What a great week we've had! I'm currently in the Apple Store in Madrid because today was temple day, and I'm not sure how much time I'll be here to write, so I'm just going to jump right in!
This week was a CRAZY WEEK!
1, I survived zone conference and I ended up translating just about the whole thing from English to Spanish for my companion. It was so cool!
This past week we had 2 intercambios with the hermanas in our zone- the hermanas from San Sebastián de Los Reyes, and the hermanas from Barrio 4. Intercambios are exhausting and I'm always so tired, but they are SO rewarding and FULL of miracles and we are always learning and growing together.
I wanted to talk a little about the intercambio with the Sanse hermanas because it was increíble! I was with cute hermana Saili from New Zealand! She is a new new missionary and only has like 6 weeks here in Spain, this is her first transfer, but she is amazing, speaks so well and is SO excited to work! She reminds me a little of myself at the beginning of the mission because she wants to talk and teach so bad, but she's just so nervous and doesn't want to mess up.. (haha sounds like me a little) We headed to have a lesson with Dorita and we planned to talk about the Book of Mormon and Thomas S Monson, and Joseph Smith. It was a great lesson, and somehow towards the end, we got talking about how God can really take all of our pains away, and I ended up sharing a little bit about my concussion, what happened and my experience with the atonement and how I really felt that through Christ, my pains were taken away. We challenged Dorita to read the first chapter in the BOM and pray to see if we really have a living prophet today and if the Book of Mormon is true. To close the lesson, she offered the sweetest prayer, asking god to protect me, bless me, and to take away my pains. I went home after the lesson, and that night I didn't have to sleep with the ice pack on my head!! (I've had to sleep with the ice on my head almost every night of the mission just because of headaches.)
After intercambios finished Friday afternoon, hermanita Estrada and I went back to Dora's to see how everything was going. We get there and she had been watching "the life of Thomas S. Monson" movie (by herself she found that?!!) and to make it even better she listened to the Book of Mormon that morning and she was SO excited! When we first walked into her door, I gave her a giant hug just thanking her for her prayer that she said for me the night before and she told me that she had been praying for me all morning as well. She is just the cutest. We shared with her a video from the easter indicative "Prince of Peace" about gratitude. I love this video, and every time it gets me emotional because it's a story about a family with a daughter who gets sick and the dad explains how the doctors say that they should remember their best memories of their daughter saying "mommy" or "daddy" because she may never speak again. It reminds me of when I had my accident because something very similar was said to me about how I may never be the same again and how I might always have headaches for the rest of my life. In that moment when the doctor told me that, I knew it wasn't true and I really felt the biggest peace and I know that was from my Savior and loving Father in Heaven. After we watched the video with Dorita, I testified about the love of Christ and how I know that he truly is there with us Always and he really can take our pains away (physically, mentally, spiritually).
I feel so grateful for my trials and I feel so blessed for the help, and strength that I always receive from my father and savior. I know They live. Their power, the priesthood is real and God knows. (And just an update on my head- yes everything is all good. I haven't put ice on it since that night with Dorita. All is well! And I feel so blessed!) and even when i did, and maybe if I need to again, I feel so blessed because I have been so blessed with the strength that I have received, especially on the mission. My headaches remind me to really humble myself, trust in god, and ask, for help and the strength that I need. And every time I've done that, I've always received the help and extra push to keep on going.
Oh! So this morning as we were leaving the temple, a lady came up to me and asked me in English "where do you come from?" I responded and said the United States and she continued with the question asking what I was doing here in Spain. I told her that I was a missionary and she said, "ohhh I thought you were like 13!..." she then continued, asking something about how I was liking the MTC. She asked how old I was, I told her 20, and then continued to tell her that I have been here in Spain for a little more than a year. She was so shocked and continued to ask if all the missionaries in the temple were "real missionaries", i said yes and she was still shocked and couldn't believe it because we all looked so young. She asked me how I was liking the mission, i told her that I loved it, and she said, "i believe it- it shows in your face. Keep up the great work hermana" We hugged and we were both on our separate ways. As I turned around to finish gathering my stuff, I couldn't help but have a smile on my face. Even with very little sleep, waking up at 4:40 to make it to an early temple session, I am so happy, so excited, and I feel so blessed and happy to do the work of the lord! We are so blessed to have a temple here in our mission too!
This week the miracles have been flowing and I feel so blessed. One Sunday we had 8 OF OUR FRIENDS AT CHURCH! Yahooo!! Dorita is still progressing great towards her baptismal goal, and all is well! I love life, I love you all! That's all for now and this week- love you!
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