This was a super good week guys and I liked all the comments on this type of email so I did it again, let me know what you think!
Today Monday was preparation day. We didn't do too much. We bought groceries and walked around and looked at the stores in Gandia. I haven't done too much touring around so we went in some. My companion bought a thermos for drinking mate the Argentinian drink made from the mate herb. You can drink it two ways, cold which is called tedadei and hot which is just mate. We then went contacting and just talked. Me and Elder Tingey are good friends but we don't know each other as well so we got to know each other more. Overall it was a good day and just helped me reset for the week.
Tuesday- we taught the first lesson to a Nigerian woman named Praise and it was super great. She understood the lesson super well even though we taught it all in English hahaha. I have not taught a lesson in English at all I don't think and it was super weird. But very powerful because the spirit led the whole lesson and she is now going to read the Book of Mormon and pray to see if it is true. We also taught a less active member about prayer from the book of Enos in the Book of Mormon and then we met with some members and just talked and answered some of their questions from the Book of Mormon. They also gave us some milk. This milk with this mix that was coffee flavored but not coffee and it was weird and not the good honestly but hey I know what coffee tastes like now and I don't plan on drinking it hahaha.
Wednesday we went contacting again. We were going to go to a visit in the afternoon but then they canceled and so we went out contacting again and then we taught an English class and surprisingly 3 people came which was super good. Then after one of them stayed and with 20 minutes left before we had to go back home we played basketball at the hoop we have at the chapel. We played with a friend named Felipe. He is not a member but both his parents were baptized recently so we're working with him and becoming his friend so that maybe in the future we can start teaching him the lessons.
Thursday was super packed. It was seriously what we've been working for for the last 2 weeks. We taught a lesson in the morning to Estephan the Belgian homeless man. We taught lesson 3 the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we went to a pueblo named Oliva and we ate a huge paella with a member family. It was super super good and then we came back to Gandia and taught a lesson to a man named Alberto and it was super super incredible. He literally is Brilian 2.0 like super super prepared for baptism. We taught him the plan of salvation and literally he was so led on by the spirit. With every point we taught it just clicked and he was led to the next point and I seriously can't even describe how great it was and he's now super ready for baptism like he was even asking what he needs to do to be baptized. Just amazing, and then we went to a members house and finished off the night playing card games with them and just helping them stay animated and happy.
Friday we met with the Nigerian woman praise and taught the plan of salvation and then invited her to church and we have her committed to come to the first hour. We then taught a man named Eduardo sort of. It was supposed to be a lesson but he ended up just asking us a ton of questions for an hour and we barely got a prayer in in the end of the lesson. I hope it will be better next time and we get in a full lesson. It's not that we don't like answering questions it's just not our full purpose as missionaries. Our purpose is to bring the gospel to people and invite people to find out its truth and to accept and follow the principles of the church when they find it is true. And we did teach him doctrine but not so he could investigate the church it was more to learn information. Then that night we got a ride with two elders from Benidorm, a town about an hour from Gandia, to stay in their apartment for the night to go to zone conference the next day!
Saturday we had zone conference in Alicante another big city but in the south of Spain! It was super great to see President also Elder Johnson our area 70 in Spain was there and taught us. I got to see my trainer and again and some of my friends from the MTC which was super fun and we ate super good paella!
We learned together about working with members better and how much more we need to take seriously baptism. There's a culture among missionaries that we need to baptize baptize baptize but it shouldn't be that way. We don't just baptize people to baptize. We do it because they should be converted to the gospel and are willing to continue in the church. It never stops to amaze me that I go into a zone conference with questions and doubts they are answered in the teachings in conference. Literally these were the 2 things I was so caught up about and they touched on them perfectly and I am super grateful for it. We truly are a church led by inspiration and revelation.
Sunday we had 5 amigos come to church!! Super amazing miracle and some of the people we didn't think would come did. It was so great to see them there and see them progress. We then taught first a friend named Brenda and she's a friend we're working with but we're not seeing her progress. We are going to continue teaching her but we it's important for the people we teach to accept and follow our invitations. We then taught a friend Pedro who is golden and a half. He is from Bolivia and he came to Spain about a week ago so he's really new. But he came to Spain and he never was a believing person in God but now he suddenly has realized how important the word of God needs to be in his life and he's ready to accept it. He's seriously amazing and was touched deeply by the story of Joseph Smith.
I have a couple of thoughts from this last week that I learned recently. First that we need to make known the second coming of Christ. We believe that we are in the last days and that we are in the time preparing for Christ to come to earth again and it made me realize how much we need to use this knowledge to bring others to Christ now because Christ will come and those of his church will be blessed immensely. And second, we need to focus on the good things in all situations. Something that happened in church today really hurt me. We brought a lot of friends to church and in the 3rd hour the members just argued with each other and didn't teach the lesson. It hurt me because we did so much work to bring people to church and this was the example the members set for them. It was sad, and me and my companion were really mad about it. But we realized they were there before that hour and I'm sure they felt the spirit at some point. We had them there and that's what counts that's the miracle. I encourage you all to look at the good side of every situation and even in the scriptures with the war chapters. At times we don't see what the good is from seeing all this destruction and iniquity but the prophets always put some good in there, always. They always point out as I've seen that the righteous are always preserved, strengthened, and protected. That's a promise.
It was a way better week everyone and thanks for all the emails it was good to hear from some of you that it's been a while. Love you all!
Elder Keith
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