Hola family!
It's been quite caloroso this week here in Bizkaia. With temps
hovering around 80, and today around 100, we've been sweating
profusely as we've been talking with the basque people(at least we
wear white!). We spent much of our week in the streets between lessons
with members because most of our news couldn't follow through with
their appointments, but we did make up for it in the new friends we
found in the streets! We found some friends of Alicia and Oyer our
recent converts, a Columbian woman with a funny old basque man, and
best of all, two Paraguayan woman on a bench outside our piso in Las
Arenaa! Selsa and Melda had seen the missionaries before in Paraguay,
but had never heard their message, so it came as a welcome surprise to
them during our first lesson that there had been prophets in the
ancient Americas, and one today. So much so, that they both quickly
accepted Book of Mormons, planned an appointment for tonight, and
Melda invited us to eat dinner on her birthday, book! The Lord
prepares people to hear this message, and all it takes is for us to
open our mouths and teach them!
On one of the longer days we had(Tuesday... It was especially hot that
day), we contacted and passed by some members and investigators out in
Leioa. Well, after finding out that all of those members and
investigators don't live there or don't exist, we found ourselves at
the end of our passby list on a bench outside a large apartment
building at about 8. About a minute later, this Romanian man walked up
to the door, who we tried to talk to, but well, he wasn't too game, so
he went inside. Suddenly, a woman named appeared up on the fourth
floor balcony, who I started to talk to, since we only had plants and
an old Kas can to talk to at that moment, who invited us up to her
door, and who accepted a Book of Mormon! Milagros!!! The Lord knows
when and how to help us out, because I was almost about ready to pass
out in the grass, and Elder Perry was able to find one very
interested Romanian woman(small world, the Romanian man was her son,
which was pretty awkward for him in the doorway haha).
Joel our long time investigator finally accepted a baptismal date, but
not before Elder Perry and I realized that the thing he lacked was an
understanding of personal revelation! So yea, we're working on that
now, along with converting his illiterate Catholic friend
Federico(who's the most smiley Guatemalan man I've met).
Also fun story, while I was saying a closing prayer at the end of a
lesson in a park here, Elder Perry was being poked by Manolo, the old
basque man I mentioned last week, who kept asking why he was sleeping.
After
a few pokes by his cane, Elder Perry has to whisper (I'mIt's been quite caloroso this week here in Bizkaia. With temps
hovering around 80, and today around 100, we've been sweating
profusely as we've been talking with the basque people(at least we
wear white!). We spent much of our week in the streets between lessons
with members because most of our news couldn't follow through with
their appointments, but we did make up for it in the new friends we
found in the streets! We found some friends of Alicia and Oyer our
recent converts, a Columbian woman with a funny old basque man, and
best of all, two Paraguayan woman on a bench outside our piso in Las
Arenaa! Selsa and Melda had seen the missionaries before in Paraguay,
but had never heard their message, so it came as a welcome surprise to
them during our first lesson that there had been prophets in the
ancient Americas, and one today. So much so, that they both quickly
accepted Book of Mormons, planned an appointment for tonight, and
Melda invited us to eat dinner on her birthday, book! The Lord
prepares people to hear this message, and all it takes is for us to
open our mouths and teach them!
On one of the longer days we had(Tuesday... It was especially hot that
day), we contacted and passed by some members and investigators out in
Leioa. Well, after finding out that all of those members and
investigators don't live there or don't exist, we found ourselves at
the end of our passby list on a bench outside a large apartment
building at about 8. About a minute later, this Romanian man walked up
to the door, who we tried to talk to, but well, he wasn't too game, so
he went inside. Suddenly, a woman named appeared up on the fourth
floor balcony, who I started to talk to, since we only had plants and
an old Kas can to talk to at that moment, who invited us up to her
door, and who accepted a Book of Mormon! Milagros!!! The Lord knows
when and how to help us out, because I was almost about ready to pass
out in the grass, and Elder Perry was able to find one very
interested Romanian woman(small world, the Romanian man was her son,
which was pretty awkward for him in the doorway haha).
Joel our long time investigator finally accepted a baptismal date, but
not before Elder Perry and I realized that the thing he lacked was an
understanding of personal revelation! So yea, we're working on that
now, along with converting his illiterate Catholic friend
Federico(who's the most smiley Guatemalan man I've met).
Also fun story, while I was saying a closing prayer at the end of a
lesson in a park here, Elder Perry was being poked by Manolo, the old
basque man I mentioned last week, who kept asking why he was sleeping.
not manolo!) loudly so that he could hear him. Old men are funny,
especially here in Pais vasco(they're here in plentiful supply, and
they know how to swear too!). Good lesson though, Paola's going to meet
with us on Thursday now!
And the list keeps coming, finding former investigators who've read
the Book of Mormon, small world Paraguayans, less active Columbian
member parties in a Columbian shop, almost catching a pidgin, it
wasn't a boring week! So while it's been hard training a new
missionary when we've had next to no progressing investigators, it's
been made up for with the miracles we've seen, the members we've
passed by, and just having fun learning Spanish in the streets! It's
weird to be asked questions about Spanish though, I don't feel that
good at speaking yet!
One topic that kept coming up in my studies was Hope. "Hope is an
abiding trust that the lord will fulfill his promises", "hope is
realistic anticipation taking the form of determination, a
determination not merely to survive but endure to the end!" It's
really putting your faith in the Lord, and doing the work, going
through each day, and knowing that the Lord will help you out! I know
after this week, and many weeks of putting this to the test, that when
we ask the Lord for something, he will bless us with help! He will!
Don't you dare deny it! Don't let one bad day ruin the hope for a good
one!
So yea, hard, hot but fun week, made better by a trip to Ikea to eat
meatballs. Simple pleasures haha!
Love and miss you all!
🇪🇸🌴Elder Taylor Moulton🌲🇪🇸
Columbian lunch with Arturo, Amalia, Nayla and Maria, her mom! We ate Sancocho (meat, soup, and corn, yes!)
Lunch trip to Ikea, because meatballs haha!
After a long day contacting, a last minute run in with our Columbian friends isn't so bad!
Sancocho
New ties - 3 for 9 euros!
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