I wanted to send more pictures...

Hola Querida Familia,

I was planning on sending you more pictures today, but my picture sending ability is limited to the particular computer and the particular locutorio that we frequent to use the internet. A locutorio is a little shop with computers and phones to use and you can also make copies and buy candies and whatever kind of dulces the owner of the locutorio makes (por ejemplo: a loculorio that is ran by someone from Argentina will always have fresh cookie-and-dulce-de-leche sandwiches to buy... which I love very much, by the way). We pay to use the computers based on how long we stay. I wish we could just use a free public library, but I´ve not been able to locate one yet... Anyway, desculpe me for not sending any more photos. I will try every week.

I got a large envelope from the Hancocks and I got the package with my new shirts and vitamins and soap and M&Ms! Thank you so much for all of the emails and blog updates that I received this week! I wanted to know how Cai´s party went and I got an email from Mindy about it and pictures from Erin! I´m so glad that he finally got his track. All of my neices and nephews look bigger than they were when I left! Would it be possible for somone to send me some recent pictures of as many of the family together in one photo as possible (my parents, my siblings and their spouses, and my neices and nephews)? I want a couple of pictures to carry around and show to people when we teach them... and I have a lot of pictures that I got printed, but I don´t want to carry around too many of them. And I want some recent ones! And I really need some printed photos of Eliza! Sorry... I´m so demanding. Por favor...

To explain my pictures from last week:
The first one was pretty obviously me pointing to Barcelona (map in Provo)
The second one was me and my district in Provo (I love those people)
The third was a tribute to Harry Potter (in Espanol! at a bookstore in Madrid)
The fourth was a tribute to the wonderful Spanish helado (ice-cream)
And the fifth was me, my companion, and Martin - the new convert

A few quick things I want to share:

I tried a bedet the other day! There´s one in my piso and I figured I had to try it out and see what the big deal was. It was funny and interesting. I don´t usually have the time to get the water the right temperature though... so I don´t use it much.

Last preparation day we went to this really old sort of monastery/prison thing... It´s just a museum now, but it was really interesting. I´ll send a brochure I got from it to someone and they can share with the rest.

My companion and I are working hard. There are always good parts and bad parts to every day, but we´re trying to do what Elder Wirthlin said and always laugh. I love laughing.

Gotta go, love you all-
Hermana Diehl

Walking and Pictures

Hola mi familia,

I spend a lot of time walking. We don´t take the bus, the metro system is very tiny, and we don´t ride bikes. My shoes are treating me well so far though.

Well... loading pictures took a long time... so I´m not gonna be able to write much. And I can´t remember which ones I loaded, so I´m sorry that there aren´t any explanations to go with them. I hope you can all forgive me.

I love this work. I love my family. I love my Heavenly Father and my elder brother Jesus Christ.

Desculpe me por la carta corta. Disfruten las fotos. [Excuse me for the short letter. Enjoy the photos]

Hermana Diehl

Palma de Mallorca - Mi Primera Semana

Querida Familia,

I was glad to see that you all know where I am serving already! I am so excited that I get to start my mission on this beautiful island. It´s humid here (and you can just imagine how my hair is taking it) and apparently the rainy season is in the winter so I will be getting warm (sometimes hot) weather with not too much rain... just wet air. I love it here. There are several beautiful pueblos and sites around the island I´m going to go visit on my p-days while I´m here. Today for p-day we´re having a barbeque and playing futbol at the capilla... and maybe watching a Disney movie. I´m excited.

My companion is excellent. Her name is Hermana Henderson and she´s from Pocatello, Idaho. We sing that song from Napoleon Dynamite as we walk home at night ("I can tell that we are gonna be friends") and one of her claims to fame is that she´s been to the Preston High School (to play sports) and she has taken a drink out of the same drinking fountain as Pedro. Not a terribly pertinent fact, but I thought it was funny. She goes home in October so she´s been in the mission for about a year, mas or menos. Her Spanish is quite good and we have a goal that she´s going to speak to me in Spanish all the time and I tell her if I don´t understand. It´s gonna be helpful for my learning Spanish, I just know it. We´ve been working really hard and running from cita to cita (cita= appointment). I had my first baptism on Saturday. It was a man named Martin. His two daughters, his parents and some of his siblings are all members. His daughter told us that he used to be a very different person than he is now. He´s so humble and kind and soft spoken now, but he used to smoke and drink and he was a policeman in Peru before he came to Espana. I feel like I stole a baptism from the Hermana that I replaced in this area (she finished her mission and is home now) but Hermana Henderson assures me that the Lord put me here for a reason and I was meant to be there when Martin was baptized. So... day 4 in the field and I have 1 baptism to my name! I told the Elders in my district I would get one every week. That would be great! I can see what Hermana Waddell meant when she said that they send missionaries to the island that they can really trust because the Elders are excellent and my companion is excellent. I´m so blessed to be able to serve with them.

My p-days are now on Mondays, so take note for sending email purposes. I´m only supposed to email my immediate family (grandparents, parents, siblings - my siblings spouses are approved too, I believe). So if anyone runs into any of my friends, please give them the mission home address so I can still write to them.

Thank you Cody for the escritura in Doctrina y Convenios.
Doctrine and Covenants 124:88

"Let my servant Marti go and proclaim my everlasting gospel with a loud voice, and with great joy, as she shall be moved upon by my Spirit, unto the inhabitants of Barcelona, and also unto the inhabitants of Zaragoza, and also unto the inhabitants of Valencia, and also unto the inhabitants of Palma (or anywhere else you may serve), and await patiently and diligently for further instructions at my general conference, saith the Lord."

I loved that you put Palma in there. Did you know I was in Palma before you wrote that? I want to put it on the wall in my piso for inspiration before I go out every day. I can definately understand why the first couple of months in the mission could be really hard- and I´m not ruling out that I´ll have hard times- but so far I´ve been having a really good first experience in the mission. I haven´t cried once! I´m excited for conference though... but I don´t know if I´ll listen to it in Spanish or English... I got a little bit of a headache at church on Sunday with everything being in Spanish, but not too bad honestly. Anyway, gracias mi hermano- te quiero (apparently this phrase is more loving than te amo).

I loved all the blog updates. I wish I could watch the videos too! I have such a great family.

I gotta go, lots to do, os quiero-

Hermana Diehl

La Capilla de Palma

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5856255,2.6557432,208m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Mallorca!

Breaking news from Barcelona!
Tricia sent the following about 1.5 hours ago:

Alyn,

So, I just talked to Sister Waddell, she told me that your sister is serving on Mallorca in Palma de Mallorca
(which is the main city on the island). I haven't ever met her trainer, but Sister Waddell said she is an amazing sister.

She told me that both she and President Waddall were very impressed with your sister and could tell she was an amazing person, Sister Waddall let me know that they are very careful who they send to the island because they have to be very trustworthy. She said they felt that your sister was going to be great and would be a missionary they could trust there. She really liked her. They had quite a few missionaries come in this time, but she remembered her.

It is too bad that the Waddells go home in July but President Hinckley will be the new mission president and I am sure it will be wonderful. (Pres. Hinckley is Pres Gordon B. Hinckley's son) They are older than the Waddells (the Waddells are quite young with young kids), but that will be great because they will be able to travel the mission more.


ANyways, I thought I would let you know. As well, Sister Waddell said she was glad your sister mentioned she can and will eat anything, very good here where they will be offered crazy foods.


I better go,
Tricia


Wikipedia Entry
From the LDS Meetinghouse Locator:
C/Angel Guimerá 55, PALMA DE MALLORCA, BALEARIC ISLANDS SPAIN

There seems to be 2 branchs in Palma, and another in Manacor.

From Google Maps:
If you type: Palma, Mallorca
Then click: Explore this area,
you can see photographs that people have taken in the area.



View Larger Map
View Larger Map


I'm so excited for Marti! What a fun first area. Very touristy. When you look at the Western Mediterranian Sea, it looks like an elephant, with Majorca [My YORK-uh]? being the eye, and the sea near Italy being the ear. Gibraltar is near the tip of the Elephant's trunk.

Let's close with a quote:

"What about what's-her=name, your friend--Yvonne?"
"On vacation in Majorca,"

(Name the situation, book and page number!)

Messages from Barcelona

Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:24:17 -0600
Subject: Missionary Arrival!

Dear Families of our new missionaries,

We are pleased to inform you that your daughter has safely arrived in the Spain Barcelona Mission. Hermana Waddell and I, along with the two assistants, met her at the airport. The group of missionaries we received are wonderful young men and women, ready to go to work. Their enthusiasm reflects their love for the Savior and we are grateful for the privilege of guiding them along as they serve the Lord.

Every area in the Spain Barcelona Mission is unique and beautiful, rich in history and tradition. More importantly, each city is full of children of our Heavenly Father, waiting to hear the glad news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for the trust you have put in us to shepherd your daughter. Please know that we feel a great responsibility to guide and protect “our” missionaries. We love your sons and daughters as if they were our own. With the Lord’s help, we intend to make their mission experience in Barcelona the most memorable time of their lives.

Sincerely,

President and Hermana Waddell

Newspaper article from 3 years ago about the Waddell's

Church News Bio, also from 2006:

W. Christopher Waddell, 46, Spain Barcelona Mission; Carmel Valley Ward, Del Mar California Stake; stake president; former bishop and counselor, high councilor and missionary in the Spain Barcelona Mission. First vice president of Investments at Merrill Lynch. Born in Los Angeles, Calif., to Wayne William and Joann Barbara Fisher Waddell. Married Carol Stansel, four children.

A member of the Scout committee, Sister Waddell is a former counselor in a stake Young Women presidency, ward Primary president and counselor, and counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency. Born in Redondo Beach, Calif., to John Charles and June Renee Clark Stansel.

Also, here's a note from my mission friend, Tricia, received yesterday:

Oh! I just got off the phone with Sister Waddell and I forgot to ask her about your sister's arrival, I knew transfers were this week. With so many missionaries in our ward, and the Mission President, we tend to know the mission schedule. I will ask her this week how it all went and tell her to say "Hello" to your sister.

Where did she get sent to? The weather has been quite mild here for the last couple of days, so hopefully she will be in for a very nice spring, although I don't envy her the summer (very hot, especially if she is down in Valencia), but always beautiful.

The people here are so wonderful, the members are very friendly. You can tell I am getting a bit nostalgic, I leave in 3 weeks.

We are headed down to Texas...

IF I hear anything about your sister or see her I will be sure to send you a message.

New Mission President

According to the church news today March 9, 2009 Marti's new mission president starting this July will be Clark B. Hinckley. He is President Hinckley's son. Just thought some of you might want to know.

Here's the brief bio from the church news:

Clark Bryant Hinckley, 61, and Kathleen Hansen Hinckley,
six children,
Yale Ward, Salt Lake Bonneville Stake.
Brother Hinckley is a stake president and is a former counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop and counselor
and missionary in the North Argentine and Paris France Missions.
Senior vice president, Zions Bancorporation.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Gordon Bitner and Marjorie Pay Hinckley.
Sister Hinckley is a volunteer in the temple and is a former counselor in a stake Relief Society presidency, ward Young Women president, counselor and adviser and ward Relief Society teacher.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Evan Owen and Darlene Maye Housley Hansen.

Lo siento

I want to write more... but I don´t have a lot of time. I really enjoyed reading all of your letters though and I really appreciated the pictures of Eliza (muchas gracias a Emilee!)

I didn´t recieve a Spanish email, Jesse... I hope it isn´t lost in the abyss of the internet! Thanks for the effort you put into it even if I don´t get to read it... does your email have a ¨sent¨ folder maybe?

I fly out tomorrow morning pretty early. All of you will still be asleep. I´ll write again as soon as I can, pero ¡recuerden que os amo! (Remember that I love you!)

Hermana Diehl

Alyn: Here's some info I found for travel between Madrid and Barcelona:

Reasons To Fly Instead Of Taking The Train

Choosing the option to fly will save you time over a train ride. Most flights are little over an hour and you don’t have to check in too long beforehand. It’s all over before you know it! In comparison the train journey will take anything between 3 hours to 9 hours depending on the train service you use.

Barcelona Vistas

In honor of Hermana Diehl journeying to Barcelona sometime soon, I found some great photos you might like to see. Click here for your virtual visit to Barcelona. These will have to tide us over until our favorite Missionary is able to send us photos!

Casi Verde

(Note: Cody added Spanish to English translation in parenthesis after Spanish sentences and phrases)

Familia,

I´m not sure if ¨casi verde¨ is the correct way to say it... but what I wanted to convey was that I am ¨almost green¨... since I leave el CCM on Tuesday (I should be able to email again on Monday just FYI).

This week has been pretty good for me as far as Spanish goes. I still struggle, but my teachers assure me that I´m getting much better and I can tell that something must be better because I haven´t gotten nearly as frustrated with myself lately as I have the previous weeks... maybe I´m just mellowing out a bit... or becoming more patient (oh, I hope so!), or maybe I really am getting better. Whatever the reason, it´s been good.

I´ve been trying to use the remainder of my time here to the fullest. I love my teachers and I love President Hill and Hermana Hill. There is so much that I can learn from every person. I love the time to study and I love all of the friends I´ve made here. It´s amazing to know so many great people who have such strong testimonies and desire to serve our Heavenly Father. I´m going to miss those missionaries who aren´t going to Barcelona with me. Es mi familia aqui! (It is my family here) I feel like all of the Elders are my little brothers, and since I´ve never had a little brother before, it´s been fun. Kori advised me to be friends with the Elders even when they sometimes drive me crazy, and I think I´ll be able to do it (that added measure of patience probably helps a lot :-)

That´s so awesome that Mom, Dad, Kori, and Spencer got to go to Eliza´s blessing. I hear you did a good job Cody, and I´m not surprised. You´re a good papa! I still don´t know exactly how I´m supposed to be pronouncing her name... nobody ever filled me in so I´ve been calling her ´Liza mostly.

¡Gracias por la carta en Español Kori! Estoy agradecido por la oportunidad practicar mi idioma nueva. (Thanks for the letter in Spanish Kori ! I am grateful for the opportunity to practice my new language). Yo entiendo más de la carta, las palabras que no intiendo puedo averiguar (is there a verb for ´to figure out´?) en contexto de los frases. (I understand more of the letter, the words that I don't understand I can figure out in the context of the phrases). Le da bebé un ´poke´ por mi y Spencer un grandismo beso (we learned how to add -isimo and -isima onto words this week... not hard, but fun). (Give the baby a 'poke' for me and Spencer a great big kiss.) Te amo, mi hermana. (I love you, my sister.) Oh, by the way, did you ever figure out if there was any special country specific phone number on the packagaing from that phone card you sent me? I wrote you about it a while back... GraTHias por su ayuda! (Thanks (spain prounciation) for the help!)

I have a phrase to teach you all in Portuguese (maybe Emilee knows it because I learned it from my Brazilian friends): ¨Nao faz mal¨ (there should be a sqiggly line over the a, but I can´t figure out how to do it.) It basically means ¨It´s okay¨. You can pronounce it like ¨Now Foz Mal¨ I say it a lot... but perhaps I shouldn´t because it might be slang. You´ll have to let me know, Em... It´s more fun to say things in different languages sometimes. I know how to say ¨tie¨ in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Russian. I can tell so many peope that I like their tie! I also have learned how to say ¨good morning¨ and ¨good night¨ in 5 or 6 languages (if you don´t pronounce the word for ¨night¨ correctly in German, you can accidentally say ¨Good naked¨ apparently... kinda awkward). Anyway, es muy divertido. (Anyway, it is very fun.) I have a teacher who fluently speaks at least 5 languages and understands 2 or 3 more when she hears them. She was born in Spain and spent several years in Switzerland while she was growing up where she learned German (she was taught by the missionaries in Switzerland in the German language when she converted). She said she learned Italian as a child by watching Italian cartoons. No joke. She also learned French... somehow... and speaks a language that only exists in Galicia (which is Northern Spain) where she was born. She inspires me. I´d really like to learn Italian after the mission because it´s pretty easy to understand once you know Spanish (even I can understand the Italian Anziani quite a bit when they speak). Portuguese would be fun to learn too.

I loved reading about the snow in Georgia and seeing the pictures of those little sweeties playing! I´m glad Lia had the time of her life. She cracks me up. Your kids look great, Alyn, and I´m glad to see that you got out in the snow too! It sounds like it was a rather messy and slightly destrucive way to get your trees pruned! I hope Nathan´s garden makes it through.

I was glad to hear about your new calling Dad! You told me weeks ago that you were getting a new calling and I wasn´t to ask about it yet... so I didn´t say anything. You´ll do great. Get those young men to start studying Preach My Gospel and their scriptures in preparation for serving missions! It is definately an inspired book and I´ve learned so much from it. I know that if the Young Men will prepare to go on missions now it will be the biggest blessing for them and their future families. I´m so grateful that I am able to be a missionary and spend this time serving the Lord. I know that YOU can learn a lot as well, my papa, from studying Preach My Gospel along with your scriptures that will help you feel more confident and prepared to give all of the talks you´ll be doing around the stake. I read a good portion of Preach My Gospel the last few months before I left, and I wish I would have used it more effectively by marking those things that stood out to me and looking up more scriptures and writing down the thoughts and connections that I made while studying it. When you read it may seem like it´s totally aimed for missionaries to use, but if you focus on how you can apply the same teachings in your own life it will take on a lot more meaning. I would suggest starting with the Book of Mormon chapter (chapter 5, I think) and then maybe the chapter that contains all of the lessons (chapter 3). All of it is good of course, but those chapters will help you learn more about how the Book of Mormon is a huge blessing for every person (I love the section on how the Book of Mormon answers questions of the soul) and also to help your testimony of the basic principles of the gospel to grow.

Madre, por favor send a picture of little ´Liza´s quilt when you finish it.

Les amo mucho. Quiero mas fotos, por favor. Den besos a mis sobrinos otra vez. (I love you all alot. I want more photos, please. Give kisses to my neices and nephews again.)

Hermana Diehl