Hola de Espana

This has been one of the hardest but funnest weeks on the mission yet.  We had a TON of visits this week, not to mention that the city here in Badalona is built on a mountain and so the streets are super steep.  My legs would get tired.  Thanks to lots of running and trail runs at home, I´m prepared to work here.  we did go running this week.  We went 3 times this week.  This morning we ran out to the beach and ran on the dock and saw the sun start to rise up from the east on the Mediterranean Sea!  It´s so weird but I´m in spain!!!  The spanish is coming so well, but I still have a long way to go.

That’s so cool that Landon is in the MTC right now.  It felt like I was just there.

Anyway, Elder Streiff is perfect to work with.  I love him so much and he is such a great missionary.  We teach very well together and everything seems to click well with us.  We have no disagreements or have such opposite personalities that it make us hard to live with.  He´s the district leader by the way.  By the way, I live with the zone leaders too.  They are great.  Elder Camachu and Elder Davis.  Elder Camachu is from spain but was born somewhere in South America and was baptized like 2 years ago and now he´s a missionary.  Elder Davis is from farmington, UT.  I feel like the black sheep here some times, but we have a blast in piso.  We bought a ton of food last week, but somehow seems to be gone by the end of the week.  We make good, healthy food for lunch.  Last week we made fried chicken and had "a big salad" (seinfeld).  We have 4 hermanas in our distirct; Hermana Lopéz from spain, I think, who speaks only spanish (castellano), Hermana Ratliff from CA, Hermana Fenn who is SUPER tall (she´s like 6´2or3") from UT, I think, and Hermana  Wallace, again from my first transfer in Castellón from uraguay.

The members here are super nice and I love our bishop.  He´s this Russian who has a high mousy Russian accent.  I gave my testimony on Sunday, and I was surprised how well I gave it.  My Spanish, Castellano, is really improving.

I don´t have a lot of time left, but one super funny story this week was when we were teaching a lesson on a park bench in front of this school.  Just as we were standing up to say goodbye, Elder Streiff knocked his chapa in the storm drain (by the way, he is a ute fan and took a year of schooling at the U before he came out on the mish).  There was a lot of people around and they saw that we knocked his chapa in the storm drain, so I undid my shoelace, grabbed his magnetic chapa band, tied it to the shoelace and fished the chapa out with my shoelace.  It was super funny, but a lot fun.

This is a "chapa"

Anyway, I want to finish with my testimony of the Book of Mormon.  We cannot do this work without this book.  It is written for our day and we can draw nearer to God by reading, repenting and applying the atonement into our lives.  Let us read this book every day and feed our soul with the comfort and peace that can only come from our father in heaven.  The book of mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ because It testifies of Jesus Christ and his life and love for us.  We must read and follow him.  We have made covenants to follow him and he promises us blessings when we keep his commandments.  I love you all and I will write you all latter.

Love,

Elder Gonzalez