Well it is a new year and a new area! Tomorrow I´m headed off to Granada! There is snow there! Like alot! i hope it doesn´t distract me haha.
It has been really hard saying good bye to Alicante though. Lots of tears were shared and I really am going to miss it here. We had a great week though. We have been preparing three people to be baptized. :D
One will be baptized this Saturday! I´m a little bummed that I wont be here for it but she is very special! Emi just quit smoking on saturday and is doing great! She is so ready :) She is 20 and just perfectly prepared for the gospel. She loves sharing the gospel and has asked us a few times about how the whole mission thing works. We are really excited!
Oh also there is this guy named Miguel! He is 31 and his friend is a return missionary who lives in Utah now so Miguel is moving there and going to go to BYU for a while! he doesn´t have a baptismal date but It is so cool because he thinks he will be there when I get back from the mission! Right when I met him we just clicked! He is awesome. The missionaries from the other ward are teaching him right now though.
W celebrated New years at the church with our district and cooked and ate and played games and listened to some music. Super fun! :D Then a little before midnight we walked across the street to a members house and we watched "the ball" drop in Madrid and the tradition here is that every second for twelve seconds you eat a grape and make a wish. Very strange but an awesome tradition that we participated in. :) It was hilarious because some of the missionaries didn´t know you could chew the grapes so there was one with his cheeks loaded and a look of desperation as the bell kept ringing to eat another grape :P It was great!
Sunday I got up to give my testimony and I felt so much love for these people and the spirit confirmed to me that I had completed everything that I was called to do here. It was a great feeling! I am so excited to go keep working hard and seeing peoples lives change.
Yesterday we went to Malaga for another conference and it was a blast! There are so many changes in the missionaries as everyone is getting older and more experienced! It is the greatest. I love the mission!
I have learned a lot this past week about the love of our heavenly father and how we can channel that love to people through us. As missionaries we show vulnerability as we give our will to the lord and open up to every person we meet. It is hard because they can reject us or they can accept us. The feelings of rejection aren´t hard because we aren´t carried up in pride. There are only feelings of sadness as we watch another person turn away from true happiness. It is a very sad feeling. But there is also such happiness when someone accepts this message and we feel joy as we know we will be friends with them to support and help one another. It has been a very humbling, strengthening and growing week this week.
Don´t be afraid to share this message, and remember why we share this message. I promise you that you will NEVER regret following the prompting of the spirit to share the gospel with someone. I know that this is the Lords work and that he exists! It´s kind of cool when you think about it :)
The mission is the best! I love it and will keep loving it.
Elder Powell
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