Math missionary style-x(funny) + y(Preston) + z(unknown)=Busy

What a blessing it has been to have Elder Oliveira here. I´ve already told you that he´s from Brasil but he has lived in Málaga since he was 3. He has such a funny accent when he speaks. It´s not a Brasilian accent, it´s an Andaluz (the southern part of Spain) accent. When he speaks Portuguese, he doesn´t have a Brazilian accent either, he speaks with the Andaluz accent in Portuguese too. He´s learning English, but he´s not that good so we only ever speak Spanish. He is super funny and I know we will have lots of success here. This week has been kind of hard because we were in a trio almost all week because Elder Farah (one of the other missionaries from the branch that lives with us) didn´t get a companion. His companion was the old secretary to President and had to stay to train the new one. But he arrives today so we will be able to focus on our area instead of having to focus on 2 areas. We don´t have any baptismal dates right now, but we are working with a great family from Bolivia that could get baptized any second because they´ve already been to church over 5 times and to a baptism. I personally feel as though the mother is a little scared and so she doesn´t want to get baptized just yet. And the daughters just follow the mom. I have faith that they will be baptized soon. That´s pretty much all the news for this week. Venga. Hasta luego  

Another miracle baptism!

This week we had a miracle. We had a baptism! Usually we commit people to baptism 2 weeks in advance so they can prepare and go to church a couple times, but this time we did something different. Adela is a friend of Maricarmen (a member) and she has been to church 2 or 3 times before in the past few weeks, but we haven´t had an opportunity to meet with her until this week. So on Monday after preparation day, we met with her and realized she was really prepared. We committed her to be baptized this Saturday and she agreed. She is wonderful. She reads the Book of Mormon every day and prays. When we taught her the Plan of Salvation, she cried tears of joy because she realized that her 2 sons that have died are not lost. She asked me to baptize her, and I included some pictures. She is from A Coruña, Spain and she is one of the nicest people I´ve met. Also, some news today. You might be wondering why I´m emailing on a Tuesday. It´s because of transfers! Elder McMahon left to serve in Barcelona. I´m staying here, and I´m getting a new companion. His name is Elder Oliveira, he´s from Brazil but he´s lived in Spain most of his life. I don´t know what he´s like because we´re going to pick him up from the airport tonight. He´ll be my first native-speaking companion though. And my first companion not from the US. I´m excited. 

Elder McMahon, me, Adela, and Maricarmen at Adela's baptism.  

A baptism, a beautiful view, and better with the language

Dear Everyone,

This week has been amazing. On Saturday, I performed the baptism of Blanca, our amazing investigator. She is about 60 years old, Spaniard, and very very sweet. When we first met with her, she only met with us because she was being nice. She had her own beliefs and told us they would not change any time soon. She didn´t believe in Jesus Christ, or the Bible. She believed in God, but as more of an energy that moves everything and not a physical being. But as she read the Book of Mormon and prayed every night, and continued to meet with us, the Spirit testified of the truth of our message and changed her heart. She was so grateful to me for baptizing her, and she bore a testimony right after her baptism that made another investigator that we had brought to watch the baptism cry. I will attach pictures of the baptism. This last week, we went to one of the most beautiful places I´ve ever seen in my entire life. It´s called Cap de Formentor. It´s the very northernmost tip of the island and there is a lighthouse there that is beautiful. The views up there rival any I´ve ever seen. I´ve also gotten a lot better at the language just this week. I´ve felt a shift in my ability and I feel a lot more comfortable speaking it. It´s just been a really really good week.

Old buildings, new Saints, cold weather, blue sea!

Dear Everyone,

This week we have been busy meeting with our investigators, helping prepare them for baptism. Blanca, a Spanish lady of about 60 or so years, is our most prepared investigator. We are still working with the family of Maria, Veronica, and Ariana towards baptism. They don´t feel ready quite yet though. Blanca has a baptismal date for the 8th, and we are praying she will feel ready when the day comes. I have really grown to love Mallorca, and I am for sure coming back. It is so beautiful. We are going today with a member out to a lighthouse which is pretty famous around here. It´s on the completely other side of the island, which is about an hour drive. It´s such a small island isn´t it? When we ask if someone can give someone who doesn´t have a car a ride to church, and they have to drive 10 minutes out of their way to get them, they act as if we´ve asked them to drive from BC to California. The other thing that´s different here is when it gets even a little cold, everyone bundles up and asks you "aren´t you cold?". I always say no, I´m from Canada and I´m used to there being snow right about now. It´s actually really hot in the morning here. I´m sure it´s boiling in the summer. I love the history here, and the old buildings. I also love the bull fighting stadium we walk by every so often. It´s huge, and it´s be quite an experience to watch a bull fight there. They don´t happen very often though. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the cathedral we visited last week and the view from the steps. You can see out over the Mediterranean with palm trees lining your view. It really is beautiful.

These pictures are from a cathedral we went and visited here in Palma last P-day.

                                                                        The Mediterranean Sea!  Pretty cool, eh?