June Updates!

Hola queridos afeccionados de mí!                                                                            11 de Juno 2013        
   This has been a good week. First off for the news, I am staying here in Valencia with Elder Schindler! Not much changes with us, but they've opened two new areas in our zone, and almost every companionship is either training or will begin this transfer. Us, the zone leaders, and the other 3rd ward elders that live with them are the only ones not training right now, but I think our turn comes in September with the tidal wave of new ones. Elder Pérez in our piso will be training, he's excited and we're excited for him. These last two transfers were a rough companionship for him, for the piso as well. His companion that left is a different kind of unique...from what I've heard he's had quite a few different companions and areas if you know what I mean. Hopefully he likes the new one. Elder Pérez will be a great trainer. He's hoping to get an American so he can practice his english more! (We've been teaching and helping him these last couple months ).                                                                                                                              
   That's super funny how Grandpa ran across one of the missionaries I knew in Ogden! And that they still remember me! Also that they were able to contact some old friends from the mission! That is so neat! I hope I can do that someday with someone here in Spain...hooray for technology!
   Oh, and just a random thing. It's starting to get super hot in Valencia...maybe all those people weren't overexaggerating after all! Pero he aquí, tenemos aire condicional en nuestro piso!! ¡Qué bendición! Working during the day is a little more discouraging then the usual woes though haha. At least everyone offers us water in all the visits! I think it's just the super humidity though, because in the pueblos further in it's not so bad.                    
                                                                                                                                       17 de Juno
   Hola qué tál a todos! How goes things on the stateside front? First off, happy late fathers day! They celebrated it a while back in Spain, if they even celebrated it all haha. Here everybody is a father and yet not at the same time if you know what I mean haha so they don't really celebrate a fathers day as big as there.                                                                                                            
So, this last week we had Zone Conference. It was really good. I always love any opportunity to listen to Pres and Sis Pace, and the ayudantes are just fantastic as well. The zone and district leaders gave a good little message too. The zone leaders kind of cheated because they used a clip of an Elder Holland MTC talk, but they still gave a good tie in/application  They talked a lot about following the Spirit, using personal study time, and using love to cast out fear. It was all really good and super inspiring.
   There were a couple of good miracles we saw. The first one: We were teaching the Plan of Salvation to a family. The husband is receptive and always animated, but doesn't talk much during the lessons. The wife is a little more questioning, and always has a question or few =) We were going along, teaching and answering questions, and it was going fine but with a few bumps. As we were teaching about the Atonement she asked us about what it is like for us to share the word, to be rejected a lot (ever since we met her she has been really interested in what we do as missionaries and why we do it). As we talked about how even though it is difficult to be rejected, we have our testimonies and that doesn't change anything about why we are here. We shared about how even though Joseph Smith was persecuted, he was faithful. We talked about how the path of discipleship is never easy. As we started to talk she had a change in countenance, but neither of us thought much about it. As we finished she told us about how she felt something, like a deep guilt or that she had been contributing to some of our opposition, but then as we talked about the Atonement she said about how she felt a change, and felt calm and peaceful and interested in our message. From there she told us a few stories that had come back to her memory about some experiences in her past. It was neat to see how the Spirit works with each of our investigators in unique and different ways tailored to them!
  Another story. We were on the bus, standing in the aisle. A lady sitting in one of the chairs pointed to us and said something. We thought she was pointing to something on the wall or behind us at first, but after a little realized she was pointing at my agenda. I had put one of the Faith in Christ pass along cards to the back of my agenda so that Christ's face would appear above my chapa. She said the picture caught her attention, and that when she saw us she felt something special, different. After talking with her for a little bit she told me that she always sees the youth of today running around obnoxiously or doing things that she doesn't like, but she sure noticed and felt a difference with us! I left here with one of our cards with Christ on it and invited her to church or to call us. We hope and pray that she will have the desires to come or to call us!
So yeah, that's our week! Elder Pérez's new companion is Elder Shelley, from Salt Lake City area. He's really funny and a neat guy. It makes me smile to see how I probably used to struggle with the language like all of these new missionaries haha. They will catch on though. They all have their firey spirits and faith! Well, have a fantastic week!
                                                                                                                                       24 de juno
  We've  been trying to contact more, which has been good. We  have talked with a lot  of people and placed a ton of Book of  Mormons to people. Funny story  though, a member actually found one on a bus stop bench after  the activity on Saturday. We know  exactly  who left it there too, that punk. Oh well,we did our part! Hopefully nobody else ditched their free books.
So I mentioned an activity. We did a Puertas Abiertas(Open house) activity of our church building and invited tons of people to pass by and walk through,  and they had little posters and people to talk about the various organizations and beliefs of the church. It was really neat,and everyone who walked through seemed to like it. The members liked being a part and walking through the streets and getting a little taste of what we  do as missionaries! And getting rejected too...builds Christlike character!
  Tell  everybody thanks for the birthday wishes! I'll let you know how it rolls over I guess. First one away from home! I think I heard dad say once after a while they just start to blow by like another day.  I guess once the numbers get big they're harder to keep track of and less significant,because they don't  bring any changes like the younglings' do.  But now I can say I've lived a score of years though!
Well, I'm not a man of many words and it appears I've run dry. Have a great week,  keep working hard, thanks for the prayers and wishes! May the Lord bless those who have blessed me!  Hasta la proxima.

IIIIIttt's preparation day!

So, we ended up changing our preparation day to Tuesday today at the last minute so that we could go see an awesome castle in a pueblo called Xativa for the last prep. day of Elder Tirado who goes home next week. Transfers are next week so I'll probably be writing on Tuesday again. I'm sending a few of the tons of pictures I took! It was really neat. Also, I attached some pictures of recent baptisms! Caroline's was this last Friday. It was super good, and we had Akim, one of the great African members in our ward, baptize her.  The service had lots of unexpected stresses to prepare, but now we all have testimonies that God answers prayers and helps us! Also, Istoken and Michael did get baptized in May. I attached their pictures too. Their baptism was so great! One of the most spiritual experiences/baptismal services I have had in the mission. Everyone comments to us about how solid and great all of our converts are, which is a good sign!
I feel like everyone can always improve their faith in some way, me too especially! This week in an eating visit a member told us about an Elder that was here a few years back that she was just so inspired by. She said that he had a spirit about him that she was just so sure was that of the Saviors and she always left edified from his presence. She always commented about how he always had halos in pictures, idk about that one though, because we never actually got to see a photo...I was really inspired by that though, that we can really be a representative of Jesus Christ up to the point that people feel they are in the very presence of something holy. It really inspired me to try to be that kind of missionary and to fulfill our purpose. Obviously there is a lot of things I need to improve in, repent, and diligence on my part, but I was really inspired to try to become something greater.
This last weekend we had Stake Conference here in Valencia. We held it in La Palacía de los Congresos, a big fancy shmancy building so that we could fit the whole stake with Valencia, Gandia, Catarroja, and Castellón. Saturday evening was a really good session, and the sunday general session as well. We sang in the choir to help out the lack of men, I think by the end of our missions we'll all be pro singers! I love it though, especially the Spirit we feel and how much the members love to hear it too. President and Sister Pace came down for it too, and as usual gave downright amazing testimonies and messages. The members love to hear from them, and as missionaries we always just get so inspired and animated by them! I always feel a special spirit around them. We also had the amazing blessing to hear from two Seventies! One was a quieter guy who spoke about doctrines, used lots of scriptures, and a few deep doctrine topics, so a lot of people said he was kind of boring but you know me, I loved it! The other one, Elder Reina, was just great. He always had everyone laughing, but what he said also taught some amazing spiritual lesson, so as people remembered what he said because it made them laugh, it teaches a principle that they can apply and improve in. Everyone loved him the most. He is from the Canary Islands though, and had an accent that us gringos had to focus in on a little harder, and Elder Perez (from Chile) couldn't tell me half of the words I asked him about haha. It was super great though. They spoke a lot on inviting others and rescuing the lost, tithing (again I know! It must be an important principle or something...maybe that is the answer to the crisis in Spain! He mentioned that blessings of tithing not only bless the tither, but the nation he lives in too, that was kind of neat) and about being more diligent in our personal discipleship. One of the funny things he said: (using an imaginary situation, in a whiny voice) "Pues, mis maestros orientadores no vienen a visitarme." E. Reina: "Y mi qué? ¡Vete y vistar alguien y rescatarles! Eso solo es dos más horas que tenéis para la obra misional!" (Well, my home teachers never come to visit me." "And me what? Go and visit someone else and rescue them! That's just two more hours you have to do misionary work!" We have already been rescued, we're in the fold already! Go and bring someone else! He also talked about an acronymn, JOY (Jesus, others, yourself/Jesús, otros, yo). When it is in order, you have plenty of joy! When it's the other way around, you've got something wrong haha. He also had an interesting diagram about families being the basic unit of everything, and I wish I could explain it to you but it's kind of hard without drawing it as you explain it... All in all with lots of other great stuff it was a great conference! The Stake Presidency here in Valencia is just one of the best. They always give such inspiring testimonies and just seem to be some of the strongest members the Church has to show!

Hope all continues to go well and that you see that life is full of blessings!