How are you all???? How is your fall?? Are you guys freezing over there??? Cause all of the sudden it´s freezing here! We went from short sleeves to coats and boots in like 24 hours haha. It wouldn't be that cold except the darn humidity just goes straight to your bones. But it´s great; I didn't realize how much I love the cold until I got out here, but I love it!
Huge shout out to Martha and Boo--Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day!!!!! And I can't believe that the Birks are having a girl!!!!! Ah, that makes me so happy I can barely stand it! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for all these babies, it´s not even funny :)
This week was really good! Catarroja is wonderful :) The people are absolutely the sweetest people ever. They are so loving, and they just shower us with love and food and excitement about the work. They really are incredible. I just love them all! I feel so at home here, because everyone is just so sweet. It´s also fun getting to know an area being older in the mission, because now I know how to learn an area, and it´s hardly been an adjustment cause I just feel at home! Except I still miss the people from Zaragoza so much I can barely think about it without getting teary. But it´s okay--they are all writing me, and we are going to be bffs forever :)
So the work here is super different than I've ever seen it! It´s crazy cause it´s such a small pueblo that everyone knows us. So almost everyone we contact already knows who we are and knows the members. So we work all through the members and it´s great! The only thing is that the transfer before there were some baptisms here, which is so awesome! But our investigator pool has had to start over, so we´re just trying to get stuff going. But we have some great investigators! We are teaching a couple from Ecuador named Cristobal (yes I know, great name haha) and Susana. They are so sweet and love everything about the church. They have been in the middle of a move since I got here, so we have just been helping them with that. The ward is so cute and have completely taken over the move, helping them and doing everything for them. But this couple is incredible. They are already members, basically, with how strong their testimonies are--they´re just too afraid to get baptized! But this week the move will be over so we can really teach them, and we will set a baptism date with them, cause they are incredible. They are getting baptized for sure!
We have tons of investigators that are friends and family of members! It´s so good--except none of them are really progressing. So we are praying super hard for miracles with these people and that we can find people who will progress. But we are so lucky to have members that want to share the gospel. The work here is great! We are just praying to see more progress in the people here, but I know it will come :)
I just love it here though, really. Hermana Shake is incredible! She is such a powerhouse--she is super bold with people, but so loving about it that she can be bold. Everyone just loves her cause she just gets right to people's hearts haha. I just love her! It´s so fun being with a pretty new missionary, cause she is still experiencing stuff for the first time, and it´s just refreshing. We are having so much fun :)
Funny story this week! So Hermana Shake had to go to Barc for her papers, so I was with Hermana Manwill (who went to Oly) in Valencia. We went to visit a new investigator from India. The whole time we just felt weird, cause she was asking us all these odd questions. Finally she asked if we could help her with something. We were like, "Of course! Anything!" She asked us if we could come with her to England to help her with her marriage papers. Surprised, we explained to her that we can´t, we have to stay here, but we can help translate them for her here. She said, "Well, I need to you sign them." We were like what??? And she was like (oh and this was all whispering, which put me on edge on the first place haha), "Well, I need you to marry my brother." (She was dead serious.) "My brother needs to come to Spain but can only come if he´s married to someone here, and they need to speak English so he can talk to them. But if you already have boyfriends, you can just sign the paper and divorce him in two years--like you don´t even have to live with him if you don´t want to. He´s really handsome, though, so you probably would anyway." WHAT! We were dying! She was so serious that it was just crazy.She seriously tried to convince us to marry her brother for like 45 minutes, and we were inching to the door trying to escape haha. It was WILD. We left and we said to each other, "Things like this just don´t happen in Holladay. . ." Haha! Spain is a wild adventure, I´ll tell ya. I love it though :) So maybe if I don´t get married in the next 20 years I have an option :)
Okay now for a really cool experience--this was the best! So I was with Hermana Manwill in Valencia and she was showing me some old Liahonas from the 1980s (like the Ensign, but for other countries). I was looking through them and they were so cool. I look through a conference issue and see a picture. I looked at a picture and my first thought was--that woman has Dad´s eyes. Then I realized it was Grandma Boyer!!!!!!! I looked at the caption and sure enough, it said that it was Marian Boyer--the first counselor in the General RS Presidency! I don´t know where I've been for 21 years, but somehow I missed that Grandma was in the General RS Presidency! I was so surprised! I was so happy that I could barely contain it! What are the chances--looking in Spain in an old Ensign and come across a picture of Grandma Boyer! It was such a special experience. It was actually exactly what I needed. It made me realize that I come from a long line of people serving and giving to the Lord--I need to keep up with my heritage and give everything I have. It was so special for me, because I don´t remember Grandma Boyer very well, but I do remember how she made me feel so special and she was always excited about what I was doing. As I looked at the picture of her, I felt the same way. I just knew that she is here with me, along with all my grandparents, being the angels that surround me. I know they watch over all of us, and I know they are aware of my mission and are helping Spaniards on the other side :) Wow now I´m totally crying here, but it was just so special to have that connection with her, and I know it was a tender mercy of the Lord. This work is real on both sides of the veil, I know that with my whole heart. I love this work so much, and how grateful I am to come from a heritage of people that have served and loved the Lord. I hope I can carry that on here on the other side of the world.
I love you all so much, I can´t even type it cause it´s not adequate! I just love you so much, I can´t even tell you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do and all you are for me. I love you so much, and have a wonderful week :)
Love, Hermana Boyer
This is Hermana Shake and I outside the chapel before church :)
This is us in front of a cathedral in Valencia
This is the picture of Grandma Boyer :)
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