Hola!!!!

Hello everyone back home! I hope this finds you all safe and sound and that you´re all enjoying your summer. Everything is going great out here in Badalona. Summer is in full swing and the sun is shining and the heat is just great :) ha-ha.

It's been a great week full of learning opportunities. We didn't have a ton of lessons and it was a little rougher with some investigators but I in no way feel discouraged or feel like we didn't work hard. It's something really important that I've come to learn. Earlier on in my mission I used to think that if I didn't have a big teaching pool and if I wasn't teaching a lot of lessons each week, I wasn't a very good missionary. But as I've learned and grown out here, I've come to realize that that really doesn't matter. What truly matters is your own personal dedication, your diligence, your faith, and the amount of effort you put into the Lord's work. And if you do all of that, the success will naturally come. And I feel that even though this past week wasn't our best, I feel like the Lord is pleased with what we've done. And that's all I can ask for :).

Last week I said that we had a man preparing to be baptized for this weekend but we just got news a few days ago that he won't because he has to travel to Bulgaria. His family lives there (mostly his two kids) and there was a terrorist attack in the airport there and his family lives right next to it. So he's going back to see how his family is. He said that he wants to come back and he was really sad that he wouldn't be getting baptized this weekend. But I know that the Lord has His own plan and time for everything. And I know that this man will someday in the future be baptized and receive the fulness of blessings and joy that the Restored Gospel brings.

This past week as well I got to work with Elder Keeler on exchanges! I started my mission with him and we were companions for the whole nine weeks in both Provo and Madrid MTC. But since we've been out here in the mission field, we've never ever served together or even been in the same district or zone until now. He's now in the same district as me and we got to do an exchange this past week and it was an incredible experience. I felt like I was back in the MTC again studying and practicing again, ha-ha. And it just felt comfortable teaching with him because we just clicked together so easily. So that was a pretty fun learning experience.

I can't really think of much else...I know lots happens but I feel like it's just all a blur, ha-ha. Next week we have another meeting on Preparation Day so we'll see how much time we have to write and do other stuff. But I'm excited for it :)

I love you all and miss ya lots! Talk to you all soon!

"Oh Está Todo Bien"

We had a satisfying week I'd say. Everything seems to be just going along well and there's not really much I can even complain about. Actually, I don't think that there's anything to complain about, ha-ha. We've been working hard and finding some great people to teach and seeing a lot of success doing so. We found a family of three from Ecuador whom we started teaching this week and they're really good. They're really open and nice and receive the message well and we're excited to see how they progress next week. Another man who we're teaching, Giovanni, is doing fantastic. He came to church yesterday, loved it, and even participated in the classes. He's preparing to get baptized on the 28th of this month and he's really excited. And so are we :)

We had exchanges with some other Elders in Barcelona this past week and it went pretty well. There's a lot that I learned and there's a lot that we can do to also help the others to continue to improve. It was also pretty neat because I got to go to Barcelona and work in parts that I hadn't been to before and to meet some of the people that the Elders have been teaching. And it's always incredible to me to see that the Gospel blesses everyone who actively and willingly try to learn of its truthfulness. No matter who you are or where you come from, the Restored Gospel blesses those that let it. That's one reason why I love doing these exchanges.

Well, this past week I said that I was probably going to buy a new suit...I didn't. I came really really close though, ha-ha. I had tried it on, it fit perfectly, it looked fantastic, and I had it in my hands and I was debating about whether or not I should buy it then or wait a little longer. And I decided to wait. The thing with these sales here is that they last for about a month or two and about halfway or towards the end, the prices drop again. But you run the risk of something not being there the longer you wait because whoever gets there first gets the item. But both my companion and I decided to wait a little longer until the prices drop again. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake, ha-ha. Oh well.

Today we have interviews with President Pace and I'm really excited about that since it's my first real opportunity to talk with him one on one and to just see what he's like. I'm sure it'll go well though. After the interviews we're just coming back to our area to relax a little for the rest of our Preparation Day.

I can't really think of anything else for some reason, ha-ha. I know lots happened but nothing that really sticks out other that what I've mentioned already. I hope all is well back home and that you're all loving the summer. Take advantage of vacations :) ha-ha. Love you all!

La Segunda Cosecha

For those who don't understand what "La Segunda Cosecha" means, when translated into English it means "The Second Harvest". And that's what we're experiencing right now in our mission. When Spain was opened to missionary work about 40 years ago there was incredible growth. But over the course of the years things started to slow down just a little bit. And now we have entered into another amazing stretch of growth here in the church. Hence "the second harvest". It's truly been incredible to see just what the Lord is doing and just how much He is in control of us and His plan. We have been incredibly blessed up to this point in the year to see growth that we haven't seen in a long time. This past week was an incredible week and we were blessed to see miracle after miracle in our zone and the missionaries are catching the excitement. I could go on and on about all of this but I'm sure I'd bore you all, ha-ha. So I'll switch to some other stuff that's been happening here lately...

I got sick this past week unfortunately but I still went out to work, ha-ha. I know that mom would probably get on to me but thankfully she's not here right now to do that :) ha-ha. Plus I wasn't in my own area. I had gone to Vic, a smaller city in our zone on exchanges and that's when I started just aching all over, I had a headache, I was dead tired the whole time, couldn't eat, but we still went out and worked. It was still a rewarding experience and everything but man am I glad that I'm over that sickness now, ha-ha. Not fun at all. Had a fever, sweated it out every night and then it would come back, but now that I'm back in the comfort of my own area, I can take care of myself better.

While I was there in Vic, the other Elder saw a little booth in the middle of the plaza and wanted to ask where he could buy a Catalan flag and we started talking a little and they found out we were from the US so they gave us stickers of the Texas flag! ha-ha. It was pretty neat and I stuck it in my journal. That doesn't happen too often out here, ha-ha.

The work has been going great! We had a miracle this past week and every time things like this happens I'm always just blown away. But while I was in Vic on exchanges, my companion stayed here with another Elder. The visit that they had scheduled fell through and so they began to walk down the street to pass by someone else and to contact people on the street. As they were walking, someone came running up behind them and said, "Elders!" It was a lady from Nicaragua and she said that she didn't know that we were here in this area! She had only been there about 7 months and she was so happy to find us. She works as a cook in a restaurant and she had literally just dropped everything she was doing when she saw them walk by and came running after them, ha-ha. A visit was set up and she was really excited and we went there and met her roommates. One is named Giovanni and he's also from Nicaragua. He said that he met with missionaries a little bit in Bulgaria and Italy but never had time to do much because of work. He said that they had invited him to be baptized but that he didn't feel like it was his time. But he said that when he heard that we were coming and how we had met Mary, his roommate, he said that he felt like it was a sign from God and he said, "I think I'm ready to be baptized." It was incredible and this man is so humble and sincere. It's just another example of how the Lord brings His prepared children to us. The work is amazing and there's nothing better. I love it and there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

I gotta go now but I'll keep you in my prayers and I hope that all is well. Love you all!

July!!!

Hello to everyone back home!!! Hope all is well as the month of July begins. Here it started out nice and rainy. But the rain was sooo needed because it cooled off the heat a bit and now it's a gorgeous day full of sunshine and a slight breeze. Great for a Preparation Day :).

This week was a bit rough. Not sure why. We worked really hard and we had planned to have a bit more going on this past week than we actually had. But that's ok. It's something that happens every now and then and you really don't know why. We still have tonssss to do here and we're still working hard, relying on the Lord, and doing everything that we can to achieve our goals and to help others come to know the truth of the gospel message which we share. We've been talking with a lot of new people and there are a lot who have tons of potential and we're excited to hopefully meet with them this next week.

It's been pretty hot this past week. I'm not quite sure how hot it got but we were sweating quite a bit, ha-ha. So like I said earlier, the rain was welcomed.:)

We finally got to meet President and Sister Pace this week!!!! They arrived Friday morning and we met them Saturday in a "Welcome Conference". They're so great and I'm really excited to get to know them a little more and to work with them here in this mission. President Pace is taller than President C. Hinckley and he was pretty tall to begin with, ha-ha. His wife is a little sweetheart and is just such a loving lady. I'm so grateful that they're here and that we can start working with them. Next week is transfers as well so President Pace will be starting to look at all of that this week and it'll be interesting to see what happens. But it's also crazy to think that another transfer came and went so fast. I hate that about the mission, ha-ha. Time goes by so extremely fast and you don't want it to.

Today as a zone we have a Fourth of July activity. We're just getting together and having some food and sports and stuff like that which should be fun. I'm sure that the pics will be coming sometime in the near future; probably next week actually. I don't have a whole lot of time left so I have to wrap this up. But just so you all know, I love you lots and pray for you all. This work is the best that anyone can ever do and I love sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the world that will bring us greater joy than by living and obeying what the Lord has commanded us.

Until next week!

The heat is on!

Summer has definitely arrived! It's pretty warm now and it looks like the heat is here to stay. Should be fun outside now :) ha-ha.

This past week went pretty well. I've seen better but I don't have anything to complain about. We didn't have as many visits as we would like and a few people aren't progressing that great anymore so we're in the process of finding some more prepared people. We've been talking to everyone we can in our free time and we've been seeing some results. It's incredible just how much of a difference talking to strangers and sharing your testimony can make when things don't go the way you plan. It brings the Spirit because you testify about the Gospel and then you're doing what you've been called to do: to call people to repentance and to bring them the news of the Restored Gospel. So when people say no or that they're not interested, I don't feel guilty because I know that I've given them a chance. That's all I can do.

I went back up to Mataró again on exchanges and it went well. The Elders there are brand new to the area and have only been there a few weeks so they're still getting to know the area and working on finding people. So that's why I went up there, to help them out a bit.

Also this past week, on Saturday actually, was a big holiday here. It was pretty much like the 4th of July with all the fireworks and stuff. It's called Sant Joan (in Catalan) and San Juan (in Spanish). I asked a member why they celebrate it and they said that it's supposedly to celebrate the shortest night of the year...kinda strange right? ha-ha. But it was really neat and we got to go on the roof of our building and watch fireworks going off alllll around us.! It sounded like we were in the middle of a war because of all the firecrackers, explosives, and rockets that were going off. And it didn't help that it's mostly buildings and concrete and asphalt where we live so everything echoed. It was crazy! ha-ha. Didn't fall asleep until a bit late that night since the noise went on foreverrrr but I managed to fall asleep somehow.

Today we have yet another meeting so we will not be having our Preparation Day :P. But next week we're trying to plan a 4th of July thing with our zone and the neighboring zone :) We're excited about that. We're thinking of having some sports and stuff like that and of course food. Gotta have food to celebrate that.:) Unfortunately no fireworks because we can't really use them as missionaries, ha-ha.

Oh! Yesterday Elder Corbitt, my previous companion, came to church here in Badalona with his whole family! It was so great to see them and I got to meet his siblings and stuff. It was pretty weird to see him though, not gonna lie, ha-ha. He didn't have his name tag and I couldn't call him Elder anymore. So weird. But he's doing great and he seemed really excited to be back to visit everyone. And now in about two or three weeks he'll be back in NY with my family since his family will be in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, too. So I told him to say hi for me :).

I gotta run now though. Time to write to president and then run to Barcelona. Love you all and talk to you soon!