Monday, January 19, 2015

Heyyyyy guys!!!! It was sooooo great to hear from all of you.

I am super excited to be out in the field. It was a little sad leaving the CCM. I will miss the friends I made, the teachers that I had. It was a super fun experience. But as they say, ships are built in a harbor but that is not where they are meant to be. California is where I am supposed to be, and I already love it here. We woke up at 2:30 in the morning to get to the airport and our flight was to Phoenix, it was so good to be somewhere that looked familiar. As soon as we were there we went straight to McDonalds. It was delish. Then we flew from Phoenix to the Long Beach Airport. Once we got to California, the air was super nice and fresh, it felt like I could finally breathe again. NO more extremely polluted air from Mexico. The airport in Long Beach was super small but super nice.

We then drove to the mission office to eat lunch. We had El Pollo Loco which was also amazing. Then we watched a bunch of training videos and then I was able to go out with Elder Clement, an English Elder, to go find people on the street. I was super nervous but it was actually fun. We then came up to a lady who spoke Spanish, and I had to try and understand what she was saying because my . She talked super fast and slurred her words together but I was able to slightly understand, and successfully convey the message.

We also saw a lady who flagged us down and ran over and wanted to talk with us, she was less active and was having a bad day and saw us and felt like she needed to talk to us. We then got her name and number and set up a return appointment. It was great! Then on our way back we saw a guy pulling a cart selling Corn on a stick, Nacho Libre style. It was soooooooooo good. It had butter, mayo, Parmesan cheese, and chili powder on it.

We then went back to the Mission office and ate pizza, had interviews and then had to wait to see who my trainer would be. My companion is Elder Issac Olsen. He is from Ogden and only has 5 or so more months left. He is such a cool guy. We like a lot of the same things and he is pretty out going, and his Spanish is really good. He apparently had several latino companions for the last few transfers so he actually hasn’t spoken English in a while.

He actually had the flu that night, so I was able to go back to the apartment, and unpack, something that new missionaries usually don’t get to do for a couple weeks. The following day, we went out to have some trainings and classes with the Mission President. Then we went back to the apartment to chill, it was pretty boring but I felt so bad for Elder Olsen, he looked and felt terrible.

My area is the Ximeno D area in Long Beach. We have the only Spanish branch in the mission. It is a pretty small area but the members here are pretty cool, I can’t wait till I am able to fully understand and get to know them. Also the elders in this area before us were pretty lazy, so we have to work really hard to fix all that they messed up.

We have some really promising investigators, one named Yoflin and her family who were are going to see for the first time tomorrow. They said she is really likely to be baptized. Then we have Miguel who we found and he seems to love our message. It is great. I love all the people here, the other Elders in the area all seem pretty cool, and I am excited to get to know them.

I love being here and am excited to become a better missionary and met new people.

Also, if you guys feel the impression to send me a package with candy and snacks and low candy cause food money is tight and prices and taxes are super high here in Cali, I would more then love to receive it. (my low candy supply is beginning to run a bit low)

Answers to your questions:

Mom: My Insulin and stuff did arrive and I was able to put it in the fridge in my apartment. My bike was also at the office when I arrived, I have yet to open it because we actually have a car that we drive around. My apartment is alright, My companion said it was one of the apartments in the worst condition in the mission, but all is well. My bed is super comfortable so I am happy. And thanks for the Tie… It is pretty baller.

Dad: I am not exactly sure the exact address for our apartment but I will find out and get back to you next week. But for packages send them to the mission office, but letters you can send to my apartment. I am not sure if they contact me when I get a package, so tell me when you will send them. We get $100-125 a month to spend on food, but we don’t have to worry about dinner most of the time.

Thanks for everything!

Elder Matthew Bryce