Last Christmas on the Mission

I hope that you all had a great Christmas because I know I sure did :). It was a week of success, of lots of visits with our investigators, lots of cold weather and a tonnnn of food. No wonder they say that you get a little fatter during Christmas time, ha-ha. Christmas Eve we ate with a member family and some other members and we had some incredible food. Some fish, meat, potatoes, shrimp, and I have no idea what else, ha-ha. It was really good. Then Christmas, after going to church, we ate with another family for lunch and the four of us missionaries brought something. I brought rolls that I made (that actually turned out pretty good), my companion brought a salad he made, another elder brought some really good rice, and then the other brought drinks, and the family provided the turkey and a few other things. It was a really good meal, lots of fun, and we had a good time with them. After that we had yet another visit with a different family. But this visit went a little bit different, ha-ha. We get there and knock on the door and the husband answers and it's all dark inside their home. And then he says that the circuit breaker blew out, ha-ha. So there was no electricity there. We went in, he called an electrician to come fix it but it never got fixed while we were there. Luckily they had a gas stove and stuff so we still ate well :) But after eating two meals on Christmas and only within a few hours of each other, I did not want to eat for the rest of the week. I still don't, ha-ha. The members are so great here. I'm gonna miss them after I leave this area.

For those who remember that I mentioned something about our mission goal in a previous email, I have the update about how we did this year. Our goal of 450 baptisms seemed incredibly high for us because we haven't had that as a mission in about 20 years. So we all thought that it was a very lofty goal. But after receiving notice from the mission office we reached.......449......One short! BUT! We were also told that there will be two baptisms and confirmations during this last week of December. Sooooo that puts us at 451!!!!! I know that it hasn't happened yet, but I know that with continued prayer, it will happen. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers because they truly helped us as a mission to reach our goals and to do even better.

I hope that you all had a fantastic Christmas and that this next week as you celebrate the New Year you all have fun but not too much :) ha-ha. I miss you all and will see you soon!!!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas! :)

It's finally winter here, ha-ha. The cold came pretty hard this past week and for the first time, I've really needed to wear my coat here in Tarragona. The wind has been blowing and it's been pretty cold and let's just say that without a coat, that is not exactly lots of fun to go walking in the street, ha-ha. So I got smart, grabbed my coat, scarf, and gloves and now I'm alright :)

This week, other than the cold, has been great. It was my first week with my new companion, Elder Watkins and it was fun getting to know him and working with him during his first week in the mission field. He's so good and I'm so excited to keep working with him and to see his progress as we keep going. He's been pretty tired because this is his first week of real work so he's still just getting used to it, but he's been doing great keeping up with it, ha-ha. He'll get used to it soon enough and then his feet and legs won't feel so tired. I remember how I was when I first started…dead tired at night with some really tired feet, ha-ha. But it's the best!

We had our ward Christmas activity Friday and it went really well. We had a dinner and a service project to gather food and things to give to some needy members. We had lots of inactive members come and other investigators come and it was really good for them to meet the members and to have fun at the same time. There was a tonnnnn of food and there was so much that they gave the missionaries, us, a whole bunch of leftovers, ha-ha. We're still trying to finish it off! But we ate well so that's alright :)

Yesterday we had a really neat experience at a little fireside. And it was a legit fireside with a fire, ha-ha. We planned to have one with our ward mission leader at his house and we wanted to keep it relatively small with just a few members and investigators to help them learn more about the church. We had five investigators come and three members which was perfect. As we taught, the Spirit there was so strong and even though it was slightly cold, the fire and the Spirit kept us warm. We've set up some visits with the people that came so that they can learn more and we're so excited to have some more firesides :) The only problem was we sorta smelled like smoke afterwards, ha-ha. So we went home, hung up our suits on some hooks and sprayed them with Febreze, ha-ha. It works pretty well, too.

Well, this is my last email before Christmas and actually my last Christmas one forever! Crazy huh!! But I just wanted to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you :) Let us remember what it really means and that it truly is in celebration of our Savior's birth. I know that the lights, games, food, family, and friends are all amazing parts of Christmas and I love it all. But I think we all know what it's really all about. I love you all and miss you and I hope that Christmas is the best one ever this year :)

Training Round 2 in Tarragona!

Heyyyyy what's up back home?? Hope that things are great and that you are all getting ready for Christmas which is right around the corner. I absolutely love this time of year especially since it's a great time to teach people about the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. Today I got my new companion!! His name is Elder Watkins and he's from Orem, UT. He's such a great guy already and I can't wait to work with him. Unfortunately, I can't tell too much right now because I don't have a lot of time or anything, but this past week was incredible like always, ha-ha. We saw the hand of the Lord working through us to touch the hearts of the people here in the area at this moment. We are seeing miracles every day, every week, and we are so close to reaching our goal of 450 baptisms by the end of this year. As of Sunday we are at 421l so close!!!! I know that it will happen. I know that we can do it. And I know that it is the will of the Lord that we make it. Thank you for your prayers and your love. We really can feel it out here.

Love you all!!!

December!!!!!

Hellooooo! Hope that you are all doing great as we start yet another December. I, for one, am doing incredible out here. I have more than loved this past year and little bit and cannot believe that I'm running out of time this fast. This past week was a very good one as well. That seems to happen quite often here, ha-ha. But just so you all know transfers are next week...but we got a sneak peak and I'm staying, ha-ha. And on top of that it looks like I'm training again. Sounds fun right? Hopefully, it'll be another great experience and now that I've already trained once in Tarragona, I know what I can do even better. But anyway...what a week!

The Law of Chastity has been a challenge for some of our investigators. In order for our investigators to progress and eventually get baptized, they have to live all the commandments including the Law of Chastity. And, well, most of the golden people we're teaching right now are either living with a boyfriend or girlfriend or have some other problem with it. And man is it frustrating! I've never had to give so much marriage and love-life counsel in my entire life! But I know that the Lord makes a way for people the keep the commandments He gives. It may not be that person's time but we are here to plant the seed and to help them progress as much as we can. One such investigator is Pedro. He is an incredible man and is the best example of someone who truly understands what it means to repent and follow the Savior. He's living with his girlfriend and they just had two twin boys five months ago. He doesn't have work and she makes very little money. He also doesn't have papers to live in Spain legally so he can't even get married yet. But he's such a prepared man. He wants to repent, he knows he's been doing something wrong and wants to change it. He knows what this baptism will mean and he said that he wants to do everything he can to follow through with it. We pray for him everyday and hope that a miracle will occur.

Yesterday there was another baptism in our ward here and it went alright, ha-ha. The other Elders were in charge of organizing it because it was their investigator. But I found out that he actually lives in our area this past week, ha-ha. But I said, "Whatever. There's no point in really changing anything now." But I made sure that the other Elders knew where the boundaries were ha-ha. But during the baptism the Spirit was there, especially at one point when Abraham, a nine year old boy, gave his testimony. I know him pretty well because I know his family well. But my goodness, he totally caught me off guard with his spiritual maturity level. His testimony was one of an 18-year old person, no joke. His dad isn't a member but the rest are. As he was talking about the importance of baptism & why we do it, he started talking about his dad and how he was so sad that his dad will probably never take the step that this investigator was taking. In that small testimony, this little nine-year old boy taught all of us there just how much faith little children have. Of course they can be bothersome and immature; they're little kids. But inside they all have a burning testimony and enough faith to create worlds of their own. There is something we can all learn from them and I realized that I need to make sure that I focus on becoming as a child as Christ invites us to do.

Things are incredible out here…the members, the work, my companion and everything! Days come and go and some come and go better than others. But with the Spirit burning within us, there is nothing that really matters but the salvation of our brothers and sisters.

I love you all so much and can't wait to see you again. I hope you have a great week too! :)

White Christmas

Hello to everyone back home!!! This week was a great week for Thanksgiving :) Both with and without the food. The food was definitely good though and very necessary, ha-ha. Since we are four missionaries here in Tarragona and two aren't from the US, we decided to show them a little of what it's like on Thanksgiving. So my companion and I decided to make a Thanksgiving meal for all four of us. We made up a list of food and stuff we needed to buy a week before and we split it up so that we all paid equally, and then Elder Tyler and I went to work making the food. We had some whole chickens (since turkey is kinda expensive here) that were soooo good, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, green beans, gravy, and then apple crisp for dessert :). It doesn't sound like much but we got full really fast and the food tasted so good! I never knew Elder Tyler and I could cook so well :) ha-ha. We wanted to make pie but we didn't have a recipe or time so we made something else.

Other than the blessing of food, we were are so blessed to have some great visits this week. We were able to have quite a few investigators come to church and one of them has a goal to get baptized on December 17. He's such a great guy. We were also extremely blessed to see one of God's children enter the waters of baptism this past Saturday. Jeremías is a young kid and we were originally teaching his dad since he's not a member either. The mom is and she wants more than anything for her husband and children to get baptized so that they can someday be sealed as an eternal family in the temple. Walter still has a few obstacles that we need to help him overcome and we're not sure what's keeping him from progressing. But he finally gave his consent to let his son be baptized after going months without letting him. It was an incredible baptismal service and the Spirit there was so strong. There was a good turnout from the ward and the members and Walter felt the Spirit there. You could see a change in his countenance during and after the service. While I was getting back into my suit after the baptism, Walter came up to me and said something that impacted me a lot. He said, "Thank you for all you've done for me and my family and especially my son. You know that you have to stay in contact forever now right? You're basically part of our family now." It meant so much to me because if you knew Walter, you'd know that what he just said really came from his heart. I knew that they enjoyed our visits because they tell us once in a while, but I never knew of the depth of the love that we shared for each other until then. They truly are my family. Even though I'm half Filipino and live in Fairport, NY and they are from Bolivia and live in Reus, Spain, they truly are my brothers and sisters, and I love them so much. The work of the Lord does that to you, ha-ha. When you selflessly serve others and want the best for them, you forget yourself, your own comforts and hungers and pains, and then you only care about them. You develop charity, the pure love of Christ and nothing else in the world matters. I remember days where I've been really hungry, hot, cold, or in pain. But as soon as I visit someone who has a whole lot less than I and who doesn't have the knowledge that I have of the Gospel, all of that disappears.

The Christmas season is upon us and with it comes so many wonderful things: the lights, the music, the food, friends, family, service, and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. The world may tell us with its fancy and flashy lights that all Christmas is about is gifts and fancy things. But we know as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Christmas is so much more. It is an opportunity to spread the "tidings of great joy" to the world that we have a Savior who died so that we may live again. It is an opportunity to renew our dedication to serve and love others just as Christ did. And it is a great opportunity to share the Gospel with those who don't have it. So get to work! Open our mouths and overcome our fears. As Elder Holland said in General Conference, "Open you mouths and speak miracles." I know that as we do it, we truly will see miracles because I have seen soooo many here on the mission. Every baptism of a child of God is truly a miracle and our mission has been blessed to see 398 of them up to this point. Every mission is different and the cultures as well. Some missions have a higher baptizing rate than others. But no matter the number, the fact is that there are children of our Heavenly Father waiting to accept the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Right now we are entering the last month of this year. As a mission we set a goal at the very beginning of this year to reach 450 baptisms. And for our mission, I think that's a record high. If not, it almost is. But right now we are at 398 with four weekends to go. President has asked us to invite our friends and family to join with us as a mission these final weeks of the year so that we may be blessed with an outpouring of the Spirit so that we can accomplish this goal. We know that we can do it. And I know that we can, too. And I know that there is power in prayer. So if there is anything that would mean more to me this Christmas, it would be to achieve that goal. And that comes through united prayer. So that's my Christmas wish from you all back home. Even though we set a number as a goal, every number is backed by a name, a person, a special child of God. And I know that just as Alma prayed for the success for himself and his brethren on their own missions, we too can pray for success and the Lord will grant it to us. We will have a White Christmas with 52 more sons and daughters of God dressed in white, entering the waters of baptism. And as it says in Mosiah 18:35, "And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls."

Thank you for you prayers and your love. I love you all and miss you so much. Talk to you next week!!!