Reply: Happy Birthday

  I am still in Pamplona, so you can send those cards right along! My birthday was interesting...kind of  like Christmas, it didn't really feel like my birthday! But I did recieve your package and I loved it!!! You don't even know, I just wanted to kiss it! And then I did! But Hna. Rodriguez made me some delicious food, spagetti and cake, and several people sang to me. In Spanish of course.

 This week has been a bit rough, to be honest. Hna Rodriguez received some news that one of her recent converts had died. It is pretty hard because she spent a lot of time with this lady and loves her so much. But Hna R is amazing and strong. We have also been working hard to find new investigators. Meeting with lots of members to encourage them to share the gospel with their friends! 

I am excited to be here in Pamplona for another transfer. I love it here. I love this ward and the people. The other day I talked to this lady from Spain on the bus! Which may not seem like much but I talked to her without the help of my companion. I understood her and she understood me. It is a miracle, more then a ten minute conversation! Ahh and I understood her! I still can not believe it. It is so amazing!

I love you a million conversations that I can finally have in SPANISH!

Love, Melissa the Beautiful

Happy Heart Day!

  The baptism went great. He told us that when he was baptized he felt something hug his heart! He will be confirmed and receive the priesthood this Sunday. He is excited to receive both on the same day. He is such a goofy kid but I just love him.

  

  In my interview yesterday with President Hinckley, I talked with him a little about some worries I have. He told me I need to have more faith and talk with people, so that I can feel like a missionary all the time. Then I won´t have any regrets! And this week is my 6 month mark...can you believe it!

  Thanks so much for always writing me. It is a such a strength! I love you so so much!

I pray for you every day.

I love you a million days of February

February 7

 I am doing great! We dropped all our investigators this week, except two, because they weren´t progressing! It is a bit sad but when people refuse to commit or come to church after months of teaching, it has to happen. We have a baptism this Sunday!!! With a kid named Edy- he is 17 and from Columbia! This will be the first baptism that I have been teaching the entire time! And I am seriously so excited! I will definitely send pictures!!!! Edy is amazing and he loves learning about the gospel. Plus he is a little goofy which makes me love him even more.

My Spanish is improving. I have been making an effort to speak more with members with investigators etc. And it has been helping. All the members keep commenting that my Spanish has gotten so much better. I even bore my testimony is Relief Society...I thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest.

I love you a million confusing Spanish streets

Love, Melissa the Beautiful

January 24

Things are good here. It is now freezing. I have been wearing a hat and like three scarves. I wish I would have brought my kniffty knitter, so that I could knit myself a huge scarf. My Spanish is getting better, we speak mostly in Spanish but she knows a fair amount of English. She is helping me teach a lot more, which is good. Plus we just laugh...because communicating in two languages is crazy.

We have zone conference tomorrow, I am excited for a boost of spirits. I have a lot of questions that I am praying will be answered. I have been trying to make my prayers more meaningful. Sometimes it is hard because I am so tired at night. But it is worth it. I am loving the talks from Conference. I feel like they are speaking to me personally. I especially love Elder Holland´s and Elder Eyring´s from Priesthood.

 

I love you a million scarves in the freezing cold!

Where Do I Start

I have not wrote much since Christmas, so this is just a little run down...(most of it may involve food)

-I ate rabbit on Christmas Eve

-I ate 12 grapes on New Year´s Eve...apparently it brings good luck in the New Year

-I took a bunch of pictures of the youth outside our window the next morning...they were singing, dancing and all dressed up in Halloween costumes. Apparently a New Years tradition. Hilarious. I was just amazed that they were still singing at 7:30 in the morning

-Set three baptismal dates for Jan. and Feb....YEAH!!!

-Got a companion...who only speaks Spanish. She is hilarious. We have a good time trying to understand each other.

-Made it to five months in the mission!!!

-knocked doors on Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year´s Eve and New Years

- decided that knocking doors is the best. Seriously. People are so funny when you bring up religion. Especially when you are standing on their door.

-realized that I love being on a mission! 

I love you a million days of knocking doors...believe me. It is hilrious

Transfer Week

Well I am still in Pamplona! My new campanion is Hermana Rodriguez. She is from Argentina but lives in Italy. And yes, she speaks very little English. But she is great I can tell. But I know it is going to be a little rough at first with the language barrier. Especially trying to explain about our investigators. We did not meet all the mission standards this past week, not for lack of trying. We do our part and everyone has their agency. But we did see miracles...and we have another baptism date¨.

 

Sorry this is not very long but it has been a crazy day. Next week will be much better. And probably full of crazy adventures.

I love you a million words in Spanglish.

One sweet cookie

Christmas cookie decorated to look like Melissa, by her dear friend Melissa.

Happy New Year

 This week has been pretty good. We finally have a baptismal date with a woman named Mirly. She came to church and pretty much told us she wanted to get baptized. So we are preparing her for the 22. Transfers are next week, so I don´t really know what is going to happen. Most likely I will be staying here, but one never really knows.

  Our goal this week is to reach all the mission standards. It is going to be crazy trying to do it, but amazing. I am pretty excited especially since it is probably our last week in this companionship. We are finally teaching some people who will set some firm citas, which is the best. I don´t know I am just excited for this week. Plus it is a new year, which is awesome

 

i love you a million stamps from Spain

MERRY CHRISTMAS BEDFORD FALLS

Merry Christmas!...Well in a couple of days! We have been trying to get in the Christmas spirit here...we bought a couple of strings of lights at a chino. Unfortunately they only have about 20 lights in the two strings combined. But we have been listening to MOTAB Christmas songs something fierce. And making jokes about the Basque Santa, who is always dressed in black. How would you like that climbing into your window?

  

At the beginning of all our lessons, we usually sing a hymn. Sometimes the investigators sing with us, but most of the time they just listen. We opened one of our lessons by singing a Christmas song, and when we finished they started clapping. ´You should hold a concert` LAS HERMANAS En CONCIERTO. I almost died laughing. Especially since my voice is always cracking when we hit the high notes, but our investigators love it. 

One great thing about the mission, is how we are always running for the bus. Always. I can not think of a day that we did not run for the bus. Last week, we saw our bus coming as we were leaving our apartment. We darted across 2 lanes of traffic and dashed down the street. The bus was full of people, who were definitley laughing. It did not help that I had a pocket full of change that kept jingling as I ran¡ I love giving the good people of Pamplona something to brighten their days. Nothing like seeing the Mormon nuns running for the bus!

I love Spain. I am seeing little miracles everyday. Even though it is hard being out in the cold trying to find people to teach, I can see how God is blessing my life. And this Christmas is going to be full of miracles. I am grateful this Christmas for Jesus Christ. For his example and for his sacrifice. Without him I am nothing. With him I am everything. Merry Christmas!!! I love you all.

I love you a million Basque Santas dressed in black!

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2 Things I Realized this Week

 

1. Repeating 'I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful' over and over to myself actually does work.

 

2. I need a gaint wool scarf to wrap around my whole body.

 

Even though this was a pretty tough week, in terms of work, it turned out great. We had a ton of lessons that got canceled (16 to be exact), so we spent a lot of time going by old investigators and talking to people in the streets. Hence the need of a gaint wool scarf. It was cold and then it snowed, but we met some great people. We had a visit with this man named Jonas. He is from Ghana...and he speaks English which is great for me. I got to teach quite a bit in the lesson. He had some awesome questions about prophets, baptism, and spiritual gifts. We were able to testify that the Book of Mormon can answer all his questions. We have another visit with him on wednesday and I can´t wait.

 

One of the best things about Spain is that people are so helpful when you are lost. If you don´t know where you are going and you look like you are lost, someone will stop and help you find your way. And they will usually walk you to the place you are going, just to make sure you actually get there. I love it. Spain...it is a great country!

 

I love you a million older ladies in big fur coats!

Ohhh What a Lucky Man He Was

Apparently it is looking like a white Christmas in some parts of the world! It snowed a bit here on Friday, but other than that it has just been cold cold Cold! We sent my trainer off yesterday, she will be sleeping in her own bed by wednesday! I was sad to see her go because she was awesome! 

  I finished my first transfer! It has acutally gone by so fast! Hna. Culverwell and I are staying here in Pamplona. With Hna. Church gone, I finally get to sleep in a bed! I have been sleeping on the couch cushions for the last 6 six weeks. Though I think I have kind of gotten used to it because when I woke up this morning, I had a sore neck. Who said living the high life is so great?

  Thanksgiving was pretty great. We had pizza, ice cream and chuches. We also had some great visits. We are having a real thanksgiving dinner today with an American girl from our ward! Turkey and everything! So delcious!

 The Spanish is coming along...I even made a comment in Sunday School. I am going to be teaching a lot more with Hna Church gone, so my Spanish should be getting a lot better!

  We are working hard to get some new investigators. Our goal is to baptize two people this transfer!

 

I love you a million pairs of warm winter gloves! 

Cat Kirk or Human Kirk

Hola¡ This week has been exciting. I got to ask someone to be baptized for the first time. Her name is Marta, and when I asked her, she didn;t quite realize I was asking a question. So we just stared at each other for a couple moments just smiling, until my companion explained to her. Then she said yes. It was a little hilarious. Her baptismal date is Dec. 11, so we are going to be working hard to prepare her for that date.

Lots of people here think we are nuns. I have heard more references to nuns this week, then in my whole life. Some girls on the bus did not want to sit by us because they were afraid of becoming nuns. Bahaha.

I am learning so much about the gospel and my love of the Book of Mormon is growing each day¡ 

I love you a million thanksgiving turkeys¡

Just another Manic Monday

 

  This is going to be a combined email this week. I was going to try to attach some pictures but I don´t know how well it is going to work. So we will see. Pretty much the life of a missionary is insane. I don´t think I have had a normal week yet. Lots of people think I am from Spain, so it is kind of surprising to them when they hear me speak...bahaha I just try to smile and nod! But it is kind of true that I am just an extra right now. Everyone always says the 4 four missionaries, oops I mean 5. It is all good though.

  I saw a group of Down Sydrome teenagers/adults walking together the other night. They were all laughing and having a good time. It made me pretty happy. I have actually seen quite a few people with Down Sydrome since I have been here. 

  We baptized 2 people on friday...Isabel and Candy. A mom and her 12 year old daughter. I don´t think watching people get baptized will ever get old. But right now we don´t really have any other solid investigators. People just don´t want to keep commitments. Miakol, the kid who committed to be baptized, has ditched us the last three appointments. Lesly, who is totally ready to be baptized, boyfriend won´t marry her...even though he is a member.  Hopefully this week we will be able to find some good investigators, or get the ones we have to keep their committments.

  I didn´t get to really share what I wanted about what Elder Teixara said last week because I forgot my notes! But I remembered them this week! He talked a little about how we are placed not just in a specific mission but with a specific mission president. It doesn´t matter where you go, just who you are with. He talked about maintaining a vision...not just of right now but of the future. So that we can see beyond the failure of the day, to the great things that will happen. He said that we can gain lots of knowledge, but intil we apply it, we won´t understand it. And that is what we want our investigators to do with commitments. Gain that knowledge, then apply it for the understanding.

  I am trying to work hard and be a good missionary. I am working on my faith, that things will be good and that I will be able to do my best.

  

I love you a million zone conferences with Elder Teixara

Love- Melissa the Beautiful

Every Time You Go Away

Hola! This week has been a crazy one! Really though, I have a feeling that every week is going to be like that. We had a zone in Bilbao with Elder Texiara. It was amazing and got me pumped for being a missionary. He talked a lot about giving firm committments- actually committing people and promising blessings. We have been putting some things he told us  into practice this week, and we are already seeing results. Right now the Barcelona mission is the highest baptizing European mission outside of England. And there is so much work to be done here.

We will be baptizing a mother and daughter this weekend! We started teaching a young man named Miakol this week and he accepted our invitation to be baptized. There are so many people to teach here in Pamplona, we almost don´t have enough time.  Our ward is really amazing. The Bishop and the Mission leader are working hard, so that we can have a member present at every lesson. 

I love being here. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. But I love it.

It is Getting Crazy With All the Nuns Here

The biggest news this week is that a nun came to church. When we got to church all these people came out into the foyer, 'a nun is here! In the church! You need to teach her!' Everyone was going crazy! And it is true. There she was, in all her nun finery. She stayed the whole 3 hours, asked lots of questions, and wanted a Book of Mormon. From what I gathered, she lives by a family in our ward and they invited her. And she loves the Mormons which of course is great. There is a possiblity that we could be teaching her this week...

 

I got my hair cut and I got new glasses. I didn´t have enough time in the mornings to properly do my hair, so I decided to donate it. And my eyes are pretty much allergic to Spain, so I haven´t been able to wear my contacts.

 

I have had quite a few people think I am Spanish. That is until I start to speak. That is when I will work on perfectly a few phrases to really confuse people!

 

There is a lot of work going on here in Pamplona. In the next month, we(hermanas and elders) have 5 baptisms scheduled. We are constantly staying busy, teaching and finding. It is a lot of hard work but definitely worth it.

 

A couple funny things have happened with learning the language this past week. I was trying to explain to my companion that I was the oldest in my family and ended up saying that I was the best...those words are super close in Spanish.

This one happened to my companion. We have been teaching this older man Felipe...he has been ´taught´ by missionaries for about 40 years. Anyways, he loves English and was asking my companion what 'under way' meant. She thought he said underware(?spelling?) and began explaining that to him! He was pretty embarrassed.

 

Thanks for all the support! I love you all a million misunderstandings in Spanish!

And Here We Have Pamplona

I have arrived. After two months, I have made it to my first area. And my sanity is still intact, Miracle of Miracles. Pamplona...seriously this place is absolutely gorgeous. I am in absolute awe everywhere I go. You can just feel the history everywhere, and I LOVE IT! But along with that, I am more exhausted then I have ever been. I honestly fall into bed everynight. My journal is really suffering...

I got here on wednesday, and it has been straight to work. I have two companions, Hna Church and Hna Culverwell. They are both amazing missionaries and are already teaching me a ton. I get to share what I can in our lessons. Most of the time I can kind of catch the guist of what is going on. It is not easy those. Sometimes my brain is just like ´hold on´ because I am concentrating so hard. There is quite a bit of work to do in this area. It has just been the two sisters here since July but a companionship of Elders is also coming to Pamplona, so there will be five of us here. Which is great. This area has only been a ward for about a year. The ward members are awesome and so nice...at least from what I could understand! bahaha

I honestly sometimes can´t even believe that I am here, that I am a missionary. It is awesome to be able to be a small part in helping people change their lives. I already feel such a love for the people here, something that I never thought would be possible. I am excited to be here and to be working hard.

I love you a million walks down the Pamplona streets

Dust and Mud, Roar of the Sunday Crowd

I have arrived in my first area...drum roll please...Pamplona...home of the run of the bulls and delicious pastries. It used to be part of the Bilbao(?) mission.  I can´t even believe I am here!!!

Love- Melissa the Beautiful

(PS  Go here to see a picture of Melissa)

Pepper Ann, Pepper Ann Marching in Her Own Parade

So, the great news of the week is...I have pink eye! I know, awesome! Which means glasses all day every day!

 

The true news of the week is that on Tuesday, I will take a train to Barcelona! This is great because 1. I will be out of the MTC and in the field, and 2. I get to ride a train! Honestly, why do I love trains so much? I am beyond excited about that especially when I learned it is a super fast train. Tuesday can not come fast enough!

 

Eight other missionaries will get here on Saturday, including my two companions from the MTC. Then all of us but one will be heading to Barcelona. Visas seem to be coming faster because none of these missionaries coming have been out in the field. They are all coming straight from the Provo MTC. It will be great to have my companions with me, even if it is for a few short days!

 

Just one quick hilarious story. One night our teacher told us that this was the MTC, not Hogwarts. Elder Jones and I thought that was hilarious. We decided the MTC here is kind of like Hogwarts because the food seems to magically appear. Then a few days later, who should show up? An Italian Harry Potter. Serio. This Elder totally looks like Harry Potter, glasses included. And now of course we are taking a train...bahaha

 

Spanish is still coming along. Every saturday, we go to a park in downtown Madrid and do real contacting. It is pretty much the most terrifying thing of my life. Since there are no other sisters in the MTC, I got to go with some sisters who serve in Madrid. I did the first part-hello, how are you- and then when I couldn´t understand anymore, they would take over. Then they would give me an opportunity to bear my testimony about families, the Book of Mormon. I actually loved it. The sisters were so nice and helped me with my Spanish. Even though my Spanish is awful, it is amazing to be able to testify about things I know are true. But if people can´t understand, it doesn´t matter as much because the spirit is what counts. It made me excited to get to Barcelona!

 

I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has written or emailed me. I love it and appreciate it. I definitely feel the support.

 

Love you a million train rides on the Hogwarts Express

 

P.S. If you do email me, if you could include your home address. I won´t be able to email you directly back, but I can write a letter! And who wouldn´t want to get a letter from Spain?

 

 

Still Be Three Days Till You Say "I'm Sorry"

Greetings to All from Sunny Spain! Things this week have been a little crazy. Most of the missionaries left on tuesday, leaving me as the lone sister! Which is not horrible except that everyone keeps calling me Hermana Jones...Elder Jones is the only other Elder learning Spanish...can´t say that isn´t a little akward. I do have my own room now. I also have four beds to choose from...I plan on sleeping in a different one every night. It is a little weird being alone as a missionary. They are always talking about being with your companion...and now I don´t have one. So I do what I want. Of course within the missionary bounds.

 

I have been ordered starting tomorrow to only speak Spanish. This is because I am the worst Spanish speaker. Truly. I am pretty sure this means I will be practically a mute. Apparently my American vocabulary is too complex to translate into beginning Spanish. Which makes me feel good about my English and horrible about my Spanish. Just keep swimming swimming.

 

All the teachers here are pretty great but Hermano Lopez is especially awesome. He served his mission in Boise Idaho and has some great stories. Like how everyone thought he was from Mexico. When they would go to members homes to eat, often they would say 'now these enchiladas are probably not as good as the ones your mom makes' 'well actually this is only the second time I have had enchiladas...' Okay maybe that was one of those things you had to be there for. He also got introduced to eggnog while in the states, a delicacy Spain does not have. He believes that the tree of life had little bottles of eggnog. Oh goodness.

 

Elder Jones and I get along pretty good. We are learning to work together and teach. His Spanish is much better than mine, so I can learn a lot from him. He is constantly looking up random phrases in Spanish, which is hilarious. Last week it was ´she is up to her old tricks´. I think we are getting along because he offered his brother to me...to marry. awesome. All this while dangling a picture of his family in my face. 

 

I only have two weeks left here, then I am off to the real world. I am a little nervous but pretty excited. That is one thing that keeps me going when things are hard. This gospel makes me happy and I am excited to share that with people.

 

I love you a million glasses of eggnog, not found at the Made in America stores

Shower? Who needs to shower?

Hola! ¿Como la va? Bahaha as you can see my Spanish is progressing nicely...except that everyone talks so so fast! I am still trudging along at Spanish. It gets a little easier everyday and I am understanding more and more. And only two and a half weeks before I am in Barcelona for reals!  I can´t even believe that I have been out for 5 weeks.

 

The Spain MTC is so much different than the Provo MTC, definitely more relaxed. There are about 15 of us who are here for MTC training and then random bunches of Elders who are just here passing through. Most of them have been out in the US waiting for their visas. Next week, there will be only 9 of us here. A group of missionaries will be leaving, which means....I will be the lone sister! Ahhh! The one good thing about that is I will have my own room with my own personal bathroom! It definitely be an experience without a real companion. There will only be two of us speaking Spanish- Elder Jones and I. He came in at the same time and is also serving in Barcelona. He is kind of hilarious, mostly cause he loves to tell me what girls think. Pure hilarity! "you understand because it is that girl emotion stuff". Bahaha

 

I have already taught a bunch of lessons in Spanish. I feel a little bad for the people we practice on because it takes me for.ever. to get through one subject. Lots of pauses and lots of umms.  The teachers here are great. Both of mine served missions in the US...one in Idaho. They are good at letting me take my time, which I appreciate! The MTC is right on the temple plaza, which I LOVE! At night it just lights up the sky-ahh I can't even describe how beautiful it is. It makes me happy everytime I look at it.

 

The food here is delicious...and we eat lots of it. Serious. Meat, rice, potatoes, some kind of vegatable, fruit and bread...add a little dessert to that and bam an Madrid MTC meal. Plus we have twice a day snack times. Hopefully I won´t weigh 300 pounds by the time I leave this place but luckily it is all fresh and delicious! I am still working on enjoying the fish but I am taking it step by step! And of course I can´t forget the Nutella, the love of my soul. So delicious!

 

I hope all is going well. I love being here and learning so many new things. It is amazing and I already love Spain! Yeah for public transportation!

 

I love you all a million slices of Spain bread with Nutella.