Week 10 in Hospitalet

Hello all!

 

What a crazy week here in Hospitalet. So much stress!!! So I am sad to say that after the incredible miracle story that I told you last week about Moises, he did not get baptized. There was a lot that went into it and we still have hope that he will get baptized and receive all the blessings awaiting him, but as for right now, he is waiting.  

 

This is where I want to take the quick opportunity to give you all some advice. When you each of you are doing your personal study of the scriptures, or attending church or devotionals, or have any kind of spiritual experience that really touches your heart...WRITE IT DOWN!!! 

 

When Moises miraculously received his answer after our fast, we told him very specifically, and several times to make sure that he write the experience down and how he felt. We told him that the next week was likely going to be very hard for him and that he would need that to help him remember the answer he had received. Well...that advice was not heeded and sure enough, the Sunday after he received his answer, he started having really sad feelings. He was feeling very alone and doubting everything and his mother´s health declined in the midst of all of it. And while he could remember that he had received an answer, he could not remember how he had felt, or even the story of how he had received his answer. 

 

We literally did everything we possibly could this last week to help him remember those feelings and to help him overcome his feelings of doubt. We were even able to get him to fast with us. The fast helped him feel a little better. But in the end...his smoking habit kept him from being able to take that step into the water because he he needed it for a little while more before he got baptized.

 

When it came down to it though, he attended the service to see the baptism of the other person. And he was sobbing during the baptism. When talking to him about it after, he said that he felt that his time to be baptized had passed and he couldn´t have another opportunity. He thought that his opportunity had passed.  No matter how we tried to explain that that was not the case, he just didn´t believe us and was so down in the dumps. He really has a hard time with his self-esteem and we are trying to figure out how else we can help him. 

 

I don´t know what the future holds for him right now, because he might be moving back to Chile this week, but I hope that he will someday have the faith again to take that step into the waters of baptism and open that door to all the blessings that God has waiting for him. 

 

Well, I don´t have time for anything else right now...talk to you all next week. 

 

Love,

Hermana Eyre

Week 9 in Hospitalet

Hello everyone!!!

 

It has been a really crazy and incredible two weeks! I hope I can remember all the things that I want to mention. Well, last week, I had the chance to talk to all my family on skype for Mother´s Day. It was so great to hear all their voices and see all their faces. I love my family so much and receive so much strength just by talking to them. They lifted my spirits when I was really down and I am ready and pumped to keep going. 

 

We found the most incredible family from the holiday called San Yordi that I have talked about so many times. We had been playing phone tag with them for a couple weeks before we were actually able to meet with them. The husband, Jeime, is a member that has been in-active for about 5 years. He is from Chile. His wife is from Spain and she is not a member. Her name is Olga and she is seriously incredible. They have the cutest little two-year old girl named Neus (snow). She is so adorable! They are such an incredible family and the best part is that they are actually married. That is such a rarity here and is often times the hardest roadblock that we come across. So many people are so prepared but are not married...and getting married here in Spain is an incredibly difficult process. Anyways...keep this family in your prayers if you would. Heavenly Father really does prepare people in families because they are so important in the Gospel.

 

So...since Thursday, it has been a roller coaster of emotions. We have still really been struggling with Moises because of his OCD. But we had extended another baptismal invitation to him and asked him to pray about it.  We could really see that he knew that it was true but he really wanted and was expecting from God, a sign. But we asked him to pray to know if he should. They don´t usually receive signs like they are wanting and expecting to...they have to learn to recognize the Holy Ghost...but anyways...on Thursday, Hermana Reeder and I decided that we needed to start a fast. Both for our area in order to find more investigators, and for Moises to receive an answer. Both of us were competely diligent in our fast and prayed our hearts out. We called Moises on Friday, about two hours after we finished our fast. He told us that he had received an answer  and wanted to be baptized and he just couldn´t wait. He wants to have the Holy Ghost with him always. I have never heard him be so ecstatic. He really received a firm answer and couldn´t deny it. Hermana Reeder and I were so blown away by how quickly the Lord responded to our prayers and fasting. Seriously the biggest miracle that I have seen so far on my mission. 

 

He is scheduled to get baptized the 26th...this coming Saturday. Pray for him if you would, that he will be protected and that we will know how to help him keep his date and remember the answer that he has received. When we met with him on Saturday, it was seriously incredible the noticeable change in him. He was literally glowing! One of the other missionaries in our district thought that he had already been baptized because of how much he was glowing. He just really knows what the Lord wants him to do and he is incredibly excited. When we asked him when he wanted to get baptized, he said ¨today!¨ Seriously incredible. There is just a fire in him.

 

On Sunday at church we continued to see miracles. Anderson´s mom came to church with him. (Anderson is our recent convert from the beginning of the month) We had tried so many times to get her to come and even gave her a skirt because she said she didn´t have one. She still didn´t come after that. But we were able to teach Anderson this last week when she sat in on the lesson and maybe that is what did it...but she finally came with him. He was so happy that she was there with him and that he had someone that he loved that he could sit with at church!

 

Sunday afternoon and night though was filled with a plunge in our spirits. A recent convert in our ward who helps us all the time with our visits has been having a really hard time with the word of wisdom and has been fading in his testimony. He feels like the gospel is working for everyone but him. He is just tired of trying and he doesn´t understand why there are some types of suffering in the world. His cousins husband just died and they have a 3 month old baby. He is really mad at God right now for letting that happen and is also a bit offended by something that happened with members in the ward. He is discouraged by people that preach the gospel but don´t live it and he feels like there are too many people like that in our ward. Well, at church yesterday, he said he has just had it and wasn´t coming back and wasn´t going to read or pray anymore. This literally just broke our hearts. He is literally like family to us. We talked to him for a long time trying to help but nothing we said was getting to him. He had already closed off his heart. We don´t really know what is going to happen with him at this point, but we are doing our very best to help him how Heavenly Father wants us to help him. Please keep him in your prayers. He really needs to know how much Heavenly Father loves him and that he really can find all the answers to his questions in the Book of Mormon. 

 

The mission is really a roller coaster. It was incredible how incredibly happy we were to see someone really receive a witness from God that this is the right way, and then soon after see someone who really knew and had a fiery testimony like that fade away and knowingly reject what they know is true. The saddest feeling I have ever felt in my life for sure. But I have faith that it will all work out how it is supposed to.

Well...I really better go. I am out of time. This Gospel is true. I see miracles everyday. 

 

If you don´t know if it is true...pray to know. He will answer you.

 

I love you all. Have a fantastic week.

 

Love,

Hermana Eyre (your favorite sister missionary)

Week 8 in Hospitalet

Hola familia y amigos!!!

This week was a very difficult week for me and for my companionship. We did not have a very successful week in terms of finding new people to teach and have been having some real problems with our investigator Moises. Anderson was able to receive the priesthood yesterday though and so that was a pretty good boost at the end of a hard week. It really is crazy how up and down the mission is. There are so many incredible things and miracles that we get to see when we find people that are prepared to receive the Gospel and they accept it....but on the other hand...it is so hard when we open ourselves to other people and share what is so sacred and close to our hearts, and not a single person wants to hear about it. It really is a roller coaster.  But it is good for growing I guess. The hard times are really just to strengthen us. That is something that I have a huge testimony of and that I have seen over and over again in my life. The hard things are seriously just for our benefit. If you think that you haven´t had experience with that in your life...look again and try to figure out what your learned or any blessing that might have come out of it. 

Something that I really want to mention this week is how important it is to communicate in relationships...but in that communication, to try to listen to just the words that are being said and not focus on the tone of voice, the body language, etc. It is something that has really been helping me this week as well as really trying to watch the tone of voice that I use when saying things. The words are what is important and we can get extremely confused sometimes if we focus on the other things. This is something that has really helped me and my companion be more unified this week and I want to encourage you all to do the same thing in your relationships. 

Anyways, one incredible miracle we saw this week, was that Anderson got up and bore his testimony in church yesterday! It was one of the most special moments that I have had in the mission so far. He is such an incredible example and I am so proud of him. 

Moises in having a difficult time for a lot of reasons. I don´t think I should share any of them here right now though. But please keep him in your prayers and pray that we can find new people to teach that are ready and prepared to hear the Gospel.

This last preparation day, we went to Park Guell. It is an incredible park that was designed by Gaudi. It is just incredibly gorgeous and I loved every minute of it. Today we are also going to go visit the Sagrada Familia! I am way excited. 

Oh...and the pictures that were posted last week...many of them were from the MTC here in Spain and then the others were from the baptisms of Bryan, Dafne, and Anderson. And then there were pictures at some fun places here in Barcelona and also at Tibidabo. The pictures from this week are from Park Guell. There are many amazing things here to see and Preparation day is never long enough to see them all!

Okay...well that is all I have time for. Love you all! I get to talk to my family this week on Mother´s day!!!

Love,

Hermana Eyre

p.s. Serenity forgot to attach the pictures for this week in her email, so maybe next week