October 23, 2017 ~ Transfer 11 Week 1

Hi all! (So I'm copying and pasting stuff from my journal and so I hope it all makes sense cognitively haha).

So transfers took a bit of time this past week. We basically didn't get a good sleep until Wednesday night because we had to get up early to go to Madrid and to help other missionaries get to their trains to Asturias.

So it all started walking up the huge hill in Lugo with my 80 kilos of stuff (I got rid of a bit of stuff but definitely not enough). It weighs as much as I do. By the time we got up the hill I was sweating a ton. And we got on the bus just fine. Woke up early, went to Madrid. Fairly simple. That first night we had two new missionaries in the area and so we had a little bit of time to go to the streets and talk to people. It was a little wierd because I had only been in my area for a total of 3 hours and had to act as if I knew where we were (and how to get home). We didn't get too lost haha.

Wednesday, a neighbour knocked on the door asking for help with getting a couch up the stairs (they live on the 3rd floor, we live on the 1st). We helped them move the couch when it arrived and a Romanian man was helping us (named Sebastian). We talked to him about the restoration when he gave us a chance and we gave him a Book of Mormon. He told us he would read it and was pretty thankful. He's looking for something else in his life.

Thursday: it's super cold outside! Okay not that bad but it's cold, and we somehow left the window cracked open last night when we thought it was closed.. kind of funny.

We finished studies and everything and we went out to go talk to people. We used our "prayer map" - we have 8 sections of our area numbered on a map and we prayed about where to go. We got 4 numbers today! It was amazing! I can do this =) I was super nervous going out to the street but my companion's energy and positivity really helped me out. He had me set the goal and I said we could find 3 people (and that was pushing my faith a ton).

Something we have been doing is called toasting...basically one of us says "toast, him/her" and then the other companion has to go talk to them. It makes it fun haha you never know when to expect it. Talking with people today gave me a ton of ánimo (encouragement). People actually listened and we were able to approach them quite normally. If we felt like we needed to talk to them, we did it.

And I met a guy with a Detroit Tigers tattoo on his neck, I got a kick out of that. From the Dominican republic.

Saturday: We taught Andres (an investagator) and set a plan with him to read, pray and come to church. At the start a whole family of 6 showed up (the brother's family who are members) and so I wasn't sure how things would turn out. But it went well. We got on our knees and prayed personally to know if the Book of Mormon was true. And Andres took a long time and he felt the spirit. He really wants to continue praying and has a good direction for what he wants. He explained that he wasn't done praying and that he want to continue praying more. Great desires.

Sunday: There was a man named Felix (Nigerian) who came to church and I'm pretty sure I tried calling him in B6 (an old area) to see if we could meet... haha but he failed us that day 4 months ago. And today he wouldn't give us his number either. Haha

Funny moments:

The hermanas called us to break into their piso because they were locked out. Literally they had their keys but it just wouldn't turn in the door. So we tried breaking in. And we spent 30-45mins with a coke bottle (cut out of course), a old visa gift card of mine and we couldn't get it to work. Then Moises comes and opens it in like 2 mins haha. The trick is you must push it all the way in and then pull it out one notch before turning it. We spent too long kicking and pulling at the door and trying to slip the plastic in the door.

It always sounds like people are in our house because the walls are thin and there is a bar underneath us. So we hear when our neighbours open up a drawer and we hear that we also have a neighbour who one day practices for 3 hours playing and singing the ukulele.

This week I've learned a lot but it's always hard to verbalize the lessons I have learned. Something I was thinking about is how "perfect love casteth out fear" ( 1 John 4:18). And then with some more thought I wondered "how do I really show others that I love/care about them?" I don't think there is a specific right answer but here are some thoughts.

-service is one way to show that you care, offer your help to others

-tell them verbally that you care and that you are there for them

-a hug doesn't hurt haha

Okay, not very extensive on the notes I wrote down but the bottom line is that if you really care, you need to show that you care by doing something. So if you really care about your family, do something about it. Send a kind note to a family member, grandparent, friend, etc. 

" And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17).

Have a great week and do something to show someone you care!

Elder Openshaw 

1)elder Snyder and I

2) metro selfies

3) a huge truck we found

October 16, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 6

Hi all!

I'm getting transferred to Barrio 4 which is in Madrid and is quite close to Barrio 6 where I served before. My companion is staying here in Lugo and he will be training a new missionary and will be the district leader. Right after his training haha =) he will do great.

This week was fairly normal besides the trip to Madrid on Monday and the fact that I am making that same exact trip today back to Madrid hahaha. Oh well. And the change took me by surprise but I'm excited to be able to serve in Barrio 4.

So this week after returning from Madrid we had a couple of good lessons with Isidoro and Jose, both who are progressing a ton. It's too bad I won't be around for Jose's baptism but at least elder Gil will be. And Isidoro is preparing for the temple and it would be cool if I could see him while he's there. I will just have to hope it all works out =)

Also this week the festivals were finishing and we had a really good week. We got to meet with a friend of Isidoro who is looking for something more in his life and so we are trying to help him out. He's super awesome and we started teaching him a bit, we shall see how it goes.

Also we did a bit of service for some members on their farm picking corn.  Super simple. Pick the corn cob, shuck it, and throw it in the bucket. Then we stomped over the corn plant to mark where we were/which ones were done.

I'm not really sure what to include this week. Basically a little sad I'm leaving but also excited for the change. I was so sure I was staying that I bought food this week haha so basically the new missionary will have a good amount of food.

-analogy - I was thinking to myself about how someone told us today that they don't have time to go to church. So I thought...if you have to cut (for example) a ton of tomatoes for a salad would you do something (sharpen the knife) that takes little time and that makes a huge difference? Of course. And would it be worth it if you cut the tomatoes and then sharpen the knife? Heck no. You would sharpen it and then cut them and the task would be more manageable. It's the same with prayer, scriptures and church. If we do these things (prayer, reading the scriptures and going to church) they will help us with the rest of life's chores. And if we don't make time for them and leave them for the end, what good will it do to have a sharp knife after cutting the tomatoes? (Besides the fact that next time you have a large task you will have a sharp knife). Basically, we need to continually be sharpening our "spiritual" knife/relationship with God.  

Also yesterday we got to watch a conference for all of Europe where one of the twelve apostles Elder Ballard talked. Heavenly Father knows His children. In all parts of the world. He gave a direct message but very loving about how the members in Europe need to not be scared of sharing the gospel with others. That they should pray for missionary opportunities. That the missionaries can't do this by themselves. And that if they don't do anything to strengthen those around them then they won't see the miracles. That we should believe in miracles and then they will come. I know that if you pray for opportunities to share the gospel with others you will receive an answer. I know this from experience, and it strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. I know that God has called a prophet in today's day to guide His children just as prophets of old.

I love ya all and hope you have a wonderful week! Make it a great one!

Elder Openshaw 

1)cool taxidermy in a members home

2)Jose and I

3)eating at Kayla' s home

4) corn harvest haha

5) eating with charo and friends (this was a while ago)

October 9, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 5

Hi all!

We saw miracles happen this week but we also had a ton of trials. I want to explain both so you can understand that the mission isn't all daisies and dandelions. But I probably will only have time to explain the miracles. Just understand that the miracles came because of the opposition that we faced (and my patience was being tested this week hahaha).

Okay. Im going to copying and paste a ton from my journal for this week...i hope it makes sense...

So overall this week was quite trying. We faced a lot of rejection. There is a festival here in Lugo for the next 2 weeks and so basically there are a ton of people out but not all are from here. But when we do get a conversation with someone we rock it because they have time to kill =) 

"This week (since Thursday) is the festival of San Froilán (the patron of Lugo) there is Tons of stuff going on! Tons of people in the street, street dancers, stands with lots of goods being sold, Africans with shoes, pirated movies, fake real Madrid and other soccer shirts, with street dancers and singing/concerts (including some not so good rappers) and fireworks. Also, a carnival and cotton candy and a ton of games and stands selling roasted chestnuts. Lots of stuff going on. And lots of pulpo  (octopus) being cooked. Typical of this time and festival."

A cool experience:

"Also, we had a got conversation with a Venezuelan named Julie. I knew we needed to talk to her but I couldn't find a good way because she was behind us. I saw her when at the stoplight out side of the wall. And we crossed the street which made it even more difficult. So we got in a position to talk to her...we crossed the street back to the same side but we were way ahead of her and we needed a way to stall. We got the chance when we were at a stoplight. But then she answers the phone and I was thinking "NOOOOO!!!!!". But she got off it quickly and I asked for directions to the locutorio. She lived over there so she took us there. And we had a good conversation but she spoke too much. We didn't get anywhere. But my companion as she was saying bye said "hey, we want to give you a book!" And she took it happily =) it was great! She wouldn't give her number but we at least got a book of Mormon to her."

And the miracle:

We have an investigator who turned completely away from us. Didn't want any help or to know anything more. We didn't know what to do. So we threw him a lifeline on WhatsApp promising blessings if he will just read the book of mormon and pray. He didn't want anything to do with it. We waited a couple days and we get a text message saying that he wants to talk with us. I thought he wanted to rip into us and blame us but he then sent a message "I've started to read the book Mormon". And he changed his life around. Even though he hit rock bottom, he is now ready to follow through with everything he's got and overcome his weaknesses. It's amazing the change he has had as he as started to read from the beginning. I'm super excited for him =) you have no clue how much of a miracle it was for him to change.

Thankful for Luis the old man that we see everyday and that we shake his hand as we pass by is window (he lives in a bottom floor apartment). Just about the nicest guy in Lugo. Same with Agripitos the homeless man we see every morning. Both are so nice and only take like 2 mins of our time to say hi. Super cool guys. And they are so happy despite their hard circumstances.

Ether 12:6,12 

6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

We had to have faith that everything would work out. And it did. Heavenly Father is in control. We do everything we can do but He is in control. And when we have faith He can bless us with miracles.

This week has been really really hard. I'm glad we survived. Barely haha. But I know that we must have the trial of our faith before the miracles come. I know that if we will just read the book of Mormon and the bible and heed the teachings of God, applying them to our lives that everything will work together for our good. Trials happen when they need to and how they need to. Most of the time trials happen for our growth. I know there is a prophet in today's day who guides us and who listens to God's counsel. We have so many amazing words from our Heavenly Father and such wonderful councel. I promise you that if you read the scriptures and pray to Heavenly Father asking Him for help in your trials, with your questions or worries, that you will receive an answer.

Have a great week!

Elder Openshaw

October 2, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 4

Hi everybody,

This has been a long week with a lot of changes. I'm not sure why it was so long but it was haha.

So this week we had Zone conference, a training meeting with all the missionaries here in Galicia. We talked a ton about technology and other changes. We now have Facebook and WhatsApp to use to help us do missionary work. They are just new tools to use in addition to what we already have. We also had a change in how we do our planning so now we focus on the people and their progress and not just filling hours of time. We focus on how to help them and then do it while also planning our other activities to find more people. But the people are the first focus. The changes make it tricky in the sense of training my companion because I don't know what I'm doing either haha. But it's all good.

And we got rid of our nokia (AKA the brick) and we received a new Samsung smartphone. The smartphone is super super nice (compared to what we had haha) and works really well. I'm super excited to use this new technology. And we lunch we had a potato bar made by senior missionary couple who are here in La Coruña. Super super super good. And the homemade pies they also made were amazing! It was coconut pie with vanilla filling and a wonderful homemade pie crust with cinnamon and sugar. They cook so well. I must have repeated on pie like 3 times although I was beyond full. 

We are one of 120ish missions (of about 400) to have Facebook- among the select. But we are one of 7 missions who now will be working with smartphones...how crazy. Heavenly Father has blessed me to serve in a mission that uses so much technology and that now we can use it to our advantage in the missionary work. There is a reason I'm serving here in the Spain Madrid Mission with all this technology, I just got to figure out what that reason is.

We did an intercambio while in La Coruña and thankfully this time nobody threw any eggs at us haha. It all went fairly well. =)

So part of the advantage we have now with the technology is that we can meet with people who have busy schedules or who live far away. We can do lessons over Skype or WhatsApp or Facebook with them. We tried it this week and our friend we were teaching fell asleep on us hahaha. Usually when that happens we can help him stay awake but this time it was harder because we weren't there with him. The hermanas also had a baptism here in Lugo on Friday and it went super well. I was super excited that Isidoro (our recent convert) was the one who got to baptize Jesus. He was very humbled to have the opportunity.

This week we also ran into a former investigator that we didn't have a number of. Absolutely no way of contacting him. And we found him on the street. It was super nice. Definitely a tender mercy.

General Conference was this past week and it was super awesome. Lots of great counsel and wisdom. If I didn't explain what General Conference is, it's an event that occurs every 6 months where we get to listen to the counsel from a modern day prophet and his apostles. We believe in the exact same organization that existed in the church that Jesus Christ established and so we believe that there is a prophet in today's day just like there was in the times of Noah or Moises or Abraham, etc. So that's a little bit about what it is. I learned some wonderful things. I think on of the bigger lessons I learned is that we need to focus on the basics, on the doctrine that is found in the scriptures and really be familiar with it. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants the best for us. I know that there is a prophet today who leads and guides us just as the prophets of old. I'm so thankful for that assurance and guidance. 

Have a great week!

Elder Openshaw

Some random pictures for the week:

One of Jesus' baptism

One of an old motorcycle on Isidoro's farm

One of all the eggs the chickens put out in 2 days, a ton

September 25, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 3

Hi all!

This week definitely had it's ups and downs. Today the ups and downs happened to be hills because we literally ran to catch the bus to La Coruña, Tuesday we have our zone conference where we are going to receive a training on how to use the new technology we are going to use. We will be learning about how to use Facebook, WhatsApp and various other apps to help us in the missionary work. So no, we have not began using the new apps yet but you will here about it next Monday.

Pretty normal week. Like I was saying, lots of ups and downs. We had one day this week where it was hard. It was just plain hard. No one wanted to talk to us at all no matter how we approached them. But we kept pushing through and the blessings came. After being rejected all morning, in the afternoon we made some progress. In about a 40min time period we were able to have some really good conversations with some great people. The blessings come but after the trial of faith. We even found some former investigators that we couldn't get a hold of by phone and we got to set up an appointment. And we met a really happy 93 year old who looks like he's 73, if that.

Also the hermanas (sisters) are going to have a baptism this week! And our recent convert Isidoro will get to baptize him! I'm super excited for them both =) I asked Isidoro if he would be willing to do it and he was surprised that it was possible that he could. He's so awesome, so learn so much from him.

A cool experience we had is that we passed by some menos activos (who weren't home because nobody is ever home during pass bys haha) and the thought came that we should visit someone named Guillermo. So we went towards his home and right when we were in front of his home is when we saw him walking up the street. It was crazy because he wasn't going home, he was just passing by and we happened to find him. Super super cool. We got there at just the right time.

Awkward moments: 

-when a old Spanish man asks if we are testigos de Jehova (Johova's Witnesses) and uses his cigarette that he was smoking as an excuse to leave the conversation. He crosses the street and walks away. And that was it...haha

-One person that Elder Gil talked to, she was sitting down with her husband and Elder Gil he literally just asked where a locutorio (ciber cafe) was, and the lady said "no" and shook her head like a 3 year old girl that wouldn't give up a toy, until he walked away. It was super weird why she didn't at least tell us to go away. She just said no and tried to avoid eye contact. But these are pretty normal things that happen to us hahaha. People treat us like aliens sometimes. It can be pretty hilarious.

Funny moments:

When two old men lifted a washer into a small car, the washer didn't fit well and so then they proceeded to use a bungee cord connected from the back windshield wiper to the bottom of the car. If the washer were to fall out...the back of the car would be toast...

Something important that I've been learning this week is about the Holy Ghost and how it works. I've had so many little thoughts come to mind about what I needed to do, guiding me in the work and to find the people who are prepared. It's not easy to follow the spirit but when those little thoughts come to do something to least we can do is do it.  Here are some scriptures to maybe help explain what I cannot about the spirit: 

"Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." - I definitely was led by feelings in my heart and thoughts that so had this week.

And another scripture I like talks about how when we pray for answers to questions that we have, that Heavenly Father will give us the answer through the Holy Ghost:

 Moroni 10:4-5

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things

I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that we are His children. I know that after centuries of being lost, the same church that Jesus Christ established on the earth has been restored with the same power and truths as before. I know that we have a prophet in today's day who guides us and gives us guidance that we need to follow our Heavenly Father's individual plan for us.

And this weekend (as I'm just remembering) there will be an event that takes place called General Conference. It's where we get to listen and hear counsel and guidance from the prophet and apostles. It's always a wonderful conference and you can even watch it at home =) ask me if you have any questions. Or my mom can do me a favour and post the link to general Conference too =) 

Have a great week!

Elder Openshaw

Pictures (don't get your hopes up):

1)we gathered acorns for a member to feed her pigs =) the member said she would share some of the meat with us when they kill the pigs =)

2) pica pollo - a Dominican dish we are with some investigators, really good

3) my companion and I next to a random statue of a man that we pass basically everyday =)

September 18, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 2

Hi all!

This week was quite normal. It had some ups and some downs and some more ups haha. I'll explain what I think was interesting this week and the blessings we recieved:

so for a while we've been searching for the means to ask for permission to do an activity in a plaza here showing the movie "Meet the Mormons". We've had quite the trouble finding where to ask permission because the government buildings here (there's like 10) kept pointing us over to different buildings. We first walked into the city's Seminary (basically a religious school ran by the government I think) and asked there, I felt super stupid going into there because I knew I was wrong haha, but we had no clue where to go after walking into so many buildings haha. Thankfully they sent us to the right building where we asked for a form. After being bounced around within the office we got a form to fill out to ask for permission and it's all in Galego!!! So we understand parts of it but not all of it. Basically get yet another loop we have to jump through if we really want to do this activity...(Thankfully a member translated the form for me at the branch activity that night). Super complicated.

We were definately guided this week. If I was supposed to learn that this week, I did. For example, we had some time and all our plans and backup plans fell through. We weren't sure what to do so we sat down and prayed. And a thought came to mind that we could pass by a certain future investagator. So we did. And he was home! And we hadn't been able to meet with him and we tried quite a few times. He let us pass by and we talked for a little bit and set up another visit. Then another name came to mind and we visited him and he also was home! And we got a phone number so that we don't have to go all the way out to his house to talk to him (because it is far).

More blessings from Saturday: "Heavenly Father works miracles. I'm amazed at how well He has placed people in our path today and how guided we were. Literally, this morning we went to our recent convert's home, taught him a quick lesson (really he taught us...he has so much faith and never complains). And a quick story from the recent convert...basically a member bought eggs from him for 3€. She told him to give it as a fast offering and to try his faith. He thought, "well it's only 3€, I don't have anything else but I'll try it out". His chickens were putting out between 6-8 eggs a day. Now they are putting out 12 eggs. Double. And because of his faith to pay what he had to offer, no matter how little, he has been blessed tremendously. If he weren't been blessed on the farm he wouldn't still be there, he wouldn't survive. But he's making it by. He's learning a ton. He's sharing the gospel with others. He shared the gospel with a señorita by inviting her to church and she's coming tomorrow! Super cool, a really sweet old lady we met today."

"...Then as part of this miracle we got home and followed the schedule exactly to a "T" as with timing for getting back and doing studies. I had the thought to bring a note that a sister missionary wrote to an inactive member from a while ago. I debated bringing it and I brought it in the end. Then we left and we went to their home to see if he was there. He wasn't, nor the wife. And the front door of his building was left open so I was like "do we go up to the door, do we not..." We rang, nobody answered and so we entered (and found out that the front door doesn't close.) Knocked on the actual door, no answer. So we left the note from the sister missionary in the door. Okay, so that worked out well. We then started talking with people within the wall. We get a hold of Octavio and he tells us he will meet us at the plaza de Santo Domingo. We start walking and Jose fails tonight. But as I was talking on the phone I saw a man with a bicycle sitting on a bench. The thought came to mind "go talk to him". And I walked away because I was on the phone. We crossed the street and I felt an unsettling feeling so we went back. The man was still there. What a miracle because they usually leave. But we went up to him and started talking to him about cycling (my companion loves biking). And we talked for 30mins at least. Well the man talked most the time. We gave him a pamphlet of the plan of salvation because he was talking a ton about his family and he was born on the same street we found him on. He was telling us all kinds of stories. We tried so hard to set up a lesson and to get his number but he wouldn't give it to us hahaha. It was so frustrating. Right after that we searched for Octavio. We didn't find him but we found a band of people playing bag pipes. We watched while waiting for Octavio. And then we left, took a wrong turn outside of the wall and we ran into Ester! Literally she hopped off us the bus on the opposite side of the street right when we were passing. It was great hahaha. Then we talked a bit with the people in the street ( and we found the plan of salvation pamphlet in the street that fell out of the cyclist's pocket while riding his bike). Then we went to the church to see if all the songs were programmed in the electric piano for sacrament meeting tomorrow. They were thankfully. We quickly called all the investagators and recent converts to see if they will be coming tomorrow. We walked out of the church and within 1 min Jose (investagator) saw us while he was driving, he picked us up and drove us home. The timing on everything today was amazing. I don't know what it was but I think the Lord was showing me that He really is in charge and that if we pray with enough faith He can really put the people in our path."

Hilarious moments:

When walking in the street one day a little kid came up to us and asked if we were from the "FBI". It was quite funny. His mom just kind of laughed at him as he did it haha

The other moment that made my week...on Sunday mornings, walking to church is always interesting. We have to pass through the Roman wall in the middle of the city and there are always drunk people who are so drunk they never made it home. So we never really know what it expect because usually someone says nasty things at us for being missionaries but they are too drunk to do more than say a couple mean things. But yesterday here is how one conversation went:

Se are walking down this small road and we see two girls, one dragging the other by the hand.

The girl being dragged: ¿qué vendéis, chicos? = what are you guys selling?

Me: nada = nothing / we aren't selling anything

The girl: oh, es que yo quería comprarlo. Soy consumista. =oh, because I wanted to buy what you are selling. I'm a consumer.

In English, not quite as funny but you get the point. My companion and I were dying. The great thing is we don't sell anything. We gift it. The gospel is free and we actually get back more in blessings than what we put in. 

And some quick words from Helaman 12:1: "...the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him."

Trust in the Lord and He can help us and bless us so much more than if we try to do everything on our own.

Have a wonderful week!

Today we took some random pictures around Lugo and this is what we got...

1)a Roman horse statue that I tested my weight on hahaha

2)a Roman soldier (missing)

3)the Roman wall

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission

Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B

28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes

Madrid, España

September 11, 2017 ~ Transfer 10 Week 1 ~ Training

Hi all! 

This week has been crazy. So Monday through Wednesday I was still in La Coruña with the zone leaders. Some crazy days in Coruña. And then finally we got home Wednesday night in Lugo.

So, I'm training =) super excited to help my companion learn how to do things and how to be a missionary. He's really teaching me more than I think I'm teaching him. And my new companion's name is Elder Gil and he's from Colombia. So we are talking 99% of the time in Spanish haha. He does speak a little English and is practicing with me during language study. Also, he already has 2 months in the mission (he was visa waiting). I'm really just training him on how to do things here in Spain as a missionary and finishing off what's left of his training.

Thursday we were so tired. After him traveling for 24+ hours and me waiting in Coruña we were beat. And that's right when a member called us to help her gather her potatoes because she needed help. It was a lot of fun and good hard work. They had a tractor that pulled up the potatoes and then we gathered them in buckets. It was pretty cool. I felt bad for my companion because literally on is first day here he is doing some pretty tough work while he's just exhausted haha. But we survived.

Then we had some issues with were the branch had a meeting or broadcast that was going to be shown and we didn't have any equipment or means to make it work...and so it took a while fixing that issue...thankfully the issue was solved when no one showed up to the meeting haha

Saturday we then went to Isidoro's home to help him out but we didn't get to do much service. We also brought Octavio an investagator along because he wanted to come. It seemed odd to me because I didn't think he knew Isidoro but Isidoro was fine with it and it all went well. We cleaned out one of the super dirty rooms in the back of the barn with all these different gears and parts for a tractor I believe. Isidoro is so awesome, he just has so much faith. Right now he's preparing himself to go to the temple.

Okay well I wasn't originally going to share this story but I feel to share it now so I'm going to. I said in La Coruña there were some pretty crazy days we had. Here's the craziest story we had this week from La Coruña (from my journal):

"After P-day we had a lesson in the park near the bridge where the drunk guy slid down the pole last Thursday with a dominicana. She's in her 20s and is super nice. She asked about like how people treat us and we told her the truth, that they treat us not so well. And she was surprised and felt bad for us. And we went on with the lesson. And another investagator came up to us to say hi (by chance he saw us, we didn't plan it) and Elder Maldonaldo started talking to him and teaching him on another bench. Five minutes pass by. And then all of a sudden we hear a huge shatter, almost like a glass bottle broke and it splattered in between our bench and Elder Maldonaldo's. It was an egg that was thrown at us! A man threw an egg at us from the 4th floor of a building (that was a good distance away). The egg splattered all over, it got elder Maldonaldo the worst. But if he hit one of us it would have hurt. The egg didn't splatter, it shattered, it was thrown from so high up. It went everywhere. And I was quite upset but I smiled my way through it. The man was looking at us from the window with binoculars (and obviously it wasn't the first time he had thrown eggs at people). But he looked at us and put a thumbs up like "did I get you?" And then told us to go away. It was super crazy. It was a little scary. And so we went to a different location. After that it was a really really good lesson and she enjoyed it a ton, the restoration made sense to her (this was a first lesson with her). She wondered why we get treated so poorly and then the egg was thrown haha. Quite crazy."

So the biggest emphasis I want to make with this story is that there is opposition to all things. We were doing something good and someone didn't want us to succeed - opposition. But the truth is that in the end good always will win, even if it doesn't seem like it might. Even with the opposition we faced we still taught the lesson and we had the opportunity to help this lady come closer to God.

1 Timothy 4: 10 -For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

11 These things command and teach.

12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Well, besides being super tired and trying to fit in all our studies for training there isn't a whole lot that is new. I guess that's what happens when you are out of your area for the whole week haha.

Have a great week!

1) my companion and I at Isidoro's

2) us and the hermanas after gathering all the potatoes

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

September 4, 2017 ~ Transfer 9 Week 6 ~ TRANSFERS and Surprises Galore

What a week.

This week went by extremely fast and we had quite the miracles/blessings happen. And this week was my one year mark of having been on my mission, having entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on August 23, 2016. To celebrate the one year mark we had ice cream in district meeting with a ton of toppings (snickers, chopped up pecans, white chocolate (all chopped)) and whipped cream...it was a lot of sugar haha. And then we went to go eat at the same restaurant where Elder Jeffers and I went on Monday (after looking for a different restaurant and not finding any as well priced). We got pulpo again and I got Mejillones (mussels) and Zorza. The Mejillones were really good but the Zorza was too greasy (it was basically grounded chorizo(sausage) on top of fried potatoes). Elder Jeffers bought callos- which translated it means "calluses" like on your hands or feet - and it's a soup of garbanzo beans and some meat (tripe of some sort). Thankfully the callos aren't actually calluses =)

So for miracles:

Last monday my companion and I fasted for a member from this branch that got stuck in a refugee camp on his way back from vacation. He went to Russia and then the Czech Republic and then when crossing the borders of two European countries in a bus, the driver called the police saying that the man didn't have papers (which he did). His papers were taken from him and he was sent to a refugee camp to await the mercy of them. He was stuck there for the past month or so. And so we held a fast to soften the hearts of those at the refugee camp to allow him to return here to Spain. They did the day after our fast! And he returned here this week!

This week we did a ton of service. We helped Isidoro clean up his farm (we cleaned up some gnarly spider webs and picked weeds on his plot of potatoes). And we also did some haybaling (which was quite new for me). I took some videos to share the experience. And then we also tried gathering the chickens at one point and they are hard to catch! As soon as we chased after the chickens the dogs thought it was okay too so you can imagine the fright those animals had! The best thing I've seen with service this week is that it opens hearts. We helped haybale for a member but her husband isn't a member and is quite against religions. Basically what happened is that he was so impressed by the amount of work we did and how fast we did it that he still hasn't stopped talking about us to his wife! We will see if he opens up to letting us talk to him soon. Quite the miracle. He wants to invite us back next year to help him haha. He wa sad when he realized we won't be here.

And this past Saturday we held the Baptism of Isidoro! He's super awesome. The service went really well and about 20 people showed up, most of them being investagators and less active members! And besides the set up taking so long (we did a time lapse, it probably shows our frusturation) and one of the sides breaking during the baptism, everything went wonderful =) It was so cool to see the changes that Isidoro has been through.

So this past month we had a goal as a mission to reach 25 baptisms for the month. We were trying to be realistic but also to stretch ourselves. And the President Pack prayed about the goal and felt it was right. So we held a mission-wide fast at the start of August so that people would be prepared and that we could reach that goal. Last week we were at 15 baptisms with a week left to go. I wasn't sure how it would finish. And this Sunday we reached that mission goal! We actually got 26 baptisms for the month. 10 people were baptized this past weekend and then on Sunday/Saturday there was a man who showed up in Madrid (B3) from Bolivia and he had recieved all the missionary disscussions and asked to be baptized that day. He was interviewed, baptized and conferred this past weekend. Talk about miracles.

And at the baptism, on the phone of one of our investagators, I saw the contact "Testigos de Jehová" (Jehovah's witnesses) and I saw the number and it was our number 😅 hahahaha we have had 2 lessons already with him and he apparently doesn't understand who we are or what our purpose is haha Elder Jeffers and I got a good laugh out of that one =)

And something else I learned is that if we just kind of try to get on answer, we will just kind of get an answer. If we just kind of go to church or just kind of read the result - something of "just kinda" quality. Something to think about.

1) Isidoro's baptism! 

2) a machete that Isidoro had at his farm

3)haybaling for days! This took us about 2-3 hours of work.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

August 28, 2017 ~ Transfer 9 Week 5 ~ THE YEAR MARK!

What a week.

This week went by extremely fast and we had quite the miracles/blessings happen. And this week was my one year mark of having been on my mission, having entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on August 23, 2016. To celebrate the one year mark we had ice cream in district meeting with a ton of toppings (snickers, chopped up pecans, white chocolate (all chopped)) and whipped cream...it was a lot of sugar haha. And then we went to go eat at the same restaurant where Elder Jeffers and I went on Monday (after looking for a different restaurant and not finding any as well priced). We got pulpo again and I got Mejillones (mussels) and Zorza. The Mejillones were really good but the Zorza was too greasy (it was basically grounded chorizo(sausage) on top of fried potatoes). Elder Jeffers bought callos- which translated it means "calluses" like on your hands or feet - and it's a soup of garbanzo beans and some meat (tripe of some sort). Thankfully the callos aren't actually calluses =)

So for miracles:

Last monday my companion and I fasted for a member from this branch that got stuck in a refugee camp on his way back from vacation. He went to Russia and then the Czech Republic and then when crossing the borders of two European countries in a bus, the driver called the police saying that the man didn't have papers (which he did). His papers were taken from him and he was sent to a refugee camp to await the mercy of them. He was stuck there for the past month or so. And so we held a fast to soften the hearts of those at the refugee camp to allow him to return here to Spain. They did the day after our fast! And he returned here this week!

This week we did a ton of service. We helped Isidoro clean up his farm (we cleaned up some gnarly spider webs and picked weeds on his plot of potatoes). And we also did some haybaling (which was quite new for me). I took some videos to share the experience. And then we also tried gathering the chickens at one point and they are hard to catch! As soon as we chased after the chickens the dogs thought it was okay too so you can imagine the fright those animals had! The best thing I've seen with service this week is that it opens hearts. We helped haybale for a member but her husband isn't a member and is quite against religions. Basically what happened is that he was so impressed by the amount of work we did and how fast we did it that he still hasn't stopped talking about us to his wife! We will see if he opens up to letting us talk to him soon. Quite the miracle. He wants to invite us back next year to help him haha. He wa sad when he realized we won't be here.

And this past Saturday we held the Baptism of Isidoro! He's super awesome. The service went really well and about 20 people showed up, most of them being investagators and less active members! And besides the set up taking so long (we did a time lapse, it probably shows our frusturation) and one of the sides breaking during the baptism, everything went wonderful =) It was so cool to see the changes that Isidoro has been through.

So this past month we had a goal as a mission to reach 25 baptisms for the month. We were trying to be realistic but also to stretch ourselves. And the President Pack prayed about the goal and felt it was right. So we held a mission-wide fast at the start of August so that people would be prepared and that we could reach that goal. Last week we were at 15 baptisms with a week left to go. I wasn't sure how it would finish. And this Sunday we reached that mission goal! We actually got 26 baptisms for the month. 10 people were baptized this past weekend and then on Sunday/Saturday there was a man who showed up in Madrid (B3) from Bolivia and he had recieved all the missionary disscussions and asked to be baptized that day. He was interviewed, baptized and conferred this past weekend. Talk about miracles.

And at the baptism, on the phone of one of our investagators, I saw the contact "Testigos de Jehová" (Jehovah's witnesses) and I saw the number and it was our number 😅 hahahaha we have had 2 lessons already with him and he apparently doesn't understand who we are or what our purpose is haha Elder Jeffers and I got a good laugh out of that one =)

And something else I learned is that if we just kind of try to get on answer, we will just kind of get an answer. If we just kind of go to church or just kind of read the result - something of "just kinda" quality. Something to think about.

1) Isidoro's baptism! 

2) a machete that Isidoro had at his farm

3)haybaling for days! This took us about 2-3 hours of work.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

August 21, 2017 ~ Transfer 9 Week 4

Things went well this week. 

Lots of cool experiences. Isidoro is doing good and we have a miracle investigator who walked in with his wife who was menos activa this past Sunday. He's super willing to change and Spaniards usually aren't as willing to change as he is. It was cool to have the spiritual experience we had with him, some powerful priesthood blessings and promises. He has a baptismal date for the 2nd of September.

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

August 14, 2017 ~ Transfer 9 Week 3

Hi all!

This week was super busy and went by really fast but at the same time, last Monday seems like a month ago. Last Monday we went to the Tower of Hercules, apparently the oldest light house in the world...I didn't actually know that at the time so I thought it was cool and all but now I understand why there was a long line to go and see it hahaha. Perspective changes everything.

Tuesday we had a zone conference or a large missionary training meeting. It went really well. I enjoyed it a lot. We focus on making realistic goals and focused a bit on the statistics of the work in our mission (for every 26 people we meet with 1 person gets baptized). Pretty interesting. I really enjoyed the conference and of course the great American meal we had prepared by some senior missionaries serving in A Coruña (the Bitton's). They made some really really good home made bread and made sandwiches out of it with a pasta salad on the side. And then strawberry shortcake for dessert. Probably sounds like nothing out of the ordinary but it was amazingly good. Also that night we find two more people to teach in only an hour of time that we had to talk to people. One of them is a man who right now is homeless due to a bad situation with his family and so he's living on the street for a week. He's taking it pretty optimistically which is good.

On Tuesday night someone brought us a ton of extra food that they didn't need and so on Wednesday we went to look for the homeless man. We called him and he didnt pick up. And so we thought...well, I guess we will find out what happened later. That same morning we saw a old man who was having trouble getting a stroller over the sidewalk and so we tried to help him but got there too late. Oh well. But then we saw the homeless man and we were super surprised! And so we went home and got the food to bring to him. It was a miracle that we found him. And this week we actually have been doing a lot of service. We found a couple of coins on the ground and so we bought some crackers to give to the homeless people. It feels great to serve them. You can see the difference between those who really need it or don't - gratitude is more than just words. And I can't explain everything we did to help people out this week but we served a lot of different people.

We also had a lesson with Isidoro who is preparing to be baptized on August 26. We went to his home and cut his hair and had a great lesson. And this past Sunday we had 4 investagators in church! It was a miracle. And a less active member even brought her husband who isnt a member, as well as some other less active families coming back. It was so great to see all the changes that happened this week.

I just want to share a quick story from the life of Jesus...so lately we have been reading the 4 gospels in the new testament as a mission and I was reading about when John the Baptist was killed. Jesus went off to be alone and probably to mourn the death of his cousin and friend but a crowd followed him out of the city. I put myself in his shoes...if this happened to me, what would I have done? I just want to be alone and a crowd is following me. I probably would have been pretty angry and frustrated. But here is what Christ does:

"Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick."

What does Jesus do? He serves the people! He asks them to bring their sick to him to be healed. What does this tell us about what we should do when we are sad or "mourning"? To serve! How amazing is that. It doesn't seem logical to focus on helping others to feel better when you don't feel happy. But when you turn outward you are happier as you bring smiles to other people.

I hope you have a great week! Try serving someone and I promise that as you do a self-less act of service you will be given more strength to confront your trials. =) 

Photos:

1)the cool Roman wall in Lugo. I finally got some pictures.

2)and the waves in A Coruña.

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

August 7, 2017 ~ Transfer 9 Week 2

Hi all!

So this week was a busy week where a lot of cool things happened. We were able to work with a lot of less active members and lots of miracles running into them after delays in transportation or in our schedules. We also got to play basketball with a less active member and it was a lot of fun. I felt like a little kid playing with a bunch of huge basketball players haha A funny story comes out of that that I will explain later. 

We also had piso (apartment) checks this week. President and Sister Pack came and checked how clean our piso is (and just so that my mom knows, it's super clean =)  ). 

The coolest thing this week was that we got to meet with our investagator Isidoro. He lives on a farm and he lives 2 hours away walking. So we had to get a member to drive us there. So we showed up at his home and he's working on his small field with a weed whacker. We helped him gather some potatoes and then we taught him in his courtyard of his farm that was built in the 1800s. Super cool. But the coolest part is that he told us he has been praying for the past two days that we would come. And we did. We set up a baptism date with him for the end of this month so we will see what happens.

Today we went to A Coruña because we have a zone conference tomorrow. We saw the Tower of Hercules which wasn't worth the wait but still fairly cool. Cool pictures of the waves and rocks haha. Also for some reason my Google Drive won't let me upload any pictures.


Funny moments:
So what I mentioned about basketball - there is this "fence" of bushes lining the court and the ball went over. These bushes are easily 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. And they said you had to jump over it to get the ball. Unfortunately I didn't ask what they meant and I just jumped and landed in the middle. NOT SOFT. Haha it hurt, I got small cuts on my legs. Then I got the ball and the worst thing is I had to do it again it get back over haha. Thankfully someone helped me out but it was definately a little embarrassing. I soon learned that they meant you were supposed to roll over it on your side...

Food moments:
We had a hamburger that was basically on an English muffin, really good.

Pizza
Crepes - strawberry syrup and chocolate sauce
Banana bread with cream cheese frosting
Arepas with cheese and chorizo (a food from Venezuela)
Herserys chocolate cake
Throwing away all the cherries and plums - they all went bad and we don't want to eat any cherries or plums for a while...it was way too many...


Have a great week!

Elder Openshaw

Spain Madrid Mission
Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2, Oficina 8B
28703 San Sebastián de los Reyes
Madrid, España

1) A random government building within the middle of the wall (sorry I still have no good photos of Lugo).

2) The burger we had for Hermana Larsen' s bday

3) A little market where people come and sell clothes and jewelry and food and stuff, every Tuesday and Friday, we happened upon it by chance