March 24, 2019

March 24, 2019

Here's the update for our Elder the past couple of weeks:

He hasn't called, but we've been able to chat with him a bit on Google Hangouts.  His area still feels small, and he says right now they aren't teaching anyone.  They have decided to take the time to teach each other.  So he bought a lot of different scripture study guides.  Right now they are studying the Pearl of Great Price.

He sent us a picture of the lake area...it looks so inviting!  It is very pretty. We also got a picture of him from his most recent zone conference.

Then this past week he had to take a driving test.  He passed the test, but with is ticket on his record he will have to take another defensive driving course before he will be allowed to drive the mission cars.  I know he is anxious to have that privilege.



This past week Matthew also passed another milestone.  He has now been on his mission for over 6 months!  Some days it feels that long, but others it feels like he just barely left.

This coming week is transfers week, so we will find out on Tuesday if Matthew gets to stay where he is or if a new adventure awaits him....

March 10, 2019

Here is our update from Matthew this week:

He writes (through Google Hangouts):

It's been a busy week

We went on 2 exchanges this week

It's been pretty sunny lately, but it's been staying in the 30s

He finally sent me a "tag pic", which is a picture of his missionary badge somewhere cool.  I was super excited to get this from him :)  The tag is kinda dark, but if you look closely you can see it.

He and Elder Talbot also shared the following video with us about the scripture Helaman 5:12

Matthew also called home again and told us that he is enjoying his area and being with Elder Talbot so much.  It is good to hear and see him happy and know that he is working hard.  In the next couple of weeks he will reach a big milestone - 6 months - 25% finished.  He says when they hit that mark they burn a tie, so he already has one picked out for that event.  Guess we will see that when it happens.  He will also celebrate his 20th birthday at the end of the month, and his first one while on his mission.  

We are excited to hear more from him this week.

March 3, 2019

March 3, 2019

Matthew likes to talk on the phone and Google Hangout much more than he does sending emails.  It is great to get to hear from him, and if it means more pictures (he sent a lot this week) it is an okay change by us.  That does however mean this blog will become more a narrative of what we learn from him than a copy and past of his emails.  We will keep working on it and see what hybrid combination we can come up with.

This week Matthew told us a lot about how much he loves his area and his companion.  He and Elder Talbot are building a "prayer room" in the storage area connected to the balcony of their apartment.  I wish I had snapped some pictures during the video tour he gave us.  It looks to be a great place for them to spend some time each day mediating.

We did get quite a few pictures from Matthew this week during our chat. 

So we had a fire, the fire engine visited our complex. We went and had dinner in a mansion and yeah that's this weeks adventures.

We asked if they were staying in the mansion, but he said:

No, the Zone leaders had a member leave town and said that they were welcome to use the house for a week. So they cooked us dinner.

He also sent a video tour of the home, but I don't know if it will work to upload it into the blog, so we will just include the pictures.

He also sent these pictures.

An amazing collection of root beers (or flavored drinks).  He had a vote to see which we wanted him to drink first.  He went with mom's vote of the one with the anchor on it.

 We also got this very interesting photo of Elder Talbot.

Matthew said: Elder Talbot and I also found a stick that looked like a sword.

Goes to show you that even on a mission, 18 and 19 year old boys still look for sticks and create adventures with them :)

It has been so great this week to see his smiling face and hear him telling his stories about what he's been up to this week.  We love hearing about how he and Elder Talbot get to sit on the pier at Lake Wilderness and talk about life, about the friends they get to visit with, about how they walk their area, and about the great love he is having for his new area and new companion. The one thing I forgot this week is to have Matthew share a scripture.  I will make sure to get us back on track with that part for the blog. 

We are looking forward to hearing from him tomorrow!