Leon Week 3

Hello all!!!

So, this week has flow by. I cannot believe that it's P-day already!! This week was way fun, I had my first Intercambios (exchanges), which just means you switch companions for the day, and just learn from them. Okay so I just want to give a little background on everything so you don't get lost. So since we are up in the very tippy top of Spain, there are not a lot of missionaries here, because there are not a lot of people here like there is in Madrid. So, because of that we went down to Madrid to do our Intercambio. Okay so we went down to Barrio 1. For some refrence, Madrid is split up into sections, kind of. The best way to describe it is to think of New York, and how they have bouroughs, like Queens, Brooklyn, etc.. So Madrid has Barrios, which just means neighborhood. So Barrio 1 shares the very center of Madrid with Barrio 5. You can look it up, but the other name for Barrio 1 is Madrid Chamartin, and the other name for Barrio 5 is Sol, which is where they have most of the touristy spots like the Prado, or the Palace. Okay so yeah, We had to take a train down, or a "Renfe" which is the way everybody gets around here because most people don't have cars, and it's really fast! Alright now that I got all of the background out of the way, I will tell you about my week.

Tuesday 6th:

Okay, so we live right above this pharmacy, and so we pass by it everyday. So every like three days or so, my companion and I go into this pharmacy, because they have a scale, and we dont want to buy one so we just go there. So we went in today, and she weighed herself, (she lost a kilo) and we made the lady working there check us both again for the Piojos (lice). So all of the strenuous, and careful brushing and looking, my companion is finally lice free!!! Oh,and the lady checking my hair said that my hair was both really pretty, and very clean, and that if i got lice I would never be able to get rid of them because of how much hair I have. So that was cool, and terrifying at the same time. 

Wednesday 7th:

Okay so today, We went to a Pueblo, or like a little suburb of Leon. It's called Trobajo del camino, because it is on the camino del santigo, which is this trail that a bunch of people come and walk, and part of the goes through Leon. We have to gt up at 6:00 a.m. to go to the train station tomorrow.

Thursday 8th:

Alrighty, so we got up at the crack of dawn this morning, It was pretty rough. So we went to the train station and took our train to Madrid. I had aspirations to read Jesus the Christ, or some conference talks but I started on the first page, and immediately fell asleep. It's always hard to stay awake now unless I am walking, like always. Boy am I glad that I broke my shoes in before the mission because my blisters would be way worse. But yeah, so we got to Madrid and the Barrio 1 hermanas picked us up. Hna Clements & Hna Shriever. They are both way cool, but I got to know Hna Clement way more because she was my compy for the day. She is from Utah, (Big surprise there) but she was from bountiful, and Elder simmonds, who was in my MTC district and is also in my mission was in her ward, so she knew him which was cool. She goes home this transfer, which ends October 4th, and our zone leader, Elder Priest who is serving here in Leon goes home then too, but its cool though. So it was way cool, in Barrio 1, but they Hna's there use the metro, and bus system which is just insane. SO we got on the bus, and there was so many people crammed into the bus that I couldn't breath, but we only had to ride that one for like 30 minutes.. Anyhow, we met lots of cool people, and taught some great lessons, oh and I got to play with this cute little dog named Lloyd. Then we had Correlation, which is a meeting with all of the missionaries in the same area as us, and also the ward mission leader, so yeah we had one with the Barrio 1 Elders, and us, and I ran into my friend Elder Pacham, who was also in my MTC district. It was soooo fun to catch up. But yeah, and I met some Elder who is from Northern California, and just happened to know where Cobb Mountain is because he used to go hunting there, it was way cool. Then we went the Burger King, and got some Ice cream, which was bad news bears.

Friday 9th:

Okay so we woke up, and took one of those ridiculous buses back to the train station, and then go on the train. It is a really pretty view, It looks kind of like Texas a little bit, jut because they have lots of open fields, and tractors, but also kind of like Cali because of the Vineyards. So pretty. So after we got back we walked some, and then visited one of our friends who owns a store in the ritzy part of Leon, like a boutique I guess, but the clothes are super cute. SO she is way cool, and she had her nephews with her so i got the hangout with them, one was 7, and the other was 9. Then we did some more walking, and then we went back to the Capilla to have Noche de rama, which is like ward, family home evening. So we teach a little lesson, and then play a game or something, then eat some snacks. Its way fun. Then bed.

Saturday 10th:

Oh I don't know if i told y'all but the Branch president who is like a bishop assigned me a talk last sunday, and I finally wrote it today. It was on the Importance of the Sabbath day. We had weekly planning today, which is basically when we plan lessons for all of our less active members, progressing and non-progressing investigators. So we didn't leave the piso until 4:00p.m., bt the we went to this family who feeds us sunday night to help them paint the piso, so we were there for a few hours, which was fun. Glad I got so much practice before the mission.

Sunday 11th:

SO we went to church today, and I gave my talk, which i will put at the bottom so you can google translate it:) It was good, and I didnt even have to look at it too much, which was a testimony to me of the reality of the Gift of Tongues. Then we went back the our family's house for dinner, the ones we helped paint, and we had spaghetti. IT was way good. So the dad, he talks really fast, and he asks me questions that are really profound, so normally I have a really hard time understanding him because he uses big words that I dont think I would know in english. But at dinner I could understand everything he said, and it was just crazy..

Monday 12th:

Well we just woke up, and cleaned the piso, and went grocery shopping and then I finally made some covers for my planner, and then we made some no bake cookies with some of Elder priests real life American peanut butter. They are pretty tasty. And now were at the capilla emailing, and playing ping pong, Etc..                                                 

Okay so here is my talk:

Exodus 16: 25, 28-30

25 Y dijo Moisés: Comedlo hoy, porque hoy es día de reposo para Jehová; hoy no lo hallaréis en el campo.

28 Y Jehová dijo a Moisés: ¿Hasta cuándo rehusaréis guardar mis mandamientos y mis leyes?

29 Mirad que Jehová os dio el día de reposo, y por eso os da en el sexto día pan para dos días. Quédese, pues, cada uno en su lugar, y nadie salga de su lugar en el séptimo día.

30 Así el pueblo reposó el séptimo día.

Exodus 31: 13, 16-17

13 Y tú hablarás a los hijos de Israel, diciendo: De cierto vosotros guardaréis mis días de reposo, porque es señal entre yo y vosotros por vuestras generaciones, para que sepáis que yo soy Jehová que os santifico.

16 Guardarán, pues, el día de reposo los hijos de Israel, celebrándolo por sus generaciones como convenio perpetuo.

17 Señal es para siempre entre yo y los hijos de Israel; porque en seis días hizo Jehová los cielos y la tierra, y en el séptimo día cesó y reposó.

3 Nephi 18: 3, 7-8, 11-13

3 Y cuando los discípulos hubieron llegado con pan y vino, tomó el pan y lo partió y lo bendijo; y dio a los discípulos y les mandó que comiesen.

7 Y haréis esto en memoria de mi cuerpo que os he mostrado. Y será un testimonio al Padre de que siempre os acordáis de mí. Y si os acordáis siempre de mí, tendréis mi Espíritu para que esté con vosotros.

8 Y sucedió que cuando hubo dicho estas palabras, mandó a sus discípulos que tomaran del vino de la copa y bebieran de él, y que dieran también a los de la multitud para que bebiesen.

11 Y siempre haréis esto por todos los que se arrepientan y se bauticen en mi nombre; y lo haréis en memoria de mi sangre, que he vertido por vosotros, para que testifiquéis al Padre que siempre os acordáis de mí. Y si os acordáis siempre de mí, tendréis mi Espíritu para que esté con vosotros.

12 Y os doy el mandamiento de que hagáis estas cosas. Y si hacéis siempre estas cosas, benditos sois, porque estáis edificados sobre mi roca.

13 Pero aquellos que de entre vosotros hagan más o menos que esto, no están edificados sobre mi roca, sino sobre un cimiento arenoso; y cuando caiga la lluvia, y vengan los torrentes, y soplen los vientos, y den contra ellos, caerán, y las puertas del infierno están ya abiertas para recibirlos.

Hola así que estaba esperando no tener una discourso hasta que realmente aprendí a hablar español, pero parece que no es el caso. pero mi tema de hoy es en el día de reposo, y para mí lo más importante acerca del día de reposo es la cena santa.

el día de reposo es para nosotros. como las escrituras dicen en éxodo 16.

¿por qué tenemos el día de reposo? estamos bautizado por lo que puede convertirse en limpio de nuestros pecados, sino porque no estamos perfecto, hacemos errores. debido a la gran misericordia de Dios, que nos ha dado la Santa cena, o de una manera podemos ser limpio de nuestros pecados cada semana, al igual que estábamos bautizado de nuevo. tenemos el día de reposo para que podamos ser santificado a través del espíritu Santo, o en otras palabras, estar limpio de nuestros pecados continuamente. como la escritura en éxodo 31 dice.

el señor nos ha dado el día de reposo para nosotros recordar la promete que hemos hecho con él. pero, participar en la Santa cena no es un momento de experiencia, pero es algo que hacer durante nuestras vidas. como las escrituras dice en Mateo 5: 48.

el señor ha mandado a ser perfecto, pero ¿cómo podemos hacer esto? bueno por nosotros mismos que no puede, pero la Santa cena es la forma en que Dios nos ha dado a seguir su mandato. de acuerdo con 3 nefi 18.

cuando nos participar en la Santa cena nos prometió siempre es el espíritu de ser con nosotros. cuando nos siga las mandamientos de Dios y recuerde siempre él, estamos en su Roca. sé que cuando nos esforzamos para seguir sus mandamientos manteniendo el día de reposo vamos a cambio en la mejor las personas, y será bendecido con la paz en nuestros hogares y en nuestras vidas, y se sentirá el amor de Dios tanto que vamos a nunca puede decir que nos sentimos por sí solo, porque los brazos abiertos, y su corazón está lleno de amor para nosotros.

Okay, now are some thoughts and observations that I have about spain.

So medio-dia is a real thing, all of the shops, and restaurants, and stores close from like 1:30-4:30. Also there Is no one in the streets because thats when everyone goes to their houses and takes naps.

They dont have brown sugar, or chocolate chips here.

All of the old men have these little gold bar things that hang from their belt loops, its kind of cool.

No one wakes up before 10:30 in the morning.

When the people see my companion and I walking down the street, the full blown stare us down. At first it kind of freaked me out, but now its just normal. You know how when your a kid and your mom tells you not to stare at stranger, here their moms stare with them, but its kind of funny.

No body has air conditioning here, or dryers, so they hang their clothes up to dry out of their windows.

Oh, the side walks are really wide here, its like a little road.

Well thats it folks, Love you a ton and can't wait to here from you all.
Thanks so much for writing me!!!