July 27, 2015

Well, what a great and crazy week this week! 

This week we had a zone training meeting that was so great and really helped me realize all the things I need to improve as a missionary, it was a lot of fun to see everyone from the zone as well. Then the next day we went on exchanges!

I stayed in Leganés and Hermana Whiting came to be with me, we talked a lot and had a really good time. We were doing a lot of things to get prepared for the baptism we had on Saturday and almost everything went wrong. It all worked out in the end though!

While on exchanges we ran into a less active family from Armenia! They are so amazing. It is a lady and her husband and 2 teenage kids. The husband is not a member and doesn´t want anything to do with the church. It is really hard for them but we are going to start working with them, they´re amazing.

so This Saturday was Fabiana´s baptism! It was so spiritual. So basically 2 months ago her family decided to re activate themselves into the church and well they are back and they are strong. She is 13 and so we have been teaching her and she was just baptized this Saturday. It was so special because her dad was able to do it. I loved her so much!

It has been a bit cooler this week, thank goodness for tender mercies! 

I know that Jesus Christ has atoned for our sins, I also know that I can change and repent. Sometimes people think we as missionaries are perfect, but, we´re not, I´m the last thing from perfect. Thanks goodness Christ suffered for all of us, even me as a missionary.

I love you all

Hermana West

July 20, 2015

Well, this week has been crazy busy!

This week we had a week of service basically. If it wasn´t filling up the baptismal font for a set of missionaries that don´t have a font in their area it was picking up bits and ends for people. I loved it though, it was a really fun busy week. 

We met with a lot of less active members this week to try to see where they´re at and see if we can help them want to come back to church. Also to see if they have family or friends living with them that want to hear about the gospel. We have not yet seen the fruits of this labour but I know we will soon!

This week we had a fun district meeting, our new district includes elders serving in a different area. It´s strange because there used to be 8 of us here in Leganés so we´d be our own district but since there are now only 6 of us they pulled in the elders from Parla. On of them is an Elder McMillan that is from... ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE! Haha, that makes an official 4 Canadians in our district! It´s so great!

This week we had a big zone meeting to introduce us to President Pack! He is so amazing! I am so excited to work with him! He talked a lot about his own mission that he served in Chile and has very beautiful Spanish! His wife is great as well, she served a mission in Boston and is so much fun! I love her a ton!

We also had interviews with him, it was such a good time, I feel like I really know my new president now, I am so grateful to have a wonderful inspired leader.

This Saturday we had a ward activity! It was to raise money for the youth so that they can go to EFY. They had food, people doing manicures and cutting hair and a car wash. I was very impressed and the activity was a great success. 

Today we celebrated Hermana Vilariño´s birthday with her by having a huge water fight. It was a ton of fun. I´m grateful I got to see her even though she got transferred to another part of Madrid.

I am so grateful to be in Leganés with Hermana Hillman. The mission is so great, I am grateful to have the opportunity to get to know my Savior more every day.

Love

Hermana West

July 13, 2015

¡Buenos días a todos!

Well, this week I have cooked myself to about medium rare, more or less. It is just soooooo hot here! Thanks goodness for tender mercies of the Lord. We discovered that we have air conditioning in our apartment!!!! It is the best thing in the entire world! I am so grateful! 

This week has been a great week as well. We have been discovering and meeting with a few less active people. That´s usually what happens when you´re in an area for a while. You realize some people are less active or the bishop or relief society president gives you some people you can go and visit. Visiting with them is a great time to gain friendships and find people to teach. They usually have friends or family that are interested in hearing about our message as well! 

We have a new investigator that has a husband that is a Jehovas Witness member. It is interesting because she is also  studying with them and so it is very important that we know our scriptures and are very clear and direct with what our doctrine is. They like to talk alot as well so it is very hard to teach sometimes but we´re working on it!

This week one of my favourite families in the ward said they´re leaving to go to London on the 16th. So they invited us over to eat. It was a fun time and we were laughing a lot. I´m really going to miss them. 

This week we also got to know really well a member named Nicole, she´s basically my little sister. I love her so much and when she´s around I feel like my little sister Mia is around. Nicole is 14 so a bit older than Mia but she acts just like her... 

Well, I haven´t melted... yet. I hope the heat in Canada is controlling itself as well. 

I know that Christ lived, that we can repent and that there are to final endings. I know that God loves us and that every day He wants to talk to us. 

Love

Hermana West

July 6, 2015

Hello, nice cool Canada... oh man it is so HOT here! I don´t even know how to survive some days but I keep on keeping on. It is like 40C every day, I think that I am slowly getting cooked and one day I will be a nicely browned Hermana West.

We received our new president this week! He is doing a tour of the mission to meet everyone and ours is on July 17th. I´m excited to get to know him personally.

This week was a long week, with it being summer people are a lot more let loose, away on vacation, and lazy because it´s soooo hot. 

A huge blessing is that everyone offers us a glass of water when we visit though, it helps cool us down in their unconditioned houses and keep us hydrated so we don´t get headaches. 

This week we had a cool experience dropping by an old investigator. The other missionaries didn´t write why they stopped meeting with them so we stopped by and it was just because of an emergency transfer in November that they hadn´t been visited. They are a great faithful family and I am so excited that I have the opportunity to teach them!

This week we had... transfer calls! So basically Hermana Hillam and I are staying together until she goes home in August. Then Hermana Vilariño left for another part of Madri :( I´m going to miss her a lot. So Hermana Galvez got a new companion who is Hermana Sykes, my MTC companion. So it´s going to be a bit different this transfer but I´m excited to be with Hermana Hillman again! Leganés doesn´t know what´s going to hit it!

I love this work, I know God loves us, I am so grateful I get to be a missionary at this time.

Love

Hermana West

All of us roommate Sisters at the Madrid Temple!

 Our Canada Day breakfast!

 In front of Warner Bros. Park. Superman, OF COURSE!!!

 Sister Hillman and me!!

June 29, 2015

Well, this week has been soo hot! We´re talking 40C hot inside and out! My tan is looking pretty good though. Sorry no photos it´s just that my camera doesn´t work here with the computers we use in Leganés... maybe I just look too good.

This week we met a lot with Liz because she just went to Holland for a month to  finish up somethings for her work there. She´s so great I miss her a lot. 

We also got to go to the temple this week! It was very special as the Jacksons were there too. I´m going to miss them! President Pack gets here this Wednesday. The temple here is so beautiful! I love it. 

I got to go on exchanges with Sister Galvez, other Canadian from Calgary, We had a lot of fun, she´s a great sister. Also it was her birthday so we celebrated with Wacky chocolate cake! 

We have a great young woman we are teaching. Her family just started being active again and so we´ve been teaching her and her mom who has been inactive for a long time. I love them so much and I am grateful for everything they do for us.

We had dinner with the relief society president this week. She made us chicken Paella, Good thing for my companion because she doesn´t like seafood. But I was disappointed as I LOVE paella made with seafood. 

Also, yesterday we had our hot water heater leak. It´s a big problem so we´re trying to get that all figured out, might have to move this week... CRAZY! 

Haha, well I´ll try  to survive the heat, I know Christ is our Savior and that God loves us especially when we experience trials.

Love

Hermana West