Wahooo!!! First area!

Hey family!! How are all of you? Well, this week was my first week in the field. How sweet is that!! My new address is: 

Calle de la oca 2, 3ºB

28025

Madrid, Spain

 

Well, a little about my new companion, my new best friend, Elder Woodbury.  He is the 5th of 6 kids.  He is from Phoenix Arizona, and has been out for a year and four months.  He is a great missionary and he helps me a lot on my Spanish and other things as well.  He is sooo awesome! We do what you told me to do Mandy, we read out of PMG for around 20-30 min a day so I can work on my Spanish.  Thank you for the input on what to do to help me.  I will definitely do that :)

We are in a piso (apartment) with another companionship (Elder Wilson, and my old comp, Elder Johnson).  By the way, Elder Bagley is in the Canary Islands!! How sweet is that!  Elder Woodbury and I serve in barrio (ward) 9 in Madrid. We have a huge area! We could take the metro for a good 30 min and still be in our area.  Our ward has around 150+ members in it.  They are so nice, so nice that I had to bear my testimony and intoduce myself on Sunday.  

We also have a lot of dinner and lunch appointments. :) ahhh yeahh! We also have a set of sister missionaries in our ward. The food is amazing here, but don´t worry it is not like 24/7 eating.  I eat a small breakfast like a yogurt and a piece of fresh bread.  Then lunch is usually bigger, like a dinner. We usually eat just at the piso, but sometimes a member has us over.  Then dinner might be with a member but, most of the time we have it at the piso, and that is like a little snack or something light.  But, I am telling you what, the food here, is SO GOOD! On Sunday for lunch we ate at Miriams piso (member family).  She made these half a chicken things (not like a real half of chicken, but they were huge legs and thigh pieces) with these huge potatoes (sorry for my spelling, Spanish has ruined what was left of my spelling skills)  She gave everyone 2 potatoes spit apart each with a chicken half with strips of meat and some other type of meat.  Yes, she gave everyone that, and also yes, it was amazing! Ohhh and rice and salad of course.  It was just huge.  Lets just say i didn´t eat till the next morning.  I was so full!! 

Well, I am doing good! Our teaching pool is not huge, but a good size.  We have about 5 good investigators.  Well, to let you know we walk a lot!  I´ll say at least 5-6 miles a day.  We are always on the go and talking to everyone.  Spain is so awesome! But it is also hard.  It is hard to teach and speak because people don´t want to listen.  We get some fake numbers and all that. Some people actually give us their number, but when we call, they turn us down.  But every so often someone wants to hear from us :)  

Well the language is hard because people speak a mile a minute here and it really stinks, I´m not gonna lie.  But I push on and study and speak more.  The Lord has really blessed me with a lot.  He has put a lot of peple in my and Elder Woodburys way.  Because I have made a goal to talk to everyone i see. It is very hard, but I want to be bold, like a lion.   

I´ve met a lot of people who don´t believe in God or just don´t care about religion.  I just wish they would listen, for just 2 min. of what we have to say, but they don´t.  When we say hi, we usually get, I´m in a hurry, don´t talk to me, or my favorite, good bye. hahah  Occasionally, we do get those nice people who actually care and want to know what we are all about :) 

Well everything else is good! I love life and the mission, just livin the dream!  I always look up at the stars mom and dad. I always think of you all :)  Don´t worry, I work my hardest everyday, but at night when we are getting ready for bed, I look out my window and see the stars and think of you all.  

Well, I will be in this area for at least 2 months because I have more training that the church just started to do.  It´s a 12 week program for new missionaries to help us more with the lessons and the language.  And yes my p-day is on wednesday! :) Ohh fun fact about our piso, we have no dryer so it´s the good ol´ drying racks or hanging things out-side :) 

 

I love you all so much and I can´t wait to hear from all of you :) I love you all!!!!

 

Love your son, brother, and brother in-law,

 

Elder Alex Laubaugh

 

ps. when you send a package to me,it doesn´t have to be like right now, don´t worry I am fine, but please put a jar a peanut butter  in there... :) creamy please :) Spain gets this other stuff that doesn´t taste that good :( i think it´s from china... hahah but yes that would be great...

 

pss also I would like if all of you could please send your testimonies to me by mail.  I can´t really print here, but I would really like that.  :) thanks

 

I love you!!