October already?!?!?!?

 


When they tell you that time flies when you're having fun, they aren't kidding! It seems like last week  we were gearing up for Christmas, and here we are already into October. It all seems just crazy that our time here in Spain is evaporating this quickly. This week has been a blur. Work in the office has been crazy because painters have been working to give the office a new look. Of course, this means that we have had to move almost everything from everywhere including our storage room where there are several thousand copies of the Book of Mormon in many languages, teaching materials, zone conference supplies, and several very large shelving units. We had to dismantle our office as well. They have finished now, but things are still in a big mess, so this coming week we will need to reorganize everything. 

We have been having to do some travel this week to look at apartments and to move a set of missionaries into a new place. One trip was to a place called Viladecans, as we were hoping to rent an apartment there. It looked promising, until we were told the next day that they decided to rent to a family instead. We took another trip to a place called Platja d'Aro to move some missionaries out of an Airbnb into a place that we were able to rent. Platja d'Aro is a beach resort, and we had to agree, as part of the lease, that we would vacate for a month every summer so that they can rent the place as an Airbnb for exorbitant prices. I had never heard of anything like that before, but so be it. 

We have leased two places on our own, outside of the services that HECSEB (our property management company) provides. This has been pretty nerve-racking for us as it also means that we have to deal with all of the issues that we usually pawn off to them. We have a senior missionary from Argentina who's business was in real estate, who has been getting these pisos for us. We're kind of nervous frankly on what lies ahead. However, we had to do something since HECSEB has failed us in getting apartments that are sorely needed. 

I am just so very grateful to have arrived at General Conference weekend. The morning sessions for conference are at 6:00-8:00 PM here, and the afternoon session goes from 10:00 PM to midnight. We waited to watch the Saturday evening session until this morning because we didn't want to stay up until 4:00 AM! It has been incredible as always. I am so very grateful for Prophets, Seers, and Revelators! Somehow Conference just rejuvenates my soul every 6 months. I am really looking forward to listening to these talks over and over. There is always so much to learn, and so many reminders of how much the Lord loves me! What a blessing.

We are grateful to be here on the Lord's errand. I know that He lives, and I am very grateful for the Sacrifice He made for me. It's incredible to me that He continues to prove that Heavenly Father's work and glory really IS to bring us all back home to Him. I hope that all of you are taking the opportunity to drink in every minute of General Conference, and that you have been enjoying it as much as I have. We really are blessed.

Now, on to a new week!

(Sorry, no extra pictures this week)

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