All is well in Vitoria

Hey everybody! So Vitoria is great! I have had a great first week, but it was also very frustrating! We spent most of the week contacting and talking to members. In the MTC I was pretty good at understanding people when they talked but here it is very hard! So now it feels like I am back to square one! Trying to understand and still trying to speak! Most of the people are very nice about it and try and help me, but it just sucks because I want to just be able to talk! ha ha It sucks! Im sure most of you know how I feel... Church was kind of suprising to me! there is just a small branch here in Vitoria. I dont know why but I was expecting more people! The church here is pretty big so I was expecting it to be full but there were a lot of empty seats! There is a lot of work to be done! The ward mission leader here is amazing! He is setting a ton of stuff up for us! The ward is actually pretty decent, but the amount of people who actually come is little. All week we have been talking to inactive members. There are over 200 so it might take awhile! ha ha We are working hard though. We are settign up a "CCM" for the members next week after church and are going to teach them some of the "tricks" or "tactics" to sharign the gospel with friends or how to get others to come back to church! It should be pretty cool and the members are excited about it! There goal is to become a ward by the end of the year! I am excited because I will be here for awhile and will be able to see the process! It will be lots of work but I like staying busy! It is better than just sitting around! During the week we played soccer with some members and investigators! It was really fun! It wasnt as fun as the MTC, but it was fun to get to know some of the members and some of the investigators! Its not the same obviously, but I had a lot of fun! The members here are amazing! They all came and were asking me all these questions, I had no idea what was going on, but we were all laughing together and having a good time! This week we were teaching a members friend who was absolutely amazing! Her name is Kayla and she is 13 years old. We didnt even have to teach her anything! we were describing our beliefs and she was like ya, I already know all of this and believe the same thing! So me and my comp were just like alright lets just meet with her family and baptize her right now! ha ha We met with her mom and little sister and had a great lesson with the mom, but unfortunately her mom said she couldnt get baptized until she was 18... So that kinda blew... Here is the answers to your questions... Is your new address actually the address where u live or a nearby post office? Do u have a mailbox like at home. What if we send packages, will it go in a mailbox or sit outside u door and maybe get stolen? If you sent a package to the address I gave you, I will get it. I have a mailbox... If I was home when they brought the package they would bring it up. If im not home, they would put a slip in my mailbox and we would go pick it up at the post office Did u get the package from mom when u got to the mission? It had the converter in it. I also sent u an envelope with some stuff in it that was probably waiting for u at the mission office. I did get the package with the converter and I got the package from Wendy (Thank you Wendy, sorry I forgot to mention this in the last letter home! I have already eaten everything you sent haha) As far as the envelope... I dont think I got it. I will probably get it at the next zone conference if it comes. What was in it? What is the name of u ward? Not sure... Its the branch in Vitoria Spain... Does spain have siesta? Like in Chile when everything shuts down from 1-4pm Spain does have a Siesta or Mediodia... During this time we usually go back to the Piso, eat, and do language study. What are u eating, anything good? :) So far I havent eaten anything good. Really I am back to eating like a college student ha ha and for some reason I didnt get a ton of money in my account this month so I need to be careful with it. Next month I will have a little more freedom. Do u have dinner appt with members? So far we havent had any dinner appointments :( Like I said, we have been contacting nonmembers all week... Everyone is really nice though! If you get in the house, You are definitely getting something to eat or drink. Are u washing clothes by hand or machine? In u appt or laundry matte? We have a washer in our Piso but no dryer... Everything hang drys! What's weather and temp like? The weather here is very unpredictable. Some days it is really hot, other days you cant go anywhere with out a sweatshirt. It kind of reminds me of Park City. In the winter here it snows a lot! In fact, the main part of the city reminds me of Park City! It is a cool little area! I will shoot you a picture next week. I forgot my camera today. What's u typical day's schedule? Contact, Meet with an inactive member, Eat. contact some more... How is the music situation (ipod) in the field? Music is good! Everyone loves my Ipod! Did u find a paded envelope and a way to mail us the old ipod? Ya. I just havent had the chance to send it yet, and I think I am going to send something less important first to see if it makes it... Tell me what you think. Well fam, Thats it from Spain! Missionary work is tough, but I love it and feel the spirit everyday! I will send some pics next week and maybe send my first picture card home. Dad tell me what you think! Sounds like you all had a great time in Powell! Send me some pics :) Love and miss you all mucho! Love Elder Carrigan