Lindsay in madrid MTC

at this mtc there are only 15 of us, it is different but cool, we are like a small family. at this mtc we get to go out on p-days! so i get to go out into the city of madrid today, i am excited because this is the only time i will get to do this because i leave before next p-day, but then i will be in barcelona. and on saturday we go contacting in the park..i will have to really rely on the lord with my spanish. and tomorrow we get to go to the temple! which is the buliding right next to ours, i mean we have been there before, but i am so excited to do a session.

i played futbol in spain with spaniards, oh yes. i was the only hermana, my companions were watching. ha ha. i am not a soccer player, but i did pretty well, i just went all out because why not, so i was kicking the ball away from the goal, that is mainly what i did ha ha. if anyone got to close i would go up and kick it away ha ha. the elders would cheer everytime i kicked it, i even head butted the ball...it hurt. but it was cool, it was on cement, in a place where in america it would have been a basketball court. but we played volleyball the next day so i was able to redeem myself from looking ridiculous as a soccer player. being around this culture is so cool, and new. and ohhh, did i mention they speak really fast!!! and some of them cut off their s´s, so i am like what the heck, haha. there are a few south americans here as well, they are hilarious. they are trying to learn english, we are supposed to help them, and it is just so funny. i wonder what i sound like to a native when i speak spanish.

but i am just so greatful to be in spain, and i am so greatful for this opportunity to learn spanish, and most importantly to preach the gospel. i have decided to pick a christlike attribute that i want to work on every month, and right now it is charity and love, so you can send me cool stuff you find on charity if you want. but i know how essential it is that i love everyone, my companions, investigators, the people who yell at me, and elders who should still be in high school. it is easy to love someone who loves you, but we must love everyone. we need to be the bigger people. it has been made as kind of joke in our society now, but we really should think, what would jesus do, because we need to become like him. he is the perfect example. and i want to be able to turn the other cheek, and still love someone when they do something not very nice to me. it is hard, i think my thoughts will be the hardest thing to control, because its easy not to yell at someone, but thinking mean or angry thoughts about someone is still not charity. so anyway, that is what i am really trying to work on right now.

but i love you all so much. good luck at school, seminary, choir, sports, and everything!!

Funny experience: all of the spaniards love teasing me because i am from alaska ha ha. they ask if i swim in the ocean and need sunscreen and i said of course, i swim with the polar bears, they liked that. but one of the elders calls me britney spears...oh goodness. and they all think i look like an angel, very innocent and sweet, ha ha. and apparently there is a group or a singer in spain called alaska or something close to it. anyway, there are many funny moments.

Most beautiful thing you saw (not yourself;) ): good thing mom, cause i would have for sure said myself, ha ha. well i haven´t seen too much of the city yet, but i have seen the temple, and that is soo beautiful! it really is. a lot of the buildings are brown, not an ugly brown, but then you have this white, clean temple with beautiful grounds and i love it.
Scripture you relied on most this week: just all of 2nd nephi 25, especially toward the end, and verse 26. nephi is talking about how he is writing this record to persuade all to believe in christ, that is who we teach about. sometimes i think missionaries can get caught up in joseph smith, who was important of course, but this is the gospel of jesus christ, he is central to this plan, we must praise his name and share the atonement with all!!!

Best meal: ok, believe it or not but....paella!!! oh my goodness i loved it, i even had the seafood kind. i don´t know what kind i had tasted before, because i absolutely loved the paella!

i love you all,

hermana reed