The Blessings of the Gospel.

 


Today was a special day for me. Joel, the guy who randomly asked me to baptize him back in July, asked me to ordain him as an Elder. It was an honor to do so, and reminded me that this work isn't about being in an exotic place, or having adventures. It is about seeing souls come unto Christ, and watching them grow in the Gospel. Yes, we have adventures along the way, but seeing Heavenly Father's children progress on the covenant path is the real reason why we are here. Joel is doing great, and it has been a blessing to be a part of it.

This past week was transfer week. Always hectic. This time we lost 14 amazing missionaries, and only gained 5. The challenge this time was getting all of the "salientes" to their respective flights on time. It was tricky to say the least. Of course, the MAV was floor to ceiling, front to back, luggage. Once we got all of the missionaries to the airport with their luggage, we were pressed for time to get the first two to their flights on time. As we raced through the terminal, we saw the new missionaries waiting there. (they had arrived early!) We ended up getting separated a little. After getting the first few to where they needed to go, I needed to get Hermana Fernandez to her flight to Bolivia, so I went with her across the terminal to where her airline counter was. As I was taking her there, I ran across Hermana Welling. She is from Alaska, and they had booked her flight through Ireland on a different airline. She had been frantically searching to find where to check in and had been separated from the rest of us. She finally stopped, reminded herself what she had been doing for the last 18 months, and said a prayer. Once she prayed, she continued to try to solve the problem. It was then that she was prompted to look at her ticket, and saw that her flight was supposed to leave from terminal 2 which is almost like a whole separate airport. That is when she saw me. It is a humbling thing to be an answer to someone's prayer! That was "tender mercy" number one. Then we were able to grab Hermana Musser, and run to the car to drive her to the other terminal. On the way through the terminal, Hermana Welling spotted the new sister missionaries waiting, and ran over to them and gave them a hug, welcomed them to Spain, and gave them some encouragement. These missionaries are amazing. In the middle of all that stress, she wanted to serve someone else. 

It was tricky to get to the other terminal as there was some confusion as to the roads (normal for driving in Spain). When we got there, I waited in the car, while Hermana Musser went in with her to get her settled. That is when we found out that Church Travel had only paid for one bag for her. Because Hermana Musser was the one with her, she had mission credit card and was able to quickly take care of her. ("tender mercy #2). All in all, the Lord's hand is in all of this.

Thursday, we were invited to celebrate with our Filipino friend Archie. He is kind of a fixture in the mission, and loves to be around the missionaries. We at first thought that he had invited the whole ward to celebrate with him (44 years since being baptized). Turns out, he just wanted the missionaries and the Heckmanns. He had bought pizza and I was glad that Brenda thought to have me take balloons to celebrate with him. His heart is sweet, and he is a good soul even if he can be a little eccentric. 

Barcelona is full bore into Christmas. We were able to go to one of the main plazas downtown where they have an outdoor piano that you can play. We got a bunch of missionaries there to sing Christmas carols. We then walked down the Rambla for a bit, and went through a Christmas market. Very festive, but insanely crowded. Just us and a hundred thousand of our closest friends!

We can't believe that Christmas is so close. It is our hope that we can all stay riveted on the Savior and His mission throughout the season. We know that it is through Him that we can have true joy, and can have a hope of returning to our Heavenly home. Let us find some way to bless someone's life this season. Jesus Christ is the reason for the season! We love you all.

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