Summer Starts in Spain
This is the result when you ask ChatGPT to make a caricature of your photo. Too bad I didn't ask it for a "skinny caricature". We have had a kind of a crazy week. On Monday we took the mission car in to get it serviced, then walked to work from the shop. I thought that an oil change would take them just a few minutes, but we didn't get to go a pick it up until Wednesday. After they called, we walked down to the shop again (a little further than what we walk when we walk to work). We thought it would be pretty quick. I was a little nervous when I looked around the shop at the cars that were parked on the street, and didn't see ours. We waited around for several minutes while someone was sent to get the car back for us. It turns out that it was in a parking garage across the street. As he pulled up the ramp out of the garage, the tech asked if the tire pressure warning had been on for long. I said no, and then walked around the car to find the right front tire almost riding on the rim. They had obviously run over something in the garage. They pulled it back into the shop and fixed the hole. So we didn't get back to the office for over an hour.
Barcelona is starting to get hot and muggy. Our air conditioning pulls humidity out of the air, and it drips into a bucket that I have to empty twice a day. If we didn't have it, we would be very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there are several missionaries who are without AC at the moment. Getting a technician out to work on stuff like this is a real challenge. First, convincing an owner that they should get it fixed in the first place is a challenge, and then getting techs there is another. We had a case where a senior couple serving in Tortosa had their AC go out. We talked to the property management company and they talked to the owner. He refused to fix it. He said that it was working when they got the apartment, and therefore it wasn't his responsibility! We tried everything we could think of to change his mind. We suggested that he could either get it fixed using his technicians, or we could get it fixed using one that we would find, and then deduct the cost from the rent. We even threatened to take 250 Euros off the rent until the thing was fixed. However, at the end of the day, the lawyers with the property management company told us that in Spain, you are not allowed to change the amount you pay for rent without the owner agreeing to it which he didn't. Given the cost to get a new piso and move the couple, it ended up being cheaper for us to just get it fixed and eat that cost ourselves. It's really hard to swallow one's pride and give in to a situation that is just plain wrong. As we now say a lot "aaah Spain"!
One thing that is really kind of fun is that a lot of the ramblas and streets are lined with a flowering tree with these beautiful little orange flowers. When it blooms, they fall to the earth, and it's almost like you're walking in rose petals. If there's a breeze it looks almost magical as it's almost like orange snow falling. I am really glad however, that my allergies don't include the pollen from these flowers. Not everyone here is so lucky.
Today, I was reading the church news website and came across something that Elder Uchtdorf said at the new mission leader seminar this week. He said that "missionaris have made a sacred act of moral agency to serve." They not only volunteered, they accepted the call to serve. He said that "the selfless exercise of moral agency lends a holiness to the work and to the people." It kind of puts these sweet missionaries in a new light for me.
These missionaries are sure special. Which brings me to what will happen this coming week. We have transfer week. This one will be more impactful than most. We have 3 missionaries who served as Assistants to the President going home along with several other missionaries who could have easily served in that capacity. A lot of leadership is heading out the door. President Heckmann told me that the only thing that makes transfers bearable for him is after he drops his missionaries off at the airport, he goes down to the lower level to pick up the new missionaries coming in. We will have a bunch of new ones coming in including President Eyring's granddaughter. (we probably shouldn't put her in one of the pisos where the AC is on the fritz).
Even with all of the commotion and craziness, the work goes on. It is a miracle, and a delight to be a part of it. The work is hard, but the rewards are fun when you see the smiles on these wonderful missionaries and feel their spirits. It's kind of crazy to think that we have just over a year to go before someone drops US off at the airport to leave. However, we try not to think about that.
We love you all! Have a great week.
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