"In the not too distant future"

Pte. Bleda (Valencia), Elder Lopez, Pte. Rodriguez (Hospitalet), Pte. Herraiz (Barcelona), and Pte. Hinckley

On May 20, 1969, Elder Marion G.Romney dedicated the country of Spain for the preaching of the Gospel. In a small meeting that morning in Casa de Campo he prayed,

"That there may be established here in this land,
in the not too distant future, wards and stakes."

Three weeks later, Elders Jose Luis Barco, Craig Ward, Robert Haws, and Clark Hinckley arrived in Spain to begin missionary work; there were two Spanish members of the Church in the entire nation.

Last Saturday we held our regular Coordinating Council meeting with the stake presidents under the direction of our Area Seventy, Elder Faustino Lopez. The photograph above shows the literal fulfillment of Elder Romney's prayer: three (of the nine) stake presidents, Elder Lopez, and Pte. Hinckley in the living room of the Spain Barcelona Mission home. It was, for me, a remarkable event, to live to see the fulfillment of this prayer.

As we went into the metro station this morning to run some errands downtown, we discovered four handsome missionaries:

Elders Lindsey, Cranford, Young, and Langston on the L6 bringing home a case of Libros de Mormon. they are carrying their lunches in the plastic shopping bags.

Our errands today took us down the Boqueria, Barcelona's great outdoor market. It is always a colorful place to shop.

Shopping at the market - these are the cheap Iberico hams at 30 Euros/kilo, still well out of our price range

In the produce section of the market

Our shopping included a stop at Dulcinea for a cup of thick hot chocolate. It is one of the greatest treats in Spain, and with cooler weather the last few days it was time to again relax over a cup of chocolate before returning back to the office. We discovered this little chocolate shop three years ago on a little alley in the old medieval section of Barcelona, and it is a favorite.