Whatsoever shall be given you in that hour

1/11  We saw a huge miracle this week with the baptism of Patrick. He is an investigator of the Hermanas. Seeing as though the Hermanas were unable to leave piso this week, we were asked to teach him the last few things he was missing before his baptism, so we did. In our lesson on Wednesday, he expressed some doubts about not feeling ready. We could tell though that he was more than ready to be baptized and understood everything perfectly, so we urged him to continue preparing for Saturday. We had another visit on Friday and did our best to prepare him. He still expressed doubts of how prepared he felt. We were, however, able to convince him to come to the interview. I was super nervous to give the interview, because I didn't know what I could say to help him see that he was prepared and ready. When he got to the interview, he expressed that he still wasn't sure. The nerves didn't go away until I sat down with him and started with a prayer. After the prayer, everything was calm. Somehow, even though I had no clue what to do and what to say, I began to share personal experiences and scriptures, and we finished the interview. It was by far one of the most humbling experiences I have had my whole mission as I was clearly being guided as a tool in the Lord's hands to say and share exactly what Patrick needed to hear. By no fault of my own, after the interview he felt ready for baptism.

Although he left the interview seeming a little nervous still and a little unsure of what had just happened, the next day when he showed up to the service, he had a little smile on his face. I could tell something had changed. However, the real change happened after the baptism. When he came up out of the water, he just stood there for a few seconds with his head down. When he looked up, his face was beaming. I could tell he had found the peace he was looking for. He was so happy and excited the next day for his confirmation as well. It was such a wonderful experience, and I am so thankful to have had the privilege to take part in it.

We continue to do well here in Tarragona. We met a new investigator who just came to church for the first time yesterday. His wife is a member but he isn't. He stayed for all three hours and loved it! We set a visit up with them this week and are really excited to start teaching him. We are really trying to focus our efforts on finding new investigators and are trying everything we know to do to find them. We were given a lot of member referrals last week and will work hard to come in contact them this week. All in all, I see the work has a lot of potential here.

If there is one thing I have learned from my experiences this week, it would be that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best fix for everything. It really doesn't matter what problems people are facing, accepting and living the gospel will help them overcome their trials. Mathew 11: 28 states; "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The atonement makes it possible for us to rest from our burdens and difficulties. It frees us from the guilt that comes from sin. It gives us an opportunity to start over, and the pathway to all these blessings is accepting and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter what our doubts, no matter what our sickness or afflictions, the Savior and His gospel can and will help us if we let them.

Manuel, the member who took them on their adventure

Everyday miracles

1/4  We had an incredible day last Monday! We decided to go work with a few investigators and members we had in a pueblo called Torredembarra for the afternoon after preparation day. We went to pass by a less active family that we have never met before, but they weren't home. On our way back from their house, we decided to go back a different way than we came and as we were walking down that road, the family we had just passed by walked around the corner! We stopped and talked to them for a few minutes and set an appointment with them. A few minutes later, we were looking at a map to figure out where to go, and we decided to go straight down the street instead of turning right. It didn't make a whole lot of sense because the person we wanted to pass by lived a little more to the right of where we were going, but we went straight anyways. Mostly because there was a really cool looking old street in front of us, and we felt like walking down it. A few hundred meters down the street we hear someone behind us say "Hola Elderes!". From my experience, when someone calls you Elders, it's usually a good thing. We turned around to talk to him, and it turns out that he was a member from Colombia. He told us he had been less active for a while but that he was just thinking a few days ago that he really wanted to go to church. He has lived here for 3 years, but didn't know where to find the chapel. We gave him the address, exchanged numbers and set a visit with him as well. Those were such cool miracles all within such a small period of time!

Elder Cook and I are doing well. We still get along well and almost never disagree on anything. Our investigators are doing well. We were finally able to get ahold of Ferran and set a visit with his family. We are happy about that. We are really trying to increase our finding efforts to have a larger pool, and we hope that will help us see more baptisms.

The one thing my experiences this week have strengthened is my testimony that this is God's work, and He is at the head of it. I have seen that as long as we (missionaries or members) are being obedient and doing what we are suppose to, He will send us blessings and miracles. He knows His sheep and knows those who are prepared, and He will guide us as tools in His hands to those who are ready to hear the gospel. We just have to be ready to open our mouths and share it with them. It is such a wonderful experience to be a part of His work here in Spain, and see how quickly it has progressed and continues to grow.

¡Un abrazo querido amigo!

Roman coliseum ruins right next to the beach in Tarragona

 

Same area in the daylight

Serving the Lord during the holidays

12/28  This was a wonderful week because we got to celebrate Christmas!! I love Christmas in the mission. Although it is different, there is something sweet about being able to serve the Lord during the holiday season. We found a new family of 7 this week with 5 of them that could be baptized. We just passed by their house one day, and the mother told us she was just leaving, but then invited us back for dinner later. We came back later, and we ate together with their whole family. We then were able to share the new Christmas video, "A Savior Is Born". They are a wonderful family, and so kind to the missionaries. Unfortunately, they are very, very Catholic, and it will take a lot of work get them to the point of baptism, but we are excited to get started with them.

Elder Cook and I continue to work well together. We have discovered that we help one another out really well. When I get stressed out about things not going as we planned, he always helps me calm down, and when he gets distracted, I help him stay focused. We work as a great team. We did have some unfortunate things happen this week. Alejandra, the investigator that we had who was going to get baptized for sure has left Tarragona. Her parents made her move up North. It's been a little hard to recover from that, but I know she will get baptized wherever she goes, and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter if we do it or someone else.

This week I really got a feel for the importance of our Savior Jesus Christ. As I said before, celebrating Christmas in the mission really gives you a chance to focus on the why of Christmas. It allows you to focus on the Savior more. So why is it that we still celebrate the birth of a man after over 2,000 years? We celebrate Christ's birth because He is the one who gave us everything. He literally gave His life for us so that we would not have to suffer for our sins, so long as we accept Him and His gospel. He died for us and rose again from the tomb so that death would have no hold on us. We celebrate His birth because He redeemed us from the fall and saved us from death. I hope we can all focus on the savior not only during the holiday season, but throughout our whole lives.

Gingerbread (cardboard) house making activity with the district 

 

Los Rocha (family Justin spent Christmas with)