Lost ...and then found

Hola Familia!

Well it appears that I am in Madrid, Spain ...maybe because everyone around us is speaking very quickly in a language that I don´t understand, or maybe cause there is this stupid letter on the keyboard that I don´t remember from high school Spanish: ç or this one too ñ or maybe it´s just cause the Madrid temple is right outside our window!!!! So yes, we got in yesterday and just so ya know I spent a gruelling hour last week writing an amAzing letter and then the Internet cafe crashed and I couldn't send it and ran out of time on the computer, it really ruined my morning but all is well anywho.

So yes yesterday was all travel. We flew to Moscow in the morning and then we had a long lay over and then we flew straight to Madrid and got in around nine and by ten we wound our way through the metro and got in here to the MTC -REALLY pretty grounds: there´s the MTC, temple, and a stake center all on the block but it really just feels like you´re on the temple grounds everywhere -it´s so pretty. It was cool cause everyone was in bed and we got to go into the cafeteria -pretty small but they were like: if you can find it you can eat it, so we just got to open cupboards and and just eat whatever, pretty cool. It´s a pretty small MTC and quiet. We´ll be here til Friday morning and then fly back and then transfers (short transfer due to people going home) will be on Tuesday so that´s when I´ll write next and share all the great experiences and things that I saw here in Spain and if I got transferred or not (though I´m not counting on it)

Sorry Dad, and....Eric and....Mike, and....well Steve too cause you took some Spanish in high school, but I don´t remember ANYTHING! It is just sad but ok, I know a cool language 8) but yea...we've tried remembering different words and about the extent is a few numbers, simple greetings, and yo quiero pantalones or something etc. or random verbs. Oh well, we have enough Spanish speakers in our family.

So we watched Sundays sessions of gen. conf. and they were amAzing!!! We were fasting for extra spiritual boost and to prepare to go back to the temple as well and Elder Quentin L. Cook´s talk on Sunday evening´s session was JUST what I needed and we felt the spirit so strong and was just so good. I think I had started to loose some heart that I hadn´t accomplished anything yet on the mission, wondering where were the miracles that were mentioned when I was set apart. During conference the spirit gently reminded me or at least...warned me that I was short changing all the miracles that the Lord had blessed me with so far on the mission and that I wasn´t appreciating them like I should and how could He give me more if I didn´t recognize and appreciate what He had already given me etc. There have been miracles so far and just because they didn´t result in a baptismal statistic does not make them any less miraculous. It was a good reminder and humbling moment and I realize that I need to be humble and worthy enough to receive more so I´m gonna try.

I´m really excited to be back in the temple and feel that spirit and continue to learn and receive inspiration about myself, my mission, and about God´s plan for me in general. I´m so excited!!!!! You could even say... ¡yo loco! ok, I´ll stop with the Spanish. I love you all soooo much and am so thankful to be able to see the saints all over the world all working so hard and diligently to share the gospel and it´s cool to see, though I´ll always be excited to return back to Russia.

Cool to here about Eric and if he will get to come home sooner than he thought....hopefully that won´t be the case for me 8) Good luck to Steve on his marching band season final!!!!! Soak it in and really feel it -it´s good when it hurts so bad at the end, means it meant something to you and that you gave a lot of yourself for it.

Flying on the plane here, it was really weird to think that the next time I´m on a plane it could be going home with my family but I quickly stopped this thought process cause it started to bring on a tiny panic attack and the repeating thought: I don´t wanna go, I don´t wanna go, not yet, not yet. But it´s all ok, I just don´t look forward to the transitioning process but it´s a part of life right? So anywho, better go, we want to try and catch a session at 11 -it feels so weird to be going back to the MTC. It´s like I feel like I´m starting over, but with just a lot more knowledge 8)

Anywho love you all. Thanks for the info and cute pictures. Congrats Kathleen!

Luv,
Cectpa Richards