Email 35 - "This might just have been the very best week of my life."

"I had the happiest, most fulfilling moment of my life as I watched Elvyn (above) walk into the temple for his first time. Just before going in, he shook my hand and said, 'Hermana, era por usted que me bauticé.' (I was baptized because of you)"

Members from Gijón!!! 

"Here are some fun things we see all over the place here: that pig meat I told you about (see those feet? gnarly), the old people exercise parks...

...and the door to the woman´s bathroom in the malls, haha."

"Spending medio día with Hermana Palomino´s best buds...

...and me and my sweet comp :)"

Hey family,

This might just have been the very best week of my life. I´ve never worked so hard at anything before!! Hermana Palomino and I set some pretty crazy goals, and even though we were running around and praying in the streets to find people to teach to reach the number of lessons we´d set, we reached it! And Heavenly Father put SO many prepared people in our path. 

As we look back, we´re still learning from the rough patches we had this transfer, and it´s been really cool seeing how Hna Palomino is being able to counsel her family with some really hard things now that she´s passed through some trials and we´re seeing miracles.

Like I said, we taught a lot of people this week. We continue working with F------o, who still won´t accept a baptismal date, but every time we meet, there´s a new, small change in him for the better. Every time. And A----a´s doing great, and she´s going on vacation this week but we all have a goal to read the chapters in the Book of Mormon that we would´ve read together.

S---y came to church for his first time yesterday and got to hear a kind of crazy talk on the literal nature of the law of consecration that ran waaaay overtime, haha, so we´ll see what he thought about that. We´ve been able to meet with him more often, and he always asks if we can meet on the temple grounds. I definitely don´t blame him for that!

And have I told you that we´re teaching a Dora and a Diego? Haha. Diego, and his brother, Fernando, are youth in our ward, but we´re teaching their Mom, Dora, who´s never been baptized even though all 4 of her children are active members. Workin´ on that. 

We also taught a lady named F------a twice this week, and she´s ADORABLE. She´s a Catholic from the Dominican Republic, and she´s very determined to find out for herself if what we´re teaching her is true. The biggest issue we´re facing with her is her respectful but very athiest boyfriend whom she lives with.

Anyway, lots of newbies. Not a single medio día spent at home, and we have eating appointments planned for EVERYDAY this week! Woohoo! Hurray for no grocery shopping! Haha.

We spent the entire day on Saturday next to the temple, and it was incredible. Hermana Palomino´s ward in Elche came up and she got permission for us to spend medio día with her friends. So fun!

We planned temple tours for the whole day so we could be over there when the GIJON BRANCH CAME!!!!

I had the happiest, most fulfilling moment of my life as I watched Elvyn walk into the temple for his first time. Just before going in, he shook my hand and said, "Hermana, era por usted que me bauticé." (I was baptized because of you) 

Remember that part in the cartoon version of The Grinch where his heart grows so big so fast that it breaks the scale? Yeah, that´s pretty much what happened.

I was also really touched by the reactions of the handful of Gijón members that came to the temple when they saw me. Those wonderful people are like another family for me, and I can´t even tell you how happy it made me to see them!

And as we gave temple tours to some of our investigators and to some of the members that were there from wards far away, I was reminded of all the times we´ve visited church sites and met the missionaries there. I had a lot of fun being on the other side :)

It was just a good, solid week of trying to help people feel the love that the Savior has for them. Hermana Palomino and I have been feeling that love super strongly all week long, and we´ve been sharing 3 Nephi chapter 17 with a lot of people. When you read that chapter, there´s just no denying the love Jesus Christ has for each of us. I love imagining myself being there, wanting Him to stay a little longer, and seeing how He stayed, healed everyone in need of healing, blessed the little kids, and ministered individually to 2,000 people.

The cool part, is that directly after that beautiful experience, He shows these people and the rest of the world how to always feel that love- even when He´s not there personally to give it to us. In chapter 18, He administers the sacrament. That´s how we can feel His individual, powerful love for all of us. As we partake of the sacrament, one by one, we´re filled with His love before going out and tackling another week. 

He wants us to be happy, and He really wants us to always be receptive to the love that´s always available to us. And He promises us that we´ll be founded upon His Rock, if we´ll just accept Him and try to do as He´s taught. (3 Nephi 18:12, Helaman 5:12)

I sure love you guys, and I love being a missionary. I miss you guys, but I wouldn´t rather be anywhere else in the world right now!

Love you all!!!

-Hna Grover