Gearing Up For Christmas
To say that this past week was busy would be an understatement. On Tuesday, we needed to shop for Zone Conference supplies. On Wednesday, we received a new missionary. She had been delayed so that she could get some dental work done, and President Heckmann assigned her to a "trio" for this transfer. However, if there is one, or many we still need to do all of the things that have to be done for new missionaries (paperwork, residency, etc.). We bought some pastries and brought cereal, fruit, and yogurt from home for a little breakfast, and got the sisters on their way to their area. Brenda then cooked us a nice pasta lunch, which was good because Archie decided to show up, and it was nice to be able to invite him to join in. The rest of the day was getting all the supplies together to go to Zone Conferences on Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday night, they had the annual "party" in the lobby of our apartment building. It was better this year because I was more comfortable with the language, and was actually able to understand most of what was being said even though the noise level was pretty intense.
Zone conference was held in the Hospitalet Stake Center rather than the Barcelona Stake Center like normal. Sister Heckmann had been sick for most of the week, and so she didn't go with President Heckmann to Valencia and the Islands for their zone conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday. Even though she wasn't feeling well, she still put together some nice gifts to hand out to the missionaries. She was determined to come to the final two zone conferences and powered through them even though she still wasn't 100%. We have the best mission leaders in the world!
On Saturday, I needed to do some catching up at the office after losing two days to zone conferences. However, I wasn't alone there. The Heckmanns agreed to host a wedding for one of the recently released sister missionaries. In Spain, you have to get married civilly before going to the Temple. However, the laws a pretty weird in that you have to have an appointment with the government to get married here, and those appointments are often a year out! So, people have been taking advantage of a U.S. law that came about during COVID. Many of the states in the U.S. allowed people to be married virtually over Zoom. Since you do not have to be a citizen of the U.S. to have that happen, they have set up with someone in Utah, who has a license to legally marry people, to marry couples here. All they need is valid passports in order to fill out the required paperwork. So, the Heckmanns had a big dinner for the family. The original plan was to have them gather around the TV in their home to do the Zoom call. However, Sister Bravo wanted to "walk down the aisle." Again, Sister Heckmann was able to pivot on the spot. She had people set up chairs in the office downstairs. They were able to use the large screen TV there, and even set up a nice table for a wedding cake. The Evans and the Larrosas were able to help with it all. It was very nice.
Literally an hour after the wedding, there was an activity in the Heckmann's home for a bunch of Young Single Adult couples who are seriously dating, and looking for marriage advice. There was a nice dinner for them. We were invited to be there along with the Evans, Larrosas, and the Heckmanns. Benda and I were asked to share some short remarks on what our eternal marriage means to us. I was super proud of Brenda who usually wants to have her talk written out. Not only did she stand there and bear sweet testimony, but she had to do so while I was trying to translate for her. The Heckmanns finished the night with some wonderful presentations. It was a fun evening.
It has been fun to see the missionaries get packages from home and see the excitement of Christmas in their eyes. Even though these amazing young people are powerful teachers of the truth, they are still only 6 years out of primary and Christmas still has a lot of magic for them. Brenda invited the local district and missionaries who live close to come over for Christmas Eve, and then again for Breakfast Christmas morning. One of the sisters told her "I think I'm going to cry!" She was so excited at the prospect. We anticipate having a house full, and that should be fun.
Today at Church the Bishop and his Wife were the speakers, and it was a good meeting. It is such a wonderful thing to be able to focus on the Savior during this fun time of year. As we were talking about marriage and families to the YSAs, it was impressed upon me just how vital our Savior is to our eternal welfare. The Come Follow Me focus this week has been on the Proclamation on the Family. There is nothing in this world that can even remotely come close to bringing the kind of joy that the family relationship brings. I have the opportunity to have this wonderful relationship carry on in the next life. I have often said that Heaven will not be Heaven, if my sweet family isn't there with me. I am eternally grateful for the Savior making it possible for us to be a forever family.
We are grateful for the promise that the same sociality that we enjoy here, can be had on the other side. So, we look forward to the associations we have with our wonderful friends and family there. That includes all of you! The Gospel is true, and it is wonderful!
Comments
Post a Comment