15 December - Only 10 more days!


This past week has been really busy. It was Zone Conference week. So, Tuesday and Wednesday were both spent supporting the Barcelona Zone Conferences. That equates to very long hours making sure the food is ready, getting things set up, serving, and cleaning up after the fact. This week was especially rough because for whatever reason the heat in the stake center wasn't working. Tuesday we weren't prepared and basically froze most of the day. Wednesday we wore warmer clothes, and Brenda and Hermana Hammond kicked on the oven in the kitchen to keep them warm. We got home exhausted both days, but it sure is fun being around these wonderful missionaries! Thursday and Friday we were in the office alone because all of the office Elders went with the Heckmanns to the other two zone conferences. It allowed us to at least attempt to get caught up between package deliveries. Amazon is making a bundle on these missionaries as Moms and Dads order from Amazon.es rather than try to send a package and have their missionary get hit with a European Union Value Added Tax in order to get their package out of "mail jail".

In order to get President and Sister Heckman together with all of the office staff to the train station to go to Valencia with all of the packages that needed to be delivered to both Valencia and to the Islands, I ended up having to drive the massive MAV (Mission Assault Vehicle). It's a full sized Ford van. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem, but normally I'm not being asked to drive in Barcelona! To make it tougher, several of my passengers were "back-seat-driving" like crazy telling me where to turn and a lot of those directions were in direct opposition with each other. It was a pretty harrowing experience that I hope to not have to duplicate any time soon. At the end of the day, we got everyone there without any casualties, and I got the MAV back to the mission home in one piece. Now, I just have to work through my PTSD!

We're in the middle of getting a couple of new Pisos and there are a million and one things to do there. Plus, I have to get all of the year-end finance stuff sorted out. This coming week is going to be pretty wild. We are also going to be going to get our residency cards which will take at least half a day. We have also been asked to take over the "My Plan" program for the departing missionaries. We've got to fit that in this week as well. We're looking forward to having Christmas where we can take a couple of days to catch our breath. 

One of the traditions in our mission is that the day after Christmas is called a "Day of Revelation". The missionaries are to spend the day studying, reflecting, and pondering the Savior's life, and what they can do to bring Him into their own personal lives. In talking with some of the missionaries who were here last Christmas they said it was an amazing day that they're looking forward to again. I have been trying to focus on the fact that this office work we have to do is really the way we have been called upon to serve Him. If nothing else, it will be a day for us to recharge our batteries as we get ready to sprint into 2025. 

It will be hard to spend Christmas away from our loved ones, however, we will be having the huge blessing of being in the mission field in the direct service of our Savior. I love that precious baby born in Bethlehem so long ago. He really is the "Reason for the Season". I am sure that this Christmas will be one that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

We love and miss you all, and hope that you are finding time to reflect, ponder, and draw closer to Him. He is the greatest Christmas gift of all!


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