Email 74 - Quite Possibly Chrissy's Last Email from Madrid! (Homeward bound December 30...15 Days Away!)

"Best Trio Ever"

Hermana Grover, Hermana Pavez, Hermana Ross

"At the end of Hna Ross´s first full day! So, so tired, haha."

 "Stumbling upon a Christmas festival! We went back during medio dia for crepes :) mmmm. That juggler guy ran up to us and yelled, "IT´S CHRISTMAS!" and gave me a big hug before I could do anything about it, haha.

Good stuff. Good week. Love you!" 

 "We tried to replicate the shot Hna F and I have of when we first met our trainers. Cute!"
Below is the original photo from the start of Hermana Fuller's and Grover's missions.

"Freakin´ out over the crazy glasses Mom sent! Haha, I wish I´d had my voice recorder out when we all, one by one, said, "wait, I don´t get--WHAT THE HECK! HOW DOES IT DO THAT??" Hahaha. Those glasses turn lights into little reindeer heads!"

Hey guys :)

This week has been NUTS! And also fantastic. My companions are hilarious and I love them. Here´s a little bit about the two crazies I´m living with:

Hermana Ross: 7 days into the mission, 5´7, from PENNSYLVANIA, so she and I get to talk about wonderful things like Tastykakes, Philly cheese steaks, Hanover pretzels etc. Everytime she says the word "day," her NE accent makes me smile. When she´s not wearing her Harry Potter shirt to bed, she´s wearing a Phillies shirt. She has a really chill sense of humor, catches movie quotes, and has the best let´s-take-this-as-it-comes attitude I´ve ever seen in a new missionary. SUPER impressive. Also, her family looks really familiar and she said Dad looks familiar to her (crossing paths in PA? Or the Pre-mortal life? ;)

Hermana Pavez: 10 months into the mission, 5´, from Argentina but lives in Malaga! She´s the most adorable latina in the world. She´s teaching me how to flamenco dance and make yummy Argentinian desserts. Definitely the best teacher I´ve met out here in the mission field. She´s super patient, laughs at absolutely everything, and is always positive.

Yeah, I´m wondering how I got so lucky too :) We´ve been having a lot of fun together, and I´m amazed by how well we´re working together already. HUGE blessing.

What makes this all even cuter is that Hna Fuller´s training, too. So we started together, being trained, and now we finish together... training. PRECIOUS. It´s so funny to see our greenies hugging on each other and being the support that Hna F and I were together up in Gijon. Full circle, folks.

Unfortunately, I have some sad news. First off, I´m so, so touched by all of your prayers for E--, that was really sweet and I hope to tell her in some opportune moment that you´ve been doing that. She does, however, still have her agency, and has chosen to not come to church, keep commitments, or prevent her boyfriend from moving back in with her. We´re pretty bummed, but we´re still looking for a miracle!

We´ve seen a couple already, too. This Sunday I was thrilled to see an old investigator named A-- (I never taught her but had met her while Hna H was still here. She and her previous comp had taught her a lot), and Veronica show up to church!! Also, A----- came again (I don´t think I´ve told you about her, she´s a girl from Paraguay who had showed up to church a while ago saying, "I´m an inactive member who was baptized in my country 6 years ago and I want to come back" but then disappeared again). Good stuff! We´re also meeting with a lot of new people and actually had a super solid lesson with Aida´s aunt this week about the Plan of Salvation.

This week I´ve been doing everything I can to be the missionary I want to be. I´ve thought a lot about times when I´ve felt the happiest with who I am, and I´ve been trying to pinpoint what changes to make me feel that way, and I finally got it. When I´m doing all I can to turn outward and not think about myself, that´s when I´m the happiest. I remember once, in high school, making the goal to ALWAYS do the little things I would want someone else to do for me (like going out to their car to get something with them, helping lug band practice equipment during a water-break, helping someone out with the crazy guidance counselors, etc), and that was without a doubt my happiest time in that crazy place.

Now, with two new companions, there´s always a LOT to be done. There´s a lot of records to update, organizing to do, meals to prepare, etc, but the thing that´s making it all so easy is that it seems that all three of us have that same "turning outward" mindset. I hope to keep this up, as well as we have this week, for the rest of my time out here, and for the rest of my life.

Now, I´m not exactly sure how this´ll work, but I think this may be the last time I get to email you guys from over here in Spain. I hope you all know how much I love you and how much closer I´ve felt to every one of you since entering the mission field. I´ve thought about you, prayed and fasted for you, more than you could know. 

I know with all my heart, and with everything else I´ve got, that what I´ve been out here teaching and you´ve been back home living is true. Pure, untarnished, unchanged truth. Heavenly Father lives. Jesus Christ came to the Earth as an innocent child, suffered for each of us personally, and was resurrected after His death. And my favorite part is that He hasn´t gone anywhere! He still lives and He still can be an active part of our lives if we let ourselves feel and follow His loving influence. 

I´m so, SO grateful for the chance I´m having to share this message with my buddies over here in this crazy, wonderful country. And I´m grateful that the time to be finally reunited with you all, my very best buddies, is coming up. 

I sure love you guys!!

-Hermana Chrissy Grover

PS- We´ll Skype at 4:30pm my time here in Spain, which I assume is 12:30 your time over in the 321. See ya then!