I Hate Being Twitchy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FATHER!!!!!!! (tomorrow) I hope your day is magical and everyone at home treats you as wonderfully as you deserve to be treated

Yes I will send you some missionary in action pics. I really wanted a reciple for stuffing. Grammie´s stuffing. And a recipe for gravy. Cause that is crucial. But just do what you can. I will get back on my email tonight so if you have time I would love to get some instruction on what the best thing to do would be. Also... could I have a chocolate orange in my package?? And I need my sd cards back. And Can you send me a picture of my plaque?? I have never seen it. Spencer´s looks really good. Stud.

We had a killer week this week. We found 12 new investigators, which was a miracle. We´ll see how much potential they have. Unfortunately our investigator with a baptismal date dropped us. He doesn´t feel like he is prepared, and it is hard for him to learn anything anyway. I have a lot of thoughts about that aspect of it...when it comes to differences in intelligence and all that. But he is basically a beggar in the streets. He sells little watches. He is kind of dramatic, but so sweet and loving. He cracks me up. But yeah he doesn´t want to be baptized until February. And he didn´t come to church yesterday. He´s depressed right now. His name is J. He´s a gypsy Literally, a gypsy. they come from egypt and india, a mix breed, and they are literally the european gypsies that ruined the Phantom of the Opera´s life when he was a boy and the ones that have weird circuses and travel around. Nomads, wanderers that long ago settled in Spain. There are some in lots of european countries but spain has many. They have integrated into Spanish culture and are spaniards. But gitanos (gypsies in spanish) are super poor and live in dangerous/ghetto neighborhoods. I should send you a picture of this one neighborhood we go to. It looks like the world will after WW3. Let´s just say that here in Spain NOBODY has the kind of wealth that Spencer is experiencing. But anyway. J dropped us. But we are still working hard. I am going to have to split the area again because two more missionaries are coming here. That will be 8 here in Almeria. I have split an area three times and I am only 8 months old (tomorrow)!!! It´s growing so much!!!

I cannot believe Spencer wrote a letter that long. I don´t know how he has time. My letters really are pathetic compared to what he´s pulling off. I think I should make a bigger effort to organize my emails and send more pictures. And write more thought filled letters. I just don´t understand when he does that. The white bible says we should only communicate with our family on P-days, and I took that to include writing letters. But everyone interprets it differently. Even if I did write during the week, I wouldn´t have time. I am SO busy all the time. Spencer is kidding himself if he thinks I have planned lessons coming out of my ears. We kick and claw and fight to get lessons here in Almeria. I wake up in the morning and either do exercise or lay down on the floor and stretch ;) then eat and shower and I barely make it in time to study. Then we study and plan a little and leave. And we come back three hours later and (if we don´t have an eating cita with members) cook and clean up and start studying again. And we leave at five. And we work till ten. And I come home literally exhausted every night. I used to have trouble sleeping at home. Even in the MTC. But the mission has zapped that problem. We come home, plan, eat something small, and then I crash. I am out three seconds after my head hits the pillow. Which is not normal for this kid!!!
Anyway.

What to say?? It is cold here....yes...cold!!!!!!!! IT¨S COLD!!!!!!! :D :D :D I am super stoked about it. Sweaters and scarves are officially out of the suit case. In our piso it gets FREEZING. They don´t use insulation in the walls here in Spain so we´re all freezing our tails off. Getting out of bed has never been so hard for me. And our piso doesn´t even have tile. It has fake wood floors, which are still cold in the morning but not NEAR as cold as the tile gets. It´s like walking on ice (my bathroom has tile). But I am not complaining. It has rained a little and when I feel cold I just smile. Heavenly Father is being super nice to me right now.

Your lives sound as busy as ever. I hope the fact that you are putting so much time and money and energy into the house means that you intend to stay there for a long time. I really do not want to come home to anything else. My ward, my house, my home!!! And my family. It will be weird coming home to only three brothers. But at least I will be there to welcome Spencer and Brigham home. I am praying that dad's job situation works out. Dad deserves it. He works so hard. He is 38 now right?? So crazy. For a second I thought he was turning 39 and that I would end up missing his 40th birthday, but no. I will be there!!!! People freak out when I tell them my parents are only 37. They then do the math and look at me confusedly, while I smile and explain the situation as carefully as possible. But it helps with people who aren´t members or converts or everyone really. So many people throw it into our faces that we were born in the church and we only do this because our parents do it. Although I wish Dad had gotten the opportunity to serve, it is still nice sometimes to say that my father DIDN´T actually serve a mission. The idea that some people have about religion here is baffling. The majority of people don´t care in the slightest if their religion is true or not. ¨It´s what there is¨ or ¨I was born in it and I will die in it!!!!¨ Who cares if it´s true!!?? Sometimes I just want to take the BoM and smack people upside the head. They do it because it´s just what they know. It´s all tradition here. Apart from the jehovah´s witnesses and evangelicals. 90 percent of Spain is a non practicing catholic. But there are people who are searching for the gospel. We just have to have faith that God will lead us to them.

I had to teach gospel principles yesterday cause the teacher was sick and it didn´t go very well. It was about signs of the second coming. There were investigators in there and this recent convert kept going off about aliens and signs in the sky that she saw. She is a little crazy. She wants to write the pope and have the catholic and lds churches become one. No joke. After her confirmation on sunday she stands up and does the whole catholic cross thing in front of the whole ward. I about died laughing :)

When it comes to Spencer´s letter, I think a lot of things. I am impressed actually. I guess surprised as well. I wasn´t much help to him before he left, but I couldn´t really give them the perspective of being away from home for the first time. I had already done that so it wasn´t new to me. I still struggled in the beginning with it though. Cooking and shopping and budgeting. But I have it figured out now. I have saved tons of money the last two months. I still have 130 euros in my missionary account and the month is almost over!!! Super happy about it. (We get 140 every first day of the month) And with PMG yeah I actually DID tell him that he should study that. Punk. Hahaha. I remember that was about the only piece of advice I gave him. I love him so much. And I really miss him. I loved his letter that he sent me. And your letter to him. And I really loved the letter Dad sent me two weeks ago. My parents are very wise. I respect both of you a great deal. Spencer is right when it comes to getting out of your mission what you put into it. So true. There are lots of elders that go home worse than they left. Some don´t change at all. My biggest fear is coming home the same person I was when I left. I went this to change me so badly. And I know it is. I will print off spencer´s letter tonight in the chapel and then write my thoughts about it.

Well I am running out of time. I wanted to write Dad an email and tell him how much I appreciate him. I don´t know if I will have time though.

I am pretty healthy. I think the hair loss thing was all in my head. I am sort of a hypochondriac when it comes to the way I look, I am starting to notice. Rash was only there for about 2 weeks. And the twitch is still there. Except it happens in random parts of my body. The eye doesn´t twitch as much. Still does though. But I get random twitches every where. It´s weird. I hate being twitchy. My shoes are the bomb. My clothes are awesome as well. Except the gray suit that I bought is fading. The pants are totally different colors than the jacket. Kind of stinks. My bag that I spent so much time looking for is PERFECT. I love it to death. It suits all of my needs perfectly and I really couldn´t have asked for anything better. We walk a ton here. We also use buses sometimes. I think that´s why I am so tired. European missionaries don´t get cars or bikes like the american ones. We aren´t pampered here ;)

Out of time. I love you Dad and I want you to know that I appreciate you so much. Thank you for the things you teach me every week and for the example you have set. I really do care about you guys more than anything. You´re my best friends. I love you

Elder Sharp