July 5, 2011

~ Familia,
So I just ate a bocadillo (a sandwich with spanish bread) with horse meat, and it was way good. I heard that they sold Jamon de Caballo, and I had to try it. The taste is way unique and way strong, but in a sandwich with some good spanish cheese it´s amazing.
My comp isn´t new, he´s been here in this area for four months now. he´s called Elder Carey, and he´s from Bountiful and he´s awesome. It´s really a privilege to be here with him in Ponferrada, the mision is one big adventure, just like real life.
The other night we happened to be here for the annual night of the templar knights, and we live right next to the castle, and a huge parade of knights went right in front of our piso and they carried the arc of the covenant, and the holy grail into the castle and they lit fire works and it was cool. We took that as our 4th of July celebracion.
So in the mission I´ve gotten to like cutting my own hair, so if you see hair clippers in sam´s club or costco it would be cool to have one up at byu. We should come back here next year or in a couple of years so I can show you guys around Spain. I would love to see everyone again. I´m excited to see the lights of Vegas again. I think the first thing I wanna eat is a double double from "in n out" haha. But until then elder Carey and I are gunna work like crazy here in Ponferrada, thanks for everything. have a good day and a great week.
elder ross

June 29, 2011

~ The mission is one giant adventure. So I was sure that I would end my mission in Madrid, but friday the a.p´s called us and said that the transfers would be in our email by the end of the day, but I was so anxious I went right after the call to see if the changes were already in my email, to see who was going where. When I looked the changes weren´t there yet, but there was a train ticket to Leon with my name on it. so I couldn´t believe it, and later when we saw all the changes it was true, and i´m writing you guys from a locutorio in a city called Ponferrada. Which is to the west of Leon, which is to the north. so yeah... it was funny cause I was doing splits with elder Mateer who had been in the Canary Islands with me earlier, and we were talking about what might happen with the changes and everything, and in his mission he´s went from Malaga to the Canaries then to Leon and then to Madrid, and I said that´s crazy you got to know all the places, and then I said it would have been cool to serve in the north, but it didn´t even cross my mind at all that I would actually be sent up here.
It was so sad saying good by to everyone. Our district in Madrid is the best, and out of everyone I was the newest one, so before the changes I was trying to scare everyone else saying that for sure they would be transfered, and al final I was the only one that got transfered.
They were already talking about how bad they were going to get me in our last district meeting, but the president saved me from them all.
It´s weird cause two of the sisters both end at the end of this transfer too, and they are together, so we figured one of them would be transfered, but they both gunna end together. I made sure when I left that the district would still give them a hard time.
The ward I left is so awesome. I was there for only three months, but it was so sad to leave them. The night before all the single adults got together and we brought the lady that just got baptised, and one of her friends, and they gave me a going away party and it was awesome. They called one of the young men from Fuertevenura on a phone that had video, and I was able to see him and talk to him. It was a big surprise. I was going to see him cause he enters into the mtc this next month, and I was so excited but then I got transfered, so they called him and I talked to him and it was awesome. I´ve been surrounded by the best people all my life. My new comp is awesome just like every other comp I´ve had. We have to move pisos so we are moving everything over tomorrow. I was so sad to leave but i´m excited to work here. The mission is the best.
I´ll buy you olive oil, I was just wondering how much it costs you to buy olive oil in the store in the united states cause everyone says it´s expensive but I don´t think it will be too bad. I´m just thinking about cooking up at school wondering if it will be expensive to cook with olive oil, just cause I will wan´t to use if for everything now.
thanks for the recipes! we have vanilla extract in the piso, and I can find brown sugar in the latino stores. Right before I left madrid a bolivian family taught me how to make some cheese bread rolls that are amazing. I´ll have to see if I can find the stuff in the states. It calls for yucca flour. Anyways todo esta bien, estoy mas feliz i animado que nunca, a ver si podemos bautizar a uno mas porahi.
gracias por todo.
elder ross

June 22, 2011

~ Familia mía,
today for p´day we went to the mision home, and played a bunch of sports. two of the hermanas challenge elder mateer (the other british elder in our apartment) and I to a tennis match, and they played good but we defended our honor and beat them. Then we played american football for a little bit and then we played fútbol sala with everyone. We made up four teams and we played king of the court. The first team to score two goals stayed on to keep playing. My comp and I were the best ones, we scored quite a few goals. Even though we ended feeling tired it was a great way to release stress.
There´s some awesome missionaries in Madrid. Our district is especially awesome. We´re all worried that someone from our district is going to be transfered this next week and we hope it doesn´t happen. Every week after district meeting we eat lunch, and everyone brings food. This last week my comp and I made tortilla de papas which is one of the most common spanish dishes and the two, we made turned out amazing. Everyone was impressed. One of the sisters made Sal Morejo which is a cold soup like gazpacho, and then we made this watermelon drink that a colombian member showed us how to make and it was amazing. One of the elders is going home in a week and this was his last district meeting, so we gave him a hard time the whole time. I spoke in district meeting on the importance to get married after the mission, and it was funny cause I said it wasn´t my council but actually the council of the apostels and prophets, and read from the conference talks and Dallin H. oaks talks about it in his talk desire and Richard G. Scott talks about it in his talk about eternal marriage, and the prophet talks about it in his talk to the preisthood, and it was hilarios. They basically all said that anyone who´s in the age of getting married should put it as his number one priority find a wife and get married. It was hilarious. Then the sisters made a cake, and on top of the cake put a wedding cake ornament of a man and a women getting married and that also was way funny. The mission is the best.
Trevor McDonough wrote me a letter in spanish and it was hilarious, I´ll have to talk to him in spanish when I get back.
I´m excited to start this next transfer, and I hope I can consecrate myself to the lord and give everything I have to the work. Thanks for everything. the picture of the dogs is great, I hope the little one isn´t too big when by the time I get back.
elder ross