2-17-13

Hello Everyone!!

Wow!  What a week!  Happy late Valentines Day!  I hope you all had a fun day!  I had THEE BEST Valentines Day EVER here!  This week has been challenging but has also been really rewarding for me.  I know that Heavenly Father has been teaching me so much and I´m so grateful.  Today is the first day of my second transfer...how crazy!  I´m half way through my training!  I´m here in Torrejón for another 6 weeks at least with my companion.  Yay!

So, Hermana Nydegger and I decided to make Rice Crispy treats for our investigators and for some people in the ward.  Ok...rice crispies are seriously the easiest and fastest thing to make for people!  They only have Chocolate Rice Crispy Cereal here, and they only have pink marshmellows, but they turned out great!  It was really fun!  And there was a family in the Torrejón ward who was sealed on Valentines Day in the Madrid Temple!  It was so perfect!  They had a big party at the Capilla (the Chapel) afterwards.  I wish we could have gotten to go to the sealing, but it was so fun to be at the party afterwards.  Ok...Spaniards....they know how to party!!!!!

It was SOOO fun!  I loved it!  Some of the people in the ward who I don´t know very well yet were there and they were dancing up a storm!  It was hilarious and so fun.  The ward is so unified and they all include eachother and just have fun together.  I loved it!!

I´ve been learning so much here in Torrejón.  I´m so grateful this is my first área.  Haha...sorry this computer keeps putting random accent marks on my English words haha!  Spain!

But really...Torrejón.  I love being here and I´m grateful for the things that Heavenly Father is letting me learn here.  Something specific that I learned this past week during my studies, was that, when I study Spanish with the intent to help someone, (...not just study something that I just want to study, just because) then I am able to learn more Spanish.  I am able to fit more into my studies and things truly stick in my brain better.  When I don´t study with that intent, I don´t learn as much or remember as much.  It really is amazing and crazy at the same time.  I know the Lord is blessing me as I am trying to have the right intent in my heart. 

We were watching a part of "the district" the other day during my training - I was touched by something that one of the missionaries said.  He said that the most important thing that he thinks about everyday is that he doesn´t want to let any of His weaknesses keep him from helping someone come to Christ.  I am learning everyday how important it is to really really really forget yourself in this service.  I don´t want to let my weaknesses get in the way of helping someone here. 

Yesterday we had our second lesson with a man named Marino, he is Dominicano.  He is a sweet heart!  I love him!  He has come to our English classes here several times and his son is actually a member already.  And I actually can understand alot of what he says.  His Spanish is easier for me to understand.  We watched the short clip of the first visión with him and he absolutely loved it.  Just before we watched the movie though, we were asking him why he wasn´t able to come to church (we have invited him several times since meeting him, to come with his son to church).  Out of the blue, he said..."well I know that I need to be baptized into this church, but I just don´t know when I want to make that decisión."  You should have seen Hermana Nydegger´s face!  Her jaw literally dropped and smiled at the same time.  It was so funny!  We weren´t expecting him to tell us that, but we were so excited!  He has a testimony of the góspel.  He actually has met with the missionaries off and on for years now and his son has been a member for a while.  We asked him what his doubts were and what would stop him from making that choice.  He didn´t really tell us anything, but he said he wants to learn more and that he wants to get baptized!  So we were really excited!  He´s just this happy, cute old man who is super "tranquilo"...they say that here for people who are super chill...not sure on the spelling :).  But, anyway - we want to keep talking to him about how commitments prepare him to make covenants.  I don´t think he really understands all of the blessings that await him if he would just keep commitments (come to church for one).  He is happy with his life the way it is, but he has no idea yet of ALL of the blessings that could come if he acted on his faith and made the decisión to really be baptized.  We are really hopeful!  He is so great!

Anyway - I´m excited for another week!  I hope you all have a great week too!  Good luck with everything going on.  I love you and I´m grateful for all of you in my life.

Hermana Carroll