It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 

She's My Angel!

This week has been pretty tiring. The President's car has been in the shop, and so that means that we get to rely on the "shoe-leather express" and the Metro. It's all good though because we really need the exercise. We decided to make a conscious effort to make driving the exception and not the rule. We bought some better walking shoes to not only be more comfortable, but to keep our toes warmer now that the weather is starting to turn cold. We actually turned on the heat for the first time this winter, and we're glad that it works. We don't need the weather app to tell us it's getting colder, we just need our phones as Brenda has been getting a lot of "how do I turn on the heat" calls. 

Barcelona has turned on the Christmas lights, and so we look forward to going around and seeing them. There are places that have outdoor Christmas shopping kiosks spring up, and we look forward to taking it all in. Last year, we were just trying to find our way back and forth from the office. This year we hope to be a little more adventurous and take it all in. 

Getting calls about the heat aren't the only ones Brenda gets. As we have been here over 15 months, we thought we had "heard it all". We found out that is not the case. Brenda got a call from a pair of Elders saying. "Um, we kind of accidentally put our smoke detector in the washing machine!" Yes, you read that right. Apparently they had it sitting on a counter next to a pile of rags that they needed to wash. The Elder just scooped up the pile of rags along with the smoke alarm! They were clued in pretty quick because apparently smoke alarms do NOT like to get wet. It started going crazy. The missionaries had quite the time getting it out of there (front loading washers do not like to be interrupted). Once they got it out, it didn't want to shut up. Finally, they broke the thing on the floor. Brenda was going to order another one for them, until we figured out it was one that was already in the piso before, and the mission owned detector is sitting on a shelf where it's supposed to be. Never a dull moment around here!

After our fiasco last week with the MAV we have been trying to figure out where we can go and plug the beast in. A plug-in hybrid has a large battery and electric motor that if you don't ever charge the thing is just dead weight that the gas engine has to haul around. So, we found that it will actually fit (just barely...literally talking a couple of inches to play with) in the garage by our piso where we park the Mini-MAV when we take it home. I was able to get the MAV added to our contract so that we can either have the MAV or the Mini-MAV (but not both at the same time) in there. The garage has a main level where I can squeeze the MAV into. Going up or down (super narrow and steep ramps) will never happen. There are 4 spots that have access to 2 charging stations on the main floor. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are willing to park a non-chargeable car in one of those spots. So, it's a gamble to try and get the MAV in there to park. I was able to get an account on the app that I need to be able to access public charging stations here in Spain. The problem was, I finally ended up having to use my personal credit card, because the mission's cards kept getting rejected for some reason. This weekend was the inaugural trial to see if we could get this thing charged. It took me three tries of taking the MAV in there only to find nowhere to park and having to park it in the garage under the church where the Elders usually have to park it. Third time was a charm, and we were successful in getting it charged. We will probably go through this craziness once a week or so depending on how much of a hassle this becomes.

Also this week we have had our eyes on this coming week and Thanksgiving. We are having a Zone Conference with all 4 of the Barcelona Zones on Thursday. The Elders were somehow able to get a line on a place where they can get the 9 turkeys that we are going to need. The senior missionaries are all pitching in, and Brenda and I are going to have to cook 2 of them. If this comes together, it will truly be something to be "Thankful" for on Thanksgiving!

What we can really be thankful for is that the work is going so well here. We are on track to reach our goal of 500 baptisms for the year. Last week we had 19. Things are going so well that today the Barcelona stake was divided. What made it more amazing was that there was a stake in Madrid that was divided on the same day! It was also announced that two cities that were just opened up are going to have their groups made into branches. How cool is that?

On a personal note, we just heard that Tammy and Gerald (Brenda's sister and her husband) have received their mission call to the Illinois Historic Sites Mission focusing on Nauvoo and managing the pagents there. We are super excited for them, and we know that they will do amazing things. Now it will be our turn to visit them on their mission! They will be in the field already when we get home. ROAD TRIP! 😁

We are excited about the announcement of 18-year-old sisters having the opportunity to serve. They will be awesome! As I pondered the announcement I remembered back when President Monson announced the original age change. I had taken my laptop home with me and was able to modify the missionary systems to allow these young Elders and Sisters to submit their papers at the new age. As I remember that experience, I think about the guys that I used to work with, and how they must be scrambling to get all of that done now. The Lord is truly Hastening His work. It is an honor to be a part of it in some small way. We love you all, and hope that this Thanksgiving finds you healthy, happy, and strong.

No pics this week, sorry!