Nov 4--Letter From Matt

Thanks for all the pictures!

Thanks for your letter Mom, I hope that you're doing well. I'm glad to hear about all of your Halloween activities! Man that sounds fun haha, Here, we were in a little village on Halloween night until like 9:00pm, we have daylight savings here too, so we got an hour more too, but I don't like it because it's pitch black at night haha :) But, it'll change back too soon, so I'm not going to complain. You keep on working on your goal to remember the Lord Jesus Christ more, that is such a wonderful goal! I'm going to try and do it more too :) Have you ever read Jesus the Christ? I'm reading it right now in our down times and it's excellent. How are you doing with being a missionary? Keep on going! You can do it! haha :)

I did get to pull out all of the money in my account.

This week was my first week in La Cruz, it was a fun week, and was finished off by a tropical storm yesterday! (Don't worry nothing happened and everyone survived) We are working in half of La Cruz. Another pair of missionaries work in the other half. It's only a branch here, but we hope that our district will be able to grow into a stake this next year. The branch here has an extension in a small village that's called Ceuta.  Ceuta is about 5 miles out of town and doesn't have a branch, it's just an extension of a branch, so I guess you could call it a leaf. Ceuta is a farmer's village, a lot of people that work harvesting and planting live there in large complexes owned by the contractors. There are also houses that are owned by people and not by the farm companies. It is a wonderful place and everyone knows everyone there. Many members that have been inactive are re-activating themselves because they can now attend closer to home and in a time schedule that doesn't interfere with their work.

When we go to Ceuta there are some kids that always follow us around and ask us to throw them up in the air and try and race us everywhere. It's charming and they help us find people to teach.

I still don't know the people that well yet but I'm sure that this next week I'll be able to write more about the people, 

I love you all and I hope that you are all doing wonderfully well. Keep on going, the Lord is with us every step of the way and He loves us more than we can imagine, I have felt that love when I feel totally spent and out of ideas, I have felt that love when I've made a mistake and am asking for forgiveness, I have felt that love when I am lonely and without support, I have felt that love in unexpected ways and on unexpected occasions. I know He loves us. I can't doubt it now. I never want to turn away from that love. Like president Monson said: "It is simply always there." I pray for you always.

-Matt