Week 9 in Barcelona

Hello everyone!

 

What a wonderful week we have had! I am a couple days late on sending out this update because we had the most wonderful conference this week. On Monday and Tuesday, we had a Sister´s conference. All the sisters, and only the sisters, from the whole mission, came to Barcelona for two days of a training conference in the mission home. It was truly wonderful and inspiring. The mission is doing its absolute best to prepare for the huge incoming flux of missionaries that are going to come during the next 6 months because of the age change. There are tons of Hermanas coming and so every Hermana will likely be expected to train...but at the same time, about half of the Hermanas that we have right now are going to be done with their missions in the next couple months...so President planned this special training so that all the older missionaries could share the things they learned and teach all the younger missionaries to help them prepare to train. It was truly inspiring and we have a truly incredible group of Sister missionaries here in the Spain Barcelona mission. 

 

As for our investigators this last week...As I told you last week...Alberto got baptized and was confirmed in church. He was having a really hard time the few days following his baptism, but has really done all he can to show God how serious he is about his baptismal covenant. He has received tons of support from all the ward members, our mission President, the other missionaries, and everyone else, to make up for the lack of support that he is receiving from his family. The week before his baptism, he really was getting a lot of flack from his family about his decision to be baptized, and after his baptism has continued to receive the same treatment. But he is so strong in his testimony and knows that God answered his prayers and that is why he is where he is now and knows what he knows. Some really neat things that he shared in his testimony were these:

So, he was introduced to the church through the English classes that the missionaries teach more than a year ago. He was one day looking online at the church website and he decided that he was going to pray God and ask him if that was the path that he should follow in his life. He did so that night and went to bed without thinking much else about it. 

 

The next evening, he was sitting in his house and someone rang the doorbell. He wondered who it could be at that hour, and when he asked who it was, it was the missionaries and he let them come up. He could not even believe what had happened and it spoke loud and clear to him as an answer from God that it was the path he should follow. 

 

Unfortunately he lost a little time because over the next year, he continued his lifestyle and was not ready to change yet. But when he found us again, he was ready to leave that all behind to find real happiness in this life. 

 

The other story that he told in his baptism was this. Shortly after we started teaching him, he wasn´t really progressing because he wasn´t doing any of the things that he needed to do to receive his own answer. He wasn´t reading in the Book of Mormon, he wasn´t going to church, and his prayers were infrequent. We very clearly explained the importance to him in one very incredible lesson and then he committed to do those things so he could receive a sure answer that this church is true. Shortly after that, he went to stay at his brothers house one evening which is away from Barcelona. He had been successfully reading everyday and was feeling the importance of it. But when he went to visit his brother, he forgot to bring his Book of Mormon with him. He had read that day and figured he would just figure it out in the morning. So in the morning, he opened up a dresser and sitting in the bottom of the dresser was a Book of Mormon. As he found out later, it was a Book of Mormon that his brother had received from someone about 23 years ago. His brother is not a member though. But that book was there when he needed it so that he could continue reading while he was staying at his families house for a few days. That was a very strong witness to him, that God really was listening to his prayers...he knew the desires of his heart and he prepared the way for him to keep that committment that he had made to read it everyday. There have been so many instances of things like this in his life that have continued pointing him to the Gospel and he is so grateful that he followed them. 

He is not the only person that has things like this happen though...God knows each of us and he wants us to know the truth and not be confused...but we have to seek him sincerely first, with the intention that we will act on the guidance that we receive. 

 

I am so grateful to have been able to see the miracle that has taken place in Alberto´s life and I am excited to see where he ends up. 

 

The gospel is so true and I find that to be more and more true everyday. Thanks for taking the time to read about all the things that are going on out here with me and I hope that you can feel and see the miracles that God is putting in your lives everyday as well. 

 

Well I love you all and will talk to you next week. 

 

Love,

Hermana Eyre