tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38265562001895259482024-03-13T12:03:49.409-06:00Elder Ezra BauerEzra Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590567855508933606noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-31457109118360356222013-04-30T19:50:00.000-06:002019-01-08T10:13:15.475-07:00April 30, 2013Hello everyone!<br />
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This past week has been pretty crazy, but I don't remember too much about it since it was a blur. I'll go over what happened Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday though as well as details about the flight and such.<br />
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Before going to Sunday, we got transfers information and I'm going home (surprise surprise) and Elder Lyman was going to be in a trio here in Cuenca. We then got a call from the Mission Office explaining that he will be in a trio here because he is going to be an Office Elder. Specifically the Secretary. It's funny since I was talking about the office a lot while I was there in Cuenca and explaining the importance of <i>empadronamiento</i> [census]. He will now understand it from a deeper level.<br />
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Anyway, Sunday it snowed in Cuenca, which was crazy since I haven't seen snow in Spain since I've been here. It snowed a bit in Valladolid before I left for Madrid, but nothing too crazy. The Branch President of Cuenca offered to give us a ride to church and back since it was cold and snowy. Elder Lyman and I played a bit in the snow since we had to wait for him to arrive. We also explored the underground parking since we could and had the time.<br />
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Church was interesting to say the least. I spoke about missionary work and it seemed like I was giving my farewell talk, which I guess I kind of was, but you know, whatever. Then the Branch President's son Ezequiel (or something like that) got up and spoke, and it turned into a farewell talk for me too. He invited others to come up to the stand and share thoughts and feelings about me, and although I don't think you are supposed to do that, it was very touching to me since I feel I didn't make a huge impact, but I guess I did. Every member of the branch spoke a bit and were standing on the stand by the end of his talk and it was weird and kind of cool at the same time. We then ate with the Branch President and his family at the church building and then went home for <i>medio dia</i> [lunch break]. We then decided to stop by some member's houses so that I can say goodbye to them as well as some investigators that are awesome. The last place we stopped by was the Notario family and they made me a cake and I ate as much as I could of it. It was great. Their oldest daughter who worked at the CCM made me a card too, signed by the members of the branch. I loved it!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Notario family saying goodbye to Elder Bauer</td></tr>
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Monday we were off to Madrid by bus to pick up Elder Lyman's new companions for three weeks until he gets sent to the office, and to drop me off with others that are going home. On the way back, we passed by a section that was still very much snowy and had pine trees. It looked really pretty! We got to the bus station and got picked up by the office elders and were taken to the Stake Center. I remember what happened from here from the office days, but I didn't think that I would see this from the perspective of the Elder going home. I was both excited and bummed that it was ending so soon. We got to the Stake Center and had our meeting there, then the elders that were going home were set loose to go around Madrid since it was P-Day. Elder Perkins and I decided to be companions for the day and we went to a restaurant to say goodbye to some other missionaries and to get some food near the Atocha train station. We then went to San Sebastian de los Reyes. I wanted to see about getting some small Span flags and last minute souvenirs before leaving and Elder Perkins was okay with that too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Elders Bauer, Perkins, and Hermana Volquardsen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The last dinner in the Mission Home</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Group of Missionaries leaving</td></tr>
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We then took the bus up to the Mission Home and had our final dinner and our final interview with President Jackson. I was reunited with Elder Hilton and that was a fun experience. We talked about our mission and it was great. He had family come up to tour his mission for a week, so even though he lives in Texas, he didn't fly back with me. We then saw the Office Elders and I talked to my Office Grandchild Elder Pluim a bit and that was fun. He took my residency card, and that was sad to see it go. I had that card since the Valladolid days. Anyways, the <i>Hermanas</i> [Sisters] that were going home then went to their room, and the Elders went to our room which was off the kitchen. It looked like a garage, but had six to eight bunk beds. We were weighing our <i>maletas</i> [suitcases] and getting things ready for our trip home. I took a lot of stuff out of my large suitcase and left it there for anyone to take so that I could be under the weight limit. We then took turns showering and getting ready for bed. I could honestly say that I didn't sleep too well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Office Elders Levorson and Pluim</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Room I slept in, those are my new suitcases on the left</td></tr>
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Tuesday was the day. I was so nervous that I couldn't sit still. The office Elders came to take everyone but me to the airport since my flight wasn't until later. I walked around the empty mission home since President and Sister Jackson had to go early as well. When the office elders came back they had another missionary that was either going home or to the islands with them, so that was fun. They were going to drop him off first and then me since his flight left before mine does. The Elders that came to get me were Elders Johnson and Winkelkotter, the <i>pedidos</i> [orders] and <i>piso</i> [apartment] Elders.<br />
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We got going and they were using the <i>TomTom</i> [GPS] to guide them to the airport, and they took an exit I had never taken before. It ended in a dead end. The elders were confused and didn't know where to go or how to get to the airport. I then told them that since I was in the office before, I still knew how to get there. I then sat up front and guided them to Terminal 2 where the first Elder had to go. I then guided them to Terminal 4 where I needed to go and that was fun. I was an "Office Elder" just before I left, haha. I then checked my bags and sat at the gate that I would be boarding my direct flight to Texas. An older couple was sitting near me and started talking to me in English explaining that they were members going back to the states. We talked for a bit and I mentioned that I was finishing my mission and such.<br />
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We then boarded the plane and I was in the very back of the plane. Literally I could see where the flight attendants came out to serve stuff. I tried to sleep, but the Enya song with the lyrics "on my way home, I remember, every good day" was going through my head. Made me remember the great days of the mission. The flight was the longest flight I have ever been on, and I got up a few times to stretch my legs. 10 hour flight! Also the longest day of my life! I landed and was heading over to customs, and the line was super long. I couldn't even see the customs table it was so long.<br />
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I finally got though and was getting my luggage. Nerves crept in since I haven't seen my family in a long time. I got to where the door was to greet them, and stopped for a moment. I knew that when I walked through those doors, it would be pretty much the end of my mission. I took a deep breath and walked through the doors. Very warm welcome home from my family, and I was happy and sad at the same time. We then drove to Weatherford to get me released by the Stake President, but he wasn't there. We had to go to his house which was in a different town. We had eaten dinner and I had drank a proper cup of Root Beer for the first time in a long while and I was feeling very sleepy since I had been awake already for over a day. We got to his house and he interviewed me and had me take my <i>chapa</i> [name tag] off. Literally the hardest thing I have ever done. I didn't want to do it, and it I didn't for the longest time. I finally did and my two year mission was completed.<br />
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When we got home I started unpacking a bit to show my family the stuff I had and the swords that I had as well. I also needed my pajamas, which was my main reason for unpacking, but I decided to show them things as well. Thank you for following me on my adventure. It was a great one that's for sure, even though I miss it greatly. This may be the longest post here yet, but I hope you don't mind taking a peek into a missionary's mind when coming home after a full two years of serving the Lord. I can honestly say that I have a great testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is His church, and He is the one at the helm. Although the mission is hard, I can honestly say that the past two years were the best two years of my life to this point and I would not trade them for anything. A lot of growth has come of these two years and I hope to have the opportunity to serve again later on in life.Ezra Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14590567855508933606noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-53211152892327775462013-04-27T08:47:00.004-06:002013-04-27T08:47:54.904-06:00April 27, 2013 - Editor's NoteAlex will be returning this Tuesday (April 30, 2013) and will be speaking in our ward on May 12, 2013. Those interested in attending the meeting (and he will speak in both the English and Spanish meetings) please let us know so we can give you more information on meeting times, and location.Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-73295478812130246532013-04-27T08:45:00.002-06:002013-04-27T08:45:41.133-06:00April 22, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Cuenca</em> is a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/781" target="_blank">United Nations World Heritage Site</a>. It was established by the Moors in the 700s and has been walled ever since. It is a well preserved medieval Spanish city.</td></tr>
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Dad and Family,<br />
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This week has been full of buff fingers!! We´ve been <em>tocando timbres</em> [ringing doorbells] and knocking doors for a good while this week! Super cool, but also super crazy! We´ve become <em>timbre</em> [doorbell], door knocking machines here in <em>Cuenca</em>! I´m glad that all has gone well over there in Texas! So today I got my flight itinerary for the 30th of April. I got a crazy feeling of nerves as well as just missing Spain. It was pretty much the same feeling that I got when I opened my call, but not the whole shaking and nearly falling over on the floor dead, but the realization that I´m going home....just....crazy!!! Enya is calming me down as I write this email though so it´s all good. Haahahahahaaaaa. Anyway, on to my week!!<br />
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So Monday of last week we visited an investigator couple and it was a good visit, we actually ended the night with them. We talked about <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/11?lang=eng" target="_blank">3 Nephi 11</a> and watched the last scene of <em>The Testaments</em> and it was good. Little kids running around all of the time, but it´s really funny and I guess it´s okay if they are little kids. Before them we taught another couple and we pretty much talked about obedience to the commandments of God, especially the Word of Wisdom since he´s having trouble with that commandment. He´s a cool guy, but he just has a bit of trouble with that, and going to church, but his job doesn´t really allow him to do so. He did say that he´d come this next week.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More of the walls surrounding the old town of <em>Cuenca</em>.</td></tr>
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Tuesday we had four lessons set up so we were pretty happy! Unfortunately little by little, they went failing. Oh well, we did just as you probably thought! We knocked doors, just like the grand machines that we are!! We did teach Jose, the recent convert from the Dominican Republic, about Temples! Super cool and he looks happy like usual! Aside from that, knocking doors! Later on in the night we took the last bus to Madrid so that we could go to the Temple the next day!!! Speaking of Temples, haha.<br />
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Wednesday we started early since our session in the Temple was the first one, at 8:00 AM, so we left and took the bus over to <em>Pavones</em>. It was a cool little experience!! I just LOVE the Spain Madrid Temple!!! Super pretty and just amazing! I stayed in the celestial room for a long time since I knew it was the last time that I´d see that Temple. Super sad. =( I just noticed that I use the word super a lot, as well as the exclamation points, sort of overuse them super too super much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, it´s just that everything is super amazing and super cool that I just have to use the super word "super" a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As well as these ->! Anyway, moving on. We then did exchanges and I came back to Cuenca with Elder Shumway, our wonderful district leader and it was a great day of knocking doors. We had a good day too, but the lessons failed us again. We did have one lesson, and she´s pretty cool!! She´s known missionaries before and has a mini testimony of the truth, but it just needs to be nurtured a little bit more, just like in <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32?lang=eng" target="_blank">Alma 32</a>!!! We then knocked doors some more!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4br6yDsWEZQf7fcaC0NOpQV5_JnHsjijmTtCRZwjCkxrRiJn9nfuZ_mkUCdHksPagHt0KvQ77fkJymhACq2vHaCTBWcsR4zkfusgw5Y7GcYY6M8WovFRzJDccxk-otbXDU6MdDX60Ocv/s1600/IMG_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4br6yDsWEZQf7fcaC0NOpQV5_JnHsjijmTtCRZwjCkxrRiJn9nfuZ_mkUCdHksPagHt0KvQ77fkJymhACq2vHaCTBWcsR4zkfusgw5Y7GcYY6M8WovFRzJDccxk-otbXDU6MdDX60Ocv/s320/IMG_0139.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Bauer in <em>Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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Thursday was not weekly planning since I wasn´t with my companion. HA, tricked you guys!! We taught a cool Spanish guy! He´s super awesome and super cool!!!!! He pretty much said that the first visit was going to be to get to know each other and then we´d speak of religion a bit later. I thought, cool, that´s what the first lesson is for!! So we did just that, and then he asked us if we could share a 5 minute summary of what our message is. So, we did just that, pretty much putting everything together into a big mesh with the Plan of Salvation and mixing it up to make sense. Later he asked us what we would say to a guy that would have 5 minutes to live. Elder Shumway told him that he´d say that there´s the <em>esperanza</em> [hope] (English is bad) that he´d see his family again after death. Then he told us a bit of what Jesus Christ means for him. Super cool testimony!! We then talked over peanuts and Coca Cola. Super cool guy!! His wife is from Holland, and speaks English really well! Then guess what we did. If you guessed knock some more doors, you´re RIGHT!!!! You just won a prize!!! Go buy yourself a prize since I don´t have one for you. Hahaha. Elder Shumway then left and I was with Jose for 45 minutes until Elder Lyman came.<br />
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Friday we actually had lessons!! But before that, we had weekly planning!! Super fun!!!! We then had <em>medio día</em> [lunch break], then we went to the lessons! We taught one of our couple investigator, but the husband wasn´t there. We took Jose with us so it was all good!! Super good!!! We pretty much asked her why she wanted to get baptized since she expressed desires for that. She pretty much just said that she would have to think about it and visit the church to make the decision. That´s fine, since I wouldn´t baptize someone that hasn´t gone to church. We then visited another couple, and that was a pretty stressful lesson. He was just sharing scriptures that didn´t have anything to do with the lesson and also asked really random questions. I eventually told him that he should listen to my companion since he was talking at the time. Since then he was pretty quiet. I´m not sure how things will work with them, but we´ll see. We ended the night with Petra and her husband. We shared the <a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video" target="_blank">talk that Elder Holland gave</a>, and they liked it!! They didn´t see it, but did watch General Conference. They missed the Sunday evening session, but that´s common here in Spain. We then ate with them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4oYancIfeNiiC979id2a7NwjLovSjzZ29DxJPP4xmcg3X2EVhL7nvkfNiwFpZpaY8Fa0ptKHTAkOeLjTMG6Dt5_Fd9v-vD4xw9IsjrlTC9FLZGYjsyFznC4aT2HZB3xFYna6KiD0lnFX/s1600/IMG_0170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4oYancIfeNiiC979id2a7NwjLovSjzZ29DxJPP4xmcg3X2EVhL7nvkfNiwFpZpaY8Fa0ptKHTAkOeLjTMG6Dt5_Fd9v-vD4xw9IsjrlTC9FLZGYjsyFznC4aT2HZB3xFYna6KiD0lnFX/s320/IMG_0170.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As Elder Bauer explains this picture, "it is a waterfall thingy".</td></tr>
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Saturday we had English Classes with Sabrina and her friend Elio, then had a lesson about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Super cool lesson, but to me it felt a bit long. We then ate with Sabrina and Elio and as usual, the food was good!! We then did what you could guess, yup, knocked some more doors!!! All of the lessons failed again!<br />
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Sunday we had Church and it was good, but weird to think that it was my second to last Sunday in Spain! We then had lunch with President Vaquera and his family there at the church since they live in Madrid. Crazy how far they have to drive to get to their branch that they are assigned to go to. We then knocked doors until 7:30 when we went over to an investigator couple’s house. He was tired so we just talked for a while and that´s about it. We then went over to Ana’s house. She´s really awesome and just loves the missionaries. She is less active since she can´t go to church because of her handicapped son. We sang a hymn and shared a bit of the significance of the hymn and then ended with another hymn. Super cool since she loves the hymns!! We then walked home the long way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBptdqwB5uqhLM2pjibQwNtsDGmzAlcNqfp690631fTCn1xLtuumS2gQrJvDntcmCVhmAcnRspMG_EeVA-iCi6OGwsfcsMqdv2ArkY0HdWhK8KBZwPs3ORjHXzgGHE3Je1aXxEQxa56Eh/s1600/IMG_0262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheBptdqwB5uqhLM2pjibQwNtsDGmzAlcNqfp690631fTCn1xLtuumS2gQrJvDntcmCVhmAcnRspMG_EeVA-iCi6OGwsfcsMqdv2ArkY0HdWhK8KBZwPs3ORjHXzgGHE3Je1aXxEQxa56Eh/s320/IMG_0262.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On a hike around <em>Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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Today we went on a 7 km hike!! Super awesome!!!!! We pretty much left Cuenca and came back! Crazy stuff!! Anyway, I hope that all is going well over there in Texas! I´ll talk to you next week...but seriously...in person!!!! Love you...BYE!!!!!!<br />
<br />
Elder Bauer<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuenca from the surrounding hills</td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-68213330051019015632013-04-20T23:20:00.003-06:002013-04-20T23:20:51.887-06:00April 15, 2013<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtNos5kqlOslPhyphenhypheni3t-rvy1AcOdrbWWglgYiqOlKX-gM5E7gVcH03TMNhWuiy2SsWmKZ90Po4LlssD8RFrPl1FEEG4TwUFXpzst8BcfLp-mH9wuyExPBUZ1fEn_ytf5r1P6tpCfVhhBo1/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFtNos5kqlOslPhyphenhypheni3t-rvy1AcOdrbWWglgYiqOlKX-gM5E7gVcH03TMNhWuiy2SsWmKZ90Po4LlssD8RFrPl1FEEG4TwUFXpzst8BcfLp-mH9wuyExPBUZ1fEn_ytf5r1P6tpCfVhhBo1/s320/IMG_0081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Cuenca from the bridge between the San Pablo Monastery (now Parador), and the city of Cuenca</em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4EKinPAgG9GLIxicn-tnS4Y4GqyqbBkaSX6_GKFteeMhb2Zd1UIgDxajLjLDTBq83CHjA6_d6Zr3ef_D2XtVSXu6POcB2TKPuog9VM0uV4pcUgFLvtDKORkaqJgKP1vItDGTvtIcbumQ/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4EKinPAgG9GLIxicn-tnS4Y4GqyqbBkaSX6_GKFteeMhb2Zd1UIgDxajLjLDTBq83CHjA6_d6Zr3ef_D2XtVSXu6POcB2TKPuog9VM0uV4pcUgFLvtDKORkaqJgKP1vItDGTvtIcbumQ/s320/IMG_0087.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Another view of Cuenca</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Hello all y´all!!<br />
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<br />I just had to practice my Texan accent if I´m going home in 2 weeks. I must say that I´m more nervous than excited about that, but I can honestly say that I´m not letting it get to my head so that I can continue being the missionary that God needs me to be! This week has been full of cool stuff, and long trips, but it´s been really cool!! I´m hoping that things continue to go well over there at home and that you guys have a good week this next week!! I´m really looking forward to the growth of Cuenca in the weeks and months to come!! Anyway on to my week!!<br />
<br />So Monday we went to an investigator’s house after we did the <em>Cristo</em> hike, but then her boyfriend left the house, so that meant that we would have to leave as well. Bummer since I wanted to get to know her a bit more before that happened. Oh well, rules are rules. We then went to another home. He is a less active member and I really hope to help him come back and gain a testimony! We haven´t been able to do too much with him, but we did teach him about faith, prayer, reading the scriptures and going to church. I hope that something comes out from that! Not too much else that day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Elder Bauer's set of keys</strong></td></tr>
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Tuesday we did quite a bit of finding out there on the streets of <em>Cuenca</em>! Some of the people are the ones that burn up in the sun and wither away. Others get eaten by the birds. Some actually take root, but then wither away since they were in shallow ground. One of them is among thorns and weeds, so we´re trying to help them grow and get rid of the weeds. Overall, we do have a few that have the potential of bearing fruit and we may be able to see the fruits of our labors! (I knew that you´d enjoy that dad. It wasn´t even my idea, Elder Lyman, my companion, gave me the idea.)<br />
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Pretty cool how many people we have found in just two hours! Not too many, but more than normal since we contacted like machines!! We then went and ate with a member and it was good food like usual!! I like food!! Food is good! Makes your stomach all happy and stuff!! Anyway, we then taught an investigator a bit of <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/24?lang=eng" target="_blank">Mosiah 24</a> since she´s having a few problems and basically the message was to help her see that there are examples of people that suffered in the Book of Mormon, so it was good! We then saw another investigator, and it´s pretty difficult to teach her, since she goes on about other things. We then had English Classes, and a lot more people came than last week!! We had a full class of 2 people.....HA, that´s not full. We haven´t really put in an effort to pass out little cards either, but oh well. We´d better get on that!! Well, that´s it for Tuesday.<br />
<br />Wednesday we didn´t have very much go on, but we did get to visit two people! We visited one of those that we found that was “among the weeds”, but we hope to be able to help her out of them. Her husband isn´t really interested in the message, and doesn´t show hope of understanding it. Adriana though, she has potential and I hope that the potential doesn´t die away. We basically got to know them and gave them the Book of Mormon and a pamphlet of the restoration. She started to read it while we were there, and she said that she really likes it and will read it!! I was really happy!!! Later we finished the night with a family from Peru! They are pretty cool, but the lesson could have gone a bit better on both of our parts. I have a lot to learn still. We pretty much just shared the restoration and they liked it! They then had us stay and we ate with them! It was really good food!! I just love the food here!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>A plant growing in the missionary apartment (hopefully that is the only thing growing in their apartment)</em></strong></td></tr>
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Thursday we had weekly planning and it was pretty good!! We planned for a lot of people since we found a lot of people (as mentioned above, haha)! We then went and helped a kid with English, but it didn´t help him out a lot since he doesn´t study...ever!! Oh well, but I really hope that he studies and then he wouldn´t feel the way he does. At four we went with Jose, and taught a new investigator, actually a less active member that works every Sunday. We got to know her and it was pretty cool! She´s from the Dominican Republic and it was a cool little visit! We then tried to go and visit someone else, but they weren´t home, so we had to go to the bus station to go to Madrid for zone conference and so we did that. When we got to Madrid at 8:30 or 9, we went and visited someone from Barrio 8. Super cool family and they are members. It was a cool little visit!<br />
<br />Friday I saw the Temple from up close for the first time in 5 months!! It´s pretty cool how I really needed to be close to it after so long!! I just love the Temple!! Super cool and lovely! We then had the conference and it was one of the best ones that I´ve had on the mission!! I really enjoyed it!! I felt edified and it was just awesome!! We then ate Dominoes Pizza and it was good!! Elder Lyman and I then went to the bus station and tried to get the 4:30 bus, but it was full, so we had to wait until 6:30. We walked around and it was fine. We finally got back and contacted for the rest of the night.<br />Saturday we went to the church and did a "service project" which was move the ping pong table from the bottom floor to the top floor. We had to buy some tools to do it and we succeeded!! We had Jose there helping us so it wasn´t too hard. In the evening we saw an investigator and her friend. We committed her friend to come to church and he accepted so it was good! Later we saw another investigator and her husband and it was a mini English class. We left soon after that to go over to a member’s house, and visited her to help her <em>animo</em> [enthusiasm] go up! She hasn´t been to church for a month and so that could be a reason why she´s feeling sad and down. I hope that we helped her out. We then visited an investigator and it was a good visit. I´m not sure if he´ll progress, but we´ll see as time goes on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Madrid, Spain Temple</em></strong></td></tr>
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Yesterday was church and we had testimony meeting. I bore mine on missionary work, of course, and it was good!! The whole meeting was good so yeah!! I liked it. We then met with a less active Dominican lady and she´s cool!! She has a bit of the desire to return and her husband is also Dominican and he has potential!! I have huge hopes for Cuenca!! Later on we saw an investigator in whom we had great expectations, and he doesn´t have as much hope as I had hoped for. He would take anything that we say or teach, and look it up on the internet. I told him that we have to look through prayer, to be able to get the answers and then committed him to read the pamphlet that we left him and pray about it. He accepted so I really hope that he does that. We finished the night with an investigator from Africa. We talked about how trials are like when Nephi built the boat [see <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/17?lang=enghttp://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/17?lang=eng" target="_blank">1 Nephi 17</a>, and <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/18?lang=eng" target="_blank">1 Nephi 18</a>]; we could either give up, or do as Nephi did and do what the Lord told him to do! Super cool!! I loved this week!! They just keep going by faster and faster!! Wednesday we have the opportunity to go back to Madrid and go to the Temple!! Super cool and exciting for me!! I can´t wait!! I hope that this next week is good for you guys!! Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-15965100542940604542013-04-09T22:26:00.000-06:002013-04-09T22:26:16.503-06:00April 8, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHP7vpOqgLU8lOL8TdxN8FFo0QNSbEhGVwqg3bCmEf-lEDN492OfvaIVtmBGBvT_FQRIbaSHZ5QKvks1UP8R_kMzMcFDv1X1dGRD9ExwNbmDMyLnAbmllJFRBWfyx_TEdqkRr30jczhHwM/s1600/IMG_9951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><strong><em><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHP7vpOqgLU8lOL8TdxN8FFo0QNSbEhGVwqg3bCmEf-lEDN492OfvaIVtmBGBvT_FQRIbaSHZ5QKvks1UP8R_kMzMcFDv1X1dGRD9ExwNbmDMyLnAbmllJFRBWfyx_TEdqkRr30jczhHwM/s320/IMG_9951.JPG" width="240" /></em></strong></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>It's P-day. We are going to hike there. Yes, even on P-day we are inviting all to come unto Christ!</em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Okay - now can you see the statue on top of the hill?</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Family,<br />
<br />
Well, this week was amazing!! I can honestly say that I´ve seen more miracles here in <em>Cuenca</em> this week than last week!! Super cool the <a href="http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/apostles-speak-april-2013?cid=HP000031&lang=eng" target="_blank">conference</a>, it was the great end to the week, but unfortunately we couldn´t see it all. We only saw all of the Saturday sessions, except for <a href="http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/come-all-ye-sons-of-god?lang=eng" target="_blank">President Thomas S. Monson´s talk in the priesthood session</a>, but I´ll have to find time to watch them. Well, like I said, this week has been great!! Let me tell you about it!!<br />
<br />So, I don´t remember if I told you, but last week on Sunday, we had the Madrid Temple President come and talk to us about the temples and missionary work. He related experiences about when he was mission president of the Spain Barcelona Mission and it was really cool! He related an experience where the zone of these two missionaries set a goal for so many baptisms. It was the end of the month, and they didn´t get their goal, they were one away. So these missionaries decided to miss their Sunday meetings to find this baptism. While they were sitting on a bench, this person gets off of a bus and asks them if they were missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They said that they were, and the person said that he had all of the lessons and that was ready for baptism. They reviewed all of the lessons to make sure, and he was baptized the same Sunday. Super cool story that comes into play later into my week.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Coming to Christ does lift you above the common place. (View of Cuenca from the hike.)</strong></em></td></tr>
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As you know, I was sick on Monday, but it was a miracle that it left me before P-Day ended so I was fine to teach and walk around by 6:30. Super cool how that worked out for me. We had two lessons with less active sisters. With one of them we talked about what impedes her to go to church, and we found out that she gets bored all three hours of Church. We challenged her to come to sacrament meeting at least since it is the most important meeting in the church. She accepted the challenge and we´ll see if she comes. I hope that she does. We then met with the other and pretty much got to know her and see what her doubts were. She´s a lady from Africa and we went with Henry, since he´s from Africa too, super good friendship there. Anyway, we talked about the family and how it´s ordained of God. It was a good lesson, but it was long as well since she answered the phone and talked for 15 minutes or more. I just looked at my companion and we were just there for a long time. We finally got out and it was a good lesson in the end. <br />
<br />Tuesday we did contacts in the morning and it wasn´t the best thing since it´s so cold and rainy all of the time, but we found some people. During <em>medio-día</em> [lunch break] we had lunch with a member and her daughter who´s an investigator, and it was great! We then had a lesson with another investigator about the restoration. She´s super good. Later on we had a lesson with Jose, the recent convert, and he took us to his "house" to teach him about priesthood and about his calling as branch mission leader. He´s so good! I just love that guy!! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYOjpbhr3negi7R4m5hc9ktcQR15Q-uddBEa4d80NUPGHWr1AyAUgxqC3IgehN2tCPVn-ft4kJmOTyT7VA7FtoK2BVIUV3Y3YAqT62xY3Asa-14STx3Zmbzln1jQONUuptUlEjWh06w03/s1600/IMG_9987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCYOjpbhr3negi7R4m5hc9ktcQR15Q-uddBEa4d80NUPGHWr1AyAUgxqC3IgehN2tCPVn-ft4kJmOTyT7VA7FtoK2BVIUV3Y3YAqT62xY3Asa-14STx3Zmbzln1jQONUuptUlEjWh06w03/s320/IMG_9987.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>We made it. We came unto Christ</strong></em></td></tr>
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Right after we got out of his house, we walked a ways away, and sat at bench, and before we sat down, I told my companion, what if what the Temple President (mentioned above) said Sunday actually happened while we sat here on the bench. So I sat down with my companion, and I´m not kidding, 30 seconds later, this Dominican lady stops in front of us and asks us if we were missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was shocked!! I said that we were and she told us that she was a member, but less active that wants to come back to church and wants to know where it is. We told her where it was, and she also gave us her number and address. We found out that she is the owner of the <em>piso</em> [apartment] where Jose lives. We told her that a member lives in her apartment and that she could go to church with him! Super awesome how miracles just happen!!!<br />Wednesday we had district meeting over the phone since Madrid is a 2.5 hour bus ride. So we had it over the phone, but it was okay, not the best, but okay. Not too much else happened that day. We tried to have lessons, but it wasn´t too successful that day.<br />
<br />Thursday we had weekly planning and it was good, especially since we thought about some prospective new investigators. After planning, we had <em>medio-día</em> [lunch break] in our <em>piso</em> [apartment] and then went over to have a lesson with an investigator. We talked about the Book of Mormon and also a bit of what the plan of salvation is. We also committed her to read <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2?lang=eng" target="_blank">2 Nephi 2</a> so that she could have a bit of an intro to what we would talk about the next time. It was good. We then taught English to the 14 year old son of an investigator and he´s pretty good, even though he doesn´t take it super serious, but it´s okay, he´s 14 so what should we expect. We ended the night with Petra and her family! Spanish member family, but the two guys are less active. We´re trying to help them come back. It was a good lesson and we talked about how reading the scriptures, prayer, and going to church helps us to have a firm testimony. We then ate dinner with them and it was really good! The dessert was especially good!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>View from the top of the hill (at the foot of the </em>Cristo <em>statue).</em></strong></td></tr>
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Friday we had <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening], with Henry, and that was good, but more of the branch should come, but of course, all of them work. Henry was the only one that showed up, so yeah. Just had it with him. <br />
<br />Saturday we had 3 lessons. One with two new investigators who we met on the street and it was GREAT!! They are from Peru, and they have heard the missionaries before and are wanting to know and learn a bit more. We then went over to an investigator’s house to teach her English and had a lesson after and we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We extended an invitation to be baptized, but she said that she couldn´t until May. She´ll take that step, but not until then. It´s fine, but yeah, we´ll see what happens. She´s prepared so it should happen soon. We then had another lesson with another investigator, and we read with her <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2?lang=eng" target="_blank">2 Nephi 2</a> since she didn´t read it. We also explained it and she liked it. We met with her at her new <em>piso</em> [apartment], even though she´s just renting a room. We ate sweets with her after. Good day!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The edge of town from the valley below </em>Cuenca.</strong></td></tr>
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Sunday we watched as much of conference as we could. We watched one session with Henry at his house, then got the key to watch it at the church in the branch president´s office. We then went back to the church to watch some more conference, then had a lesson with a new investigator. Daniel, we pretty much just got to know him and talked about the family with him since he has his family here. Really cool guy and I have great hope for him. We then watched a bit more conference, and went over to our new Peruvian investigators’ house. We taught them about faith, prayer, reading the scriptures, and going to church. Elder Lyman did the chicken with the towel and it was pretty cool!! There were kids there so it was fun for them. We also gained another investigator there with a friend of theirs. Super awesome!! We then watched as much of conference as we could until it got late and we had to go to the <em>piso</em> [apartment]. We got there at 10:00 PM, just on time.<br />
<br />Today we saw the hanging houses as well as going on a hike and <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=40%C2%B0+4%2732.91%22N,+2%C2%B0+7%2723.92%22W&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=40.075724,-2.122893&spn=0.004524,0.010568&sll=32.215031,-98.218283&sspn=0.080024,0.169086&t=h&z=17" target="_blank">saw the Cristo</a> at the top of a mountain, and then saw really cool rock formations in the mountains on our way down to the hanging houses. I hope that all of you are doing good!! Take care and I´ll talk to you next week. Long letter and short on time. Love you all!!<br />
<br />Elder Bauer<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The most famous of the hanging houses of Cuenca</em></strong>.</td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-19985333617799222142013-04-06T17:01:00.000-06:002013-04-06T17:01:18.294-06:00April 1, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Old part of Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>A picture from the older portion of Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<br />
Dad and Family,<br />
Well, today I don´t have my agenda with me, but that´s fine since the week wouldn´t be sharing the whole thing. Let’s just say that it was a good, but very hard week!! We finished the former investigators and the members list, so now we are going to have to contact a lot more than I have ever contacted in my life. Oh well, I´m sure that someone is out there waiting. We have met some pretty cool people, but we´ll see if anything comes from them!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEv6poFxtknBioz3LcccgWdewrnMedhSDzvjF3odbPJH7Ar0hGPR0Nx3rPGgCfnb50_friVFY_MTnmyXeXhtl2PH06v3xzubMmOkv2RCOXsM68i6GPGNKs_73AUbHk3H9a85Zez_KWVHN/s1600/IMG_9885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEv6poFxtknBioz3LcccgWdewrnMedhSDzvjF3odbPJH7Ar0hGPR0Nx3rPGgCfnb50_friVFY_MTnmyXeXhtl2PH06v3xzubMmOkv2RCOXsM68i6GPGNKs_73AUbHk3H9a85Zez_KWVHN/s320/IMG_9885.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>One of the famous</em> casas colgantes <em>(hanging houses) of Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>A neighborhood of hanging houses of Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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So last P-Day we saw the old part of <em>Cuenca</em>, and it´s really cool!! I saw the <em>casas colgantes</em> [hanging houses] from the mountain that we were from. It was pretty cool! We also saw a cathedral and other cool stuff so yeah, super cool! Not too much has been going on, but this Sunday we did have the temple president come and talk to us about temples, and it was really curious because it helped me resolve many doubts that I had as far as opening <em>Cuenca</em>. It´s pretty cool how that happens! I left that meeting very uplifted and have thought of many things that I can do to improve!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOE3vm-DisD-dNUwrMvsbvbWiROvQfKHUJBBmoj5COiJ1POA9Sslw2rM27UbTq6OC5RJsIf9ruGDrFYvOYReWLHpDK_CBkoUXa3ZYccMVeH_SnSJwd3vG48yjtdyWgkM46A8_dZhpcpBr/s1600/IMG_9852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOE3vm-DisD-dNUwrMvsbvbWiROvQfKHUJBBmoj5COiJ1POA9Sslw2rM27UbTq6OC5RJsIf9ruGDrFYvOYReWLHpDK_CBkoUXa3ZYccMVeH_SnSJwd3vG48yjtdyWgkM46A8_dZhpcpBr/s320/IMG_9852.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Living on the edge in Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC9iMMsYpnWTFqPs1KfLnTCIb8bYyTDQyc7E3qMpW1P9rof72ZdZsUNi_5TpijPT6Uht9jtGLcH89141rvuAbBZgbeaYqIeNNH4GYUTqKUVXV72CL1bQkUTX0oTVEMKltVhUhcxsZ9sHN/s1600/IMG_9853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWC9iMMsYpnWTFqPs1KfLnTCIb8bYyTDQyc7E3qMpW1P9rof72ZdZsUNi_5TpijPT6Uht9jtGLcH89141rvuAbBZgbeaYqIeNNH4GYUTqKUVXV72CL1bQkUTX0oTVEMKltVhUhcxsZ9sHN/s320/IMG_9853.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Elder Bauer overlooking the edge of Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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We also saw a miracle this week!! So while we were doing the members list, we came across a piso [apartment] where there was a lady. There lived the member, but he wasn´t there at the time. We talked to the lady, and she had the missionaries before in <em>Madrid</em>, and loved the church!! Super cool and since then we´ve had a lesson and she came to the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] at the church and went to church on Sunday!!! Super cool and I have a lot of hope for her!! Not much else so this is going to be really REALLY short! Take care and I´ll talk to you guys soon!! Love you all!<br />
<br />Elder Bauer<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iu0ge1e10yXJK_G_ppoce1QPu3Ex7ZPvkBeAOSIT2SnV6ERpA_UcdUEkTu0KkqC1Fb5MDqZwVl9AxOkozgc-qpDkt9HUqv_0grmpo5Cbd44cbD9WIcnWOSW5BJf0ifIYt6TzWg7A_PiH/s1600/IMG_9868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iu0ge1e10yXJK_G_ppoce1QPu3Ex7ZPvkBeAOSIT2SnV6ERpA_UcdUEkTu0KkqC1Fb5MDqZwVl9AxOkozgc-qpDkt9HUqv_0grmpo5Cbd44cbD9WIcnWOSW5BJf0ifIYt6TzWg7A_PiH/s320/IMG_9868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>The cathedral in the plaza mayor in Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZByscEohZ0QpRMgRhPIFpgyPpqKolQlmTuzUNceKE3FVqjruNwqaoW-mvGPmilwlWS2XGneASnheuzFyq4DZsZsNiEaNFn2y-cvQu2Tg2omJnBu_bnLwzOUtbd9Lr1uQFiiUBack96UrK/s1600/IMG_9876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZByscEohZ0QpRMgRhPIFpgyPpqKolQlmTuzUNceKE3FVqjruNwqaoW-mvGPmilwlWS2XGneASnheuzFyq4DZsZsNiEaNFn2y-cvQu2Tg2omJnBu_bnLwzOUtbd9Lr1uQFiiUBack96UrK/s320/IMG_9876.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>The former convent of San Pablo, and now a <a href="http://www.parador.es/en/parador-de-cuenca" target="_blank">Parador Hotel</a></em></td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-9188439678985660532013-03-31T15:07:00.001-06:002013-03-31T15:09:34.811-06:00March 25, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0eZXhIinVh95OYGO4-KKqK7uDFCocz568xJGVJSPhOrI1e3nZRVH2Ro6z6e8-oIGgXxJWNgO8XLlG_Q6Q0UvZYHca3aecUYxz_40GbWufrEaLyo4q2ZmYLvctaNdF_WYTWe-_NobHZn5_/s1600/IMG_9820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0eZXhIinVh95OYGO4-KKqK7uDFCocz568xJGVJSPhOrI1e3nZRVH2Ro6z6e8-oIGgXxJWNgO8XLlG_Q6Q0UvZYHca3aecUYxz_40GbWufrEaLyo4q2ZmYLvctaNdF_WYTWe-_NobHZn5_/s320/IMG_9820.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Our neighborhood in Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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<br />
Hello there Family!!<br />
<br />
Well, I can honestly say that <em>Cuenca</em> is much COLDER than <em>Las Palmas</em>. I´m freezing, but it´s also good. I´m trying to have a good attitude about it by telling myself that I missed the cold. I also have a cold, the sickness, which is not cool either. Oh well, all part of the experience. <em>Cuenca</em> is a small town, and it compares to <em>Parla</em> in smallness. It´s cooler than <em>Parla</em> though, since it has old buildings and stuff. My new companion is Elder Lyman, from Utah! He´s a really cool, chill sort of guy!! He´s a really hard worker and also is very diligent in his work!! I was hoping to train my last transfer, but I know that Elder Lyman is my companion for a reason, and I´ll learn all I can from him! We both have pretty high expectations for <em>Cuenca</em> and I´m excited to work with him a bit more these next few weeks!! Nine members came to church and we have a goal that by the end of the transfer it will go up to 20 or 25. We also have a goal for 2 baptisms here in <em>Cuenca</em> before the transfer ends. Super cool and I´m super excited.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh6LeRXJxE8x9ATT5vKRjXk-ssYTwafDQK7_0pUXb_bf4XXKJycf9ldCN6DtoMAyyDTsf3TZtx03uUiLcijPo0SH6b8j1-jFkY9Bd_qafw4LTcpoodXHDy_hAiebdvbIqHBtNCi03V-s1/s1600/IMG_9837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh6LeRXJxE8x9ATT5vKRjXk-ssYTwafDQK7_0pUXb_bf4XXKJycf9ldCN6DtoMAyyDTsf3TZtx03uUiLcijPo0SH6b8j1-jFkY9Bd_qafw4LTcpoodXHDy_hAiebdvbIqHBtNCi03V-s1/s320/IMG_9837.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Elder Lyman (next to an old mini Cooper)</em></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Anyway, as you already know, we didn´t make it to <em>Cuenca</em> on Monday since we didn´t make it to the train on time. Tuesday we did make it!! We went in an <em>Alvia</em> Train, which hit a top speed of 252 KPH which was pretty cool!! When we made it here, our <em>piso dueño</em> [landlord] picked us up and took us to our <em>piso</em> [apartment]. It´s pretty far out of town, but really nice!! It´s brand new as well!! We visited a few members and that was it for the night.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49P9zPPgyRKqMxatuhp1k1LWueGH3kMdhKJLnLOAvf40gSGL7eD-WoN9DeRZOPd8h_6TyEpljdKNfCnbPxdigAw6yIqbT6o43eib-ppot2vfAcsM22U9lhdDQoV0PxyuvFfuQq4czh6XE/s1600/IMG_9817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49P9zPPgyRKqMxatuhp1k1LWueGH3kMdhKJLnLOAvf40gSGL7eD-WoN9DeRZOPd8h_6TyEpljdKNfCnbPxdigAw6yIqbT6o43eib-ppot2vfAcsM22U9lhdDQoV0PxyuvFfuQq4czh6XE/s320/IMG_9817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Note how you can see mountains from our neighborhood!</em></td></tr>
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Wednesday we spent all morning organizing the three area books that we have of former investigators. We called as many of them that had phone numbers and also set up a few appointments with members, but only were only able to visit with Henry, a member from Africa, and an English teacher here in Cuenca. We also saw an investigator who is ready for baptism. Super fun day, but cold. Haha.<br />
<br />
Thursday we had weekly planning, and we planned during the morning hours and have great expectations for this area. We then went out and visited a Dominican family who are less active, and Jose, a recent convert and Branch Mission Leader, brought a friend over who is an 86 year old Spaniard. The lesson was interesting, but it was a fun experience. We also met a member family that lives just 2 blocks away from our <em>piso</em> [apartment]! They are a Spanish family with a daughter that is a return missionary!! Super nice family, but the husband and son are less active. We´ll work with them along with other less actives.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZkrV11vG4WPNrorRIPkZdzN9M4RE9hSebQVpGcK37apMtCkRjM5FqSGlWooGvJ_J2Vo9qOwCvnNvBV2IdnaXnVWFnP6ILXaQE5EWkBQLc6pyw7eOLG1flnJ6-GKfe2ZKDKw0Im4v_Rki/s1600/IMG_9835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZkrV11vG4WPNrorRIPkZdzN9M4RE9hSebQVpGcK37apMtCkRjM5FqSGlWooGvJ_J2Vo9qOwCvnNvBV2IdnaXnVWFnP6ILXaQE5EWkBQLc6pyw7eOLG1flnJ6-GKfe2ZKDKw0Im4v_Rki/s320/IMG_9835.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>A view of old town Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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Friday we met with some <em>antiguos</em> [former investigators] and also Elvis, a member that has been baptized, but never confirmed. It´s been over a year, so he´d have to get baptized again. We hope to work with him too so that he can continue to want the baptism. It seems that he´s really good!! Not much else.<br />
<br />
Saturday we met with one former investigator. He´s a <em>joven</em> [young man] and stopped listening to the missionaries because he studies a lot. We´ll have to see about him. We then kept passing by former investigators and while we were knocking a building, we met a Spaniard who invited us in. He´s super nice and had a Book of Mormon, but wasn´t interested in the message. Oh well, so far just planting seeds.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_JnatOU222xw4aOcDpPaKwV_8qoPMOYXckIZ0D5SnGwG4-pqaeYzhDpY7XfVRp0HhI-j1Gbt1c-QqRwDvLwlseyDZBTUx-5UiWUk0SYDys8ggoqhfeVvwLXp1VF5TwvPJRslfwE_FJTq/s1600/IMG_9827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_JnatOU222xw4aOcDpPaKwV_8qoPMOYXckIZ0D5SnGwG4-pqaeYzhDpY7XfVRp0HhI-j1Gbt1c-QqRwDvLwlseyDZBTUx-5UiWUk0SYDys8ggoqhfeVvwLXp1VF5TwvPJRslfwE_FJTq/s320/IMG_9827.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>The branch meetinghouse in Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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Sunday we met the branch at the church, yes, all nine active members. It´s the most humble branch I´ve seen, as well as united! I love this little branch! Super cool and nice!! The Branch President gave us names of people to pass by and teach/call and it was a list that we´ve pretty much passed by them all. We´ll continue to see what happens. We had a few lessons yesterday too!! With one investigator, we talked about Jesus Christ and what she thinks He wants her to do. She mentioned baptism and so we talked a bit about that and know that she´s ready!! I hope that she takes that step soon! We then met with two less actives and it´s just sad to see them fall away even when they are so good to us!! I hope that we can get at least one of them to come back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh6LeRXJxE8x9ATT5vKRjXk-ssYTwafDQK7_0pUXb_bf4XXKJycf9ldCN6DtoMAyyDTsf3TZtx03uUiLcijPo0SH6b8j1-jFkY9Bd_qafw4LTcpoodXHDy_hAiebdvbIqHBtNCi03V-s1/s1600/IMG_9837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
And that has been the first week of opening Cuenca! Hard, cold, but rewarding as well!! I see potential here!! I hope that you guys continue to have a good week and a good time there in Texas!! Stay warm!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />
Elder Bauer<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFajMajviy1dI0leBIfSXd-VVs_k8g9fYdPDqjGZ-GFJ_gHJEHD-sVX4klQkLlPLWZtSvsCSUXgkznm6ZE1FFLlWIKnA7pkDrx9FgXyp8GHudtDGbzduA_Sd8YinOWK_IlauIvB2u_fEm/s1600/IMG_9825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFajMajviy1dI0leBIfSXd-VVs_k8g9fYdPDqjGZ-GFJ_gHJEHD-sVX4klQkLlPLWZtSvsCSUXgkznm6ZE1FFLlWIKnA7pkDrx9FgXyp8GHudtDGbzduA_Sd8YinOWK_IlauIvB2u_fEm/s320/IMG_9825.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Sunset in Cuenca</em></td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-44895236264748360712013-03-18T22:43:00.000-06:002013-03-18T22:48:23.782-06:00March 18, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L9GEqTtYAWQJlB1V554ve6TiQ6sOi68_0fLIjcM_zRVT4J4eBv5TukRZHMMwOwelJuw0G-dGYdKo50NPWJTI2c4NTX0K3jzJE6XkOI_TXOJUYqR31XBBcs3ja0Ltm6LoFNOJgDHoJ1gR/s1600/IMG_9716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L9GEqTtYAWQJlB1V554ve6TiQ6sOi68_0fLIjcM_zRVT4J4eBv5TukRZHMMwOwelJuw0G-dGYdKo50NPWJTI2c4NTX0K3jzJE6XkOI_TXOJUYqR31XBBcs3ja0Ltm6LoFNOJgDHoJ1gR/s320/IMG_9716.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Las Palmas district (before transfers).</em></strong> <br />
<em>From left to right: Sisters Marshall, Zitting, Buhler, and Elders Buhler, Bauer, Valenzuela, Wilson and Rockwood.</em></td></tr>
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<br />
Hello Family,<br />
<br />
This week has been full of surprises and I can´t even think straight with the huge shock that I´ve gotten. So, the shocking news is that I have been transferred from <em>Las Palmas de Gran Canaria</em>, to <em><a href="http://www.spainisculture.com/en/destinos/cuenca.html" target="_blank">Cuenca</a></em>, in the Peninsula. I honestly couldn't believe it!! And just to mention, <em>Cuenca</em> is a new area, so it hasn´t had missionaries for at least a year and a half. So me and my new companion, Elder Lyman, are opening a new area. Pretty crazy and sad. I was really hoping to stay in <em>Las Palmas</em> for the rest of my mission. I am pretty excited to be going to <em>Cuenca</em> though. It looks and sounds like a super cool place, even though it´s just as small as <em>Parla</em>, or smaller. Even if I only get to serve there for 6 weeks, it´s fine!! New things aren´t bad, but sometimes it isn´t good either, haha. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEp0O4jm_TzuR82pbUxnUcl90Kef38X0oxN1OIuyOs6Bszyu4L0LOk68q3s2SOwS9A0aVowymrUG591yGrGd22IOjsKCvqebA9XIK0_kO7yz392QNIXObgdy1Jr5pxGgaXkrKE08T0oiH/s1600/IMG_9726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEp0O4jm_TzuR82pbUxnUcl90Kef38X0oxN1OIuyOs6Bszyu4L0LOk68q3s2SOwS9A0aVowymrUG591yGrGd22IOjsKCvqebA9XIK0_kO7yz392QNIXObgdy1Jr5pxGgaXkrKE08T0oiH/s320/IMG_9726.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Valenzuela, Luram, and Elder Bauer</em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-unFrcgPOIqFh3tMiXRP3QyNtN5vFU83HmelP38qCdsKraZWny89fBJ5MPOYqmsRNVfUpKTMRx6L7n06flMddI20ibKy7fclmJHwZ5di4GGLdPsxrCTzVaNOp3xVY0XR8MqDqt1R584T/s1600/IMG_9729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-unFrcgPOIqFh3tMiXRP3QyNtN5vFU83HmelP38qCdsKraZWny89fBJ5MPOYqmsRNVfUpKTMRx6L7n06flMddI20ibKy7fclmJHwZ5di4GGLdPsxrCTzVaNOp3xVY0XR8MqDqt1R584T/s320/IMG_9729.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Valenzuela, Yeinira, and Elder Bauer</em></strong></td></tr>
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So Sunday was the day that we all said goodbye and it was pretty heartbreaking for me and for my companion, as well as most of the members, all of the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults], and the investigators. Luram especially was super sad. He cried a lot and let me just say, just being away for a few hours, I miss them all so much!! Crazy, but life goes on. So that´s pretty much why there are many photos of me that have been tagged so yeah. I don´t really remember too much else about my week considering I´m in a new place. I can however tell you what happened today.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMqmCTr0V5hrqAPX1i9EA9N-pgxtSHm-3D9SFQfv2nbtyVYjMsDmim2scGa5_nvFa0KVFT2q6kEsY4aUIYUk8uL1azvRzagj8tarfAScIluM9Luq-GoDBnTvydtouLDfjX8qoMiZ52zrv/s1600/IMG_9760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMqmCTr0V5hrqAPX1i9EA9N-pgxtSHm-3D9SFQfv2nbtyVYjMsDmim2scGa5_nvFa0KVFT2q6kEsY4aUIYUk8uL1azvRzagj8tarfAScIluM9Luq-GoDBnTvydtouLDfjX8qoMiZ52zrv/s320/IMG_9760.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Raquel, Franklyn, y Nenad, Elder Valenzuela, and Elder Bauer</em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLthiBqLXCg53gpl6JMp-1htXhxA6eU7wvcpxuA0VfhUGmFu_tWIN9CVY8aepz8zJhzz-w3yNe8XwSMUhUQgmFdlU6J8OjMNW84_dC10F-_vTzjK_fFpB7eyc6skfQv2kEgLVxDAH_6ne/s1600/IMG_9736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLthiBqLXCg53gpl6JMp-1htXhxA6eU7wvcpxuA0VfhUGmFu_tWIN9CVY8aepz8zJhzz-w3yNe8XwSMUhUQgmFdlU6J8OjMNW84_dC10F-_vTzjK_fFpB7eyc6skfQv2kEgLVxDAH_6ne/s320/IMG_9736.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>David, Elder Bauer (holding onto David Jr.), Sandra, and Elder Valenzuela</em></strong></td></tr>
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So today Monday, P-Day, we finished packing and went out to meet Elder Buhler so that he could take us to the Airport. Yes, they are white-washing <em>Las Palmas</em> Elders. So after getting down, we got the car loaded, and went off to the airport. It´s pretty sad to see the ocean the last day, especially when you don´t know when you will see it again. Well, we got to the airport, and saw that the <em>Vecindario</em> Elders were there to say goodbye as well. Elder Wilson and Elder Rockwood. We then went and looked around for the check in place, but it was nowhere to be found. We went to the other side of the airport and there it was. <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Buhler, <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Marshall and <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Zitting were there too since <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Marshall was also leaving the Island. Super sad day really. After some pictures, <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Marshall, Elder Valenzuela and I were off to the plane and I just watched as <em>Gran Canaria</em> disappeared.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxpzDPbonx4-KyXbW8W40ZD8PqHposBtqFv7Hp4hUt3T6FVrWIU7C277SYY8Fat1I_CmLt-KfzwARsClR5AoDT39ZkyoWufW1P4vtd4wNaohCST7WwZxG_cKijrKQctho2VaFpwdmznFP/s1600/IMG_9788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxpzDPbonx4-KyXbW8W40ZD8PqHposBtqFv7Hp4hUt3T6FVrWIU7C277SYY8Fat1I_CmLt-KfzwARsClR5AoDT39ZkyoWufW1P4vtd4wNaohCST7WwZxG_cKijrKQctho2VaFpwdmznFP/s320/IMG_9788.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>A blue Atlantic on the way back to the peninsula.</em></strong></td></tr>
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I took a nap on the plane and when I woke up, we were in the Peninsula. I saw Toledo from the sky and that was pretty cool. When we landed we had quite a bit of crazy stuff happen. My new companion, Elder Lyman was there with two other missionaries and we started to go to <em>Chamartin</em> [train station – second largest in Madrid] to get Elder Lyman´s luggage. We had to be in <em>Atocha</em> [train station – the largest in Madrid] at 3:30 to get the train at 3:40. We didn´t make it to the train on time. We then didn´t know what to do, so we changed the ticket and decided to wait in <em>Atocha</em> for a bit longer until the other train to come. Then we get a call from Elder Winklecotter, the <em>piso</em> [apartment] office Elder, that the <em>piso</em> [apartment] in <em>Cuenca</em> isn´t ready yet, so we decided to stay here in Madrid for the night, and tomorrow go to <em>Cuenca</em> and begin working there. The <em>piso</em> [apartment] is pretty much ready down there and it´s going to be amazing!! I´m pretty excited <em>al final</em> [in the end], haha. Not much else that I could really say, but I´m hoping to have more for you guys next week. Take care and I hope to talk to you soon!! Love you all!!!<br />
<br />
Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-65181045474973537572013-03-17T14:51:00.000-06:002013-03-17T15:06:39.689-06:00March 11, 2013Hello family,<br />
<br />
I´m glad that all of you got to spend time with Grandma Lety and Grandpa Oscar over there in El Paso. Just hearing about the Mexican food makes me really want to eat some! I miss Mexican food, and the Mexican food here isn´t the best. Not much has been happening here in Las Palmas. The work has been slow and I am really getting frustrated with how hard it has gotten. This week we had 6 lessons total...and I just don´t like that. I feel that we´ve been doing all that we could but that nothing comes from it. We´ve received in the past 15 references (or phone numbers from people) that have been interested, but nothing came out of those 15 people!! Grrr, why can´t it be easier sometimes!! Oh well, I just know that I have to continue to be the best that I can, and not get too discouraged, and just continue onward.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQBPAbzfzaPYpK6J7F1RmVQoOPm4GrvuNDZUY71BMNS_IXsXR-O8o1cAfxwcQTfT50JsXR5sxM5pi_4XIsbMOrkWgAF1z-H0Bv2Gjd8ShAtSH4uwfLrxhyphenhyphenV7eauFmgCwHECM2kEGT9o47/s1600/IMG_9652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQBPAbzfzaPYpK6J7F1RmVQoOPm4GrvuNDZUY71BMNS_IXsXR-O8o1cAfxwcQTfT50JsXR5sxM5pi_4XIsbMOrkWgAF1z-H0Bv2Gjd8ShAtSH4uwfLrxhyphenhyphenV7eauFmgCwHECM2kEGT9o47/s320/IMG_9652.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Wilson at lunch after district meeting</em></strong></td></tr>
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Tuesday of last week we had a miracle happen. Well, I applied for renewal of my residency card. I should get it about 2 weeks before I head back home. Well, so Sunday we had an appointment with Juan and we didn´t make it on time since we were in El Lasso, a part of Las Palmas, but far away from the Church. So, we made it half an hour late, and since he doesn´t have a phone, we couldn´t tell him. We tried going by his house and he wasn´t there any of the times that we passed by. Monday we did the same thing, but nothing. It was pretty crazy since we needed to meet with him at least every day of the week to help him get ready for his baptism on Saturday, the 9th. Tuesday I finished my residency renewal at about 1:30, and at 1:45 we waited for Juan at the Plaza La Feria since he told us that at around 2 he goes by there every day. So, we were there waiting for him, and my companion said, "Okay, let´s pray that we see him here." Just as he finished saying that, we saw him far away! We then walked really fast and saw him in a bar/cafeteria. We talked to him for a while and we were all happy to see each other and it was just amazing!! We then had the lesson with him and talked about baptism and confirmation and went over the baptismal questions! It was great and he was ready for baptism!! We also talked to Carlos, and Luram said this Sunday, that Carlos really liked the visit that we had with him! It made me happy to know that he liked the conversation that we had!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9qbsJXU-vOKFwTvnehWmnNisKVBtlfSEXxg3L4QAfHMEBhsSp0iZMyApLVEolc5LBZdw31RablvSxXcIyy_UyRV6nhbc_IikZ8XJDX0ZNDIcbZvySwkIZNvbaD_IJfcmNL-oXmBPZ0gk/s1600/IMG_9653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv9qbsJXU-vOKFwTvnehWmnNisKVBtlfSEXxg3L4QAfHMEBhsSp0iZMyApLVEolc5LBZdw31RablvSxXcIyy_UyRV6nhbc_IikZ8XJDX0ZNDIcbZvySwkIZNvbaD_IJfcmNL-oXmBPZ0gk/s320/IMG_9653.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Wilson and a Navajo taco</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Wednesday was great!! We had district meeting and it was really a good meeting! Afterwards the Elders of Vecindario just stuck around since they had to do the baptismal interview with Juan. We played Fussball or something like that. You know, the table with the people and it´s like soccer, but in a table. Elder Valenzuela and I just dominate at that game. I´m getting better at it, but I´m really not that good. Just watch Elder Wilson and I play against each other. We´re both not good at the game, and it´s just hilarious to watch. We then went to the church to have the interview and it was good!! Juan passed his interview, and the baptism went through as planned. We then had the lesson with Fani and we talked about Temples. It was really nice and cool to see her interest in temples.<br />
Thursday we tried to do splits, but nothing happened with that, so yeah. We had a lesson with Juan and talked about priesthood. He still thinks that it´s the power to teach, and we´re just like, um...no, it´s the power of God to bless His children here on earth. He´ll get it someday. We then went to see Maria, our recent convert and she´s doing great. She´s a bit down in her afflictions, so we shared the scripture in <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/24.13-16?lang=eng#12" target="_blank">Mosiah 24:13-16</a>. She really liked it and understood what it means. I love Maria, she´s just so humble and submissive. She´ll be able to endure to the end! That was Thursday, as well as weekly planning...like always.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBu1WAiFdfIMl3mf7fZU3kZThsKQlPe8Ix_LdnieHBLQP62gCSOqCMsNHzVVehIyvoUPrszk5ViVwWDehVXNhV9iiZyQr_g-JxF_n9OV4V4pJg4npO24kznteYyAPHj2LYypqKO7Yjpjou/s1600/IMG_9677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBu1WAiFdfIMl3mf7fZU3kZThsKQlPe8Ix_LdnieHBLQP62gCSOqCMsNHzVVehIyvoUPrszk5ViVwWDehVXNhV9iiZyQr_g-JxF_n9OV4V4pJg4npO24kznteYyAPHj2LYypqKO7Yjpjou/s320/IMG_9677.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>A happy new member of the church</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Friday was an empty day. Nothing interesting happened that day. Saturday was way too crazy trying to prepare for the baptism of Juan Denis. We had to get the baptismal program done and ready, we had to print it and copy it, fill the font. Too much to do, so little time. It all went well, but it was pretty hard. After the ordinance of baptism, and I had the opportunity to baptize him, he told me that all he felt was overwhelming joy and happiness!!! It was great to hear him say that and see the change that came to him just with that little ordinance. Through small and simple things, are great things come to pass. I´ve learned that that promise is true!! Sunday was his confirmation! Not much was done Sunday except for giving a blessing to a member. Super cool week when I think about it, but still kind of...empty. I like days that are full of stuff, and I guess that´s what I have to do, fill it with people to see and places to be. I hope that you guys have a good week and that all is well!! Take care and I´ll talk to you guys soon!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />
Elder Bauer<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQhhBcVZWs-awB8HdYyMBfzgJesWj4cMRICic3cE0uD3XoFu6fZAeFvU-fidsw8U2tzprcUlWMvekFD-fdKDNZth7GeLRi6I_k4MlAuk8P3w2YgmqfI0bJLK6M5YdPr7bWqTQU4duBfHt/s1600/IMG_9675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQhhBcVZWs-awB8HdYyMBfzgJesWj4cMRICic3cE0uD3XoFu6fZAeFvU-fidsw8U2tzprcUlWMvekFD-fdKDNZth7GeLRi6I_k4MlAuk8P3w2YgmqfI0bJLK6M5YdPr7bWqTQU4duBfHt/s320/IMG_9675.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Sunset over Las Palmas</em></strong></td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-54478082028102368422013-03-10T14:00:00.002-06:002013-03-10T14:05:41.895-06:00March 8, 2013<strong>A quick editor's note:</strong><br />
<br />
We received an e-mail from the missionary department with the proposed itinerary for Elder Bauer to return home. He is currently scheduled to return at 5:15 PM on April 30th.<br />
<br />
In many ways I can't believe it is almost over.Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-31220168684117852382013-03-10T13:55:00.001-06:002013-03-10T17:12:50.972-06:00March 4, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaASZNKAeoPuCVHr7IG_bdUuaz8-aOj11Pt0o8lPjyM-WJpETW42ZlPcG1-eYe2xVm-cF-VXnX3sBKbAXYssVzpwr5BxdRXsu_uyDyI3RmZsPQtWqsdaoIYWFqvyCq_biYRyZqfpSp9ac/s1600/IMG_9513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaASZNKAeoPuCVHr7IG_bdUuaz8-aOj11Pt0o8lPjyM-WJpETW42ZlPcG1-eYe2xVm-cF-VXnX3sBKbAXYssVzpwr5BxdRXsu_uyDyI3RmZsPQtWqsdaoIYWFqvyCq_biYRyZqfpSp9ac/s320/IMG_9513.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Las Palmas from the hills above town, and near the caves</strong></em></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
Family!<br />
<br />
I´m having too much fun out here, I almost don´t know what I´ll do when I return home, but I´m sure that I´ll find something. I may get companion deprived, as well as stick shift deprived, as well as other things, but yeah. You get the deal. Oh well, on to my week, and it will be a nutshell.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9O20QcqwRkSJMf5mPDbZ66d4Py4Rd0UDfa2_L0fdaOzLN9jPl5KsbV2mgOEkx_ztil_yPGcIscV3DFe7qXS6ouwkFdJiY_3qoxmgWNfpWc4fWSX641K8R48R_5XNIrD28k7DKVQtOxlsH/s1600/IMG_9525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9O20QcqwRkSJMf5mPDbZ66d4Py4Rd0UDfa2_L0fdaOzLN9jPl5KsbV2mgOEkx_ztil_yPGcIscV3DFe7qXS6ouwkFdJiY_3qoxmgWNfpWc4fWSX641K8R48R_5XNIrD28k7DKVQtOxlsH/s320/IMG_9525.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The hills around the caves visited by the Las Palmas district.</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
So, Thursday was a very busy day! We had a lot more planned than we could both go to. We had to do splits with members so that we could get to all of the appointments that we had on time, but that didn´t matter. At least we had some good lessons! So, we did the splits. We called as many members that we could think of, and we only had one member that could go with us. I then had the idea to call the Buhlers to see if they could help us out. It was amazing because they could and it all worked out!! So we met at the church and started from there. We headed out, Elder Valenzuela with Nenad, and me with Elder Buhler. We first went to see if Jose was there, but he ended up not being there. I was kind of sad about that, but Elder Buhler (who served in the Spain Sevilla Mission) just smiled and said, "Well, the missionary work hasn´t changed much in 30 years." It was just funny to me since he wasn´t angry or anything. So we went to the <em>JAS</em> [Young Single Adult] Center so that I could explain a bit of the residency process to them so that they could get things done when the time comes. At about 5:30 we started heading up to Luram´s house to teach him a lesson about Enduring to the End. I didn´t know why he needed that lesson, but that morning, I just had the idea to show him a video and to talk about it.<br />
<br />
So, we arrived and found him there at home, and it was a good little lesson!!! I loved it actually! Really cool experience. We then went down to the church and I had to stay at the church while my companion went with Elder Buhler to another lesson, just in case some people wanting English classes came. No one came at 8:00, so I didn´t know what to do. Some contact from the street came in at that point and I decided to teach him, even though he seemed a little weird. After the lesson, I was informed about him, and I decided that I will not teach him again. Then going home, we saw a dead person on the street, but covered up with a white sheet. Pretty creepy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Okay it was quite a hike to the caves on a P-Day!</strong></em></td></tr>
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<br />
Friday was another day where we did splits, but then one of the lessons fell through, so we got back together. We went to see Cristian. I hope that all goes well with him. Later on we saw Juan, and he´s going to get baptized this next week, the 9th of March! I´m pretty happy and I´m sure that he´s pretty happy too!! We taught him about tithing and fast offerings. He accepted it and we committed him to fast and donate tithes and offerings after he´s baptized. Super cool guy!! Nothing else happened that day.<br />
<br />
Saturday we had to do splits once again! We had Jose and Juan at the same time. So we got two members and met them there at <em>Parque San Telmo</em>. We then went our own way and Fernando and I went to Jose, and Elder Valenzuela and Nenad, went to Juan. With Jose, the biggest challenge is that he´s 70 years old, and wants to get baptized. The only thing is, that he doesn´t understand that he needs to change his lifestyle to be able to be baptized. We´re really trying, but I don´t know how it will all work out. He has a visit with President Santana on Wednesday so we´ll see what happens. Later on we went to see Fani, and she´s doing great!! She´s pretty much a member, but the only thing that has to happen, is that she has to get married to her "boyfriend" that she´s living with. They are planning to go to her country so that they could get married there, but they are planning to go in June!! Long ways away from now, but then again, not really. We talked to her about the Atonement and it was a great lesson over all. She said that she´ll come to church.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniUwVVDAiJJmgKR0Pgk9reD5CFswV8fhDPqzX0rdt95UjA_zD3K_k2pLfw0y5AcqmRlhcGlGVlGFtaH3fmquw0MGwxysiSXoCqml88Yhcrs6iNFB4ypXxRgh_mKSX_WbCfP3oAxeSOYHS/s1600/IMG_9614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniUwVVDAiJJmgKR0Pgk9reD5CFswV8fhDPqzX0rdt95UjA_zD3K_k2pLfw0y5AcqmRlhcGlGVlGFtaH3fmquw0MGwxysiSXoCqml88Yhcrs6iNFB4ypXxRgh_mKSX_WbCfP3oAxeSOYHS/s320/IMG_9614.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>But it was an uplifiting experience to visit the caves as a district.</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Sunday was a great day!! We got an answer to our prayers about if Juan should get baptized, and we had the confirmation of the spirit. We announced it in church, and Juan is pretty happy about that! Fani and Jose came as well so we had quite a few investigators! Later on in the evening, my companion and I were planning, and thinking of what we could do to find more people to teach. We´ve been working hard to find new people, but haven´t found anyone. I was a little disappointed, but my companion was a bit more discouraged. When we went out of the <em>piso</em> [apartment] at about 8:00, we were walking to the JAS [Young Single Adult] Center, as usual, and I decided to set a personal goal to talk to at least 5 people on the way, before getting to the JAS Center. Not many people are out and about on a Sunday night, but I still felt like I could do it. I talked to as many people as I could, but only got to 4. We reached the JAS Center and I saw a lady walking on the other side of the street, and I talked to her and that made 5 people!! The goal was achieved, and it gave me some sort of jolt of joy!!<br />
<br />
It was still a little early and we didn´t want to interrupt the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] that was going on, so I decided to do the same thing, set a goal to talk to people, but not just 5, but 10 people, before 8:30, and at that time, it was 8:18. So I decided to voice my idea to my companion, and he decided to join me in my efforts! We talked to as many people as we could find, and we got to 8. It was past 8:30 at that point, and so I decided to adjust the goal, talk to 2 more people before getting to the JAS [Young Single Adult] Center, and have one of them give us their number/reference. We talked to 1 more person before getting to the JAS Center, and no reference. I was feeling a bit down, but happy at the same time for doing a bit more work than I thought I could have on a day like yesterday. When we got to the JAS Center, we found Carlos, a friend of Luram that we´ve met before. I talked to him a bit as I ate. He´s a really cool guy! At the end of the night, just before we went to the <em>piso</em> [apartment], he asked me, out of the blue, when we could meet him at his house! I was shocked, and told him that at any time when he has some time. He gave me his number and his address, and off we went to the <em>piso</em> [apartment]. While going over my day in the <em>piso</em> [apartment], I realized that I had achieved the goal that I set for both of us in a way! I talked to those 10 people, and got 1 referral, but by the end of the night!! It was really cool!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgy0gHmh3z7oLvnybIrLT5WKP1ryxWSx3-m7TXjMfUtJQrC2DWYW0Zj4kQE4wl3R4KLeL78eQOPB6yuCMEpANvmcssdEvp08bmZ8r2tPE-kcqvlcpAQnxHTIdHOTKmWOSYyBaSlY__0pK/s1600/IMG_9634.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgy0gHmh3z7oLvnybIrLT5WKP1ryxWSx3-m7TXjMfUtJQrC2DWYW0Zj4kQE4wl3R4KLeL78eQOPB6yuCMEpANvmcssdEvp08bmZ8r2tPE-kcqvlcpAQnxHTIdHOTKmWOSYyBaSlY__0pK/s320/IMG_9634.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Buhlers were also uplifed by the experience - or maybe Sister Buhler is just uplifting to all others!</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
I´m happy to say that I´m doing the best that I can. Just a little scripture that came to mind that I personally like. Mosiah 4:27, since my work has been full of effort, and yours has too, I just love that the Lord says that "...it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength..." BUT "...it is expedient that he should be diligent..." I just love that. I hope that your week is good and that all is well. Take care and I love you all!!<br />
<br />
Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-90679381790038219842013-03-02T09:07:00.000-07:002013-03-02T09:09:56.949-07:00February 27, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkH8Z1R61eYMfFaXH8YLaDRctze1PIU-4QWeDYuM3CkXdzMUZtUa9scwCOvDiXrMpssyDHGloQktau5wYD5ocLX2l4xm_SY5UtcYNzk-p7OTkzIljW8YTr7IB6wxDZzZq0mxfh2At4PYFh/s1600/IMG_9171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkH8Z1R61eYMfFaXH8YLaDRctze1PIU-4QWeDYuM3CkXdzMUZtUa9scwCOvDiXrMpssyDHGloQktau5wYD5ocLX2l4xm_SY5UtcYNzk-p7OTkzIljW8YTr7IB6wxDZzZq0mxfh2At4PYFh/s320/IMG_9171.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Bauer, your tour guide this week on a tour of the LDS chapel in Las Palmas!</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Hello Mother and Family,<br />
<br />
Well, this week has been pretty interesting. I´m glad that you have been doing great and that all is well over there. So, just before I start my rant on my week, I just want to tell you guys that from here on out, or after today, P-Days will be on Mondays, not Wednesdays. So, next week I´ll be writing you guys on Monday, as well as the week after that, and the week after that, and the week after that, etc...so yeah, just so you know. Now, on to my week!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI5y2m-nUqo7VEtHXiaLEsT_nzjzw2b2o0DzsiDhBinfO_YRhZ7Jv4cJ7U7-0l49ObRD9iFy86DDaTQnPYX8622n1NqyHYVjZvklFC0Z0d5TmDuZrsQ4qndckaG6HhYEPZTcEdteLfM_T/s1600/IMG_9363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI5y2m-nUqo7VEtHXiaLEsT_nzjzw2b2o0DzsiDhBinfO_YRhZ7Jv4cJ7U7-0l49ObRD9iFy86DDaTQnPYX8622n1NqyHYVjZvklFC0Z0d5TmDuZrsQ4qndckaG6HhYEPZTcEdteLfM_T/s320/IMG_9363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The exterior of the Las Palmas meetinghouse.</em></strong></td></tr>
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Well, my week hasn´t been too interesting for you guys as it was for me. I´ll just tell you about the cool experiences that I´ve had and hope that it would be good enough. So, mostly we are trying to change a lot of how we do things, and I think it´s been having an effect. We haven´t been able to teach as much as I´d like, but at least I can say that I will be prepared to go home, when I go home. We´ve changed a bit of how we plan and if you look at my agenda, you´ll be able to tell what has changed as far as planning. We´ve put back up plans as well as plans on every hour of the day, as well as filling up the day with things to do! I´m very proud of my agenda! And it´s all thanks to Elder Wilson, one of the new missionaries here in the island, who was AP just before. We´ve done exchanges with him, and I´ve learned a lot.<br />
<br />
Friday was one of those days that we did exchanges and I was with him in <em>Vecindario</em>! I loved my time with him there and I learned a lot from him. I learned how to follow the spirit and how to work the back up plans, it was amazing!! The lessons that we had were really good and we had a great deal of unity in the lessons! At the end of the exchanges, I wanted to get feedback from him on things that I can work on, but he didn´t really have any for me in specific. I was a little disappointed, but I still learned a lot from him. I hope to be able to do at least one more exchange with him before I head out so that I can learn even more from him.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrH42qrRJ0-Y2IKqIxkHkICjYZuvird1o4IQdymcqQbxQJ1cXvE3DL1UfUqzbAoJpmIKDaH60W1XULueaEdgNR36qnCeWkW4sb7ZRgrakJQ6gBJNJpnZ1tbB5MrofjKMIUraNBp9Qz4gx/s1600/IMG_9506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrH42qrRJ0-Y2IKqIxkHkICjYZuvird1o4IQdymcqQbxQJ1cXvE3DL1UfUqzbAoJpmIKDaH60W1XULueaEdgNR36qnCeWkW4sb7ZRgrakJQ6gBJNJpnZ1tbB5MrofjKMIUraNBp9Qz4gx/s320/IMG_9506.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The plaque, so you know whose church it is.</em></strong></td></tr>
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Monday we had a huge miracle happen. So it all started before personal study. I noticed that I had my one card out of 20 - 45 cards with our phone number written on it. I had written our number on it a while back, and put it in my stack of cards to give it out to someone, and I had faith that it would appear when it would be the best time, for the right person. But in this case, it was the first one that I would pull out, and I didn´t think that the first person would be "the one" that would need the card. I almost reshuffled it into my pile and put them in my pocket, but had a small feeling that it would be well used. I left it there and put the cards into my shirt pocket and started studying.<br />
<br />
At about 11am, we started walking toward the main Guagua stop, and had to take Guagua 11. It came right as we got there, which is a miracle in itself. We got on, and sat down near the back of the bus, where the chairs face the back. Not too far into our bus ride, this guy sitting on the final row asks me if I have information about the church, and I said that we did, and gave him the card that had our number on it. He thanked us, and started looking at the card. In the mean time, my companion (who was sitting next to me) took out a pamphlet on the restoration, and started writing the address of the church, when it starts, and other information so that this gentleman can get to church if he wishes. When my companion finished writing, he got up, and gave the guy the pamphlet and explained to him what it is and what it talks about.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdMMjjl0fGknto_pMGL-TFikRRWH8ZUAW-PwmWhe0zTYbrW8s-biUup8JAqixv5C6B-74-7oejE-PsT1ks1brRQ57NsEtZlPjFXJZJMkuSHb0PV0a-EbeqQfLM6u_inNBaoxfqpcZFT7c/s1600/IMG_9483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdMMjjl0fGknto_pMGL-TFikRRWH8ZUAW-PwmWhe0zTYbrW8s-biUup8JAqixv5C6B-74-7oejE-PsT1ks1brRQ57NsEtZlPjFXJZJMkuSHb0PV0a-EbeqQfLM6u_inNBaoxfqpcZFT7c/s320/IMG_9483.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The chapel in the Las Palmas church building</em></strong></td></tr>
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While my companion was up talking to this guy about the pamphlet, an African guy sat in the seat next to me, where my companion had been sitting. At that point I thought, "Now where will my companion sit, and what´s going to happen!" When my companion turned around to sit back down next to me, he saw the African guy sitting next to me. He just grabbed his backpack, and sat on the back row, in between this guy that asked for the card, and an African woman, and continued to talk to the guy. I then decided to make a move with the guy sitting next to me and asked him how his day went. He then told me that he doesn´t understand Spanish. So I asked him if he spoke English. He did!!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVboPR4gyGUxhcZUyLczUUzo1arUMQJWF0MX0z1oaZ-V8mrKxqlpxwQPhwJ3-mltUk5FKaRGYWtIhpXEmIg1b2e2xVGgAu3Z7S7PepVPnXaIThLrjGtOxGuDGXhRhcSMxSGKX5LXSJOJxl/s1600/IMG_9484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVboPR4gyGUxhcZUyLczUUzo1arUMQJWF0MX0z1oaZ-V8mrKxqlpxwQPhwJ3-mltUk5FKaRGYWtIhpXEmIg1b2e2xVGgAu3Z7S7PepVPnXaIThLrjGtOxGuDGXhRhcSMxSGKX5LXSJOJxl/s320/IMG_9484.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>A centered picture of the chapel in the Las Palmas church building</em></strong></td></tr>
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So we started talking, and I asked him questions, sharing the message of the restoration with him, as well as explaining what the Book of Mormon is. He got interested and I decided to leave him with a card with our phone number, but I also asked him if he wanted us to drop by some other time. So I got his number and we talked a bit more about his life so as to get to know him a bit more! When he got off, I looked back at my companion, talking to the lady in English!! I was happy and was glad that we´ve been practicing English in the <em>piso</em> [apartment]. After a while, she got off and we sat together and pretty much reported on what had happened. It was amazing since all three gave us their number, have interest, and are looking for something in life. It looks like this next week will be amazing!!! So, just a bunch of miracles happened in a matter of 20 - 30 minutes in a bus!! Super amazing and a great way to start the week!!!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHPIYHThFt_eQFWgrRzXXlSb7VAfrKabSIitxtI5U_TUKhNu2EhjMUh4S-nFl6VAN5qzyP9t7IOz3Vj7GnxJH5GdLa01hDw9f7CdXr053EGh19OVyrLddfV-PmN-zXBMZVlkMOoIPZckm/s1600/IMG_9486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqHPIYHThFt_eQFWgrRzXXlSb7VAfrKabSIitxtI5U_TUKhNu2EhjMUh4S-nFl6VAN5qzyP9t7IOz3Vj7GnxJH5GdLa01hDw9f7CdXr053EGh19OVyrLddfV-PmN-zXBMZVlkMOoIPZckm/s320/IMG_9486.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Another picutre from inside the Las Palmas meetinghouse.</strong></em></td></tr>
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That´s pretty much all that I wanted to share with you guys!! I can honestly say that I was guided by the spirit in that occasion, and that we shouldn´t doubt. If we think it´s revelation from God, or inspiration, we can pray and ask if it is His will, and if we still aren´t sure, just act. I´m very glad that I acted and that we did that on Monday! Take care my wonderful family and I´ll talk to you soon!! <br />
<br />
Love you all!!!<br />
Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-4617170005880084792013-02-24T16:27:00.003-07:002013-02-24T16:27:49.297-07:00February 20, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI5y2m-nUqo7VEtHXiaLEsT_nzjzw2b2o0DzsiDhBinfO_YRhZ7Jv4cJ7U7-0l49ObRD9iFy86DDaTQnPYX8622n1NqyHYVjZvklFC0Z0d5TmDuZrsQ4qndckaG6HhYEPZTcEdteLfM_T/s1600/IMG_9363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI5y2m-nUqo7VEtHXiaLEsT_nzjzw2b2o0DzsiDhBinfO_YRhZ7Jv4cJ7U7-0l49ObRD9iFy86DDaTQnPYX8622n1NqyHYVjZvklFC0Z0d5TmDuZrsQ4qndckaG6HhYEPZTcEdteLfM_T/s320/IMG_9363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The LDS Church Building in Las Palmas</em></strong></td></tr>
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Dear Family!<br />
I´m glad to hear that all is still well over yonder in Texas!! Not too much has happened here except for the fact that all is well. I´ve learned a lot and am trying to apply what I learned to the work! I hope that I can do it well and that I can have a mission experience different than what I have had in the past. Not saying that it was bad, just saying that I´d like to change a bit while here on the mission. Anyway, here´s what has happened here in <em>Las Palmas</em>, and here on <em>Gran Canaria</em> in general.<br />
<br />
Tuesday we had P-Day with all of the missionaries from the Canary Islands so it was really cool!! I loved spending time with all of them, and was really happy to see Elder Forrest, Elder Wride, and Elder Argyle again!! It was really cool!! We went to the mission home first and had lunch with the Buhlers as well as with President and <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Jackson! It was a good lunch. We then went to try to play fútbol [soccer], but then it started to sprinkle and so we went back to the mission home. We then drove all of the missionaries down to <em>Las Palmas</em> for a proselyting activity, and that worked out super well!! We went off with different companions and walked and contacted. It was really fun!! I went with Elder Cloward and we drove the Beast up to <em>Escaleritas</em> [little steps – probably a part of <em>Las Palmas</em>], parked it, and left it there while we contacted people. We found a deaf guy, and that was interesting! I did the same thing as the last time that I encountered a deaf person and took out my planner, and started "talking" to him. It was cool, and we ended up giving him a Book of Mormon so I hope that he will read it!! We then received a few more and at 9 we had to be at the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] center. So we got there, drove the missionaries up to the Mission Home, and then went back to our <em>piso</em> [apartment].<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI89XM-lD1Xv5oP0jqcDf3C6Olsm5_BvTXohE10Ud6OHU7GOwocTUWlRcpkyiWtXeq3UqSW4LaBZtaVNa4iZ1aejEgkcpr-sPJabUxytuq8rvLzEjTMbuA2TNgP-4iM2-r5Yy9u-K7o_XK/s1600/IMG_9364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI89XM-lD1Xv5oP0jqcDf3C6Olsm5_BvTXohE10Ud6OHU7GOwocTUWlRcpkyiWtXeq3UqSW4LaBZtaVNa4iZ1aejEgkcpr-sPJabUxytuq8rvLzEjTMbuA2TNgP-4iM2-r5Yy9u-K7o_XK/s320/IMG_9364.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The island "Beast"</em></strong></td></tr>
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So, Wednesday was a GREAT day!!! Elder Valenzuela and I got up early to be able to get to the Mission Home on time to be able to eat breakfast as well as take the missionaries down to the chapel and be there by 8:30. At 10:00 am, we had Mission Tour with Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy. We learned a lot about finding and how to feel the spirit in the lessons! It was pretty cool!! I really liked the way that he emphasized how much we have to change in order to be able to get different results. It made me think of how I do things and really made me want to change how I contact and teach a bit. It was AMAZING!!! After the amazing mission tour we took the missionaries of Tenerife to their boat and then dropped off the beast at the car rental place. It was fun to drive a beast again, but the Mission Tour was much better, and I´d prefer that over driving the beast any old day!! We then had a lesson with Fani and Anie accompanied us over there. It was more of a question answer lesson for Fani´s "boyfriend" that lives with her. His name is Gines, and he´s got some really good questions! I´m sure that he will be baptized a bit later on.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJb-BoI3TZePkHQ097f-Lcb0zYpARwd3cXESnoEzQAgtkDfq5uSO4eO1wegvba0urmDSNtdWV-9L4zA7MkyPMS1URtiJFHbMyS7yKiFOsJypifNzO0e8kGth_SZCCqJr3yVj04b5FNYgRc/s1600/IMG_9365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJb-BoI3TZePkHQ097f-Lcb0zYpARwd3cXESnoEzQAgtkDfq5uSO4eO1wegvba0urmDSNtdWV-9L4zA7MkyPMS1URtiJFHbMyS7yKiFOsJypifNzO0e8kGth_SZCCqJr3yVj04b5FNYgRc/s320/IMG_9365.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Zone, with Elder Kearon (seated, front middle, next to President Jackson.)</em></strong></td></tr>
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Thursday we had a few lessons with some investigators and it was really cool!! Samuel we talked about how faith in Jesus Christ can help him quit smoking. We also gave him a quit smoking program and he´s really excited to try it out. We then met with Jose and talked about fasting. He told us a bit of how he has a medical issue with it, so we told him that if he can, he can do it, but if not, it´s not a problem either. We then talked to Juan about obedience and why it´s so important. We also confirmed with him to see if he was ready for his baptismal date, and he said that he is!! Hope all goes well. We then went to an intersection of a street to meet with a contact from Elder Wride and Elder Forrest from the proselyting activity called Angel. He´s a pretty cool guy and it was pretty cool to talk to him. We then passed by Maria to see how she was doing and see if she needed anything from us. It was a pretty good day!!<br />
<br />Friday we had Cristian and we talked to him about gratitude, and why it´s important to be grateful for all that we have. I think it may have opened his eyes a bit more to being grateful for Jesus Christ, but I think we will have to expound a bit more on Jesus Christ with him the next time so that he can more fully appreciate it. We then had Andres and he´s another less active because of work. We talked to him about being grateful as well, so it was a Thanksgiving Day...without the turkey. Oh well, it was better than turkey, it was a spiritual feast, hahaha. We then went back to that same intersection to meet Angel at the same time like planned, but he didn´t show up. We waited for about half an hour, but nothing. So we walked away, and I was a little bummed, but it´s happened before. About an hour later, we were talking to a guy in a store from Argentina, and in came Angel!! I was shocked and thought of it as a miracle!! It was super cool and I loved it!!! We then walked around and talked with him a bit, and the conversation got a bit weird, so we tried to get rid of him, and when we did, we decided not to meet with him again since he was a bit weird, but oh well. I hope to see him again and be able to talk to him about faith in Jesus Christ and that through Him, we can all change and leave the past behind. That was it for that day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong>Arucas</strong></td></tr>
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Saturday was a crazy, awesome and wonderful day!! We decided to go to <em>Arucas</em>, a pueblo here in <em>Gran Canaria</em>, that is about 45 minutes away on bus, but yeah!! We visited less actives of the church, that went inactive when they closed the branch there. It was sad to see that there were some faithful members there, but that are inactive because of that. Oh well, that´s life I guess. We visited Claudina, an elderly lady, and Antonia, who is that faithful member. I hope that all goes well with her and that she is better. She wants her kids to get baptized, but with the lack of money, she can´t take a bus down since it costs about 2€ per person to get down, so 12€ round trip with her, and her two kids. Insane amount of money, but I hope that she can come by some other means some time soon. We then went back to <em>Las Palmas</em>, and since the 1st of February up until the 17th, there has been a carnival going on. And, that pretty much means, that people dress up, and go and have "fun." Pretty scary actually, especially on the ride back from <em>Arucas</em>, because everyone was going to the carnival. And guys are dressed up as girls and men dressed like women, and it´s just too crazy. So, when we got home, we saw that the carnival had come up to a street really close to our <em>piso</em> [apartment], so we decided to stay in for the night.<br />
<br />Sunday we went to church and it went well. Not many investigators came either, but oh well, I hope that they could come next time. We tried to have a lesson with Jose, but that didn´t work out. We also had correlation, and that was good. We talked about all of the investigators and what we could do to help them. We then went to the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] and the Buhlers made <em>enchiladas</em>!! They were really good, but not as good as mom´s. Too much cheese for my taste, but that´s okay.<br />
Monday, we contacted all day!! We talked to people on the street all day, and tried to get someone that was interested to listen to us, but it didn´t work out too well. We got two people´s numbers, out of like 50 or 75 people that we talked to. Oh well, that´s something that I need to work on. Tuesday we did exchanges and I went to <em>Vecindario</em>! It was pretty cool!! I learned how to do more effective contacts from Elder Rockwood, and it was pretty fun!! We had lots of lessons set up, but none of them worked out. So we contacted, and it was amazing!!! We also got a reference of a lady called Sonia, yeah, super cool!! She´s Canarian, and has a kid, and has a lot of potential!! Super awesome! We then did end up teaching two lessons, one with recent converts, which were two kids, and another one with less actives. Super fun!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2S_lDKTQQUSS-x7nBsby0dNUMrriVtE25zniV_DzV7aTmDnY0itJMCBmgIGyWq9yUet44oQabQzjzRaOzTpQQ6sVY6cQZ_0aR1R3Ic8ClH1JNV26LrVpBR4M20tmsic4zsrdWCBCsxHP/s1600/IMG_9463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2S_lDKTQQUSS-x7nBsby0dNUMrriVtE25zniV_DzV7aTmDnY0itJMCBmgIGyWq9yUet44oQabQzjzRaOzTpQQ6sVY6cQZ_0aR1R3Ic8ClH1JNV26LrVpBR4M20tmsic4zsrdWCBCsxHP/s320/IMG_9463.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Bauer, Luram and Elder Valenzuela</em></strong></td></tr>
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Today was an interesting day. We drove (I drove) up to <em>Las Palmas</em> to make the change again and we then walked out of the <em>piso</em> [apartment] to do email. Elder Valenzuela closed the door to the <em>piso</em> [apartment], and asked if I had the keys. I didn´t since I was gone, and he didn´t either. So, we were locked out of our piso. I must admit, that I could have gotten angry and such, but I learned from Elder Kearon that I need to enjoy every moment of the mission and of life. I just laughed and hoped that we would get in somehow. We left and did internet a bit, but I didn´t have time to write this email, so we had to leave and do other things. We ended up talking to Guadalupe, a contact we had since November, and she´s from MEXICO!!!! Super cool!!! We talked about the restoration and how it´s a great <em>acontecimiento</em> [event] (I don´t know how to say that in English) and I´m sure that she felt the spirit. We then left her with a Book of Mormon and committed her to read it. It was a good little lesson. We then met with the Buhlers and Elder Buhler helped us out with some money to pay the guy to open the door for our <em>piso</em> [apartment]. We then called the guy and he opened our <em>piso</em> [apartment] door, and then we talked to him about the gospel a bit, and he accepted to read the pamphlet about the restoration. He said that he was <em>ateo</em> [atheist] (another word I don´t know in English) but that he liked to read about different religions. Now we´re here emailing again. I hope that your week was great and I hope that you have another great week!! Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-11873847329532440082013-02-15T08:18:00.004-07:002013-02-15T08:18:57.831-07:00February 12, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStaI8JMWoNcnlo89tn2i9rFhcbINo3QRg6Fb0nrJwkx_SGHiROI2FiqsqtmAPYJMD2wsQ01HGnGMwCmkxL59SyPbWnWqtV91hy5LQcfYWDb71Pjqb2_j-pjH9jNTBo18yN_rDsnabymcB/s1600/IMG_9290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStaI8JMWoNcnlo89tn2i9rFhcbINo3QRg6Fb0nrJwkx_SGHiROI2FiqsqtmAPYJMD2wsQ01HGnGMwCmkxL59SyPbWnWqtV91hy5LQcfYWDb71Pjqb2_j-pjH9jNTBo18yN_rDsnabymcB/s320/IMG_9290.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>View from the top of the cathedral in Las Palmas</em></strong></td></tr>
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Why hello family!!<br />
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I can see that I neglected to tell you that my P-Day for this week was on Tuesday. I´m really sorry for that, and I hope that you could forgive me. I´m just going to write a bit of what has been going on for the week and that´s it since in a little bit I´m going to have to pay for parking. You may ask how it is that I´m having to pay for parking, but here´s the explanation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79w97YF3MaTIX06tqRjZgc2Ln62ON_oRO9xxfUPiZh8KtXiYzKWBUVuUSEZOJcSWR2Dnmrlat22ambxlnInrGgF8VNU3preZgCB6tZ3G1h6_loE1uCY1myh0jzOaMf4hz27zCLk2uld0v/s1600/IMG_9293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79w97YF3MaTIX06tqRjZgc2Ln62ON_oRO9xxfUPiZh8KtXiYzKWBUVuUSEZOJcSWR2Dnmrlat22ambxlnInrGgF8VNU3preZgCB6tZ3G1h6_loE1uCY1myh0jzOaMf4hz27zCLk2uld0v/s320/IMG_9293.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Another view from the top of the Cathedral in Las Palmas</em></strong></td></tr>
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So, I didn´t bring my planner this week, so you´ll have to deal with what has happened today. So, today we woke up at 7:00, nothing new, but we had to go to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] Center at 8:30 to go and rent an Opel Vivaro (<em>Furgoneta</em>). It´s a bit different from the office <em>Furgoneta</em> since it has 9 seats instead of 7, but it´s okay. I call it the Island Beast!! So, we picked that up and filled it with gas and then we dropped off the Buhlers at their car, and we were off. We had to go to <em>Puerto de las Nieves</em> near a town here called <em>Agaete</em> and that was interesting. It´s about 30 - 45 minutes from <em>Las Palmas</em>. <em>Las Palmas</em> is on the extreme east side of the island, and <em>Agaete</em> is on the extreme west side of the island. Pretty fun, but I´m not sure if I want to do that again. We had to pick up 4 of the missionaries coming from <em>Tenerife</em> because they missed their original boat, so they took a Fred Olsen Express boat, and got there a good hour and 15 minutes earlier than the others. We then drove all the way back to <em>Las Palmas</em> to the Port here in <em>Las Palmas</em> to pick up the rest of the missionaries. We then went to the Mission Home and got a little lost, but it wasn´t too bad. We ate lunch, then we tried to play soccer, but that didn´t work out too well since it started raining on us and the court got slippery, but it´s okay. We all survived. We then went back to the mission home to change and now we´re doing email.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgu5UtOCVnLXyoEdKfqIZVuRakH9Ai4yLTt76wUoXxTYdh-jENAfiQPPBCrAUaCw1srXhES32PLQQJapKRHYGtcqySy68qQcDEoJnJjn93VD7idUBbrU0XmhiPBHycbukUTvNQx106kb7/s1600/IMG_9362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgu5UtOCVnLXyoEdKfqIZVuRakH9Ai4yLTt76wUoXxTYdh-jENAfiQPPBCrAUaCw1srXhES32PLQQJapKRHYGtcqySy68qQcDEoJnJjn93VD7idUBbrU0XmhiPBHycbukUTvNQx106kb7/s320/IMG_9362.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Fred Olsen Express ferry from Tenerife</em></strong></td></tr>
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This week in all, was pretty good!! We had more lessons than the past weeks so this area is slowly making it´s way up there. Samuel is a really humble guy and I just love the fact that he´s willing to listen. Yesterday though, he invited a "friend" over and his friend just talked about religion and stuff. He mostly talked about the New Testament and how he just loved it. We tried to talk to him about the restoration, but any scripture that we pulled out of the Bible, he would say that it didn´t say that, and pulled out another scripture that would contradict what we said. We ended by bearing our testimony about the Book of Mormon and about how the truth has been restored, but that´s about all we got to do. Samuel is a good guy though. He really has that curiosity to learn and stuff. I´m sure that someday he´ll be baptized. Later we also had a lesson with Juan, and he´s a really good investigator. He´s a Bible studier, and has studied the Bible a lot, but still is humble enough to learn more. We talked to him about the Light of Christ/how the Spirit reveals truths to us. We used the three videos of Elder David A. Bednar talking about the light of Christ and it was really good and super spiritual!! Juan also said that he will continue to read, pray, and go to church so it was amazing!!! He´s really growing spiritually!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoJFFrQjkEaqbmGAQMpN854_z3yKWHNJd41DHOeH9NdMWVcWqr1CmAVXF8GMzHq-38OkiBxe52REPsyQ-bywMvbNPGINdvmi4a2DO5kkpBAe90WOnDFVZFU9fY9zHb0Ii52g9_q9WcMlp/s1600/IMG_9344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoJFFrQjkEaqbmGAQMpN854_z3yKWHNJd41DHOeH9NdMWVcWqr1CmAVXF8GMzHq-38OkiBxe52REPsyQ-bywMvbNPGINdvmi4a2DO5kkpBAe90WOnDFVZFU9fY9zHb0Ii52g9_q9WcMlp/s320/IMG_9344.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canary Island missionaries: Sisters Marshall and Zitting, and the Buhlers</td></tr>
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So, tomorrow is another Mission Tour! We´re going to hear from Elder Kearon, of the Seventy/Area Presidency is coming to talk to us and it will be super cool!! I´m super excited for this spiritual feast that we will all have as a Zone together and how awesome it will be. I remember that when Elder Richards came, it gave me even more <em>animo</em> [fired up] to go out there and to talk to everyone that I saw about the message that we have to share with the world!! I love this message, I love the restoration!! I know that this church is true, and that the Book of Mormon is true!! I know, with all of my heart, that this is what everyone is looking for, and that it will make them happy! I love the chance that I have to share this message with everyone! Take care my family and I´ll talk to you guys soon!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />
~Elder Bauer~<br /> Called to Serve:<br />Spain Madrid Mission<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The rented nine passenger "island beast"</em></strong></td></tr>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-34038834934722281952013-02-08T16:55:00.002-07:002013-02-08T17:01:42.334-07:00February 6, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Playing minature golf during P-day in ...</em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Puerto Rico (the one on the south side of Gran Canaria).</em></strong></td></tr>
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Hello Family!!<br />
<br />
Well, this week has been crazy, and Monday has been long, but I don´t have my planner with me, so I´m going to have to do this by memory, which isn´t as good as doing it with my planner. Hmm........well........I don´t really remember too much actually so this is going to be a really short email. I hope that all keeps doing okay over yonder in Texas and that the stress stays low. Now off to my exciting and crazy week (which I forgot lots of details).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu2V4cv6Qc83Krjod41YblTaTAqHtuNEhdYGurdKEQ6qRg8IKLSr2vEcNHxTUwMqPIMAzHBALfhyphenhyphen2qqTZG-PsLMkMmeCQo76dFEgFsaP72JyqYyZmpdjHsUEtNwuzgkFjpjs2qLck6GSx/s1600/IMG_9246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu2V4cv6Qc83Krjod41YblTaTAqHtuNEhdYGurdKEQ6qRg8IKLSr2vEcNHxTUwMqPIMAzHBALfhyphenhyphen2qqTZG-PsLMkMmeCQo76dFEgFsaP72JyqYyZmpdjHsUEtNwuzgkFjpjs2qLck6GSx/s320/IMG_9246.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Elder Bauer perfecting his swing.</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Umm....I´ll start with Saturday evening. Saturday the <em>Hermanas</em> [sisters] had a baptism, David is his name. It was really a good experience, except that the Branch Mission Leader didn´t begin filling up the font on time. He started filling it up about an hour before the baptism, so yeah. We were there trying to fill it up by getting bucket fulls of water from the cleaning closet to the font and doing it as fast as possible. Well, we had some investigators there too, and I hope that they weren´t scared away/get a bad impression of the church by that, but oh well. There has to be a crazy experience like that some time I guess. The services were wonderful and it was great to hear the speakers and see the service!! Hermano [Brother] Roka was happy to baptize and everyone was happy to see him enter the fold of God!! It was amazing how many people said that to him! I loved it!! Later on we found out transfers and this is what happened. So, <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Marshall is staying, and <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Voemba left to open a new area in <em>Torrejón</em>!!! I was shocked when I heard that!! Then <em>Vecindario</em> would have a whitewash!!! So both Elder Christiensen and Lisonbee left and Elders Wilson and Rockwood came in, brand new into the area! Vecindario has a car too so it will be interesting for them to get to know their area!! Super crazy!!<br />
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Sunday was his confirmation and it was cool!! I loved being part of the circle for that confirmation! He´s known about the church and has taken lessons with the missionaries for about 10 years!! So it was a great day to see him finally take that step! I also had the privilege of blessing the sacrament, and it´s the first time that I´ve done it in Spanish!! I know, all of this time, and I haven´t done it in Spanish, but oh well. Super cool!! After church we went to the Roka family´s house and ate lunch and David´s family was also there! The <em>Hermanas</em> [sisters], the Roka family, the family of David, and us. It was fun to share that moment with the two families!! Also the <em>despedida</em> [farewell] of <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Voemba and that was pretty sad to see. We then went to the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] with the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults] and said goodbye to <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Voemba again and then went to the <em>piso</em> [apartment] so that we could sleep for the next day. The thing with this transfer is that since both of the Elders of Vecindario are leaving, they had to come to <em>Las Palmas</em> to sleep and then leave the car with me (YAHOO) until the new Elders arrive. So that´s what happened.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0PVHOqfWkAZE9etweIHltRNMsmKezzyBuUMoCMoDI297YBmyUW2mb47y9PeD38nKlwJLhpmJJjIfzV9vbmukRS7sTaiQpgUomVL2En5WcrJUXvlcZk6Jh8qvWPY1dVD7go0yyPSZN_px/s1600/IMG_9279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0PVHOqfWkAZE9etweIHltRNMsmKezzyBuUMoCMoDI297YBmyUW2mb47y9PeD38nKlwJLhpmJJjIfzV9vbmukRS7sTaiQpgUomVL2En5WcrJUXvlcZk6Jh8qvWPY1dVD7go0yyPSZN_px/s320/IMG_9279.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Vecindario elders' car, in the good care and keeping of Elders Valenzuela and Bauer.</em></strong></td></tr>
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Monday we had to wake up at 4:30 to be able to go and drop off the Elders of <em>Vecindario</em> at the airport. It was really weird to me since I felt like the office Secretary again, dropping off and picking up. Anyway, so Elder Christiensen drove himself to the airport, for the last time, and then we went in to help them with their suitcases and stuff. We met the <em>Hermanas</em> [sisters] there too, so it was a super farewell to <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Voemba!! Afterwards we went and paid for parking and I got in the driver’s seat of the Opel Corsa and drove us home! It was really fun to drive again, but it just made me grateful that we don´t have a car here in Las Palmas. We got home at about 6:45 and so we didn´t go back to sleep. We just stayed up and studied until about 9:00. We parked in paid parking, but it´s free until 9:00 in the morning, so we had to go and move it so that we wouldn´t have to pay. We also had to put gas in it, since the <em>Vecindario</em> Elders left it empty. So I went and put 20€ worth into the tank which filled it up half way. Now, this is the crazy part. Just driving here in Las Palmas is a hazard!! I thought Madrid was bad, the streets here are much smaller, more cars, more crosswalks, just insane!! Getting out of the gas station was horrible. We waited for 2 or 3 minutes just to be able to find a space that was big enough for my rusty manual transmission driving skills. I never killed the car, but I just reved the engine a bit more than usual. It took an eternity to get back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment] since the traffic was bad and just trying to drive at 9:00 is bad. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIua2GvhB3Q2pb4hci9TsB7fwZxu1lutk7Mw9zdTW2m7PVHE_z8ep-p95hjkxUSvDMiAkLDJ3KSQDHv_TCDNxNc033j0gFJKW_PosS_FHO3CziRnaom36fo8JkS1ksru_BzH9g9t4V7bdm/s1600/IMG_9280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIua2GvhB3Q2pb4hci9TsB7fwZxu1lutk7Mw9zdTW2m7PVHE_z8ep-p95hjkxUSvDMiAkLDJ3KSQDHv_TCDNxNc033j0gFJKW_PosS_FHO3CziRnaom36fo8JkS1ksru_BzH9g9t4V7bdm/s320/IMG_9280.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Las Palmas during a sand storm.</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We finally got back and tried to find some breakfast, but nothing. So we bought food at a <em>chino</em> [convenience store] and by the time we got back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment] it was time to go. So we left for the airport and it was a pain to get on to the freeway. So many yield signs and bus lanes so I won´t go into that story. Ask me later about that and I´ll tell you more in detail. So we got on the freeway and got to the airport and waited for the new missionaries to come. The new couple came too!! The Buhlers, from Colorado, <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Zitting, from Tennessee, Elder Rockwood, also from Colorado, and Elder Wilson, from Utah. Elder Wilson isn´t a new missionary, he´s been on the mission for almost as long as I have, but is new to the area. So we got their bags in the Corsa (the Elders of <em>Vecindario</em>´s bags I mean) and drove them to their new area. When we got there we helped them get their bags up the 4 flights of stairs and told them as much as we knew about their area. Then they were kind to drive us back to <em>Las Palmas</em>! The end of my driving here in the islands, and hopefully I don´t have to drive again. I like it, but it´s just too much here in <em>Las Palmas</em>. We met with Samuel and talked about the restoration. He´s a talker! If we ask him a question, or leave too big of a pause, he goes off on a tangent about the history of the bible and stuff. It´s interesting to teach him! We then took <em>medio-día</em> [lunch break], and I took a nap since I was as dead as a dead person. <br />
We then woke up, I resurrected, haha, and looked outside and it was "foggy" but it wasn´t fog, it was sand in the air, blown from Africa!! It was the coolest, yet weirdest thing I´ve ever seen!! We then went to <em>San Telmo</em> to find a member and take him to a lesson with Jose and it was a good lesson!! Fernando is the member and he´s such a great guy!! I love his <em>amabilidad</em> [kindness] and just his <em>forma de ser</em> [character – literally “way of being”]!! Wow, super Spanglish!! Anyway we then went to Jesus´ house and talked to his wife about the message that we share and sadly she didn´t have too much interest, but said that she´d be willing to listen. Not much, but at least we tried. Later we had the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] at a member´s house and that finished the night. Super long day!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ief0xwN3pBrCwpo7lrjTwyMS28lWaID2vvz70VxmFEIx-lfIeuYhDTJmRLwER8enWrM_1l7qqVN1up2VDh5SIzltg7hdqPyKX8H8PBrOTnGOt0-YbtGxtE1vTf5I28wQmbBLt_WqKFpc/s1600/IMG_9282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Ief0xwN3pBrCwpo7lrjTwyMS28lWaID2vvz70VxmFEIx-lfIeuYhDTJmRLwER8enWrM_1l7qqVN1up2VDh5SIzltg7hdqPyKX8H8PBrOTnGOt0-YbtGxtE1vTf5I28wQmbBLt_WqKFpc/s320/IMG_9282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Another picture of Las Palmas during a sand storm.</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tuesday was a pretty good day!! District Meeting was great, and we had a few lessons! We also visited a member that was in the Hospital, Doctor Negrín, and it was great to see him! We then had a lesson with Oscar and it turned out pretty good!! It was about prayer and reading the scriptures and why it´s so important to do that. We then went and ate at Burger King since we had some coupons for it. Then we went over to the church and had a lesson with Juan, and he´s got potential! We set up a date with him to be baptized and it was great! He accepted the invitation!! We´re pretty happy, but didn´t get our hopes up. We then went to the JAS [young single adult] Center to talk to the Buhlers a bit and see how they were doing their first full day there. They are super cool and <em>animado</em> [enthusiastic] to work here in <em>Las Palmas</em> with the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults]. Not much else. I hope that everything is doing well over there!! Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!<br />
<br />Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-36402681824728865842013-01-31T23:14:00.000-07:002013-01-31T23:21:41.083-07:00January 30, 2013<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx73vhJthyphenhyphen6H92zc_CH5R1db2-iUbmi5Lt6ati8e5nZS9lp3gj7PG5b-B3W5FNxZix2vFIevrdxZmf3XfIjulSZLkA7exBMm87T3f6kA3Ye5dkJe4OXqeI7ygNMTjLx5Dzrb6qNhlRvNs/s1600/IMG_9150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx73vhJthyphenhyphen6H92zc_CH5R1db2-iUbmi5Lt6ati8e5nZS9lp3gj7PG5b-B3W5FNxZix2vFIevrdxZmf3XfIjulSZLkA7exBMm87T3f6kA3Ye5dkJe4OXqeI7ygNMTjLx5Dzrb6qNhlRvNs/s320/IMG_9150.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Las Palmas from a hill above town.</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Why hello there my family!!</div>
Wow mom, I´m glad that you had
a really crazy and awesome week full of amazingness and crazy stuff!! Long
email too, but I loved reading it!! I didn´t really have much else to read
either since this week has been pretty sad in receiving emails/letters. Not
even the bulletin made it! So, that´s life here in the good old mission!!!
Loving it, loving the 26ºC (78ºF) weather, loving the mountains here on the
Island, and loving the ocean!!! The ocean is really cool!! I love seeing the
ocean!! It´s blue and full of salt and living things!! It´s also really
pretty!! Loving life here in the paradise of the mission!! Not much has been
going on, but I´ve seen some miracles happen and have been trained by the zone
leaders via a meeting via Polycam, and that´s about it!! But here´s my week in
a nice polished nutshell. (I don´t know why polished, but oh well, take it or
leave it.)<br />
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So Thursday you know what we
started with. weekly planning, YAHOO!!!!! I know, same old same old. We then had
a lesson at 4:30 with Jose and he´s doing great!! We talked a little bit more
about tithing and the blessings that come from paying tithing. We pretty much
helped him understand it more since he was having <em>dudas</em> [doubts] about it.
(Yeah, I don´t know how to say <em>dudas</em> in <em>Ingles </em>[English], but you know what I mean.) We
then tried to see Luciano and Leidi, but they weren´t there, so we went to
Maria, the recent convert and she was doing great!!! We talked about how the
Spirit works and watched the Mormon Message called, <a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?autoplay=true&index=1&locale=0&sourceId=b35f46452b7ca210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=bd163ca6e9aa3210VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD" target="_blank">The Voice of the Spirit</a>.
Super cool and we also gave her a DVD full of Mormon Messages! She was happy to
see us!!</div>
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Friday we started the day with
Cristian, a less active member, and talked to him about a lesson in the George
Albert Smith booklet about forgiveness. We also talked to him about tithing and
why it´s so important for us and for the Lord. I guess this week has been full
of tithing! We´re experts about that now, haa! We then had <em>Medio-Día</em> [lunch break] and ate
and stuff. We then went over to Luciano´s house and talked to them about trials
and stuff in our lives. Pretty much why we have trials and what they are for in
our lives. We had the booklet of Spencer W. Kimball to help us out too!! It´s
pretty crazy how a prophet can pass through so many trials in his early life!!
I was shocked when I read that lesson!! Super cool though and it helped them
out a lot!! It also helped us out to be able to answer questions in the
future!! That was Friday!<br />
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Saturday we tried to pass by a
new investigator, but she couldn´t talk to us at the time. We then tried to
pass by some of the less active members as well as former investigators in the
area and see if we could find someone. Not much, but some people were
interested in listening to our message! We then ate at the Mission Leader´s
home and it was really good food!! Rice with lentils, meat with a super good
sauce, oh goodness, it was really good!!! Elder Valenzuela and I then had to go
a bit early to meet the Elders of <em>Vecindario</em> and do a quick exchange so that
Elder Valenzuela could do some baptismal interviews. So for the few hours of
the day I was with Elder Lisonbee and we were here in <em>Las Palmas</em>. We tried to
see Oscar at 6:00, but he wasn´t there. I was pretty bummed about that, especially
since we haven´t seen him for about 2 weeks. Not much we could do, except for
try to see him at another time. We then switched back and my companion and I
went to see Fani! She´s doing good and we talked about honoring and sustaining
the law. It was a good lesson and she understood it! Not much else that she has
to learn to be able to get baptized, she just needs to get married and she´ll
be good!!</div>
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Sunday we didn´t really do
anything. We tried to see Jose, but he wasn´t home. At 7:00 we went to
Franklyn´s house to have correlation and it was pretty good!! We talked about
all of the investigators and also had chocolate cake!! Super good the cake, and
the meeting so yeah. Double good!!! Not much else happened Sunday so yeah.
That´s it.</div>
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Monday was okay. We didn´t
really get too much of anything. We mostly passed by former investigators and
less actives to see if we could find someone. Everyone was either gone, didn´t
live there, or something. We found one member, but she was an active member so
it didn´t really help too much. Later in the evening we went to <em>Noche de Hogar</em>
[home evening] and it was pretty good!!! John and Josué gave the message and it was about
service! I really liked it and hope to be able to apply it more in my life.
Then while we were in the <em>Guagua</em> [bus], we got a call from a former investigatoer that we passed by
earlier called Samuel! He talked to me and sounded really interested about the
message that we share as missionaries!! We set a time up for today at 11:00 in the
morning and it sounded really positive!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJPEyy0eqLF_qxNKgi8jNK1s7eqarvk-0-yi59QJJyidVVZ2W92UWWXlCOJZI9qyQyZZgmSLwI7ZVPVRYA0LdMAUFYAx0ty3rh-z-QEKB2wIpQYf6ylRUSPEHUqGXYkseIovL0AULxMcH/s1600/IMG_9165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJPEyy0eqLF_qxNKgi8jNK1s7eqarvk-0-yi59QJJyidVVZ2W92UWWXlCOJZI9qyQyZZgmSLwI7ZVPVRYA0LdMAUFYAx0ty3rh-z-QEKB2wIpQYf6ylRUSPEHUqGXYkseIovL0AULxMcH/s320/IMG_9165.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Sunset over Las Palmas</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tuesday we had the zone meeting
and it was really uplifting!!! I learned a lot even though it was pretty much
setting goals and all of that, but they will help us grow as missionaries!! We
then saw Oscar and talked to him about baptism and why he wants to do it. It
was a pretty good lesson, but it would have been better if we had more of his
participation rather than him just answering "yes", "no",
and "I don´t know" to everything. We then committed him to baptism
and he accepted!! Super cool and I hope that things work out for him in the
end. We then visited a person called Juan, from Haiti. We visited him at
the church, and there were members doing family history at that time, so we
gave him a "tour" of the Family History Center and one of the members
talked to him about why we do family history. It turned into a sort of bashing
on Juan´s part, and testifying on the member´s part. It was really cool and it
helped me see a bit of what Alma was saying when he said, "<a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/37.6-7?lang=eng#5" target="_blank">By small and simple things are great things brought to pass</a>" and how the simple things
confound the wise!! Super awesome how that happened at that time. We then
talked a bit about the restoration and also answered some of his questions and
then set up another time to see him. Elder Valenzuela then had to do an
interview for David, an investigator of the <em>Hermanas </em>[sisters]. He´s ready for baptism so
it´s pretty exciting for us and the <em>Hermanas</em>! YAHOO!!!!!<br />
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Today we had the visit with
Samuel and it turned out really well!! He talked most of the time, but at least
we got to know him a bit more because of that. Now we´re here doing internet.
Not much, but Samuel is our little miracle for the week!!! I love visiting with former
investigators! Super cool!! I hope that your week is awesome again this week.
Take care and I´ll talk to you soon. Love you all</div>
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Elder Bauer</div>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-50063283610814129822013-01-23T23:43:00.000-07:002013-01-23T23:43:00.757-07:00January 23, 2013<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Wow, the birthday celebration for Elder Valenzuela just never ends.........</em></strong></td></tr>
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<br />
Why hello Mother of mine!!!<br />
<br />Well hey!!! First off mom, I think that your letters are starting to be longer than dad´s, but that´s okay!! It´s really entertaining for me!!! I love reading about all of your adventures there in Texas, with the y´all and all of that other stuff!!! But oh well, life´s still good!! Oh, and thanks for the letters from:<br />
Wil and Trey Frank<br />Micah (Elder) Hodges<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>View from the house we went to eat on Thursday! Super cool!!</em></strong></td></tr>
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So Thursday was a really good day!!! Planning of course, but after that we went to eat lunch at a member´s house who lives close to <em>Almatriche</em>, a pueblo not too far away from <em>Las Palmas</em>. It was a nice place, and a really cool quiet place to live. I would love to live there, but it´s too far away from anything, so then again, not really. But it was good, as well as the food!! Food is good, keeps us alive and going, especially if it´s good food, then you like it, then you just want to eat more of it, even though you may explode and stuff!! But that´s fine, so yeah, that´s my say on food!! We then got back to <em>Las Palmas</em> and tried to see José, but he wasn´t home. We then decided that we´d visit some former investigators, so we did that, and no success, but that´s fine. We´ll keep going! We then went to Luram´s house to see how he was doing and to have a lesson with him. He told us on Sunday that he wanted us to think and pray about a lesson for him. <br />
<br />
So that´s what we did and that very morning Elder Valenzuela and I got it!! We both studied in Luke Chapter 15 and thought that the parable of the prodigal son would be good for him. He´s an inactive member, that has come by himself to church and has changed his life to be able to live according to the gospel. We pretty much are now helping him to do it and by reading that parable, he felt the spirit big time!!! It was amazing!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, it was just super cool and awesome and amazing and....just.........COOOOL!!!!!!!!! I can´t explain it, but it was just............yeah...I won´t even try to explain, so yeah, that´s how awesome it was!!!!!!!!! So there. We then went to a former investigator´s house to see if we could meet with him since he set that appointment up. He wasn´t there, but his father was, and he invited us in. He´s a really cool nice guy, and he´s also a member!!!! He´s been a member for a while, but inactive for a while too. Still strong and his testimony is burning, but I don´t know why he doesn´t go to church. Oh well, it was fun to talk to him for a bit and learn a bit more about Las Palmas from him!! Super cool day!!!<br />
<br />Friday was pretty good, but not too exciting. We did go to Cristian´s house to talk about keeping the Sabbath Day holy, but that´s all for Friday. We tried to find more former investigators, but that´s it. Saturday was pretty much just like Friday, but it´s okay. We did go and eat with the Ramos family and it was really good food again!! We then missed the lesson with José again, but whatever. It´s hard to get from place to place fast when the bus system here isn´t as good as it is in the peninsula, but oh well. We do the best we can. We then went to see Fani, and taught her about tithing. She´s really good and I wish that she was married so that she could be baptized soon, but oh well. Some day she will get there, and she´ll get there when it´s her time. That´s it for Saturday.<br />
<br />Sunday we went to church, of course!! We then had food with the Gomez family and it was good food once again!!! If you can´t tell, I just love FOOD!!!! I may still be super thin and stuff, but I eat, of course, who could deny food, especially yummy food!!! We then finally had the lesson with José about tithing, but he had a hard time thinking about paying 10% of what he earned when he´s in need. It hasn´t been hard for me, but for others it is, and I understand, but trust God that you will be able to survive if you give him a little bit, and then the rest will be fine. We were there for an hour and a half trying to help him understand, but he didn´t get it. Oh well, some time he will. We invited him to pray about it and read the <em>folleto</em> [brochure], but in the reverse order, read then pray. Yeah, that works better. We then went to correlation meeting and it´s crazy how long it takes the buses on weekends. We waited for the bus for 15 - 20 minutes. We kept having fun about it though. We kept saying, "Here comes the 91" when we needed bus number 9. Then when it finally came, we were so happy!!! I didn´t think I would be so happy to see those big yellow <em>Guaguas </em>[buses], but yeah!! Super fun!!<br />
<br />Monday we didn´t have anything. Well, we did and it was a great day, but also not really. We had a lesson with a less active called Gustavo, we don´t know him, but at around 4:00 PM. He said that he lives in a street, number 16, <em>Bajo</em> [downstairs] A. We went to that street, and when we got to the number, we looked on the apartment intercom doorbell thingy and there wasn´t a <em>Bajo </em>A. It started with 1ºA and went from there. We were confused and were running around <em>La Feria</em> trying to find this guy, and I swear that we pushed every single doorbell that was 16 and <em>Bajo</em> A. It was really funny! We then called him at 5:00 and told him that we had to leave it for another day since we had to go to the church for interviews, but we set up another day to visit him. We then took a bus down to the church for interviews with the Mission President! Super cool and awesome to see him!! President Jackson is awesome!!!! He even took time to talk to us about something that he received from Elder Russel M. Nelson and it was cool!!! It talked about a hastening in the work and how we´ve been blessed to live in this time and actually be able to be a part of the gathering of Israel. It was cool!! Then <em>Hermana</em> [sister] Jackson gave us a Christmas present from them, and it was Olive Oil from Jerusalem!!! They also talked about the symbolism of the Garden of Gethsemane, and I already knew about the symbolism since dad sent me a letter about a year and a half ago about that. So, I have olive oil, consecrated, grown, pressed, and everything, from Israel!!! Super cool!!! We then had our interviews and it was fun!! We then went to a <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] and it was cool!! That´s it!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>The Oil from Israel!!</em></strong></td></tr>
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Tuesday was amazing!!! District meeting was cool and fun since we learned how to make inspired questions for our investigators!! Amazing!!! It makes a difference when teaching so I hope to be able to put it into practice. Not much happened after, but we did try to teach Oscar, but for some reason he didn´t want to, and we were there in his house too!! SO, we will have to figure out what it is he needs/wants. Oh well. Today is P-Day and we´re planning to sleep. I´m really tired and just need a nap or something to help me keep my energy up! Well, I hope that all continues to go well. Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!!! Love you all!!! <br />
<br />Elder Bauer<br />
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-20878254714828737922013-01-18T20:53:00.000-07:002013-01-18T20:53:38.248-07:00January 16, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>This week was Elder Valenzuela's birthday - Happy Birthday!!</b></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Parties are an excuse to act crazy!</b></i></td></tr>
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<br />
Dear Family,<br />
<br />
Not much has happened, except that this past week was super AWESOME!!!!!! We had a total of 14 lessons, and that´s the highest amount that we´ve had since I´ve been here!!! Super cool!!! I´m glad that you guys had a good week, and that the stress is almost gone, but aside from that, it sounds all good!! Well, now on to my really AWESOME week!!!<br />
<br />
Thursday was the usual, Weekly Planning, but then we had 100% of the lessons that we had planned!!! I also took my <i>Medio-Dia</i> [lunch break] organizing the area book and making a sheet so that we could use it to pass by some former investigators. We then visited Jose and he´s doing great!! He´s doing his part to get married and to eventually get baptized! Super cool guy!! We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and it went pretty well. He was a bit confused about if he could go into bars and stuff, but we cleared things up for him. Here in Spain, a bar isn´t what you would think a bar is. Here it´s like a café, a place where you could eat a little something, like <i>churros</i> or whatever. We then had a lesson with Oscar about the law of chastity and it went well. Then we saw Maria, the recent convert and it was great to see her still strong. She was a little sick, but doing better. I don´t remember what we taught her, but it was a pretty cool day!!<br />
<br />
Friday we had Cristian in the morning, a less active, and we had the lesson on the Armor of God! Super cool, especially since he invited his mom to join us in the lesson and she really liked it!! I´m sure that his mom could get baptized soon if she listens to the lessons. We then went back to the <i>piso</i> [apartment] and I finished organizing the area book!! YAHOOO!!!!!! I was really excited to start using the sheet that I made. I made a sheet, with the names of the former investigators, the address, and phone numbers. I also organized it for where the street name comes up on the street map and put the square of the map on it. It´s really cool and handy to use!! We then started using it after <i>Medio-Dia</i> [lunch break] and went to the port since we had a lesson with Fausto, who lives down there. We met quite a few people, but not any of the former investigators. None of them were home, but we knocked the building to see if anyone would accept the message, but no one did. We did meet a really cool old guy though!! He was really nice and loved talking to us!! We stood there listening to him for about 30 minutes until we had to go. I want to go back and listen to him again! Really nice guy!! We then had the lesson with Fausto about <i>Noche de Hogar</i> [home evening]. We then went home.<br />
<br />
Saturday was by far the best day EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we went to <i>Escaleritas </i>[stairs] to a building next door to the place where we were going to eat and decided to pass by a former investigator there. They weren´t there so we went to the top of the building, which was floor 12. We knocked doors all the way down to the 6th floor and no one answered. We got to the 5th floor, knocked on the first door, and no one answered. Then we moved on to the next door and we heard a vacuum cleaner, and thought that they wouldn´t accept since they were busy, but knocked anyway. This girl answered, about 5 - 8 years old, and got her mom. The vacuum turned off and her mom, called Adriana, came and listened to us a bit. She then said that she was catholic and that she was good where she was at. We then kept talking and she gave us her number and told us that we could call her later to talk to her at a different time. We talked a bit more, then she said, "You know, I have about 20 minutes, you guys could come in and I´ll listen to you guys." We were both shocked, but delighted to be able to do that!! We then taught her the whole restoration and she asked a lot of questions and it was amazing!!! She pretty much told us, "Wow, it all makes sense!!! I love talking to you guys!" We were super happy and she told us to call her later and that we could meet again the next Saturday!! SUPER AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br />
<br />
We then ate at the member´s house and it was really good food!!! We then had the lesson with Oscar about following the prophet and it went really well!!! I liked the lesson at least!! I´m sure that he understood too which is the most important part. Then we went to visit Fani. We talked to her about reading, praying, and going to church and why it was so important to do the three things. Good lesson, but we learned that she won’t be able to get baptized until March or April, because she has to get married first. She´s planning to go to her country to get the papers she needs, but that won’t be until the 11 of March. So until then, we will continue to pass by and teach her, but the baptism will have to wait.<br />
<br />
Sunday was a pretty good day!! Oscar finally came to church!!!!!!! I was really happy to see him there at church and I´m sure that he was happy to be there too!!! We then ate with a member family from Argentina and the food was really good!!! We then went to see if Jose would be there, but he wasn´t. He was working in the Taxi, so that meant that he wouldn´t be available for a while. We decided that we would go see Oscar and see what he thought of church. He liked it and learned more about the Trinity! I love the progress that we´re seeing in him! It´s slow, but it´s going!! We then had correlation with Franklyn and then we went with him, Raquel his wife, and Nenad to a member´s house. We ran into the <i>hermanas</i> [sisters] there and it was pretty fun!!! Dominican members are the best!!! That´s all I can say from that visit!!<br />
<br />
Monday we saw Jose and talked about following the prophet. He understands and still wants to be baptized. He went on his normal routine of that we wants - to get baptized so yeah. We then tried to set something up with Jonatan, but in the end, it didn´t work out, so we went to <i>Noche de Hogar</i> [home evening] at Jesus´ house. It was a pretty good message/lesson, but it was a bit too long. I was glad that we were sitting next to Yanira, because if not, I would have gotten bored. Not much else happened Monday, oh, but we did see a huge cockroach while waiting for the bus to go home from the <i>Noche de Hogar</i> [home evening]. Super nasty, but at least I can say that I´ve seen a cockroach big enough to lift a refrigerator too, hahahaa!!!! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>A BYU shirt as a birthday present? Oh, I get it, there are gag gifts!</b></i></td></tr>
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<br />
Tuesday was Elder Valenzuela´s Birthday!!!! He´s now 26 years old!!! He´s pretty happy and had a blast yesterday with some members!! We had an eating appointment and the members, as well as their non member mom, gave him a gift. Super cool and fun as well!!! We didn´t have anything else really. Pretty bad day, but good at the same time. I had to teach English Classes at the JAS [young single adult] Center too, but it wasn´t too bad. It was pretty fun, even though I don´t like teaching English too much, but it was still fun! Not much more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>A birthday lemon cream pie!</b></i></td></tr>
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Today is P-Day. I bought my companion a lemon cream pie for his birthday and it´s really good!!! He likes it too so yeah. Not much more, but we´ll see if we could see Oscar and Fani. Not much else so yeah. I hope that all of you guys have a good week!!! Take care and I´ll talk to you guys soon!!! Love you all!!!<br />
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Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-32866319617852302032013-01-09T23:20:00.002-07:002013-01-09T23:20:17.594-07:00January 9, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeZGiRX2Z652li4HXEZ1glnnOhd9eWgHs6HymJ5z_9TVpvEKkszYgjTLLHD2GQgPiqqzsIr_JTTtY3z1eNJyKNOgkpp0c-O0zR6FBy-tEnU7zFW0Va_J4azY-HXl_5N5s1leeQHiDC6Jy/s1600/IMG_8867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNeZGiRX2Z652li4HXEZ1glnnOhd9eWgHs6HymJ5z_9TVpvEKkszYgjTLLHD2GQgPiqqzsIr_JTTtY3z1eNJyKNOgkpp0c-O0zR6FBy-tEnU7zFW0Va_J4azY-HXl_5N5s1leeQHiDC6Jy/s320/IMG_8867.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><i>The apartment decorated for Christmas</i></b></div>
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Hey Family<br />
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I hope that everyone has had a good Christmas Break and that all is well over yonder in Texas!! Here there was also Three Kings Party!! In fact, it was a crazy Three Kings Party!!! Everyone here in Spain makes it a HUGE deal, which is okay since it´s a pretty dope holiday!! (I stole the word "dope" from Elder Jeppson, he emailed me recently.) Not too much else that has been crazy here, but I´ve had a really great week this week. Check it out!!!!!<br />
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Thursday we didn´t have much of anything. Weekly planning and that was pretty much it. The two appointments we had failed, but we still tried contacting people. Not much, but oh well. Friday was pretty cool!!! We didn´t have too many lessons, but it was still a pretty intense day!! So we visited Cristian in the morning and had a really good lesson about the priesthood! Super cool and he really liked it too!! We then went to see Jonatan. Super cool guy, age 23 so he´s <i>JAS</i> [young single adult]. Not a member, but wants to be baptized soon, unfortunately his father is a bit against him being baptized so out of respect for his dad, he hasn´t gotten baptized. We spent pretty much the rest of the evening with him, from 2:30 pm - 6:30 pm, doing service. It was awesome because he helps people in need where he lives which is a place that is lower class. It´s also a maze since anyone that doesn´t know the place, could get lost. It´s up in a hill too so we climbed a lot of stairs with boxes and stuff so we got pretty tired. Super cool though!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKZB77HfbgIZzRoIS0qVYOBOohf-sfCDdqyVA6P1tfoYxrP4m0Bx-5VQI7YlP_-3L2QB2KgvSHIFA6I4VEA06b7E_AK1YLO7JH-4FwFYMtemR2AyjZ-IcS7BE7rL039tZYKjNh9cMKEU9/s1600/IMG_8904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKZB77HfbgIZzRoIS0qVYOBOohf-sfCDdqyVA6P1tfoYxrP4m0Bx-5VQI7YlP_-3L2QB2KgvSHIFA6I4VEA06b7E_AK1YLO7JH-4FwFYMtemR2AyjZ-IcS7BE7rL039tZYKjNh9cMKEU9/s320/IMG_8904.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We then had to leave to go to another person´s house to see them and teach them. We contacted them in a building a little earlier in the week and they told us to go back at a different time. We got there and they weren´t home, so we were pretty bummed about that. Not much we could´ve done though. Later in the night we went to <i>Vecindario </i>to spend the night there so that we could do exchanges there. My companion since he´s district leader, had to do three baptismal interviews there, and I came back with Elder Lisonbee to work in <i>Las Palmas.</i> While we were there in <i>Vecindario </i>we did a little barbecue and it was really good!!<br />
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Saturday Elder Lisonbee and I returned to <i>Las Palmas</i> and we worked like missionaries do!! We actually had <i>fútbol </i>[soccer] planned in the morning, but no one was there in the <i>cancha </i>[field] to play so we returned back to the <i>piso </i>[apartment] and tried to contact some former Investigators. No one really answered, but we did get some together to take with us to close to the port so that we could pass by them. We then took <i>medio-dia</i> [lunch break] then went to see Oscar. We got there at 4:15 and were a bit early for the lesson, but then decided to knock doors of their building. Not much happened in that time. We then went back to find out that Oscar was still not there. We stayed there to wait for him and Gabi to get back, but they got back pretty late, and Gabi had a birthday party, turning 19 years old, and so we couldn´t really teach Oscar. We left since we had another appointment at 8:00 with Fani. We also had some <i>registros </i>[record] of former Investigators with us and decided to try to pass by them. We didn´t really have any success since everyone was going from their homes to see the Three Kings Parade. It was crazy!!! Pretty much everywhere else was empty except for one street where everyone was going to see the parade.<br />
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We then tried to see Fani, but she wasn´t home, and so we tried to contact people on the way to the bus stop, but since they were all in the Kings mood, they didn´t want anything. At around 8:15 or 8:30 we decided to walk back to the <i>piso </i>[apartment] since all of the buses were full. It took us 45 minutes to get back and it was a pain to get to the door of the <i>piso </i>[apartment] building since there were cars parked everywhere, even on the sidewalk!!! Crazy!!! Not much happened except that we switched back companions and went to bed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR5PY1dGCKGn1Ad_D-GHSJ_h2OQR21A9LE2_vRrS0p-w8QQsxBhWLyYI-o503EZpPI9BZmGtNtvPn7YzNte6pvEO6sSWxkNGVqiR7FCQCzcsSDQxO5tWMtMGu7yX-SEyc8APqz4cQqtNU/s1600/IMG_8881.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR5PY1dGCKGn1Ad_D-GHSJ_h2OQR21A9LE2_vRrS0p-w8QQsxBhWLyYI-o503EZpPI9BZmGtNtvPn7YzNte6pvEO6sSWxkNGVqiR7FCQCzcsSDQxO5tWMtMGu7yX-SEyc8APqz4cQqtNU/s320/IMG_8881.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<i><b>All the missionaries gather to say good-bye to the Eynons!</b></i></div>
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Sunday was pretty cool too!!! Even with it being Three Kings Day, 102 people went to church and it was pretty full!! One investigator in church though, but yeah. Also an inactive came back to church as well as a less active family which was amazing!!! I loved it and hope to see them again next week!! At 6:00 we went with Jonatan to take gifts to two families that are in need and can´t buy gifts for their own families. It was amazing to see the expressions on the faces of all of the kids!! It was amazing to do that service!!! We spent pretty much all evening doing that and it was one of the best Three Kings Days that I´ve had!!!<br />
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Monday was a pretty empty day, but we did all that we could! We took some former investigators records from the area book and went to a place that was a central place where they were living and started from there. We knocked on one of their doors, but they weren´t there, so we knocked the whole building. Three people answered their doors, were really nice, but didn´t want anything. At least we know where all of the nice people live though!! We then went back home and took our <i>medio-dia</i> [lunch break]. We then went to teach Jose about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the lesson turned out super good!!!! He´s understanding everything and is doing all the stuff he needs to do to get married so that he could get baptized!! I love that guy!! He´s 70 years old, Catholic, Spaniard, but just awesome and wants to get baptized because he loves the church. We´ll hopefully be able to help him with that desire!!<br />
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Tuesday was even better than EVER!!!! We had zone meeting via Polycam with the whole zone. It really made me think a lot about how to be a better missionary and it was just awesome!! It really gave me a lot of <i>animo </i>[motivation] to go through the area book and visit some of the former investigators!! I started a list and will eventually use it to pass by some people in an area if someone fails us on a visit! I´m super excited!!!! We then had 100% of the lessons planned!! That almost NEVER happens!!! I was really happy!!! We taught Andres, a less active, about service!! He´s less active because he plays professional <i>fútbol </i>[soccer], but he´s really strong in the faith. When we talked about service, and how home teachers are part of service, he wanted to be part of that! We then went over to visit Oscar and talked to him about the Word of Wisdom! It´s awesome to see how he´s growing to love the Gospel!! We left him Alma 32 the last time, and he was sharing the scriptures that he really liked with us for the first 15 minutes of the lesson!! I just love it when people get that big of an interest in learning about the Gospel!!!<br />
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We then went over to the mission leader´s house to talk to him about the investigators that we have. It´s amazing to think that we have 4 people with a baptismal date!! I´m loving <i>Las Palmas</i>!! He then had to go take his wife Raquel to drop her off at the port so that she could go to <i>Tenerife</i>. It´s pretty cool to see the huge ARMAS boats and how they load the cars into the boats and how they close the doors too!! Super fun!! We then were dropped off near Maria, a recent convert, and visited her after visiting a nearby less active. We talked to Maria about the importance of family history work, and it was pretty cool!! Her son was there too, and he isn´t a member, so when he asked questions, we answered them very boldly!! Even though sometimes he would ask it in a joking manner, we answered boldly and it would change his entire attitude! At one point I was talking to him and it was just amazing to feel what I felt for him!! I just saw him as my brother and wanted him to comprehend that through his faith in Jesus Christ, he could leave all of his mistakes and stuff behind and just continue forward!! It was an amazing experience and I hope that someday he could be baptized!! I´m sure that he will!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiALEAgeGEGl-Fxj4kHiD5at3BZ_b9l_zxA_3SX4QWLczhVy_4RpPO15DXjlbn1YIGkRwa5CcZzrEohboG-J7O5IhcIjFHhZnv09udr_8lhoKVT-NhHFmbOxk-z_CMhyphenhyphenvc4_7ccSMrVwI/s1600/IMG_8868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiALEAgeGEGl-Fxj4kHiD5at3BZ_b9l_zxA_3SX4QWLczhVy_4RpPO15DXjlbn1YIGkRwa5CcZzrEohboG-J7O5IhcIjFHhZnv09udr_8lhoKVT-NhHFmbOxk-z_CMhyphenhyphenvc4_7ccSMrVwI/s320/IMG_8868.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHR5PY1dGCKGn1Ad_D-GHSJ_h2OQR21A9LE2_vRrS0p-w8QQsxBhWLyYI-o503EZpPI9BZmGtNtvPn7YzNte6pvEO6sSWxkNGVqiR7FCQCzcsSDQxO5tWMtMGu7yX-SEyc8APqz4cQqtNU/s1600/IMG_8881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<b><i>El Corte Ingles (a department store) decorated for the holidays</i></b></div>
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Today we went to three different malls here. <i>El Mirador</i>, <i>Las Terrasas</i>, and <i>Las Arenas</i>. It was pretty fun since we spent time with the Elders of <i>Vecindario</i>. Super fun!! Not much, but I´m glad that you guys had a cool week too!! Take care and I hope to talk to you soon!! Love you all!!!<br />
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Elder Bauer<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigywAGmxv8l7cIpQ0GeMRxYeeh-sf6JVlXBFgSo7KbnWBUN5ksaLMFR-IuPDJn26D_BjnzxiaTAP1wr6TvYP4pGLj6au7tlccoFcioPzh-iYgv4XIJIYHbC8ejVjsSQmtv0dGhCrPKLb-Q/s1600/IMG_8909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigywAGmxv8l7cIpQ0GeMRxYeeh-sf6JVlXBFgSo7KbnWBUN5ksaLMFR-IuPDJn26D_BjnzxiaTAP1wr6TvYP4pGLj6au7tlccoFcioPzh-iYgv4XIJIYHbC8ejVjsSQmtv0dGhCrPKLb-Q/s320/IMG_8909.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Las Palmas <i>from </i>El Mirador</b></div>
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Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-85546339735476079732013-01-02T15:06:00.000-07:002013-01-02T15:32:11.103-07:00January 2, 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvPUcFw5kDWJDpmhX_2dTAT8BZbDgJnZlzED4RQJ-VG1RLMB-eF1iC1TZqJreiPH7TlBeNtRNZIb0mhleV30I8gfqQW-flKeOPPfpcJOov6VQcS5KH4cVm-pVz1s8pC4E8qe6svkmloR_/s1600/IMG_8574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvPUcFw5kDWJDpmhX_2dTAT8BZbDgJnZlzED4RQJ-VG1RLMB-eF1iC1TZqJreiPH7TlBeNtRNZIb0mhleV30I8gfqQW-flKeOPPfpcJOov6VQcS5KH4cVm-pVz1s8pC4E8qe6svkmloR_/s320/IMG_8574.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Las Canteras beach ...</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWGtS4_WtUEhXo16xJBWEvB-FMmgED3NtWVMCGjciq6LmNVsSBAtoYR3gVa7oK9uapXSc7_eaHjw0e6z0soczzxwgmZb3CosNyVC3sz_cWQjtylDvQe8MMculVfmpANuACrxyZK73BI70/s1600/IMG_8576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWGtS4_WtUEhXo16xJBWEvB-FMmgED3NtWVMCGjciq6LmNVsSBAtoYR3gVa7oK9uapXSc7_eaHjw0e6z0soczzxwgmZb3CosNyVC3sz_cWQjtylDvQe8MMculVfmpANuACrxyZK73BI70/s320/IMG_8576.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>... at sunset.</em></strong></div>
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Well hello everyone over yonder!!!<br />
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I´m Elder Bauer still and I´m still here in Las Palmas. I know, that is a little of a duh moment, but whatever. Well, since I didn´t send you guys an email with pictures last week, I´ll send you a little something this week of what happened last week and Christmas week! It was all super fun!!! I´ll start with Monday, the 24th, how about that!!<br />
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Well, it was a pretty good day even though we didn´t really have anything planned in the morning. Just studies and we also did a bit of contacting since we didn´t have anything else to do. We did go and visit Oscar, Gabriela, Josue, and Cristian and had a little Christmas message about the Savior. Super cool!! We then went to a member´s house to eat Christmas dinner - Yanira´s house with her family that is, I don´t know their last name, but it´s okay, you get the point, we ate with members. The Eynon´s and the <em>Hermanas</em> [sisters] also came and it was a full house!! We were the members, which were about 7 or 8, and 6 missionaries! CrAzY rIgHt!!! Yeah!! We read the birth of Jesus Christ first before we ate according to their tradition and it was pretty cool!! We started eating at 9:00 and didn´t get out of there until 11:15. Pretty crazy and yeah. Not cool, but oh well. We were then picked up by the Elders of Vecindario and that was good!! We got to the mission home at around 12:00 midnight and didn´t get to sleep until 1:00.<br />
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<strong><em>Christmas themed sand art ...</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjb8bD5IFits4XKJvr0EftScrPvPMtmdj9zwoqgvi3qCYwMP2A4K1VGj5N_GCpXdX3LILxqGNVXjnPcAHSiHi0nVhEw8EJxjQno1shGtNbwMo8LR629iGEarSw7kUhbACty06vht0aKPl/s1600/IMG_8598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjb8bD5IFits4XKJvr0EftScrPvPMtmdj9zwoqgvi3qCYwMP2A4K1VGj5N_GCpXdX3LILxqGNVXjnPcAHSiHi0nVhEw8EJxjQno1shGtNbwMo8LR629iGEarSw7kUhbACty06vht0aKPl/s320/IMG_8598.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>... also at Canteras beach.</em></strong></div>
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Tuesday the 25th was Christmas Day!!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up at around 6:00 and couldn´t get back to sleep. At 7:00 the cellphone alarms went off and we got up and got ready for the day. At 8:30 I went out to the living room and found <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Voemba there already reading. I then started to read my scriptures too, and study and stuff. Then the rest of the missionaries pretty much came out and did the same thing. At around 9:00 or 9:30 we ate a breakfast casserole and it was really good!! We then went around the room and all of us shared a scripture about the birth of the Savior. We then did the "white elephant" gift exchange and it was pretty fun and funny!! I ended up with cookies made by <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Eynon. We then opened the gifts that the Eynons gave us and they were pretty cool!! I got a tie that was a Texas tie so I´m ready to get to Texas, hahahahahaa!! Then I also got a BYU shirt which is great because it adds to my P-Day clothes, haha. I then talked to you guys and it was fun to see you guys. I was just thinking that every time I called you guys, you were in a different place. Hahaha, pretty funny!! We also ate dinner and it was really good as well. <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Eynon makes really good food!!! I love it!! We then had a little <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] with the Nealson Family and they were also nice enough to drive us home after! We got home at 8:00 pm and it was really not a good idea to do any contacts because no one was out. We pretty much walked around for a while and at 9:15 we went back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment].<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun9qV7iZYD6_t2Ssc4C9lpNnUrY54jhQwVoq-q5Yx-legJQ1a2o4nTvAkAcIqu-ixwTBx0vooeYvpylCaT4a_SK3u_GZLIRVZl1VuINCmDDUa8F2NzktILd9eET9tz7zFHHXs77b4_uj9/s1600/IMG_8761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun9qV7iZYD6_t2Ssc4C9lpNnUrY54jhQwVoq-q5Yx-legJQ1a2o4nTvAkAcIqu-ixwTBx0vooeYvpylCaT4a_SK3u_GZLIRVZl1VuINCmDDUa8F2NzktILd9eET9tz7zFHHXs77b4_uj9/s320/IMG_8761.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Gifts: A Texas tie, and a BYU t-shirt [yes, my son has been corrupted] ...</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVIMAP-HXHCX0NIry2IyBk3SFHGr8fBi_oOFOoIGYuPxIbSRwsu0JWxXwGs5OZyy6Cr5kDHGJnvR9gQoEM517k0CF0QPmIbZBXnj-0vTZ9xU4PEL0fFXH9zsQVt-KuYZGvu2pLLaN_IDA/s1600/IMG_8760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvVIMAP-HXHCX0NIry2IyBk3SFHGr8fBi_oOFOoIGYuPxIbSRwsu0JWxXwGs5OZyy6Cr5kDHGJnvR9gQoEM517k0CF0QPmIbZBXnj-0vTZ9xU4PEL0fFXH9zsQVt-KuYZGvu2pLLaN_IDA/s320/IMG_8760.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>...but everyone in the district was equally corrupted. </em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>[The blog editor attended the University of Utah - this is meant in jest.]</em></strong></div>
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Wednesday we ate with a member from Chile and it was pretty fun!! We then tried passing by some people but no one was at home. We did visit Fani, and that was pretty cool!!! We taught her the Plan of Salvation and it was pretty cool how she´s understanding everything!! I love it!!! Super cool, but that´s it.<br />
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<strong><em>The view from the mission home in Las Palmas.</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWStsgB2YKZz959NDBROef6WGHtEA5mwKV5ZDKOZemYN9HYfYPZ_dWtWno5ldih_nshFcFCztwJrKijmgUFQI2Hv_DKLI1XgHzF1KkpK1qUfiFlmMlGXwPocarzeCRZW8WbEjUAvUdyNB/s1600/IMG_8770.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWStsgB2YKZz959NDBROef6WGHtEA5mwKV5ZDKOZemYN9HYfYPZ_dWtWno5ldih_nshFcFCztwJrKijmgUFQI2Hv_DKLI1XgHzF1KkpK1qUfiFlmMlGXwPocarzeCRZW8WbEjUAvUdyNB/s320/IMG_8770.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Evidently, the place is for sale - Any takers?</em></strong></div>
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Thursday was started with...Weekly planning!!! We then went out and had lunch with Lourdes and her family (Gabriela, Josue, and Oscar), and shared a scripture with them! They are a super cool family!! We then left and went to see Jose and talked to him about the Law of Chastity and he understood everything, but now, instead of saying his classic, I want to get baptized and I´m going to get baptized, he´s saying, now I can´t get baptized because I have to get married. We´ve kept telling him that he can and he will, but he has to live the commandments. Pretty hard sometimes to be able to teach him, but we´ll continue until he gets an understanding. We then went back to Oscar and taught him the Plan of Salvation. We made a mistake by teaching him the whole thing, but it´s fine, we learn from our mistakes. I´m trying to think of ways to make him participate more in the lessons. I´ll continue thinking, but it´s something that I would really like to master. Later on we went to the Port and shared a message with Maria. It was pretty cool and I liked it. It was the same as with Lourdes and her family earlier.<br />
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Friday we saw Cristian and taught him about Priesthood and it was good that we did. He didn´t know that with the Melchizedek Priesthood he could give blessings and stuff. We taught him a little bit about that and he was really interested and amazed. We then didn´t have anything else planned so we did contacting and got 4 references which was really cool!!!! That´s the most references that we´ve gotten in a day since I´ve been here!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOIUB7sgf_ehC0txBgXXPuWHV4ArwfV848f2mcPQqsAngYon3ug6s2WmGuDV13mz9Avd7uf0hyphenhyphenMDmpFD1sMjGA0YJKSdj-qLqOAUzV9CjpAaIQJX0m0om7DFZad7KjWbh35vrmImkK8Sr/s1600/IMG_8675.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDOIUB7sgf_ehC0txBgXXPuWHV4ArwfV848f2mcPQqsAngYon3ug6s2WmGuDV13mz9Avd7uf0hyphenhyphenMDmpFD1sMjGA0YJKSdj-qLqOAUzV9CjpAaIQJX0m0om7DFZad7KjWbh35vrmImkK8Sr/s320/IMG_8675.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Elder Claus (I mean Valenzuela)</em></strong></div>
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Saturday we played a bit of <em>fútbol</em> [soccer] with some non-members and it was pretty fun, but at the same time it was way too cold to play. We then went and got ready for the day and then saw Gabriela and helped her with her talk. It was the first talk that she gave in sacrament meeting and she wanted us to go over and help her out. Later on we went and saw Fani and talked to her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She keeps saying, "So, when I get baptized..." and it´s really cool that she has that mind set. She understands everything that we teach her too so I´m sure that she will get baptized soon!!! That´s it for the day!!<br />
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Sunday we went to church and it was a 5th Sunday so we had 3rd hour combined! The branch president shared the plan that he has for the Branch and it was presented really well!! He´s a really good public speaker! We then went to eat at a member´s house who lives near 7 Palmas, still in Las Palmas, but it´s a section of the city called 7 Palmas. We then were driven back down to be able to meet with Jose and he said the same things that he did last time about not being able to get baptized until he gets married. We were planning to teach him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but held off on that to explain a bit more of what the Law of Chastity is. I´m not sure if he understood or not, but that´s fine. We got him to start the process of marriage, so he´s understanding little by little. We then had correlation meeting and then went to the last <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] that the Eynons are having. It was pretty sad too, but it´s something necessary. <br />
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<strong><em>Elder Bauer trying to look as good as his father. I give him some credit for the pocket square, but where is the bowtie?!</em></strong></div>
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Monday was a day of nothing. Well, not quite, we did help Jonatan with a bit of his service to others. We helped him take clothes to a family in need and we will also pass by later to give them a little treat! When we said that, their faces lit up like little children when they get presents! It was awesome!! We´re going to see if something comes out of that and if they will listen to the message we have. We then went to Fran and Raquel´s house to eat and the food was good!! Pasta with tomato sauce. Right after that, we went over to Jesus´ house and ate tamales. Super good, but we were super full!!! We then decided to walk to Gabriela´s house and see her, but there wasn´t a guy at home so we couldn´t. So since we were still full, we decided to walk home. It was a pretty long walk, like 45 minutes to an hour, but at least the food went down, haha.<br />
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It´s 2013!!!! That´s crazy to think about. Time has gone by so fast, like seriously!! I remember a year ago I was in Valladolid, and then I realized that in 2012 I was in every single one of my areas in Spain!! Valladolid, Alcobendas (San Sebastían de los Reyes), Parla, and here, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria!! This is probably the warmest January I´m going to have in my life!! Not much went on, but we did visit Oscar and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He´s getting better at understanding and so it´s all good!!! I´m glad that he´s wanting to do everything. He read too so that´s a double thumbs up!!! Wait...he read TWICE!!! Quadruple thumbs up, even though I don´t have 4 thumbs, but oh well, do it anyway!! Super cool, but he still needs to go to church. I hope that he does that soon!! We then went to San Telmo to try to get our January <em>bonos</em> [monthly bus pass] because we sort of started the New Year in a dumb way. We put in our December <em>bonos</em> to use the <em>Guaguas</em> [bus], but it didn´t work. I thought, "That´s kind of weird," but then I realized that it was not December anymore, but January. The place to buy the <em>bono</em> was closed too, so we had to wait until today. We´ll go see if it´s open later, but who knows. We then went to see Roberto y Lola and shared with them a New Year message!! Super cool!! That´s it.<br />
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Really long email, so I´ll just end it here. Today is P-Day and we´re cleaning the <em>piso</em> [apartment] really well. Deep cleaning!! Elder Eynon said yesterday after the district meeting that he was going to check <em>pisos</em> on Friday morning. I´m tired of cleaning, seriously. I spent all morning on my super dirty bathtub since other missionaries don´t know how to clean it. It´s now shiny and clean, more or less. Well, have fun reading this eternal letter. Love you bye!!!<br />
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Elder Bauer<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCe6LURX8X3kk6iPQ5iLrP2G0aPOT4ZJr6mzUneRxQR6FUwDLr2jqB5BNXbwzkxjKONlB-7dC82WdXtfnGdM3xsMy-6Pox7_XJKSk2TwPlsKvHE_29LrhV__58xdUaIvUGujK1p9DFOAS/s1600/IMG_8625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCe6LURX8X3kk6iPQ5iLrP2G0aPOT4ZJr6mzUneRxQR6FUwDLr2jqB5BNXbwzkxjKONlB-7dC82WdXtfnGdM3xsMy-6Pox7_XJKSk2TwPlsKvHE_29LrhV__58xdUaIvUGujK1p9DFOAS/s320/IMG_8625.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Ending where we started ...</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpuquCJ9pGua39NMgI9Cg5egkCwPUHFFk6HuyeHskY50Zf-PsyYM0wrXrJOWGvPwO-MYQiX6KjNNceX7AzkbOJJHNt0O8rDwKMvrKRnVwG15OWHIj-ZA5WuRysdBai42ab5x2nuUL3fLP/s1600/IMG_8643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgpuquCJ9pGua39NMgI9Cg5egkCwPUHFFk6HuyeHskY50Zf-PsyYM0wrXrJOWGvPwO-MYQiX6KjNNceX7AzkbOJJHNt0O8rDwKMvrKRnVwG15OWHIj-ZA5WuRysdBai42ab5x2nuUL3fLP/s320/IMG_8643.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>... with a Canteras beach sunset.</em></strong></div>
Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-48782638530087328562012-12-28T23:16:00.000-07:002012-12-28T23:16:02.000-07:00December 25, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Merry Christmas from the Canary Islands</span></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3OgWKSYLdY7l31iVdNYB_68LBSOZzNFLwS-0Wx2uoRvkyyxh_suVpjZViQFSt6W7ieFBG6d4yv3ibzR3u1y7v6J05x45KA_UZwIdaDKWMe3Z8GVyCr8iIBmLDngsUJ4aQh7-uaYBrRF/s1600/IMG_7895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3OgWKSYLdY7l31iVdNYB_68LBSOZzNFLwS-0Wx2uoRvkyyxh_suVpjZViQFSt6W7ieFBG6d4yv3ibzR3u1y7v6J05x45KA_UZwIdaDKWMe3Z8GVyCr8iIBmLDngsUJ4aQh7-uaYBrRF/s320/IMG_7895.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>Canary Island missionaries in a nativity scene:</em></strong></div>
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<em>Sister Marshall, and Elder Christensen appear to be playing the part of Mary and Joseph.</em></div>
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<em>Elder Valenzuela appears to be a shepherd.</em></div>
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<em>Who knows what the other three are supposed to be.</em></div>
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Instead of an e-mail this week, we Skyped with Alex. That is far harder to share. I hope all those who follow my son on this blog had a Merry Christmas. Let me know if you know who the other three are supposed to be (since Alex never told me who they were).Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-36515878924116095252012-12-20T00:24:00.000-07:002012-12-23T20:10:10.440-07:00December 19, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7Dhlq1ZGsqxfjdnIYg0pkpi7qf0unJBReGw3-m7oR_pM_4zU_H5LuScPM21GrO-C3u7SqBGG5_yVOGRWw6fRvBkanJ-U34CK1zTeXIRqYRswjuVO7KccJ0cmyX_lysVRLPZ2WwBO4HSo/s1600/IMG_8384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7Dhlq1ZGsqxfjdnIYg0pkpi7qf0unJBReGw3-m7oR_pM_4zU_H5LuScPM21GrO-C3u7SqBGG5_yVOGRWw6fRvBkanJ-U34CK1zTeXIRqYRswjuVO7KccJ0cmyX_lysVRLPZ2WwBO4HSo/s320/IMG_8384.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>A visit to the botanical gardens on Las Palmas</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HkjUe-pBdU6OhyphenhyphenG_6pj0hoaP1Rik_ymKft6sRj-Nwia3uB3L-v16Wynr12I6ZznIXfWVpkGtGTjgzSBU0dJ7c_DzefTw4wU58nuqOzD1qUtX4shIDb_ewm-r2ASVDkDAPjiIVknG2arC/s1600/IMG_8504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HkjUe-pBdU6OhyphenhyphenG_6pj0hoaP1Rik_ymKft6sRj-Nwia3uB3L-v16Wynr12I6ZznIXfWVpkGtGTjgzSBU0dJ7c_DzefTw4wU58nuqOzD1qUtX4shIDb_ewm-r2ASVDkDAPjiIVknG2arC/s320/IMG_8504.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>One interesting plant on display at the botanical gardens was a cactus ...</em></strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9yrhMuXrIcbinVIA5dWAB6kbsbLbx4Tb9RzFJQRj8Oji1pSh_LER0z6DpRh8Yys6kE3OfYAjrsj7x0oCprNKALxhyphenhyphen3Xs9sZkOIsC7EW-5xZZllxiXF1Si0GUFDDoiP4HwRqbdFXKwEah/s1600/IMG_8509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9yrhMuXrIcbinVIA5dWAB6kbsbLbx4Tb9RzFJQRj8Oji1pSh_LER0z6DpRh8Yys6kE3OfYAjrsj7x0oCprNKALxhyphenhyphen3Xs9sZkOIsC7EW-5xZZllxiXF1Si0GUFDDoiP4HwRqbdFXKwEah/s320/IMG_8509.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<strong><em>... okay, it was a really big cactus (tree thing).</em></strong> </div>
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Hello family!!<br />
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Here´s what happened this week!! Get ready, it´s pretty crazy what has been happening here in Las Palmas!! You ready? Are you sure? Positive? Well ready or not, here we go!!<br />
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Thursday we had weekly planning, yeah...you know already...like always. HA =D Then we went and saw Jose and taught him the restoration with the help of <a href="http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/feature-films?lang=eng&query=restoration#2008-06-01-the-restoration" target="_blank">the video</a> so that he can understand it better. I´m not sure if he understands, but he always says after we teach him something that he knows most of the stuff, and that he wants to get baptized and same old stuff. Kind of funny actually. We didn´t have too much going on that day so that´s it.<br />
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Friday was pretty crazy! We visited Cristian and were a bit late considering we went to the church to clean and prepare for the baptismal services. We then went back to continue to prepare for the baptism, and then went to <em>Hiper Dino</em> to buy some food and stuff to make <em>sopapillas</em>, a Chilean sort of <em>empanada</em>. Well, the baptism started right on time, and it was cool!! Franklyn baptized Maria, and I baptized Liz, the little girl. She insisted that I did it, and <em>Hermanas</em> [Sisters] Marshall and Voemba tried to convince her to get someone else to do it, but it didn´t work. I had the privilege and honor to do it. Elder Valenzuela and I then did a musical number of "<a href="http://www.lds.org/music/library/childrens-songbook/im-trying-to-be-like-jesus?lang=eng" target="_blank">I´m Trying to be like Jesus</a>" [or <a href="http://media2.ldscdn.org/assets/music/childrens-songbook-spanish/2009-12-0290-im-trying-to-be-like-jesus-words-and-music-128k-spa.mp3" target="_blank">click here to hear it in Spanish</a>] and it turned out pretty well. We sang a cappella and I liked it, but I´m not sure of the rest of the members there did. We then ate food and cleaned up, and the <em>Hermanas</em>[Sisters] gave us the extra chocolate cake and brownies that were left behind after the baptism. I ate most of it and finished it Monday. Super good day!!<br />
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<strong><em>The baptism of Liz</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>The baptism of Maria</em></strong></div>
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Saturday was interesting and crazy! We had to go to <em>Vecindario</em> and interview two people for baptism and it was pretty cool. I did the interview because I was a District Leader recently so I knew how to do it. We then came back and ate with Nenad, a member that lives with Franklyn and his wife Raquel. We then went to see Oscar and taught him the second part of the restoration again. It´s difficult to teach him, but I´m learning a lot about teaching simply with him. He has a hard time paying attention so that´s the problem, but we just need to think of a way to help him pay attention. I´ll have to come up with something. I just got that idea of thinking as I was writing this. Super cool!!! <br />
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Then when we were waiting for the <em>Guagua</em> [bus] outside Oscar´s house, we heard a horn honking the tune "Jingle Bells." We were both confused and then all of a sudden the honking got louder and then we saw motorcyclists dressed in Santa costumes waving and stuff. There were like 30 of them driving together down the street. It was pretty funny!! Later on we went to see Fani and she enjoyed the baptism!! She went so we talked to her about that and also talked to her about the Plan of Salvation! It was pretty cool. When we were leaving Fani´s house, we saw the motorcycle Santas again, and it was pretty funny. I tried to get a picture of them, but it didn´t turn out too well. Oh well, "A" for "effort", as Elizabeth Goodman always says. We also got transfer information and Elder Valenzuela is now District Leader!!! No changes on Gran Canaria either. This transfer was a week shorter than the usual 6 weeks, but I´m sure that this next transfer will be a week longer than usual to make up for it.<br />
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<strong><em>fuzzy picture of motorcycle Santas</em></strong></div>
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Sunday was normal, we had the two confirmations and participated in the circle to confirm Maria and Liz, members. It was really cool! We then saw Maria afterwards to help us fill out the baptismal record. We then saw Jose and taught him the Plan of Salvation and it was fine, but I´m sure that we could´ve done better. We then went to the <em>JAS Noche de Hogar</em> [young single adult home evening], and an American family gave the lesson from the Strength of Youth pamphlet. The guy is a Professional Basketball player for the Gran Canaria team so he´s pretty well known among the youth. He also mentioned that he will be playing against Valladolid this week and that´s pretty cool!! He´ll be going to where I started here in Spain!! <br />
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<strong><em>Brother and Sister Toolson with Elder Bauer</em></strong></div>
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<em>Brother Toolson is the professional basketball player who gave the lesson in the young single adult home evening</em></div>
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Monday we finally got <em>empadronado</em> [registered] and it was easy. I remember that Elder Valenzuela told me that it would be hard, but he doesn´t know who he´s talking to, the residency expert among missionaries in Gran Canaria. The other one is Elder Argyle on Tenerife, and the current one is learning to be the residency beast in Alcobendas, which is Elder Pluim. We then went to help Lusiano, a member, to take a couch up to his <em>piso</em> [apartment], and then we ate with him. He also invited over some non-members so we then also shared a bit about the Book of Mormon with them and it went pretty good. The guy didn´t show too much interest, but the son, Alejandro, I´m sure has potential. We then went from there, the Port, over to La Feria, where Oscar lives, and then talked to him about the important things that happened with the restoration. He has it all down and we left him the introduction of the Book of Mormon to read since he hasn´t done it. <br />
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We then went from there to contact near the <em>Guagua</em> [bus] station San Telmo, and we had an interesting contact. We had the impression to talk to this lady since she was reading my <em>chapa</em> [name tag], and she nodded her head no, and then pointed at her ears. She was deaf!!! I thought how are we going to talk to her. I then pointed at my <em>chapa</em> [name tag] where the name of the church is, then pointed at the Book of Mormon where it said, Mormon. She has never seen anything on our church before so we tried explaining to her what it was. Elder Valenzuela read with her the introduction and she understood. I then took out my agenda, and started writing on it to talk to her. We tried to get an address, but she just wrote the church address and the time that church started, so I wrote to her that we´ll see her Sunday then. We also left her a chapter to read and she smiled and said thank you, I´ll see you the 23rd. It was a cool experience. We then had <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] at Franklyn´s house and went home.<br />
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Yesterday we had the district meeting, and it was really good!!! I really liked it and learned a lot from it!! We then ate with a member, and they gave us a plate full of rice, and I mean it was like a mountain of rice!! I ate it all, and then they gave us dessert. We were so full!!! We then went to Oscar´s house just to see him, and we walked there. It was a 15 - 20 minute walk, but we needed it!! Half of it was downhill and the other half was uphill. We then met with Oscar and read with him the introduction and he understands it now. We then left with him <a href="http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/2?lang=eng" target="_blank">2 Nephi 2</a> so that we could have a little introduction to the Plan of Salvation. I hope that he could read it! We then went and tried to find a present for Maria considering it was her birthday and we wanted to give her something. We finally got a card and pictures of her baptism developed and then we saw Fausto and Delia. We shared with them the true meaning of Christmas and it was a pretty good lesson!! We then went to Maria´s house and she was so happy to receive something. She said that it was the first thing that she had received on her birthday. We then left and while we were waiting for the <em>Guagua</em> [bus], she called us and told us thank you for the card and picture. I was touched and happy that we had done that for her.<br />
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Well, today is P-Day, and we´re planning to go and see the Christmas Sand Art here in <em>Gran Canaria</em>!! Super cool, and I can´t wait to see it in person!! Elder Gonzalez was here and showed me pictures, but I can´t wait to see it for myself!!! How is everything going over there? I hope that all is going well and that everyone is happy!! Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!<br />
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Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-15900162346427826512012-12-12T18:33:00.001-07:002012-12-12T18:33:47.488-07:00December 12, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><em>Yes, it says "Do not bend" in two different languages...and it was still bent!</em> </strong></div>
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<strong>Que fuerte<em>, as they say here.</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>It contained our christmas tree - no worse for the wear!</em></strong></div>
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Daddio and Family!!<br />
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I´m glad that all has been going well over yonder and that you guys have had a good week. I hope that things continue to go well and that the stress continues to go down. Nothing super new has been going on over here, except that this weekend we have a baptism and the <em>Hermanas</em> [Sisters] have one too so it will be super cool!!! This past week has been crazy and it was pretty cool!! Let me tell you about it in a nutshell.<br />
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Thursday we didn´t really have too much time to do weekly planning so we had to move it to Friday. Thursday we had lunch with the Mission Leader´s family and it was really good!! I was really full afterwards, but it´s okay, better to be full than hungry I guess. We then visited two new investigators, José, who is an older person that wants to be baptized really badly, but I think that he just wants to get baptized because if he doesn´t, the lady he lives with, who is a member, will leave him because they aren´t married. We´re still teaching him to see if he could gain a testimony and get baptized for the right reasons, but we´ll have to see how that goes. The other one is Oscar, and the rest of his family are members, except his mom, but he has a big desire to learn about the gospel and asks really good questions so he´s really good. We taught him the Restoration.<br />
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Friday we had our studies, then we went to Cristian´s house and helped him a bit with a lesson that he had in Priesthood about forgiving. He appreciated the help and it was cool to see his face light up when we read something cool! He was less active, but he´s been coming to church and so it´s cool to see that his life is changing! We then went back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment] for <em>Medio Día</em> [lunch break] and ate food. We then visited Fausto y Delia, a less active family, and Fausto wasn´t home. We taught Delia the same thing that we taught Fausto, about enduring to the end with a video. It was a good lesson. We then went over to <em>Plaza España</em> and waited for a member so that he could accompany us to a lesson, but then this less active Italian couple came up to us and talked to us for about 15 - 20 minutes. It was cool to meet them. They haven´t gone to church for medical issues, but now that he´s doing better, he still hasn´t come. Some other members know him, but yeah, he hasn´t come. We got his number and hopefully we can do something with him. We then found the member and went to Fani´s house. We taught her about the importance of the Book of Mormon since she didn´t read it. It was a pretty good lesson, but I would´ve liked to participate more. Not much else.<br />
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Saturday we had lunch with members and tried to have a lesson with Oscar, but he couldn´t since he left for something. We did have a lesson with Jonatan, and it was pretty cool!! We taught him about how when trials come our way, we shouldn´t fall, but know that there is help for anything a bit further ahead. We then were a bit discouraged because another lesson right after failed us, and we didn´t know what to do. Elder Valenzuela and I were pretty much about to give up, but I said, "No, let´s try contacting until 9:30. All of a sudden, I got the <em>animo</em> [motivation] to talk to people and it was pretty cool!!! I loved it!! I talked to a lot of people, but none of them had any interest. I was happy though.<br />
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<strong><em>Chocolate fountain for dessert - Thank you Roka family</em></strong></div>
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Sunday was pretty good, but pretty crazy! We had church and then talked to Maria after. We had a lesson about the baptismal interview questions and it went pretty well!! We then had to go to the Roka family´s house to eat. By bus it would´ve taken about 45 minutes to get up there. Fortunatly the Eynons were there and they took us in their car and we got there in about 20 minutes. The food was good and we ended the meal with a chocolate fountain for dessert. YUMMY!!!! We had a lesson with José at 4:30, but we knew we were going to be a bit late. We called him to tell him that we were going to be late, then went to the bus stop, but just as we were getting there, the bus passed. It was bad, but I pretty much just laughed about it. Then we were going to be super late!! We had to wait half an hour for the next bus to pass by. Not cool, but oh well. We got down there at 6:30, and he wasn´t home, but I don´t blame him. I wouldn´t have waited that long either. We then went to the <em>piso</em> [apartment], and then went to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] Center for the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening]. President Santana (Branch President) gave the lesson, and it was about the law of chastity! It was really good!!!! I liked it! We then had food and it was yummy!!! Eynon food is the best!!<br />
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<strong><em>The aftermath of a chocolate fountain on a future missionary</em></strong></div>
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Monday we had a lot of nothing. We did have a lesson with Josue, a recent convert. He had a few doubts about the Plan of Salvation, so we taught him that lesson. It was really good!!! We then went to Franklin´s house (Franklin is the Branch Mission Leader) and had the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] there. It was really good. The lesson was given by Cristian, and he does a good job with giving lessons!<br />
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Tuesday was exchanges!! I was with Elder Lisonbee for the day!! We had District Meeting, and that was really cool!!! I learned a lot, and when it came time for the practice, <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Marshall said that I was really good!! We practiced how to do lessons shorter and so that the investigators could understand better. We had a choice to do one of two lessons to practice, we were paired up and did it. <em>Hermana</em> [Sister] Marshall did the Restoration, and she´s really good!! I then did the Plan of Salvation, and according to her, I did really well too. Then Elder Lisonbee and I had to run to Maria´s house so that we could do the interview with her and then we had to be at lunch with the Nacimiento family. The appointment for lunch, was at 2:00, but the interview started then. We ended up also getting lost and not knowing where there was a bus stop for the bus 21 that would get us there, so we got there at about 3:30. Not cool, but still an adventure, haha. I know where the bus stop is now, hehe. We didn´t have anything as far as lessons, but we talked to Jonatan a bit, but that´s it. When we got home, we tried playing a practical joke on the other Elders, acting as if we weren´t home, and we went to the roof so that we could watch them. We thought it would have been funny, but then we told them that we were back in the <em>piso</em> [apartment], and turned on the lights, and they thought we were out for a lesson. It didn´t work, the joke died, and Elder Lisonbee and I were pretty sad, but oh well. We still had fun.<br />
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<strong><em>Churros - Spanish study aids</em></strong></div>
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Today not much has happened. We´re planning to get Churros, but that´s about it. How was everything with...everything. Haha. School, work, dance, whatnot, something, maybe...........yeah. Take care and I´ll talk to you guys soon!!! Love you all!!<br />
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Elder Bauer<br />
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<strong><em>Well, back to studying</em></strong></div>
Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-35010495630745065372012-12-06T18:08:00.002-07:002012-12-06T18:08:35.037-07:00December 5, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><em>Las Palmas with a blue Atlantic in the background</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Alex with his new flag of Spain</em></strong></div>
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Hello Family!!<br />
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Nothing new here, except that it looks like Christmas is coming since they are putting up lights over some of the streets and on some Palm Trees. And they´re selling <em>Polvorones</em> again!! A <em>Polvoron</em> is a Spanish candy/sweet that is made during Christmas time. Pretty much flour, sugar, and butter mixed together, but they´re really good!!! I´m addicted to them, hahaha!!! Well here´s my week!<br />
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Thursday we went to a new person´s house to see if we could meet with him, but he didn´t answer the door. Or he wasn´t there or he wasn´t interested. I´m not sure, but we then knocked on the doors around the area where supposedly members were living, but none of them were the right address. So after a while we went to a member´s house to eat lunch, then back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment] to have weekly planning. After planning, we went and saw Jonatan and then tried to see Fani, but she wasn´t home. Not much else happened Thursday.<br />
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Friday was pretty cool!!! I got to know Cristian, a less active <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] member, and we answered his questions. We also shared a video of how to feel the spirit and that’s pretty much what it does. It was a pretty cool lesson!! We then ate with Nenad, the same member as Thursday, and it was really good food again!! We then had <em>Medio Dia</em> [lunch break] and it was relaxing like usual. One cool experience is that we did contact a lady that had her mother die not too long ago and that she was sad about that. We told her that we knew where her mother was and we wanted to share that knowledge with her. She said that she would like to listen, but at a later time since she was busy. We got her number and left for Edward and his family. We´ve decided to drop them since they aren´t doing their part to progress in the Gospel and to really know if the things we are sharing are true. Stressful and sad, but it´s okay. I hope that soon they will realize what they´ve missed.<br />
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Saturday not much happened except for tons of contacts. We had two new people planned, but they failed us. We knocked on doors near Edward´s home and no one answered or no one was interested. So then we passed by the Roka family and they are solid as steel!!!! They are really active and happy members because they live the gospel!!! It was awesome what they are like!! We then got a call from Jonatan and he said that he got an answer to his prayers in the form of a dream!! So after the Roka family, we went to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] Center and talked to him a bit as well as prepare for a fast for Jonatan. The Eynon´s made food for us to eat and it was really good as usual. We then started our fast!<br />
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<strong><em>Canarian Churros!!!</em></strong></div>
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Sunday we had church and then had a lesson with Maria. She´s getting baptized on the 15 of this month!! Super cool!! We then had <em>Medio Dia</em> [lunch break] and then went to the <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] at the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] Center. It was cool!! We broke our fast and ate some more Eynon food which is really good as usual! Not much else, but we did teach another lesson that day, but I don´t remember who it was. Oh well...I´m an old man on the mission so I guess it´s okay to start forgetting things now and then, hahahaaa!!!<br />
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Monday was pretty good!!!! 3 lessons!!! At first it was a pretty bad day since I tried printing stuff for <em>Empadronamiento</em> [registering with the authorities], but it didn´t work out too well. We then, after <em>Medio Dia</em> [lunch break], had a lesson set up with Almudena, the lady that had her mother die, but she failed us. I´m sure that she has a lot going on with her kids and stuff so it´s okay. We then went to see Roberto and Lola, an older less active couple that can´t go to church because of health. We shared a video with them about patience, even though they have patience, but it´s okay. They then gave us a little sandwich as well as a few sweets and a hot chocolate. It was really good! OH, and Roberto has been to Germany so he has one of those German Christmas thingys, but multiple stories!! It was pretty cool!! We then went to see Oscar, a <em>JAS</em> [young single adult], but not a member. His family is a member, but not him. Pretty cool since he´s gotten interest in listening to us!! We then went to a <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] to finish off the day!<br />
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<em><strong>It´s Christmas time in the JAS Center!! The Elders of the District!</strong></em></div>
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<em>From left to right: Elders Bauer, Lisonbee, Christensen, Valenzuela</em></div>
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Tuesday was District Meeting and it was cool!! I learned how to teach simply and for understanding and it was cool!! We then went and visited Andres, a less active recent convert <em>JAS</em> [young single adult], but he´s really good!! He´s less active because of his job. He´s a <em>fútbol</em> [soccer] player and so he must get paid a lot, but yeah, that´s why he´s less active. We shared with him a Mormon Message about <a href="http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages-for-youth?lang=eng#2012-05-005-dare-to-stand-alone" target="_blank">Standing Alone</a>, a message by President Monson! Super cool and I really liked the lesson!! We then went to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adult] Center and talked to Jonatan about Fran. Fran is passing through a bit of a difficult time because his famliy is passing through a tough time and also don´t want Fran listening to us. He also saw a bit of Anti-Mormon stuff on the internet, but I´m sure that if he starts looking, he´ll find his way back. Today is P-Day and I think we´re going on a drive to tour the north part of the Island. If you ask why we´re doing it again, it´s because we never did that last P-Day. We did go to a restaurant with the Eynons and the District. I also bought pants and two ties! So yeah. How have you guys been? Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!<br />
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Elder Bauer<br />
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<strong><em>Alex with Tony Roma ribs (with Elders Christensen and Lisonbee in the background)</em></strong></div>
Keldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3826556200189525948.post-10521133169954979372012-11-29T19:27:00.003-07:002012-11-29T19:51:35.208-07:00November 28, 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<strong><em>Thanksgiving with the Eynons</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Thanksgiving dinner in the Canary Islands (thanks Eynons)</em></strong></div>
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<strong><em>Thanks is written all over Elder Bauer's face</em></strong></div>
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Why hello Family!!<br />
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My week was good!! It will be shorter than usual since Thanksgiving I already wrote to you guys! Thanksgiving was great though since the Eynons invited us over for dinner that day!! LOT´S of food too!!!! I got really full that it hurt, but that didn´t matter since it was food from the Eynons!! Friday was pretty full of running around and stuff!! We were canceled by Cristian, but that was fine. We had extra time to contact and find more people. That wasn´t too successful either, but it´s okay. Later after <em>Medio-Dia</em> [lunch break] we went to Soila, but we got the message that she doesn´t want anything anymore so we´ve dropped her for now. I´m sure in the future she´ll progress. We then took the <em>Guagua</em> [bus] over to Maria Jose, a less active lady from Sevilla, and we had a member come with us! The funny thing about this one is that she wanted a blessing, but we couldn´t find where she lived. We got in the right building, but just couldn´t find the door on the 4th floor. We knocked on all but one of the doors when Elder Valenzuela said that he didn´t know if it was that building or a different one. So we called a few people to see if they knew where she lived. <br />
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In the end, it turned out that the only door that we didn´t knock on, was her. We pretty much said sorry, about being late and not being able to stay for very long because we had a lesson somewhere else. All for nothing pretty much, but it was fun! We then had to go to the Port where Fausto and Deila live. They´re a less active family and we were there for 30 minutes, taught a short lesson, and went to Fani, a new investigator´s house. We taught her the restoration with candles, just to try it out. It was pretty good so yeah!! Fani is the type that likes to talk a lot so it was hard to keep it short, but at 9:30 we got out and took the <em>Guagua</em> [bus] back home.<br />
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<strong><em>Las Palmas</em></strong></div>
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Saturday was another day that was pretty empty. We tried to see some people, but none of them were available at the times that we had set up so we didn´t have too much of anything. At 6:30 we had Jonatan and Fran and we talked to them a bit about their doubts and answered their questions. It took quite a while to end the lesson, but we ended it at around 8:30. Unfortunately we didn´t get to another appointment that we had set up. We tried calling, but nothing. We ended up getting off of the <em>Guagua</em> [bus] and walking back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment]. We got back at 9:15ish.<br />
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<strong><em>Las Palmas (and the Atlantic Ocean)</em></strong></div>
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Sunday was a pretty good day as far as the morning and the evening!! This Sunday I pretty much presented myself to the branch and it was pretty good!! I told them that I feel blessed to serve in the Islands, and to escape the cold, haha. It was good!! Right after church we had a lesson with Maria about the importance of reading, praying, and going to church. It was a good lesson, even though she was in a slight hurry since she had to work. We even talked a bit about her baptism and she said that she´d have to look at her schedule to see if it´s still okay. We then had <em>Medio-Dia</em> [lunch break] and afterwards we went to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults] Center to wait for Cristian. He failed us again that day, but it´s okay. We left to do some contacts and it wasn´t really very effective, but it´s okay. We then went to the conclusion of <em>Noche de Hogar de los JAS</em> [home evening for the young single adults] in the <em>JAS</em> Center. The Eynons always bring good food there and that´s pretty much what we go for, haha. It was Shepherd´s Pie and OH GOODNESS!!!! YUMMY!!!!! We then spent a bit of time there with the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults] and went back to the <em>piso</em> [apartment].<br />
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<strong><em>Elder Ezra A. Bauer and Elder Kent F. Richards</em></strong></div>
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Monday was an awesome day!!!!!!! So we had a Mission Tour here in the Spain Madrid Mission, and it was great!!! If you remember back in the visa waiting days, I had one of those there in SLC and Elder Paul V. Johnson came. This time we had Elder Kent F. Richards of the Second Quorum of the Seventy come and talk to us!!!! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got to shake his hand too which was awesome!! He talked to us about how to more effectively find and then how to teach for understanding. I learned a lot from him!! President Jackson was there too and it was fun to have him with us as well. The whole Zone of the Canary Islands was there too so I got to meet the new guys as well as see Elder Wride again!! We then ate super yummy food and it was good!! We then went and had a <em>Noche de Hogar</em> [home evening] at a member´s home and it was pretty good!! I was really excited to work after Elder Kent F. Richards so it was really good!!!<br />
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Tuesday was amazing!!!! We knocked a building and of the 3 people that answered the door, 2 wanted us to come back a different day and talk to them about the gospel!! It was awesome!!! Seriously I think that the Mission Tour helped my attitude a lot and now we´re both working on making things simple for everyone so that they could all understand!! I loved it!! We then met with a less active member called Cristo, and it was a pretty good message! I don´t really remember what we did, but it was good!! We then went to the <em>JAS</em> [young single adults] Center to have a lesson with Jonatan and Fran and it was really good!! We did the Restoration again and showed the short <a href="http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/feature-films?lang=eng&query=restoration#2008-06-01-the-restoration" target="_blank">video of the Restoration</a>. At the end of the video, Fran said that he felt something, and that he really liked the movie. We told him that he felt the Spirit and it was a cool experience!!! I love teaching simply!!! It´s amazing the miracles that come from it!! Today we had something planned, but it was changed to something else so I don´t know what we will do. Since Christmas is coming, when would be a good time to do Skype over yonder? I´m not really sure what our plans are, but it´s okay. Just tell me what you guys think. Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!!<br />
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Elder BauerKeldon Bauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05041246879305940622noreply@blogger.com0