Transfer 3 Week 6 in Leon:

Well this week has been really awesome!

I don't know what else to say.. Well, I guess Merry Christmas!!!

MARTES:

So we did some carpeta work. So we have an area book, which is records of all of the references we receive, and all of the lessons that we teach. So the church came out with an app called, "Area Book Planner" which is just the whole area book, and our agenda put into an app, so the we can use our tablets, instead of all of this paper, and our tablets. So we have been slowly moving over every single record from our paper area book to our tablets, but it just takes forever. So yeah we worked on that for awhile. Then we passed by some people, and then had English class, and noche de jas. So for noche de jas, we talked about testimonies, and how we can build them, and then we invited them to write their testimonies in a BOM, so that they have a special connection with the people who have their book. Then when we had it out, they have to pray for that person. It was really cool. 

MIERCOLES:

So we went and passed by some people then went and saw Carmen in the hospital. She is doing much better, but is still recovering. Then we went out contacting with Lucy, which was super fun, and met this awesome guy named Justo. So we gave him a BOM, but i really loved him because I'm at leas 89% sure that he was Santa Clause. He had it all, the beard, the hair, the laugh. It was Him..

JUEVES:

So We passed by Maria Dolores, and she is doing good as well. We taught her a very short and Sweet lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and Enduring to th end. These are the steps that we must take to follow Jesus Christ. These are the things that, as we do them, will help us to find lasting and true joy in this life and eternal life in the next. Then we did some pass bys, and then we got on the bus to Gijon. 

VIERNES:

So we did intercambios with the hermans of gijon, who are HNA MAZA, and HNA NIELSON. They are really amazing. So i was with Hna Maza in the morning, and then after medio dia, we switched. So with her we two lessons. One with this guys named Pablo who is really great. Then the other one was some lady that we found on the street named Maria Isabel,and her dog. It was cool, and the just taught her on a bench in some random park. Then we ended up handing out 8 BOM's just in between. Then I was with Hna Nielson, and we taught this really sweet girl named Amanda, who is from Brazil. Then all of the missionaries,and elders met up in the center, and Elder Walker and i sang, with him playing the Ukulele while the others spread out and talked to a bunch of people. IT was a BLAST! Then we got on the bus back home to Leon.

SABADO:

So Christmas EVE... So we had correlation with our mission leader. Which was really fun. He always says 10:30, but is never there until 11. It's hilarious. So then we had this cool activity with all of the young women, where we showed them how to make cookies and brownies, etc. Then we had pizza, and danced a little, and did some braiding, and other girly stuff like that. It was awesome. Then afterward we passed by this lady's house name Ines. She is Dominican and is just the sweetest lady that you could ever meet. So we went there, and she fed us sooooooooooooooooo much food, that i couldn't walk. Then we talked about god, and Jesus Christ , and our relationship with them. It was really great. Then we had choir practice, because we were going to sing a musical number on sunday. Then English class. Also we found out that i will be staying another transfer here in Leon so i wont leave until the 1 week of February. But sadly elder gearing is going to Sol, or Barrio 5, where they have all of the cool touristy stuff in Madrid. Then for dinner we went to maria Dolores, and talked with her, and her grand kids until it was time to go home. She gave us hankerchiefts. It was really tender.

DOMINGO:

OH Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.. So we had church, and then we went to the hospital, and sang for a few old people who were alone on Christmas, and then we went home and ate, and made no bake cookies. After wards we did more carpeta work, an then went to the capilla to Skye our families, which was awesome! I really do love them a lot.  Then after that we went to the familia Rivera's house, and shared Christmas dinner with them. It was awesome, and i definitely cried like 3 times because of how sweet they are! They also gave us gifts. I got a necklace, and some earrings. 

LUNES:

So today we cleaned, but we couldn't go grocery shopping because everything is closed, except the mall so we went there with the elders. So I went and bough like 5 shirts, and a skirt, and 2 cardies, and a pair of shoes. Then we ate Chinese buffet, which tasted really good, but was definitely a poor decision. Like always.  And now I'm writing you guys.

Well i have had a very very nice Christmas, and i hope that you all have too! Well i love you all very much, and i will talk to you next year.!!!

Transfer 3 Week 5 Leon

Hello!

It's been so long, I've missed y'all!

Okay so this week we went and did intercambios (Exchanges) which is where you switch companions for the day, which i kind of fun. So we do our intercambios in Madrid. Let me clarify, Madrid Madrid, It's called Cuatro Camino's, which shares the center of Madrid with the super touristy part called "Sol", which is where all of the cool stuff is. For example: The prado museum, Park retiro, The palacio madrid, Plaza Mayor, Just for starters.. Any how, that was pretty cool. Also this week we had our ward Christmas party which was way fun, and i went to a zapateria, Which is a place to get your shoes fixed; because the two pairs of shoes that i wear the most we destroyed, and the shoes were falling off, and he had holes in the bottom. I was so proud, but i got the fixed, and it only cos 18 euros! Score...

LUNES:

So We had a money lesson with not only Maribel but her whole family, which was amazing. The spirit was super strong, and it was cool to teach the dad, Moises because he had a lot of really great insights. Any way so things are progressing on that front. Before that though we made pizza, from scratch..I know, I know. They actually turned out really good, so that was super cool, and then we went to the capilla and wrote y'all.

MARTES:

So we visited Hermana Carmen in the hospital. She is still recovering slowly from the car wreck, but Martes was her B-day, so we bought her a stuffed animal (peluche) and talked to her for a little while. So in her same hospital room there was another lady who was old too. So Here in Spain every single old person has someone who takes care of them. So basically almost all of our members do this, the lady's at least. So the girl who was taking care of this other lady was named Alma. So I'm not sure if she saw the skirts, or the chiapa (Name tag), but we stated talking to her and she said that her brother had gotten baptized a few years ago, and is always hanging out with the missionaries, but lives in Madrid. So we asked for his name to see if we knew him, so she endde up showing us pictures and stuff. So we were talking to her, and she is like super awesome, and was taking the lessons form the missionaries, but then had to move to Leon from Madrid, so she stopped. Anyway we got her number. So when we did intercambios in Madrid like 2 days later, who did we see? Javier, her brother, and took pictures with him, and stuff. The lord is funny like that! Then we had a lesson with a church reference, which is when someone goes online and request a Book of Mormon, or whatever and the missionaries visit them. So we passed by, and is was this super Spanish couple, named Jose and ludy. They were super cute, and were just interested in learning about other churches, so we told them our beliefs, and it was really fun! We are going to try to meet with them but they said they are just interested in learning, not so much in changing, but that's a pretty common answer. That is just what people say to a couple of kids sitting on the couch, telling them about Jesus. The thing is, they don't know that, that was the most important conversation that they have ever had. I don't know many things but i do know that the gospel changes lives whether or not people want to believe it. They will come around. Then we had Noche de Jas, which was cool, because we decorated the capilla for Christmas. We didn't get much done, but we made a lot of snowflakes, angels, etc..

MIERCOLES:

So we Had District meeting, which was a blast. We did 3 Practices to help us not be so awkward, which we needed because let me tell you; Stopping random people in the street it a little awkward, especially if your a missionary. So, the practices were really great. Then afterward we played uno, and I won 3 times... So I'm improving. Then we went and passed by Fanny, who is a member from the Dominican republic. We made cakes for the Christmas party, and she made us a cake too! ScoreXtwo. Then after that we visited Rosbit who is also a member who live on our street, and I told her that I could leave after Navidad, and she gave me a German flag, and told me "So you can always remember me, by the flag of my country." Super cute except that she is definitely from Peru, as well as her whole family, but it was still cute. 

JUEVES:

So we had intercambios, and left early in the morning, and slept on the train. When we got there, it was raining. Every single time i have gone to Madrid for intercambios, it has been raining. But i was prepared this time with my paraguas (umbrella). So we passed by lots of memebrs, and amigos, and then went to the capilla in 4 camino's. Then a bunch of missionaries from Madrid went to go sing in Sol, in the Metro stop called "OPERA" which was way fun. Guess who i found there? HNA Christensen, Snyder, and of course my current companion Mendoza. So We took a picture. It was fun to see them all again. Then we sang a bunch of songs, and my voice hurt. 

VIERNES:

So we got on the train yet again, and made a ton of snowflakes, stars, angles, lo que sea. Then we slept. So when we got to Leon, we went to the mercadona (Market) and bought all of the stuff to make deserts (Does that has one or two S's?). So we were in there, when a miracle occurred. I found brown sugar (panela)  like the real Mckoy! They don't have that her, so the lord blessed me, so that i could make normal Chocolate chip cookies. It was amazing. So yeah, we made those, no bake cookies, and then Brownies for the Christmas party. Then we went to set up the capilla, and actually decorate it and all that jazz. Then we had the party. So i was asked to sing a special musical number, which i sang Silent night in Spanish and English, which they really liked, but i messed up a few times the English part, but I'm pretty sure they didn't notice:)  Yep and then we ate way too much food. 

SABADO:

Not much happened, we walked around, and ended up finding two awesome people, and gave them LDM, and got their numbers. Then we had english class, and one of our friends named susannah brought us hot chocolate from her trip to London. She is so sweet and thoughtful! Also i almost cried because she brought us Chocolate orange hot chocolate, which was awesome because when i was at home, on Christmas there are a few books that we read as a family every year, one of them being "The Christmas Orange" and sometimes we find chocolate oranges in our stocking from Santa, so it was a flash back that was cool. 

DOMINGO:

So church was amazing. So in sacrament meeting, Kalifa got confirmed as a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. It was awesome. Then During second and third hour, we talked with our Branch president, Presidente Martinez. We talked about the goals for this year, and what we can do to accomplish them, and it was really awesome. Then we passed by some people, and finally found a member named Yancy! I have been here for 5 and a half months and only just no met her, and she was super sweet! So that was an awesome miracle. Then we had the Rivera's. Which was fun as always. Yep that was my week. Well i love you guys a freggin ton, ad hope that you have a very merry Christmas! Be safe!

Transfer 3 Week 3 Leon:

Hello!

So as i am writing this, we are currently waiting at a bus stop in Leon, by the Plaza de Toro's (Where they do the bull fights). Oh, Spain... Well this week has been awesome. I dont' know if i can say anything else. I already talked about Monday, And nothing eventful happened after we wrote so..I will start with Tuesday!

MARTES:

Allison Mendoza (HNA Mendoza) Cumpled (Turned) 20 Years old! We made pancakes to celebrate. They didn't really turn out that great but with enough nutella anything tastes good. Then we saw Sandra, in her store. It was way fun as always but we were only there for a few minutes because a bunch of people walked in, and i's just kid of awkward because you don't really know where and stand and what not. Then we went to Trobajo del Camino, which is just right outside of Leon, and did some contacting and stuff there! We passed by the churreria where I thought i lost my wallet, but they didn't have it. No biggy. I can get a new auto zone card at home, Right? Then we had a lesson with Maribel! So we called our mission leaders wife, Narcissa, and she came with us to the lesson because her and Maribel are friends. I went really good. Narcissa really helped out a lot, and the spirit was very strong. Then we had English class, and Noche de Jas, Which we great as usual. I met my first Cuban! He Doesn't smoke, or even like cigars.. My whole view of cuba is now different. He came to the English class, and talked with us. So that was cool. Oh i also leaned a new word. Cutre: Lame. So i have been using that one pretty regularly now.

MIERCOLES:

SO we passed by Maria Dolores just to see how she was doing, as we were on our way to the bus station. She was doing great. She calls us her Little girls! It is so tender. Then she asked us if she should talk to us in Tu or in Usted. So in Spanish there are two forms of speech. So tu is for people you are close to, like your Friends, or your peers, or little kids, and dog. Here Everyone speaks in Tu, for the most part because were in Spain, which is like speaking to everyone like friends, or family, which is kind of cool. So Usted form is used for more formal things, to show respect, or you speak to someone in this form if you don't know them. For example: I would speak to the King of Spain in usted, but his mom would speak to him in Tu. So Maria Dolores is from Spain, and is like 80 years old, and asked us if she should talk to us in usted, to show respect.. Crazy, we told her "Que Va" or in other words, "NO way Jose."  It was cool. So then we went and caught our bus to La Baneza. So we have been teaching this girl there named Barbara, but I call her barb. She is 17, almost 18, and is awesome! So we had a lesson with her, and it was amazing, and now she has a baptisma date for the 7th of January. Sure its next year, but I think I could wait that long! She seriously is so prepared, and willing to follow the savior in any way that she can, it's Money.. So after that, we went to this little pasteleria, which is like a bakery. So La Baneza is famous for these Sweets call Imperiales.I'm still not sure what they are, but we went to this store to buy some. So we picked hat we wanted, and then the Cashier lady gave them to us for free! It was awesome, so in return we gave her a Book of Mormon. 

JUEVES:

So w planned for the week! So while we were planning we felt like should call Raquel, one of our members who is inactive because she lives in a pueblo like 2 hours away. So we have wanted to go visit her, but it's hard because just to visit her, it takes a whole day. So we called her, and by happen chance she just happened to be in Leon, and wanted to meet. So we set up a lesson for the evening. So After planning, We put on work clothes because Ruben asked us to help out with a service project. It was cool because i got to wear jeans and a T-shirt. I felt super weird. I felt like i wasn't a missionary. Crazy. Still was awesome though. So then we ran back home and changed into our skirts of power, ad had a really great lesson with Raquel!

VIERNES:

So we caught a bus to Astorga! It was super fly. We contacted the whole day and only talked to like 4 people, but it was still really fun. So we passed by this Carniceria, which is a butcher shop, and they had like 10 whole pigs just hanging inside the shop. It was crazy. Only in Spain. Oh, and i finally saw the Toro, or the giant metal bulls that they put on the hills and bluffs and such. It was Giant and awesome. We were like 10 Km, and we cold see it on the hill.  Then of course, as per tradition we bought Astorga chocolate, which is the best in the whole world. Then when we returned to Leon, we found 2 Super cool, awesome people, and got there numbers. So the one guy was from Cape verde, and is here studying and learning Spanish. So he speaks french, but not Spanish. So we were talking to him in Spanish, but he was answering in french. I understood what he was saying, like everything. So I figured it was a fluke, or maybe he was speaking Frenish, but then it happened again, and we contacted this couple from francia, that didn't know Spanish but i understood them! It was insane. Anyway, the fist guys name is Levy, and we will have  lesson with him soon, but we want him to meet Khalifa, who is the elders friend. Speaking of which, he Just had his baptismal interview, and is getting baptized next Sunday! It will be awesome. 

SABADO:

So we passed by our friend Jose's house, but he wasn't home but then we ran into him in the street and talked to him for a few minutes. Then we went by Fanny's house. She is a member, and is from the Dominican republic. There are a ton of Dominicans here. It's Ridiculous. In fact, the center of Leon, with all of the stores, and buses is called Santo Domingo. So we went to her house, and she was packing this box with food, and specialty items form Spain to send to her mom in the DR. So essentially she was playing the most ridiculous game of tetris that i have ever seen. It was hilarious. Then we walked her hija to her friends house because she was scared to walk alone, so that was cool. Them we met another cool Dominican in the street, ad talked to her for awhile. So we always ask if the are a creyente person or a person who believes in god. So we didn't ask her that because her name was genesis. 

DOMINGO:

So we had church. It was super good. Then we had a really awesome lesson with Lesly. She was in Norway for 3 weeks, but she got back a few days ago. She is doing really good! It's crazy how prepared the lord makes people. They don't even know it! Then we went to the familia Rivera which was awesome as always!

Well I had a great week and hope that you all have great weeks! I love you very much. Thanks for all of the emails and letters, etc.

 church in Astorga

 fist sized Ferrero Rocher in Mall