"I thought I gave you the passport"

BIGGG WEEK!!! This may have been the best week I've had so far on the mission, tons to talk about! 

-Tuesday morning we woke up to an eerie clicking sound coming from the bathroom. What at first we thought was water dripping was actually just a bat in our bathtub! At 7 am I wasn't too big on chasing a bat around so I'm glad he was enjoying his rest in the bathroom. We ended up capturing him with a plastic box (featured below) and a piece of cardboard. Unfortunately the windows in the bathroom were closed, so he must've gotten in somewhere else and traipsed through the piso. Just grateful he ended up in the bathtub and none of us have contracted any weird diseases. 

-We had a lesson with a lady named Marisella. She has a daughter in Utah that is a member and so we began (weeks ago) answering some of her questions. We are working really slowly to try to get her progressing, but she is a stubborn one haha. She "believes it all," but just not the church part. Not sure how to solve that riddle. 

-Wednesday was a rough day, like really rough. Every single lesson fell through, including the one at a member's house and we spent the whole afternoon running around to appointments that would never be. That said, the next day was one of the best we've ever had. Every single one of the lessons happened (which never happens) and we set two baptismal dates in two separate lessons. One was with our friend Jose who has a problem with drugs and lives an hour away. They don't come easy here! The other was with the boyfriend of our other baptismal date!!! We're gonna work with them together to get married and then baptized! Vamos!!! It was a wonderful lesson as they recognized, together, the importance of baptisms and how it could bless their small family. 

-This Friday, we spent the day in Madrid, getting fingerprints for residency. It was super fun to travel and see some old friends from the MTC. Sorry for the lack of photos, I'll serve there soon enough! The subject line was largely there to scare my mom, but don't worry, we found it :)

-Saturday we helped our friend find some clothes for the winter. The GOAT from the ward, John Marin, has basically a Goodwill for the immigrants that come and don't have clothes for the winter. But, of course, we had some fun while we were at it. That night we also had dinner with the President of the Rama. He and his wife are so nice and so helpful with the work, I should've taken a picture haha.

Yesterday we woke up to the news that President Nelson had passed away. While sad, to see such an incredible man would no longer be leading the church, I thought someone from our Sunday meeting put it well. While our prophet has died, the true head of The Church, that being Jesus Christ, has remained and will continue to remain and direct this church. That said, what an example President was. He lived, until the end, as an exemplar of what it means to be a strong disciple and humble leader. 

"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone"  (Ephesians 2:20)

This upcoming weekend we have the opportunity to listen to General Conference. Record your impressions, look for answers, and seek ways to change your life according to the inspiration you receive. 

Hasta Luego,

Elder Dougall