This week has been
a great week getting to know the city of Hospitalet and the Ward members, which
are amazing! I have never been offered so
much food before on my mission! They are so loving and welcoming. They love the
missionaries and it is great to be with them. It has been perfect for us to get
into their homes so they can get to know me, the "new missionary." They
have gone through a lot of hard times, but what I have learned is that the majority
of them have such amazing optimistic attitudes. They just move forward in life with
faith and their testimonies. It is a privilege to be here and to serve them.
It is also a privilege
to be with Hermana Walker, and she is an amazing example to me. She is a hard worker
and my favorite thing about her is her contacting skills. She is SO good at contacting
people on the streets! We each have been taking a Book of Mormon with us as we leave
the house and we pray that we will find people to give the books to. We pray that
we can find the elect and ready people.
It was raining and
kind of dreary outside one day---not many people were out on the streets. We had
a neat experience as we were waiting for an investigator to answer their door. A
lady came up and we started talking to her just asking how her day was. I was looking
for a perfect opportunity to give her my Book of Mormon. I started testifying of
the truths of the gospel and then out of the corner of my eye I see a rope being
lowered and keys at the end of it. They hung there for a while and then started
going back up. Then I realized that they were for her. So then I told her and she
grabbed them off the rope real quick and then it went back up to the piso window
where it came from. I was laughing so hard! I had never seen anything like that
before. I laughed so hard which made her laugh and it lightened up the tension and
we had a connection. I gave her the book and told her that it has changed my life.
I told her that it´s my most prized possession. She was so flattered. She was so
excited to take the book and she thanked me multiple times. We have a cita set up
with her later this week. But, it was just neat how much laughter and smiling can
change the mood. The Spirit can radiate stronger when we have a smile on our face
and when we love the work.
I also feel privileged
to be sharing the piso with Hermana Mancera and Hermana Farrell. They are amazing!!!!!!
I am learning so much from them and I feel really close to them. We do need to speak
more Spanish in the piso-I personally would like to improve that. I often tell Hermana
Mancera this and apologize to her that we don´t speak enough Spanish. She is so
sweet though and always says, "no pasa nada, necesito aprender el ingles...es
mi meta." So we are helping her and she has such a good attitude about it!
We taught an English class in the church building on Saturday and we taught directions.
We did it in a fun and memorable way, enough for Hermana Mancera to record all of
it in her journal! It was a really neat experience. I also love Hermana Farrell.
She has taught me so much and I look up to her a lot. We have had amazing conversations
and it is exciting to be involved in the work of the Lord with these great girls.
I feel very blessed
to be here. There's a lot that I need to improve in myself, but I am grateful for
the interactions and relationships I am forming because everyone has influenced
my life in some way for the better.
Love,
Laura
Overlooking Barcelona
Overlooking Barcelona
In a cave - Barcelona
Looking outside of apartment balcony in Hospitalet
