And There Goes Another Month!

Time seems to be a curious thing. Some days seem to have 1000 hours in them. Some Weeks seem to have 50 days in them. Yet, the months seem to be almost more like "don't blink, or you'll miss them". I have no idea where October went, but the calendar doesn't lie. It's now November! I have gotten out sweaters a time or two, and things have cooled down nicely. I have yet to feel really "cold" so this is a nice time of year for me. Cool enough to sleep well at night, yet warm enough to be able to either go in shirtsleeves or with a sweater. 

This week kind of flew by for us. We said goodbye to Elder Noble who was one of the Assistants. He stayed an extra week because his family was on a cruise. That sounds bad, but they had booked it before he extended a transfer. So, he stayed one week extra and helped out in the office. We will miss him, but since he lives in Farmington, we'll see him again. 

President and Sister Heckmann were gone all week at a Mission President's Seminar in Greece. That doesn't mean the the work stopped. We were able to rent a new apartment in Vilanova so that we could get the elders out of an Airbnb. We had to trade 2 nice cars for two new, but cheaper, cars. One of those was on the islands. So, we had a couple ride a ferry over with one car to Valencia (they were able to visit another couple there since the sisters are, in real life, sisters!). We had a couple of missionaries who needed to come to Barcelona from there for their residency, so they brought that car up. It was hard seeing those nice cars pulled up onto the tow truck, but the work goes on. We are allegedly going to be getting a replacement for the MAV (Mission Assault Vehicle). It is the huge mission van. The new one has sliding doors on either side which will make it easier to load and unload. However, since it took over a year  for the Mini-MAV to show up, I am not holding my breath.

We decided to get memberships at the local gym. I only hope that we can make sure to keep up on the commitment to go every morning (Sunday excluded, of course). It's a pretty nice gym, and so if we can stay consistent, it will do us some good. My mother was absolutely right when she told me that "getting old is not for wimps!"

Last night was a Young Single Adults dance at the stake center. We went with the Larrosas to help cook. I was struck by the amount of energy that was there. It makes me wonder where all mine went! We found out that the Larrosas are probably going to extend through June which will be wonderful as they are doing amazing things with these youth. There are some that are going on missions because of their influence. Then there are those who are pairing up to get married, which is just as great. All of this happens while they are bringing lots of friends to the activities so that the missionaries have lots to do. The Young Single Adult program or "JAS" (Jovenes Adultos Solteros) is one of the biggest producers of new members that the mission has. For a European mission we are baptising incredible numbers of people. Our goal for this year is to hit 500 baptisms, and we are going to be very close to hitting that goal. 

Today is fast sunday. It's always good for me to see these good people here bear their testimonies. In the Barcelona 2nd ward, you have to be pretty quick on your feet if you are going to get a turn. There is NEVER any "dead space". Today it was really sweet. We had a young woman who had been to an EFY experience over the summer bear her testimony about how the Spirit had worked in her life. The Spirit was really strong. It reminded me that Heavenly Father is an expert at taking our individual experiences, and helping us feel His love through them in such a way that we know that He is mindful of us as individuals. As the primary song says "I know that my Savior loves me!" 

We are glad to be able to spend these two years consecrating our time and talents to serve Our Savior. We both know that there is absolutely no way that we could ever repay Him for what He has done for us. I do not know what our future consecration will look like, but for now, I know that we are EXACTLY where He would have us be right now. That is a comforting truth that helps me when I miss my family. I remember when Adam first left to go on his mission. Every time I would be sad about him being gone, I would ask myself if I would rather have him be home with me. The answer was always no because I knew that he was doing EXACTLY what the Lord wanted him to be doing. So, now I feel things from the other side. We are away from family, but we know that it's the right thing to do. 

We hope that you all have a great week. Please know that your Heavenly Father loves you! Happy November!

Sorry, no photos today!