Hola familia!
I’m going to apologize right away about my
spelling, we are typing in a locutorio so that my companion can use a computer,
since his iPad was stolen this last week on the way to an intercambio. But hope
you enjoy the letter anyways!
This week has been fairly long. We've had
appointments, but a lot of them couldn’t meet, leaving us to fend for ourselves
on the streets of Bizkaia talking to anyone or thing that could breath or
accept a Book of Mormon(funny story there, there are absolutely zero Book of
Mormons in Spain, or in Germany where they’re printed, so at the moment we're
focusing on folletos, since we have no idea when we'll get more books
again...). Alicia and Oyer still have the goal to be baptized this week, but
they didn’t come to church, and they’ve flaked out for a few appointments this
weekend so we're really praying that they’ll make it to the one we have tonight
with them in the chapel! They're so good, they just need to be there! We did
find miraculously this amazing hutano, or gypsie family on the street after one
of our visits fired with Alicia. Maria, the grandmother, was excited to meet
with us, and in the next visit we ended up meeting her children, grandchildren,
and great grandchildren, with over 8 or 9 in all. Woah. Pascual, the son had a
slashed scalp when he met with us(he acted like it was no big deal, it was like
the grand canyon on his head!), until his wife came out and sent him to the
hospital haha. Romanians are funny people haha. But miracles happen, even when
you least expect it, like when visits fire!
Also that’s where the door handle thing came
from. We were opening the door of the hallway where Maria lived, when I ended
up yanking the entire handle out of the hole, screw included, sending them
flying down the hallway! Didn't know where I got super strength..., but I had a
hard time not laughing as we tried to fix it and talk to Maria afterwards haha.
Alejandro would have to be another miracle of
the week. He's a past investigator who we've met with several times, but hasn't
been too into praying and starting on the path to an answer. That all changed
when he followed through on his commitment to pray about Jesus Christ, and
during which, he drifted off and dreamed/had a vision all about the atonement
and Jesus Christ. He didn’t even believe or know much about him before that
prayer, so this came as a shock to us last night, and though he wants to go
slow, he wants to meet with us more. I know for sure now that there is power in
a simple invitation to pray.
This week was also a week of holidays here in
Las Arenas, meaning concerts out our back window until 7 in the morning, drunk
people wandering the streets(that’s normal actually), and parades with floats
of varying levels of modesty, and the occasional giant shark. Elder Morley was
surrounded by a paparazi of teen girls wanting to take pictures with him, since
they were all like half his size. Super awkward as a missionary, but still,
makes the days interesting here! Oh yea, they also had a Zumba exercise class with
a man in a Pikachu costume, along with his friend in a kiddy pool next to him.
Just normal day here in Las Arenas!
Today for preperation day, we did our shopping
before I stopped by a muslim shop to pick up some shapakia, Arabic for delicious
fried corn meal with sugar. My guilty pleasure here haha! We also left with
Manolo, the non-member husband of hermana Fe, to visit the castle Butron in the
countryside, that place is amazing! Pics will be up later! So a fairly relaxing
day overall before our lesson with Alicia tonight!
Yesterday we had the amazing opportunity to
have a zone training in Bilbao with the Bilbao and Vitoria zones, all about
combating discouragement, sharing the Book of Mormon, and overcoming fear and
being bold. Big things, even for non-missionary folk, but the one that stood
out to me the most was President Dayton’s talk on discouragement. He put it simply,
that discouragement is Satan’s number one tool, and one that we encounter every
day of our lives. But the key is to put the focus not on our own problems, but
rather on focusing on the needs of others. "We are as happy as we make our
minds up to be. Joy is not in things, it’s in us!" Abraham Lincoln. His
biggest suggestion to having discouragement is to testify, talk and smile, and
know that sometimes we don't know the good that we do! So I invite you all to
do the same. Hop on out of the hot tub of self pity if you’ve found yourself
there, and do something more to help those around you. I promise that as you do
so, all the problems and sadness you feel will disappear, bit by bit, as you do
so!(DC 121 through 123 are great sections on learning about discouragement!).
I love and miss you all, and I know the Lord’s
hand is in this work, through every day, long and short, and through every
person he puts into our paths!
--
Elder Taylor Moulton
Shapakia - Arabic for delicious fried corn flour and sugar!
El Castillo Butron with Manolo
Zumba with Pikachu
Holiday party!
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