Called to Madrid South

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...

Happy Easter! I hope you all have had an enjoyable weekend and have been able to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and what it means for each of us.  This week has been a bit of a challenge with my companion. He comes from a very difficult past and the mission has been a great challenge to him. Suffice it to say that every day he spends here is a miracle and we would love to keep that streak of miracles alive. That said, this last Thursday he had a very difficult day in which he was thinking of going home and returning to the habits found there. That was really challenging to me, as I felt he had made so much progress. To make things worse with the timing, we had prepared a birthday party for him the next day on Friday. His birthday actually happened back in February, but it happened right with all of the changes and travels that had resulted from a very bad experience with a different companion. Friday morning came, and it was hard. We talked for almost an hour and I did my...

With the baptisms that we've had in the ward, we now have the fun job of reteaching and taking care of all of the recent converts. The fun thing is that it can really take any shape or size. For example, this last Tuesday my companion cut the hair of Angel as we reviewed the Restoration. That same day I was able to play tennis with Felipe and then teach a lesson to him after. It's so much fun to be able to develop those relationship, because it actually allows them to learn more deeply. With some other recent converts we have begun reading the Book of Mormon together. It is a group of 5 with 3 recent converts and 2 other friends that wanted to do it with us. Although our main goal is always to baptize, it has been extremely gratifying and, frankly, just fun to work with recent converts and see their progress in the gospel. They are excited to work and learn and serve, but they need to be taken care of to build their spiritual foundation. This last Sunday, we went to a nearby to...