October 23,2017 Week #13 Murcia Spain, Malaga Mission

Another killer week out here in Murcia! We're grinding and teaching every day. We have some awesome investigators right now. We're currently teaching three families, one is a part member family. the dad Jonathan isn't a member, and this is the first time in 6 years that he's taken the lessons. Him and the mother (Nelly) aren't married so were working on that but in the past couple weeks I've seen him change in numerous ways. He usually is tired because he straight grinds to put food on the table, works super whack hours and still tries to spend time with his family. Super awesome guy, but was never very interested before. 

We have John and his family still working with them, but Johns landlord is trying to kick him out of his house for some reason, so he had to hire a lawyer and is now also working a ton, so we can't meet to often. But he will definitely get baptized, he's reading and praying every night and has been for the past two weeks. Then we have another family, a mom and her two daughters. They are practicing Catholics but we had the first lesson gave them Books of Mormon and they've been reading a little, which is key, so hopefully we can get them in the water soon too. We're right on the edge of so many good things it's nuts. We also made cookies for our neighbors, which consist of a nice family, a person or people we have no idea, and some college chicks (haha gets a little awkward sometimes). But hopefully that goes somewhere. So I've been thinking a lot on being thankful lately, it started a couple weeks back when me and elder Biegel were on our way home from the grocery store with hands full of bags. It's a little distance between mercadona and our apartment so after a sec our arms started to burn. A comment was made about how it hurt and it kinda sucked and then we talked about how grateful we were to be carrying enough food to make our arms burn. This has developed, for me, into a larger appreciation for my blessing, and the realization of how blessed I am and how ungrateful and prideful I have been in the past. I came to this conclusion - The beginning or source of all problems is not being thankful -  now I do not want the following to come across as justification for being complacent, or lazy, or satisfied with what we have or where we are at. I want it to be as helpful as you as it has been to me to realize how blessed I am because this brings new levels of joy and happiness into our lives. When we are thankful, inherently, we become humble because we realize how much we actually have. So yes please, let's talk about how hard it is that we don't have the right food we want when there are people in the world that have never known a full belly. Let's talk about how bad it sucks that we don't have the newest iPhone, when there are people who don't even know what that is, let's complain about our homes and families when there are people in the world who's house is built out of sticks and that house is definitely not a home because if they do have parents or a parent, the only time they see them is when they get a beating. Let's talk about not having someone who loves us, when there are people in this world completely and utterly alone, no family, no friends, and the idea of a God who loves them is not even in their wildest dreams. Let's talk about our crappy car, when there are people out there who don't have the necessary limbs to move on their own let alone drive a car. Let's talk about our opportunities to learn, become educated, attend a school. Let's talk about how hard it is to do that, when there are children and adults alike who never will have an opportunity even remotely close to that. Let's talk about how bad it sucks to go to work, when there are places in the world that the opportunity to be employed doesn't exist. Let's complain about how we can't do what we want, when there are people who don't even know that such a word as freedom exists. Please let's talk about how bad we have it, about the many things we are lacking. We are so spoiled, and yet so ungrateful. I am not innocent of this, but I am issuing a challenge. Every night before you go to sleep, get on you knees and thank your father in heaven for every single thing that you have. Being grateful is what makes us happy, realizing how blessed we actually are. Now be grateful and continue to work for the things you want, and plans for the future. 

I love all of you!

P.S. it rained so I finally got the rain jacket out, and posted up on our balcony. And on the sick 350Z we saw.