Week 10 & 11 in San Sebastian

Hello everyone!

 

It has been a happening 2 weeks and I hope that it has been so for you as well. Last week we did a companionship exchange for two days. I stayed here in San Sebastian and Hermana Farrell went to Bilbao. We visited tons of members in those few days and the whole rest of the week and we are continuing our intense work and project with the members. When we finish, I am pretty sure that the work is just going to explode here. We have already seen many evidences of that already and we continue to see more and more. There is a cold that seems to be going around here in San Sebastian and we have both ended up with it a couple times, but it doesn´t seem to slow anything down luckily. 

 

Well, I don´t have tons of time to tell all the details this week, but I do want to share our very incredible preparation day experience. 

 

So we hiked the mountain that we wanted to hike, and without the help of anyone in our ward. It was pretty funny...everyone that we mentioned it too was very doubtful of our abilities to do it, and they were all super worried that we would die or something. So we hiked Peñas de Aia. It is an incredibly gorgeous mountain and was the highest mountain I have been able to see around here and I wanted to hike it. So we made our way to the town that comes nearest to it in the train and then walked towards it on beautiful pathways next to the river. When we got closer, we were able to find a trail, although it was not the one we originally were planning to go to, because we got some misleading directions from a person on the road. But we made our way up and up until we came to a place where there were some cars parked and we weren´t entirely sure which trail to take from there. Just as we got to that point, a man came up the other side of the mountain and we asked him if he knew which trail to take to get to the top. He said he would show us and hike the rest of the way up with us. He was a really nice guy and when we got to the top we started discussing the gospel with him. We ended up teaching him for about an hour. He didn´t end up being very interested, but I definitely feel it was a seed that needed to be planted...because all the timing in the morning had worked out in the morning and we ended up in the complete opposite trail of which we had intended when we set out. But we decided to go back down the way that we had intended to come up and were able to get down to the road that led back to the town where we took the train back to San Sebastian. On that road a family picked us up that was going back into town. They were very nice but do not believe in God at all, but we had a really great lesson with them in the car on the way back and hopefully someday that seed will bloom and grow. But there were too many things that just happened in the perfect timing that led us to those two people while we were on our preparation day adventure that it is so incredible for us to see the hand of God working in all things out here. It is God´s work and if he needs us to just plant a lot of seeds that will be harvested much later, he will lead us to do it. Both Hermana Farrell and I felt the promptings of the spirit each time that we were choosing which way we should go and it really was an incredible day. Plus...it didn´t hurt at all that we climbed the most beautiful mountain that we can even see around here. What a great day!

 

Well, we are having great success with Saul, our investigator that is preparing for baptism right now. He has told us so many times how he can literally feel all his desires changing and he is being touched more and more by the spirit every day as he continues to read his scriptures everyday, pray everyday, and attend church each week. It is so incredible to be a part of the work of Heavenly Father. There is no bigger miracle to see than to see Heavenly Father´s children change and desire to be closer to him. I love it!

 

Well that is about all I have for you this week!

 

Love you all,

Hermana Eyre

Week 9 in San Sebastian

Hello everyone!

 

San Sebastian is still just as beautiful as ever and we just had a wonderful Zone Conference yesterday. We have such an amazing mission here in the Spain Barcelona mission. The missionaries are incredible, the people are incredible and our leaders, emphasis on our mission President and his wife, are seriously incredible!

Some wonderful news that we have this week is first off...that our ward mission leader is doing well. He is out of the Hospital and went to the temple in Madrid yesterday to be sealed to his incredible wife. Such a good ending to the story. He made sure to use his time wisely in the Hospital in sharing a bit about the Gospel with the patient that was in the bed next to him for the whole 10 days! Seriously incredible man. 

 

Second, an incredible man that we have been meeting with...his name is Saul. He has been an investigator of the church for 6 years. His wife is a member as well as his daughter that is 15. He has 3 younger daughters as well that are 5, 2, and 18 months. They are seriously the cutest family that I have met since I got here to Spain and I just adore his little girls! They just love us and come running up to us with their arms wide open whenever we come over! It is the best! But anyways...the good news is that he has finally made the decision to be baptized after 6 years. The date is still a little ways off right now, but he has really actually started changing this time. His wife has been astounded at the change and he really finally feels like it is his time and finally wants to take that step so that he can work toward being sealed to his family in the temple. Keep him in your prayers please. I love this family and would love to be able to see them sealed in the temple next year. While he has finally made the decision to be baptized, he still is a little scared. But he has had a lot of spiritual confirmations this week that he should be baptized. 

 

We are still working hard with the ward members to strengthen them and trying to re-activate the in-active members. This place is filled with such incredible people and they all just need the love of our Savior. So we are working hard with the bishopric to help this ward get strengthened and have a strong foundation. 

 

We are still working with Juan and Lucresia. Juan is having a hard time because he really wants to know all the inside workings of the church before he makes a decision to be baptized, but we are making progress and helping him to understand what is necessary, but he and Lucresia could use your prayers as well. 

 

Well, That is all I have time for this week. Until next week!

 

Love you all,

Hermana Eyre

Week 8 in San Sebastian

Hello family and friends!

It is crazy that it is already September! Time is oh so strange out here...so fast and so slow. Things have been pretty interesting here this week. Our ward mission leader 

went to the emergency room last Monday and has been in the Hospital ever since. Before he knew the church he led a pretty rough lifestyle of drinking and drugs. He 

has said many times that it is a huge miracle that he didn´t actually die with the lifestyle he had. But he was landed in the hospital last week with the delayed effects of that lifestyle. He has severe pancreatitis. He basically almost died. He had to drive himself to the hospital on his motorcycle in severe pain. He could hardly breathe and he couldn´t walk by the time he got to the hospital, so he crawled in. He couldn´t talk by that time and all he could do was point to his inflamed stomach. Things 

looked pretty bleak for the first few days, but he is doing much better now thanks to all the fervent prayers of everyone in our ward and the priesthood blessings that he received. He is so grateful for that. According to the doctors orders, he is going to have to be going on a strict diet for the rest of his life, which is basically the Word of Wisdom to the extreme, and cuts out all animal products, any sugar or sugar substitutes, etc. Basically anything that puts any strain on the liver and any other organs to digest. He is quite devastated about that but is very grateful to be alive. But he feels like he is going to be paying for his past lifestyle for the rest of his life.  He is such an incredible man though and we are really grateful that our prayers were answered and that he is well on his way to recovering.

Well, besides that, things here are pretty good. We have several incredible people that we are working with and trying to work with to get them ready for baptism this month and with patience and faith, they will get there.

The weather here in San Sebastian is to the point where we never know when it is going to rain. It will be perfectly sunny and 5 minutes later, a torrential downpour. But it is nice to have a little bit cooler weather heading our way.

I am happy to let you all that I have finally received my package that I have been waiting on for about 2 months. I don´t think I mentioned much about it before, but it was the most complicated and expensive process that I have ever been through in my life. Spain was definitely being difficult. We were never able to get a complete answer on what I needed to do to get it and I went throught the same process for a solid month. To say the least...the package arrived in Spain in mid-July...but they held it in Madrid and sent me many things and stuff saying that I had to do this and this and this....it was very frustrating... But...I finally have it!

Well...That is about all I have time for right now. We would love your prayers here for the work and for the whole mission! There is a lot to be accomplished here in this mission.

Well...hasta luego!

Love,

Hermana Eyre

 

 The big road that wraps around the Jesus mountain covered with amusement park rides and games

 One of the fun amusement park rides that we went on for Semana Grande. Hermana Farrell got feeling a little woozy...but I loved it! Especially looking out at the ocean...it felt like I was flying and the whole world turned sideways...really great sensation.

Me on the ride, waiting to start,that is the equivalent of the Samurai at Lagoon. So fun!

 Me after getting off of the ride that is the equivalent to the Samurai at Lagoon

 An interesting but the best picture I had of the fireworks. I got lots of good video but it is too big to send through email.

 Hermana Farrell´s Birthday breakfast. Compliments of Chef Eyre. Crepes and ice cream.

 

 Hermana Farrell and Dalleli at our birthday lunch after church. Dalleli´s birthday was a week before.

 The whole group at our birthday lunch. Our ward mission leader is on the left and not smiling...but this was about 12 hours before he ended up in the hospital.

 The mountain that we actually want to hike. Called Peñas de Aia. Gorgeous! We will keep you updated.

 Missionaries in our zone before the birthday brownies.

 Hermana Farrell´s Birthday brownies from the missionaries in our zone.