Wait..What?...It's July?!?!?!?


All right. Fess Up! Who stole June? I can't believe that June just kind of disappeared. A lot of craziness here and back home as well. However, we press forward. This past week we had zone conferences. We always need to be at two of the four to help feed the host of Israel. Sometimes there are some "loaves and fishes" involved. We have a fairly new crew in the office. 2 of the elders have only been there 1 transfer, and the other 2 are brand new. So, zone conference wasn't exactly the well-oiled machine it normally is. The way it's supposed to work is we set out all of the stuff that needs to go the night before. The elders load the MAV (Mission Assault Vehicle) and arrive at the stake center at about 0900. We all unload the MAV, and set up tables, chairs, table cloth paper, and place settings. They make sure the sound-system works. The President and Sister Heckmann show up a little before 1000 with the food that we need to get ready and conference starts at 1000. Day one, the MAV didn't show up until almost 1000, and so we had to really scramble to get things ready to go. Day 2 wasn't much better, and so we are going to have to work on things for next time. Like any other calling that the Lord gives us, there is a learning curve. But, that's ok.

Days 3 and 4 of zone conferences were in Valencia and the Islands respectively. We had the whole zone conference cycle a week early so that President and Sister Heckmann could be on the Islands for a special conference with Elder Soares. It marked the first time that an Apostle had been there. So, as always, the craziness never stops for them. We got the chance to watch a Zoom broadcast of the conference here today. 

I got a voice mail from Clearfield City saying that my rental property is going through thousands of gallons of water almost daily. I had the property manager go and check things out, and it turns out that there is a pretty substantial leak in the water main between the meter and the house. I am so very grateful for a property manager who can get a crew out there first thing tomorrow and get it resolved. I am also very grateful for an insurance company that will cover at least some of the cost (I hope). 

All of this is happening at the same time we are trying to get some new Pisos rented. As I have said before, renting an apartment in Spain isn't like it is in the states, where you meet with a landlord, look things over, sign a lease, write a check, and move in! The process requires lawyers here with formal contracts that need to be written up, etc. It's getting a little hectic because we're looking ahead to August where we are going to be getting about 23 missionaries, and then Sept when we're getting almost that many. Our work is cut out for us over this month in order to get that all ready. We are also finding out that landlords don't actually have to repair anything if they don't want to, which has been a frustration for us. 

The 4th of July was, as you can imagine, just another work day here. They don't seem to care about American Independence at all! We did eat hot dogs for lunch as kind of a lame celebration. We hope that all of you had a great time though. It was fun to see some pictures from the good ol' Kaysville parade. 

Hermana Musser decided to do some service for the ward and had all of the new hymns printed and put in some folders for the chapel. It was kind of a fun project, and it made her feel like she is really contributing. Today, we had a General Authority, Elder Alvarado of the 70, come to church. His brother is our bishop. He was so kind and told Mom how very much he appreciated her being here and said that Spanish doesn't matter nearly as much as the love that she has in her heart. I am very proud of her as she doesn't allow herself to get too discouraged because of the language, and just keeps pressing forward. 

We had a pretty scary situation on day one of Zone Conference. We have to keep track of all the food allergies out there and make sure to provide alternatives. Gluten is usually the one that will require a lot of attention, but we also have young man who is severely allergic to any kind of nut. Sister Heckmann's cook usually cooks a couple of different desserts. One is for the majority, and then a gluten free one for those who need it. We were aware of the nut allergy, so in the chocolate cheese cake she didn't put nuts, but the chocolate chip gluten free cookies she loaded them up with nuts. Poor Elder Green remembered the brownies from last zone conference, and assumed that he couldn't have the chocolate cake and so he went after a cookie. He then came to us after the fact and asked if they had nuts because he was starting to feel it. Thankfully, he carries an EpiPen with him, and we were able to get him taken care of. Both the mission nurse, and President Heckmann monitored him to make sure he was OK. We asked if we should give him a blessing and President Heckmann said that we should. Elder Green asked me to seal the anointing. I have given many priesthood blessings over the years, and I am always amazed at how the Lord tends to guide my words. I usually just start, and the Spirit takes over. This time the instant I put my hands on that kid's head I was overwhelmed with the power of the Spirit, and I hadn't even said a single word yet! I knew in that moment that Heavenly Father loves that young man very much. I realized that He loves ALL of His children with all of His heart, and that includes all of you too!

We love you all as well. Have a wonderful week!


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