If at first you don't succeed ...

2/8  This week we saw an incredible miracle. Elder Cullimore and I were spending a lot of time one day in the streets trying to contact people. After hours of no success, Elder Cullimore had the idea of trying to knock a building just to switch things up a bit. We got into a building nearby, and went all the way to the top floor. We walked out of the elevator and I pointed to the door to our right. We knocked, then heard a few shuffles towards the door. A woman answered the door, and at first mentioned that she had never really believed in anything. As the conversation went on, she mentioned that she had read the bible before. We took out a Book of Mormon, and asked if she had ever seen it before, and before we could ask the question she reached out and snatched it out of our hands and asked, what is this? We then began to explain a little about it, and she let us in for a few minutes. We had a wonderful lesson on the Book of Mormon with Milady, and she accepted the challenge to read and pray about the introduction before our next visit. It couldn't have been a coincidence that the very first door we decided to knock after hours of contacting just happened to be a golden new. That was a humbling experience.

Elder Cullimore and I seem to work very well together. He is a magnificent missionary. He is very focused on his purpose, and teaches with power and simplicity. Every day his skills in the Spanish language blow me away. For only having 5 months in the mission, he has an incredible potential to grow and improve. I am very excited for the opportunity that we have to work together, and the chance I have to learn from him. I have no doubt we will see miracles here!

This week I really got to understand better the phrase 'if at first you don't succeed, try and try again'. Truly, this week followed that model perfectly. It's like I said last week, diligence is key. We had to give it everything we had to meet our goals this week, and just when it seemed like nothing was going to work, that is when God blessed us with miracles. I know that if we continue to push on, and try and try again, we will eventually find success. It's like the sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. Alma 26:31 outlines the success they had after pressing on, even through the most difficult of times: "Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us." If the sons of Mosiah would have quit the first time they were thrown into jail, none of those miracles would have happened. I hope that someday I can have the courage they had to endure even the hardest of trials.

A trip to Tortosa on Preparation day to see a castle (but no picture of the castle)