Musser Mission Blog

 This week has been amazing. Monday through Wednesday we went to the island of Mallorca to a city called Palma for a "Senior Missionary Conference". We got to do some sight seeing, and spend a lot of time getting to know each other and hearing messages from President and Sister Heckmann. It was really fun. On Monday, after we all arrived in Palma we took a train ride to the Port of Soller. It was a lot of fun and went through some absolutely beautiful countryside with orchard after orchard of citrus trees. It was a very old wooden train, and it reminded us of the "Heber Creeper". The port was beautiful with two lighthouses overlooking the opening to the port. We didn't have enough time to go and see them up close, but we did get a chance to eat at an outdoor restaurant before we had to head back. The hotel we stayed in was right on the beach, and the President booked us rooms facing the water so we could listen to the surf all night. On Tuesday Hermana Heckmann ...

  This week has been a week of change. First thing on Monday, President Heckmann asked Sister Musser and I to go to take his car to the Airport to pick up a new couple, Elder and Sister Evans. They are going to be working with the Young Single Adults in Terrassa and Barcelona. They are taking the place of the Hammonds who are going home next week. After they talked to the President, and got their residency paperwork started, we drove them to Terrassa which is about a half hour away by car. There they met the Hammonds. It is interesting to see one couple arrive all nervous and full of desire to serve, and see another couple who has worked so hard and is gearing up to go home. It makes me think about where I am in this whole process and how will I be feeling when that times comes. We have loved the Hammonds, and will dearly miss them. On Friday they came down for their last time at Institute and it was so touching to see how much the Young Single Adults love them and how they will mi...

 It is pretty crazy how fast the weeks seem to fly by. I can't believe that we are already half-way through March. Wasn't it just Christmas? This week has been pretty wild. Monday, as always, starts off with cleaning the office, and then catching up with all of the stuff that collects over the weekend. Added to that was a trip to Makro (kind of like Costco without the hotdogs). We had to buy all of the supplies for the next Zone Conference. Tuesday is always the Mission Zoom Call in the morning followed by break-out sessions, followed by Staff meeting. After Staff meeting, we went to lunch with the Hammonds and the Larrosas to say goodby to the Hammonds who will be leaving soon. (great excuse to eat sushi!) On Thursday we had to drive to Tarragona to help the sisters move from the apartment that we lost to another one, and we had to help them clean. That was a very long day. On Friday I filled in teaching an institute class because Elder and Sister Hammond went to Madrid to sup...

 It's kind of been a wild week for us. Zone conferences are always kind of hectic, but this week was especially so. Usually we have two zone conferences in the Barcelona Stake Center. Each one has two zones that attend. We can usually haul everything we need for both days there on day one. We can set up all the tables, and get everything ready on the first day, and so the second day, we just show up and do all of the heavy cleaning after the 2nd conference. This time we did day one at the Barcelona Stake Center and day two at the Hospitalet Stake Center. It meant double the work (set up, take down, and cleaning), but it allowed the Hospitalet and Lleida zones to not have to travel so far. The first day was also complicated because a new couple arrived on Tuesday morning and Sister Musser and I were assigned to take the President's car to the airport to pick them up and take them to the Zone conference. I kind of felt bad for them because I know that they were jet-lagged beyond ...

 I can't believe that we are already into another month! Where did February go? The time is flying by. This has been an amazing week for me. On Tuesday, we had our normal mission Zoom call and President Heckmann felt inspired to talk about Joy. He focused on the Joy that the Gospel brings when we live it, and on the Joy that comes to the soul that repents. He encouraged all of the missionaries to review the talks by Elder Kearon and Sister Yee. They are both wonderful. The Savior can fill our souls with joy. One of my favorite people in the Book of Mormon is Ammon. He was filled with joy so powerful that it overcame him, and he fell to the earth. I have never been completely overcome with joy, but there have been many times when my heart was filled almost to overflowing with joy. I know that the adversary would have me forget those times, but they are real, and I am grateful for them. Wednesday was Mission Leadership Conference and so the mission home was full of the leaders in the...