11/30 Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all! This was quite an eventful week for sure, getting used to a new area and what not. Elder Evans (my new companion) is from Logan, Utah. Came straight out of high school on the mission, and he has 6 weeks more than I do in the mission, so basically we are in the same boat. There are also 5 kids in his family, and he is the second to last. His dad is the stake president and Elder Evans is a really strong missionary who works really hard. He does not have a girlfriend, but he does have a friend who is a girl who he writes every week and from what I have seen, it could be something serious when they both get home from their missions. So there you have it, the family history of Elder Evans. 

As I said last week, neither of us know the area, and the elders who were here before pretty much didnt keep any records so its been a pretty interesting week. We`ve only gotten lost a few times and I think we both kind of have a feel for the area now. The people here are super friendly and you can talk to pretty much anyone in the street and they`ll listen to you. We started teaching this family in the street and before we realized it we had like 15 people seated on the curb listening to us as we taught the restoration haha. We got appointments with most of them and when we went back to teach them they were pretty much all there and some of them even came to church this week. We`ll see how their progress goes. We saw another miracle this week with one of the investigators that the elders before were teaching, Monica. She is 16 and has been an investigator for a while now. She has a super strong testimony and wants to get baptized, but the problem is that her mom is super opposed to her being baptized. Well, we went to go see how she was doing Saturday morning and she told us that she had been praying and fasting and went to talk to her mom and her mom told her "you know what, who am i to hold you back. if you want to get baptized, that is your choice." So boom, we should be having a baptism next week if all goes well. 

Thanksgiving was a blast here in Moquegua. We only having a pension for lunch, so we make our own breakfasts and dinners in our room. We have some pots and pans and a little stove so we fry up an egg or make oatmeal or soup or things like that. Well, knowing that Thursday was Thanksgiving, we went to the store on monday and bought some instant mashed potatoes and then Thursday before going back to the room we swung by the local pollería and bought some pollo a la brasa (its like the Costco chicken we always by) and whipped up some taters and enjoyed a cheap replica of a real Thankgiving dinner. I have pictures to send but this computer has so many viruses that I dont think I trust it at all haha. Next week I`ll get some sent home. Sorry mom. Kind of sad I missed the festivities at home, but next year I`ll be there! 

Well, hope you all had a great week! Hasta luego!

Elder Matheson