Called to Madrid South

First things first, we received transfer calls this weekend and I will be going to Parla, a pueblo outside of Madrid. I have only had 6 weeks here in Jerez, but it is here that I have learned to love the Spanish culture. Cádiz is so full of beautiful tradition and I am grateful to have seen that and met some amazing people. This weekend will be the baptisms of two of our friends, and it's sad not to be able to see them, but by all means, they are well prepared and I'm grateful to have seen such a tender conversion in each of them. This last week we had a Zone Conference in Sevilla in which we talked a lot about faith and it's power to overcome fear and see incredible miracles. In Mark, Jesus exhorts us: "Be not afraid, only believe". Faith is our antidote to fear, and our cure for worry.  Our President of the mission went on to read in Helaman 3: "And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, ...

The crazy festival that takes up all the attention of Jerez continued this week! Think of a Western town, with horses, carriages, and fine dressed ladies and gents. Add plenty of alcohol and you've described the Feria of Jerez. We passed by a few times, and it was super cool. There is a very traditional dress that is also worn with a type of shawl. I regret not having any photos of it, but I regret more that I folded and bought one    I hope it comes in handy.  This week I also enjoyed 2 exchanges: one with Elder Plewe and Elder Petersen. It is very interesting to learn the stories of each missionary and see their dedication to the Lord. This last Friday, we received a message from a friend asking that we visited her. When we arrived, she was in quite a difficult emotional state. It was hard to get her to calm down and stop crying. We tried to read something but found it better to simply listen to a hymn. We chose one of my favorites: "His Eye is on the Sparrow." The smal...

We have awesome news! Silvia was able to resolve some of her concerns and was baptized yesterday! The beauty of how she felt throughout the whole process leaves no doubt that the Holy Ghost was working in her life. She has such a strong and humble testimony of God's merciful and loving hand in her life and will no doubt continue and a wonderfully strong disciple of Jesus Christ in the years to come. We met with her yesterday to talk about her next steps, and she has such a fire to check learning and progressing. All she wants to do is act on the feelings she's felt. I'm so grateful to see such faith and discipleship. That's about all I have for this week! I would also like to wish a late and very happy Mother's Day! I'm honored to be the son of a wonderful mother who serves as my best example, teacher, and model of an exemplary person. It is much thanks to her that I can be here and spread the message of joy that has been the theme of her life. I'm so gratef...

Imagine walking around a garden and picking up all the snails and putting them in a cup. You've just prepared a fairly popular dish from Spain. Here in Spain you'll see a couple sharing a cup full of snails and conversation. Not exactly my idea of a perfect date, but to each their own.  This week we had lots of progress with our friend Silvia. We met with her in the house of her good friend from elementary school who's a member and it went super well. She is super ready to be baptized and if everything goes well, will be baptized this Sunday. She has had many spiritual experiences and after much time searching, has finally found her faith. She recently has expressed some doubts about paying her tithing, so please pray that she may be able to find an answer soon.  This last week I also enjoyed 2 exchanges with other missionaries in the zone. It's awesome to explore different areas of Spain and meet new missionaries. The 2 missionaries I did exchanges with both have the s...

Sorry for the missed email last week! As you can tell from the photos, I have moved to a place much different and a lot more Spanish. Jerez is a very traditional town with horse carriages and people playing Flamenco on their guitars in the street. It is famous for its fair that will take place in a few weeks and the motorcycle event that has taken up the streets recently. For such a small town there are certainly a lot of celebrations; Thats something very Spanish too. When I got here on last Wednesday we had the blessing of setting 2 people on date for baptism. One named Leo, from a part member family. He is 11 with his his mom, fairly inactive, and his dad, not as a member. For some reason, what seems frankly unprovoked by outside influence, Leo has wanted to be baptized. We have the blessing of visiting their home every week and it has not only helped him understand better the principles of the Gospel, but has completely changed the behavior of the Mom. She is now attentive and cari...

It is quite a weird feeling to be saying goodbye to Málaga. A short 6 months ago, I began the long bus ride from Cáceres to my new area of Málaga. I remember the distinct feeling of excitement to see what was to come, and the slight knot in my throat as I began to think of those who I would not see again. As I begin this train ride to Jerez, that slight excitement of months ago has converted to an almost nauseousness and the knot in my throat, to tears. When I made that trip to Málaga back in October I had no idea what might await. I did not even have a grasp of the wonderful people I would meet and the incredible experiences I would have. You will notice in this email lots of faces of people you surely do not know. A short time ago, I also didn't know them. Since then, I have had the incredible privilege to become acquainted, and see their amazing examples. Let me share with you the stories of a few:  -Lucia is a sister from Paraguay. She is one of the most Christlike humans I hav...