough spanish! back to english!

How is everyone? Mom, how is your knee? getting better? I hope so! Is it great to drive by yourself now? I miss cars..haha

Well, spanish is getting a little better. I fell a littler farther behind than others, but it's ok. I pray for the gift of tongues like every second! Heavenly Father is helping me so much. But part of the gift of tongues is working and struggling in the language! So the struggle continues!

Dad, have you been fishing or scouting yet?! The hint is in like 2 months! luck butt.

How is the roof coming? I wish I was there to help you. Make people help, don't do it by yourself!

(ha ha Elder Heaps just told me he's immune to my gas because I've destroyed his sense of smell. :) fun fact :) oh and I now have the record for the loudest far EVER! It woke up the whole room!)

Half our district leaves for the MTC in Guatemala tomorrow. It's sad but good! Oh! I also hold the record for most packages in one day! 3! One for you, the Garlitz's, and Michelle! It was sweet.

So you'll already know this from the email, but I got asked to be the new district leader. So that's pretty cool.

I miss and love you guys so much! Only 5 P-Days left after this and I'm in NY! I'm so excited. I just want to be out there doing it! New York is gonna be perfect. I can't wait!

So Elder Riley Stauffer (?) is a fellow district member. He's from Spanish Fork. We are gonna go to a George Strait concert in 2013 and it's gonna be awesome. He's a cool guy!

Well family, I love you so much. I miss you everyday but this is the most important thing for me right now! I love you guys so much!

Love, Elder Daley - your favorite son!

Week 3

hola familia!!! 

como estan? so another week has gone by! can you believe i've been gone 3 

weeks? i can haha it seems like i've been here forever! the days just blend 

together a little bit! 

so i guess i'll start out with some news. yesterday i got asked to be the district 

leader for our district. so that's pretty cool! now i get to be santa claus and 

give all the children their mail! 

hmmm...what to say next. 

so half of our district is leaving for the guatamalan MTC tomorrow. it'll be sad 

to see them go but i'm pumped for them! i'm kind of jealous that they get to go 

and be in their mission though! so we will only have 6 people in our district. all 

going to new york! 

i talked to brother eliason and he said it was fun visiting with everyone! how is 

everyone doing? i hope good! 

did cory return our trailer in one piece??? i sure hope so! (what were you 

thinking dad? ;) ) 

so how often are you tending lukey now? i miss him so much!!!!!!!! i printed 

pictures off of my camera and i have a couple of me and him. he is the best. is 

he turning into a little man already? he'll be starting kindergarten when i get 

home!! 

so i have been thinking a lot about Brady Jensen lately. i wonder where he 

would've gotten called. he was such a great example to me. he used to kick 

me in the shin whenever i would say something i shouldn't have. he was like my 

jiminey cricket! i like to think that he is here with me! 

i've been thinking about the scripture D&C 6:36 lately too. "look unto me in every 

thought, doubt not, fear not." i love that one! my seminary teacher, Brother 

Mortensen used to say that scripture everyday. it's so comforting to know that 

God can see the whole plan, and if we look to him without doubt he will strengthen 

us! 

right now i am battling a little bit of a cold, and yes i am taking my vitamin c 

everyday. also my back has really started to hurt the past week. worse than before. 

any advice mom?
 

what has everyone been up to? i feel so out of the loop. tell bradley and cory to write 

me a letter! grandma said that aunt jenny and her family are coming soon! i'm sad 

that i won't get to see them. 

Oh. well i would like to let everyone know that i have set the record for most 

packages received in one day, at 3!!! so ya i'm pretty popular. i've been 

rubbing it in! so let's try and get a 4 package day!!!! oh ya. Mail truly is like 

christmas here. your whole week basically evolves around getting mail. so 

keep it coming! i'm still waiting for my letter from ben.... so if anyone sees 
him kick his butt! 

i have a request, send me a dear elder with a list of questions you want 

answered/have so that email time is easier!! that goes for anyone! 

mom, you asked how they teach us spanish. well the first week we didn't have a 

spanish teacher really, only a gospel teacher who only spoke spanish! her name 

is hermana sandoval and she is from colombia! she's the greatest. turns out she 

speaks english as good as me haha. she kept it a secret until one day she just 

started speaking in english and our jaws hit the floor. we literally laughed for 30 

minutes! 

but back to the question, they teach us a different verb conjugation like everyday. 

i don't know how to explain it. similar to school but you learn so much faster!!!

you'll be glad to know that hermano baron isn't our teacher anymore. we now have 

hermano bielamovicz! (bee-la-mov-ich). it's a polish name, i'm so glad i didn't 

crack my polish jokes!!! haha. but i LOVE him!!!!! he is very disciplined but you 

can tell he really cares about being here! he's in the marines but he relaxes after 

a while! 

well i love you family. mommy your last package was perfect!!! next time let's 

make the dew's 20 oz or cans :) 

i love you guys!!! 

dad go fishing. take rachel and luke! 

i love you guys!!!!!   

love, Elder Matthew Judson Daley!!!!!!!  

Week Two

Hola Familia!

How is everyone doing?? Life in the MTC goes on...I sent a letter today so you should be getting that here in a day or two. This week went by a lot faster and was a lot better than the last week.

But, I'll start out by sharing another story about my bodily functions. So for the past like 5 or 6 days I have woken up and had the BIGGEST "toot" in the world at exactly 620.It literally woke up everyone in the room. Ya, I'm a bit of a legend ;) I hope that makes everyone proud, especially Mom and Rachel ;)

So, I have some requests: I need a tennis ball, and a mt. dew, dr. pepper, and a hole punch.

I am going crazy in here without SportsCenter. What is going on in the real world???

I haven't heard any of the honks yet, but keep honking every time! We'll get one! I miss everyone. I got Dear Elders from Megan and Lisa and Ben and letters from everyone else. Mail is the greatest thing in the world. It's like Christmas every time! Keep it coming!!!!

Megan: thank you so much for doing the blog and everything!!! How is Lukey?? I miss that kid. He better be on the first tape recording I get! How is Jared doing?

So my everyday life is basically the same. pray a million times, study a lot, sit in class 6 hours a day, and teach. We have to teach in all Spanish and it is not easy! I wish I knew more. But it will come with time! Our zone leaders left this morning to their missions, and now me roommates are the zone leaders. Elder Mark Daniel & Jordan Rapp. They are super funny guys! It's fun.

I'm glad to hear that mom is doing good! Oh and everyone loved that popcorn stuff you sent mom!!! I mean everyone! It was super delicious.

So I hear that Rachel came over and finished downloading my pictures. That makes me happy! Make sure you guys keep in contact, mmmk?

Cory, I am still waiting for some form on communication. And Bradley too! Has he moved into my room yet? How is my room?

Email time is so short, ugh! I don't know what else to talk about really. Oh, tell Grandma and Grandpa that the key for the lawn mower should be on the work bench, that's where I left it!

So yesterday we had a Brother Heaton speak at a fireside. It was really good. He talked about the joys that come from daily repentance. He said that repentance always has a negative association with it but in reality it is a very positive thing!! We are turning away from sin and back towards out Heavenly Father. And how true it is! Repentance is amazing. I encourage everyone to exercise repentance, it brings such happiness.

I love everyone and I miss you! This is the Lord's work. I'll be sending some pictures home later this week or next week so be excited! I'm ROCKING the comb over. I make it look good. Just think, in like 3 months I'll be baptizing Donald Trump!! Ya baby!

Well, I'm running our of time and words...send me questions you want me to answer! I love you guys! Stay true! Heavenly Father is blessing us more than we can even imagine right now! And it will keep coming. Pray for me! I'm praying for you. Everyday. you really learn what it means to pray here! I can't believe how many times a day I pray! I think the reason we distance ourselves from our families is because we have our Heavenly Father, and these 2 years are about strengthening that family relationship! It's gonna go by so quick!

We are going to Tucanos the day I get back ok? So start saving up!

I love you!!!!!!!

Love,
Elder Matthew Judson Daley!!!!!!!!!