Hola familia!!!
This was a tough week. Dang, I feel like I've been through a washer
machine filled with shoes. It's when hot here in Manresa, highs in the
mid 70s(we're wimps), but the humidity here is what kills us. We
usually get a giant thunderstorm every day or two, with lightning. Not
the thing you want when you're holding an umbrella with an iPad in
your hand haha! But besides that and losing a few investigators, and
ones with baptismal dates, we have Mar, who's getting baptized at 6
pm this Saturday!!!
The miracle I chose to share is week is that hearts can be softened
through fasting! That is something I've never had too much experience
with, until Thursday before our lesson with Mar! She had been
convinced for the last week that she had received revelation that her
baptism should be on her birthday(November 21st), and even through
three separate lessons, she would not budge on that day. So on
Thursday, seeing that her date that we had for her(the 28th) was just
over a week away, we decided to get serious. We had received the
revelation to baptize her on that day, and she had already been taught
all the lessons, making it very clear that she needed a little push.
We began fasting Thursday in the morning, praying for any help to
soften her heart and personal desires so that the lord could get in.
We showed her the Joseph Smith movie that night, and after wards, we
invited her once again to be baptized on that day, testifying of the
Lord’s plan for her, and the cleanliness she'll have after this sacred
ordinance. It took a bit, but to our surprise and amazement, she felt
the same thing, that the 28th was her day! Fasting works!!! She's now
amazingly excited for her service, and she's got a very loving Rama
behind her to support her in this! I know, that through faith, prayer
and fasting, the Lord makes his hand even more plain in our lives,
especially when we are blessing others!
We also did some service this week! We helped out this crazy catholic
family move their appliances out, even though she told us it'd only be
a few pieces of furniture. She lied, so we showed up in white shirts
to end up lifting their appliances down three flights of steps,
finding some moldy fun stuff on the bottom of them too! They had this
man named Jordi, who looked just like the giant from the Princess
bride, so we had a little help! But yay, because of that service,
we've been invited back for more lessons with them, and just from that
visit we have three new investigators! We are also teaching the lady's
mom, named Julia, who's a tender 83 years old, loses things easily,
and with some help from us, gave a prayer! So yea great success with
fun catholic families!
Birthday shoutout this week to our now reactivated less active 61 year
old man Angel! As a former Jehovah's Witness, he hasn't celebrated or
had anyone celebrate his birthday in many, many years. So Elder
Woodmansee and I ran to a chino, bought some confetti cannons,
birthday hats and birthday whistle flutes, and surprised him at his
house! He started crying as we left, since we were the only ones to
have remembered his birthday, except for one member that morning. So
afterwards we got e gang together and had another party with cake and
the rest of the Rama calling him! He was super grateful for all of
this and we both felt we touched the life of someone that day!
For preparation day, since this is most likely my last on here in
Manresa, we made a bucket list of things to do for fun here that we
haven't done in the last 3 months, and did it! We played ping pong in
Plaza Catalunya, ate cupcakes at the cupcake cafe, shopped at the game
store(filled with every board game and toy known to man), and took old
time pics in front of a 14th century cathedral. All of that topped off
with a stop at a Chinese place we've been wanting to go to, and it has
been a great and relaxing dia de preparacion here in the land of
miracles!
This was a tough week. Dang, I feel like I've been through a washer
machine filled with shoes. It's when hot here in Manresa, highs in the
mid 70s(we're wimps), but the humidity here is what kills us. We
usually get a giant thunderstorm every day or two, with lightning. Not
the thing you want when you're holding an umbrella with an iPad in
your hand haha! But besides that and losing a few investigators, and
ones with baptismal dates, we have Mar, who's getting baptized at 6
pm this Saturday!!!
The miracle I chose to share is week is that hearts can be softened
through fasting! That is something I've never had too much experience
with, until Thursday before our lesson with Mar! She had been
convinced for the last week that she had received revelation that her
baptism should be on her birthday(November 21st), and even through
three separate lessons, she would not budge on that day. So on
Thursday, seeing that her date that we had for her(the 28th) was just
over a week away, we decided to get serious. We had received the
revelation to baptize her on that day, and she had already been taught
all the lessons, making it very clear that she needed a little push.
We began fasting Thursday in the morning, praying for any help to
soften her heart and personal desires so that the lord could get in.
We showed her the Joseph Smith movie that night, and after wards, we
invited her once again to be baptized on that day, testifying of the
Lord’s plan for her, and the cleanliness she'll have after this sacred
ordinance. It took a bit, but to our surprise and amazement, she felt
the same thing, that the 28th was her day! Fasting works!!! She's now
amazingly excited for her service, and she's got a very loving Rama
behind her to support her in this! I know, that through faith, prayer
and fasting, the Lord makes his hand even more plain in our lives,
especially when we are blessing others!
We also did some service this week! We helped out this crazy catholic
family move their appliances out, even though she told us it'd only be
a few pieces of furniture. She lied, so we showed up in white shirts
to end up lifting their appliances down three flights of steps,
finding some moldy fun stuff on the bottom of them too! They had this
man named Jordi, who looked just like the giant from the Princess
bride, so we had a little help! But yay, because of that service,
we've been invited back for more lessons with them, and just from that
visit we have three new investigators! We are also teaching the lady's
mom, named Julia, who's a tender 83 years old, loses things easily,
and with some help from us, gave a prayer! So yea great success with
fun catholic families!
Birthday shoutout this week to our now reactivated less active 61 year
old man Angel! As a former Jehovah's Witness, he hasn't celebrated or
had anyone celebrate his birthday in many, many years. So Elder
Woodmansee and I ran to a chino, bought some confetti cannons,
birthday hats and birthday whistle flutes, and surprised him at his
house! He started crying as we left, since we were the only ones to
have remembered his birthday, except for one member that morning. So
afterwards we got e gang together and had another party with cake and
the rest of the Rama calling him! He was super grateful for all of
this and we both felt we touched the life of someone that day!
For preparation day, since this is most likely my last on here in
Manresa, we made a bucket list of things to do for fun here that we
haven't done in the last 3 months, and did it! We played ping pong in
Plaza Catalunya, ate cupcakes at the cupcake cafe, shopped at the game
store(filled with every board game and toy known to man), and took old
time pics in front of a 14th century cathedral. All of that topped off
with a stop at a Chinese place we've been wanting to go to, and it has
been a great and relaxing dia de preparacion here in the land of
miracles!
Spiritual thought!
This was a fairly hard week here in Manresa, we lost almost all of
baptism fechas, we lost several investigators, and it was both hot and
super rainy. But the key thing I've learned this week is to be
grateful in any circumstance! As well said in his April 2014 talk,
President Uchtdorf gives us three ways to be grateful; Be grateful in
our circumstances, be grateful for things, and having the faith to be
grateful! In missionary work, and especially here in Europe, it's
fairly easy to be ungrateful for the things we do have. Heck,
sometimes I forget that we walk between buildings that have more age
and history then the entire history of the United States! I forget
that every person we talk to has a story, that each contact we make
isn't an accident! The great truth of life, as said by President
Uchtdorf "How much of life do we miss by waiting to see the rainbow
before thanking God that there is rain?" The key to happiness, in life
and missionary work, is to stop comparing, to stop complaining, and to
start being grateful for the small things! We don't need to be pleased
with everything (I don't think I'll ever be pleased each time I get
yelled at by this old Catholic Spanish man named Jose from across the
street), but we can choose to be grateful and move on! A grateful and
intentional life is the life that each of us are here to live, and the
one our savior lived also! So I invite all of you to be grateful,
thankful, and happy with what you got, rather than what you not(rhyme
haha!).
Love and miss you all, and I hope you have an
amazing/majestic(broadening my vocabulary haha) last week of May!
Elder Taylor Moulton
#2 - Harry Potter Costume store!
Countryside on the way to Navarcles
First stop on the top eight things to do in Manresa - cupcakes!
Angel enjoying this birthday cake!
Superman plus Clark Kent!
#3 - Dress like knights in front of a 14th century cathedral!
Post Stake Conference investigators and recent convert meeting with President and Hermana Dayton! (And Mar - bright shirt on the right!)
Happy Birthday Angel!
#6 - Lay on grass next to another cathedral on a sunny day! Boom!
I love reading Taylor's letters and seeing his pictures. He has the best attitude. I especially like hearing about the recent conference talks he has read.
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