Email 24 - "Feelin´the love over here in Gijón :)"

Our picture that we were going to try to turn into Christmas cards (something that just really doesn´t exist here, haha. We were missing Walmart for sure as we tried to find a place to make some!)

 



 

 

Some cool stuff around Gijon

 

 

Hi family!

 

Love the pictures as always. I´m glad to hear it´s been a fun Christmas break for everybody! Thanks to everyone for the Christmas cards and packages! Feelin´the love over here in Gijón :)

 

I´m looking forward to checking out those GoPro videos sometime, Brad! 

 

On Christmas day, after Skyping with you guys (which was so awesome), we went to deliver cookies (aaand all the other Christmas treats we´d been given, haha) and sang Jingle Bells at each of the doors. The reactions were pretty great. I don´t think these people have ever experienced opening their door, being sang a really obnoxious Christmas song, and then handed cookies. But they loved it! (I think)

 

Oh, and Mom, that´s the first counselor (Carmelo) who added you on Facebook. Make sure to confirm him and you´ll find a bunch of pictures of the missionaries on there.

 

(Editor:  Reference to missionaries elsewhere facing struggles...) If you´re not careful, the tough parts of missionary work can accumulate really fast and become a little incapacitating. But hey, prayer works, and if you´re focused, that stuff doesn´t have any power.

 

One thing that Hna King taught me was, when I´m thinking about something back home or stuff about BYU or whatever other post-mission-life thing, it´s helpful to write it down, stick it in a box, close it, and forget about it. It´s written down, you don´t need to think about it, you won´t forget it because it´ll still be in that box when you finish your mission.

 

Anyway, wanna hear about my week??

 

Haha, good.

 

So we had the Primary Program last Sunday in sacrament meeting, and that was possibly one of the most precious things I´ve ever seen. All 8 of the primary kids were up there, and they had Hna Zitting and I helping with a few things. It was super cute.

It´s tough not being able to love on kids the way you can when you´re not a missionary. They´re all so adorable, and I think often of Sister Wixom´s plea to us in the MTC to pay attention to and "love them, for me."

 

We also ate at Omar´s (new investigator) Mexican restaurant this week! Ok, I really didn´t like Mexican food before my mission, but his food is super duper good. It´s fun having somewhere to stop by when we don´t have an appointment, and we just buy a soda and sit and talk with him and get references from people that walk in.

 

I love having "people." Having connections as a missionary is the best! We´ve got a lady that we always talk to in a fruit shop, the lady who owns the second-hand store here loves us, and the guys that own this locotorio (computer place ;) are the best!

 

They´re 3 muslim guys, and I have grown to love them a lot. They love just talking about life, trying to learn English, and talking to us about our religions. They really have their priorities straight in life- much more than a lot of Christians that we know here. 

 

Last night, we stopped by to say hi, and they gave us pizza, we taught some English, and we got the references of everyone that walked into their shop. It´s the best! They gave us our Skype-time for free on Wednesday, too :)

 

Anyhoo, M--u´s doing a lot better. She was reeally sick this week, but the Elders came with us and gave her a blessing and her fever went down and she was able to eat directly afterwards. She has so, so much faith. She was holding my hand during the blessing and would squeeze my hand with all her strength everytime Elder Alhovuori said something.

 

On Sunday, because Hna Zitting needed to play prelude, Hna Fuller and I picked up M--u and helped her make the hour-long walk to church. We sat down just in time for the sacrament :) It was her first time to church since October!

 

F----, on the other hand, is not doing well. I swear I´m going to have a head of gray hairs by the time I leave this area after working with him, haha. I sometimes wish I could just stick him in a room somewhere where I know he´ll be okay! But we´ll keep praying and fasting for him and something´s going to work out!

 

We´ve been blessed with a few new investigators this week. One of them, J--n, is an economist or something and we taught him in his office. After clearing up that Mormons aren´t Amish, we don´t do bethrothals, etc etc, he asked if he could take a picture of us to show to his friends that we´re just normal people! Hahaha. I hope he posts that on Facebook so people will recognize and talk to us in the street.

 

It´s interesting how people just really don´t think we are "normal" though. Spanish families here have a really hard time accepting the baptisms of their family members. The other Hnas have a recent convert who is terrified of telling her family that she´s a member. It´s really sad.

 

In Branch FHE this week, Santi ended his lesson sharing a powerful testimony about his experience with that. He explained how 8 of his 10 close buddies from his pre-baptism life (he´s only been a member for 9 years) have lost their families completely because of their drinking/smoking lifestyles. Santi´s wife, Elena, was baptized when they had three little kids, and Santi didn´t join the church until another 21 years had passed. He said that once, he came home from being out with his friends and heard Elena praying out loud, saying, "¿Oh, Dios, cuando cambiará este hombre?" (Oh God, when will this man change?). 

 

He told us how his relationship as a husband and father was salvaged by the Gospel. I think it really helped the Hnas convert to hear that.

 

Oh, and Mom, I loved the "Quick to Observe" talk from Elder Bednar. Especially on the mission, I´ve definitely noticed how we´re blessed by being quick to "look or notice and obey," and that´s what brings us the gift of understanding and discernment that Elder Bednar was talking about. 

 

I was reading this week in Mormon about the destruction of the Nephites, and everything bad that happened was the consequence of them neglecting the things of God.

 

At one desperate moment, Mormon tries to reunite his men with a pep-talk (Mormon 2:23-24, 26), but without the strength of the Lord that backed up the words of Moroni (Alma 46:12-13,21), the people were only stirred up "somewhat to vigor" and they were left to battle depending on their own strength. There´s a lot to learn from the differeneces in the scriptures of those that were "quick to observe" and those who weren´t!

 

Well, that´s all I´ve got for this week, and I unfortunately didn´t take many pics or get a chance to do another recording, but I hope you´re all enjoying the break and having fun! Keep sending photos! :)

 

I love you all so much! I´m so grateful that the Gospel is what has united our family, and that we haven´t ever had to worry about it being something that would cause contention or division.

 

Have a good week!

 

Love,

 

Hna Grover