Specialized Training

We just finished our sixth training conference this month. This week we trained missionaries in Palma, Barcelona, and Bilbao.

It has been a great, if tiring, two weeks. We had inspiring meetings and are excited to go out and help 74 more people repent and be baptized this year!

¡Bienvenidos a los nuevos!

The new missionaries who arrived last week were welcomed with this short video. We hope it gave them a feel for the mission and the miracles they will see! We hope it will also give you a feel for the mission and the miracles we see!

November Concilio

Zone Leader Council is usually held on the first Friday of each month, and this month the first Friday followed transfers, so it has been a busy week around the office and the mission home!

As is the tradition, the morning began with a pancake breakfast cooked by the Ayudantes - this was Elder Hadley's first week as a new Ayudante, so it was his first time in the kitchen!

Elders Hadley and Allphin doing kitchen duty

Following breakfast, we moved into the living room where we had a wonderful morning as the zone leaders reported on the month of October and discussed their goals and plans for November.

View from the breakfast table to the living room

We took a lunch break at 2:00 p.m. and were able to get all the zone leaders in a photograph before they began dessert.

Zone leaders around the table
Ayudantes with Pte. Hinckley (standing)

We were fed both physically and spiritually as we discussed goals and plans for the coming months. We have been greatly blessed during the past several months, and we are praying, planning, and working to bring at least 90 souls into the Kingdom during November and December.

Albacete Tape

Because so many asked, here is the "Secret Albacete Tape." Not much, really, but it's rumored existence has been the source of much speculation. Enjoy!

November Nuevos

This was a big week - we received 5 new elders and 3 new hermanas! And what made things even better, no missionaries returned home this week. So we now have 103 missionaries - 84 elders and 19 hermanas - in addition to our two wonderful couples. This is the largest complement of missionaries we have had in a long time - we are clawing our way back from a low of 78 missionaries in July 2010.

As is our tradition, we traveled from the train station to Montjuic to take in a view of the mission field and hear the story of Columbus.

Overlooking the city on a cloudy day

 After lunch and orientation at the mission home, each of the new missionaries spent the afternoon and evening with a pair of missionaries in the Barcelona area. It was their first real experience proselyting, and it was great fun. Elder Castillo was able to meet with a father and husband whose wife was recently reactivated and whose two children were recently baptized. They had a powerful visit and Elder Castillo was able to invite this brother to be baptized. He is preparing for November 19th!

On Wednesday morning we introduced the new missionaries to their trainers, then spent a couple of hours studying the doctrine of Christ and practicing inviting investigators to be baptized (because that is what we do).

Hna. Ratcliff (from Auckland, NZ) practices the baptismal invitation
with her trainer, Hna. Soderquist.
 In the background, Elder Rios (Granada, Spain),
practices with his trainer, Elder Gallegos

Elder Cerqueira (Elvas, Portugal), practices with his trainer, Elder Greep.
Hna. Farrell (Rolling Hills Estates, CA) practices with Hna. Boone.

Trainers (back row): Elders Gallegos, Greep, Hnas. Boone, Soderquist, Ruz, Elders Keller, Bennington, Buchkovich.
Nuevos (front row): Elders Rios, Cerqueira, Hnas. Farrell, Ratcliff, Mancera, Elders Castillo, Arce, Gonzalez

Assignments:

Elders Gallegos / Rios: Manacor

Elders Greep / Cerqueira: Mataro

Hnas. Boone / Farrell: Benidorm

Hnas. Soderquist / Ratcliff: Sabadell 1

Hnas. Ruz / Mancera: Inca

Elders Keller / Castillo: Menorca

Elders Bennington / Arce: Albacete

Elders Buchkovich / Gonzalez: Granollers

Albacete hasn't had missionaries for about 7 years, so Elders Bennington and Arce have an exciting few months ahead of them as the build up this little branch! (Note to ex-misioneros del faro: if you would like to listen to the "secret Albacete tape" just let me know!)

Barcelona Stake Conference: 40 Chairs

"And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities, which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat."

Joshua 24:13

First eight missionaries in Barcelona, October 1969

Last weekend we attended the stake conference of the Barcelona Stake. The conference was held in the beautiful new Barcelona stake center, a three story building which has been open for just about six months. Outside of the Madrid Temple, it is probably the most beautiful Church building the country.

In the Sunday session, as I stood at the pulpit and looked out over the congregation - chapel, cultural hall, and onto the stage - I was reminded of the beginning of the work here in Barcelona. In October of 1969, eight missionaries traveled from Madrid to Barcelona to open the work. They arrived early on a Saturday morning so they would have time to find a place to stay that night. They held the first sacrament meeting on the beach early on Sunday morning, presided over by Elder Michael Duffin who served as the zone leader and branch president. They soon located space on the second floor of a building near the Sagrada Familia and hired a contractor to build some partitions for classrooms. They then petitioned President Smith B. Griffin of the Paris France Mission (which included Spain) for 40 chairs for the new little chapel. President Griffin questioned the need for so many chairs when the little branch consisted of only eight missionaries and two or three investigators. But the elders promised that they would fill the 40 chairs.

As I looked over the congregation in the stake center on Sunday, I noted that we had at least 40 chairs on the stage at the back of the cultural hall! We owe a special debt of gratitude to those first eight elders - in so many ways, we are the recipients of their pioneering work.

Early missionaries in Barcelona

Why We Love this Work

Elders Allphin and Bennington with Juan and Nancy

Elder Bennington provided this summary of the recent baptism of Juan and Nancy:


 "One afternoon in late September we were walking down the street after our morning meeting.  As we were walking we began to talk about the upcoming month of October, and what we wished to see happen in our area.  Elder Allphin began to express that he had a feeling that there was a family that we were meant to find and baptize in the month of October, and moreover a family that would be going to the temple in a year’s time.  As we began to talk about the idea, we both began to feel a confirmation that that is what the Lord wanted in our area in the month of October.

"Looking over our potential families that we were teaching, the future looked bright.  We wondered if it was one of these families, or if it was someone that we had yet to meet.  We came together and prayed regarding this goal, and kept it in mind as we went out everyday to work.  If a stroller came down the street, our goal flashed into our mind.  If a reference we received was connected to a family situation, we were again reminded.  We were blessed with so many opportunities to dedicate ourselves to our purpose. But when the answer to our prayers came, it came through an unexpected medium.

"Margarita was a less active member from Paraguay.  She was the only member baptized in her family. During her baptismal process she began to receive harassment from her family, and even began to feel discouraged regarding her new faith.  Nevertheless, she persevered and received a calling in the church and continued to grow in the Gospel.  Around the age of 18, Margarita took her belongings and moved to Spain.  Upon arriving she was faced with trial after trial, testing her faith time and time again.  With the necessity of work growing more and more apparent in her life, she began to sacrifice her religious backing and started to work on the Sabbath.  From that point on she struggled to make it back to church for roughly 6-8 years.  As she saw the missionaries from time to time, she felt a longing to speak to them and to return to the richness of the Gospel. 

"One afternoon walking down the street Margarita spotted you and Hermana Hinckley.  She finally mustered up the courage and began a conversation.  You then passed her information on to us, and we began to teach her.  Upon teaching her we quickly realized that Margarita´s testimony was still as strong as ever.  From that next Sunday on she has yet to miss a Sunday.

"One Sunday Margarita told us that she wanted to bring a friend that she was really excited for us to meet.  The next Sunday she came with Nancy and sat with her through all three hours of church.  At the end of church Margarita came up to us and told us that Nancy was really excited to start meeting with the missionaries and had already expressed her desires to become a member of the church.  We scheduled a first visit for the next night, right after the Noche de Hogar activity that we had with the ward.  When Nancy came the next day she brought her husband Juan.  We sat down with them after the activity and asked how they liked it.  Juan immediately began to tell us how he felt something amazing as he was in the church and how much he liked the people that were there.  We taught them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and why it is so important to apply in our life.  As we invited them to be baptized we had not even gotten though the invitation when Juan began to shake his head, tears in his eyes saying, "YES, this is exactly what my family needs right now.   We have finally found what we are looking for."  Nancy looked at him very surprised and with tears in her eyes also accepted and committed to be baptized on the 15th of October.  It was three weeks away but from the time they accepted to be baptized to the 15th everything went perfect.  They had no problems with any of the commandments; in fact they loved every time we taught a new commandment because it always seemed like something they had been wanting to change in their life.  They were the most prepared family that we have ever met and it has been such a blessing to see the gospel work in there life.

"The day of their baptism Juan and Nancy showed up more excited than ever.  As Margarita showed up, she revealed that she had brought a laptop with her.  As we walked back into the room after attending to something, we walked in to see Juan and Nancy equipped with a headset excitedly talking to their two children and Nancy´s mother on Skype in Paraguay.  It was a very special moment to see them interact and explain what was about to be taking place.  As the daughter saw her mother dressed in white she said, 'Mom I want to wear a white dress like that too!'  With tears in her eyes Nancy responded, 'Don´t worry, when you and your brother come you will both be baptized too!'

Preparing for baptism

"Nancy´s mother and two children watched the entire baptism from start to finish.  Nancy´s mother became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry during the moments of Juan and Nancy´s baptism.  It truly was a special experience to see this family together in Spirit.

"Their children will be flying over to reunite with the parents at the end of November.  Matias will be baptized by his father in the beginning of December, and then middle of December they are planning to attend the trip with the ward to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.  There main goal at this point is to make it to the temple a year from now to be sealed."