Hasta Luego 🫡

That's right, transfer news is in and I'm out! I've been transfered to the beautiful coastal city of Málaga! I am writing this email on the bus headed towards Sevilla. It's been quite a week so let's get started!

This past Monday we had an activity with all the youth and played Scattergories, but in Spanish! Even though it's a smaller group, it was such a blast. They are absolutely hilarious and helped me learn lots of words.

Tuesday I had my last mentoring session! Woah, I'm not a greenie anymore - whattt? We also had a couple lessons with members. 

Wednesday we had exchanges with ZL's. I was with Elder Caffrey (reminds me a lot of Cason haha). Sorry no photos, but he is a great dude and I learned a lot. We also had a silly lesson where a sweet, but wacky friend (in a nice way) talked at us for an hour. But as we concluded, our new friend walked past and we taught him the whole gospel of Christ! Always opportunities to teach even, and mostly, when you're not expecting it! That night we also had a problem where the ceiling of the chapel collapsed thanks to someone above leaving their water on - hahaha. 

This week we also had lots of Noches de Hogar with amazing people like Viviana, Marlene, Liliana and Georgina. Sorry, the names are for my own memory when I read these letters later. 

Friday we had a lesson with a friend, Jose, who is struggling with drugs. He is making amazing progress and I hope he can be baptized soon! We had a lunch that day with members from Paraguay and they gave us a sopa from Paraguay (nope not soup haha, look it up). That night when we had a lesson with Gustavo, our friend from Paraguay who is here alone, we gave him the sopa. I think it was a taste of home for him and I was so grateful we could do that for him. We also brought Georgina and Ronald, and they were able to make a connection with Gustavo.

Saturday we called LOTS or people to invite them to church. We also had about a 2 hour pizza buffet with our friends. Haha, lessons can take any shape or form, even if I'm losing mine. After that we met with a new friend named Alvaro. He is from Somalia and has been through a heartbreaking amount of tragedy. That said, he wants to be Christian and find peace. We set a date for baptism in that lesson, but he has a lot to learn! It is difficult as we have friends that are battling real challenges such as drug addiction, PTSD, and everything in between. All we can do is offer a friendship and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that that is enough. Saturday night we had a Noche de Hogar with Georgina, Ronald y Natali. They are from Peru and absolutely hilarious. Georgina has such an amazing testimony, but is waiting to be baptized. I don't have a photo because we never really got to say goodbye :(

We finished off the week with a great asistence at the church! Some of our friends came and became friends with the members which is always so fun to see. We also had an amazing man who has not been active lately come to church! 

It is wild that I already am leaving Cáceres. Time goes by so quickly and I'm already saying goodbye to friends I met a few weeks ago. Cáceres is a small town, so the missionary work can be frustrating, but it is such a nice place. You are able to meet and love all of the members. We also have lots of friends we see every day around town. For example, just today, this guy we see about everyday, wrapped me and my comp in a big bear hug and said "I just really like you guys" hahaha. Going to a big city is definitely gonna be big change but I am beyond excited. I am so grateful for Cáceres. It will always hold a place in my heart. The growth I experienced there is incredible. Although there were no baptisms, the area is in a much better position than it was when we got here and I am proud of that. I hope to see the fruits of those seeds in a few months as my brave companion stays and trains again. 

Forgive the lazy writing as I seek to add lots of information in few words. It has been a delightfully busy week. 

"Admonish him in his faults, and also receive admonition of him. Be patient; be sober; be temperate; have patience, faith, hope and charity." D&C 6:19

Maybe a little scripture to describe my past 11 weeks of training. I have become wonderfully aware of my faults. I am impatient, prideful, judgemental, and not discerning enough to name a few. It has not been easy to take on the role as humble learner, especially to a person who has their own faults. That said, what an opportunity I have had, and will continue to have, as I take on this mantle called the mission. Although it is terribly humbling, we can be confident when we stand behind the strength of the Lord. I invite you to look for the trait of another, and seek to emulate that in your own life. The love of a mother, the work ethic of a coworker, the kindness of a friend, it could be anything, but may we always be both learners and teachers, edifying one another with love as we Become. It will be easier as you treat others as you want to be treated. Offer the same forgiveness and patience as you give readily to yourself. 

Elder Dougall

Photos:

In field trainer Brother Hope

Hole in the church!

Beautiful Sunset

Our new Friend Alvaro

The amazing one and only Marlene

The Rama 

Sweet Flor (Every morning she would send us these funny videos saying good morning or something. Every time we met she would caress my tie and say "Qué Lindoooo" Not wearing a tie wouldnt stop her. She would simply rub my companion's stomach as if a tie was there. Just random stuff sometimes not worth the email, but makes me laugh)