August 22, 2012

Farewell dinner for Elder Simmons

Farewell to Elder Simmons (who is heading home).

Elder Cunningham and Soriano - new companions who celebrated their birthdays on August 17th.  Elder Soriano turned 19, and Elder Cunningham turned 20.

Why Howdy Y´all from...España
I guess I should say, Hola padres de España.

I´m glad to hear that all went well going to Texas!!! Tell mom, that I understand how scary it could be to drive a big vehicle for the first time. I know since I drove the Opel Furgoneta here and that thing is a beast!!! 7 seats and trunk room for 3 suitcases, and even more room if the back seats are down for even more suitcases!! Then tell Jonathan that I understand how he loves driving your car! The Furgoneta was the funnest thing I have ever driven!!! Probably more fun than your tiny Highlander which runs on gasoline and not on diesel, like my beast! =) I´m glad that everything went well again and that everything and everyone is safe! If/when you buy another car, buy one that´s manual transmission because that´s more fun than the boring automatic! I LOVE manual transmission, just makes driving more interesting and fun!! Anyway, on to my week!!

So Thursday we saw Melisa, the less active girl, and we pretty much just answered her questions, which were a lot!! Some were weird, but we still answered her questions. It was pretty fun!! We then saw Otilia and she´s doing pretty well!! Not much else went on Thursday except for the weekly planning thing so yeah. Friday we went to Lesly´s house for lunch/dinner, or as I call it, Linner. Like Brunch, but yeah, different. It was really good, and we shared a message about the love of Christ! I love doing that lesson since it´s cool!! I´ll show you later. We then went to eat dinner at the Bajaña family’s house to say goodbye to Elder Simmons. It was pretty fun! We also sang Happy Birthday to Elder Soriano!! It was a pretty fun day!! We also found out transfers that night, and Elder Simmons was the only one that left, and Elder Cunningham came in. I also became district leader so that was something I wasn´t expecting, and yet, I was since everyone was cursing me into it.

Saturday we had a good day!! We saw Vincent and had to resolve doubts about the plan of salvation with him so it was pretty good! We also saw another investigator that we haven´t seen for a long time called Marcelino! He´s from some part of Africa where they speak Spanish, but I don´t remember the country. He seemed happy to see us for the first time in about a transfer so yeah. Later on at 6:00 we went by Melisa´s house to pick her up to go to the baptism in Leganes, Elder Simmons´ baptism, but when we got there, she said that she couldn´t go, so we were bummed!! I felt bad for not going because I had organized a musical number with Hermana [Sister] Frandsen, but then I couldn´t go. Then again I´m also glad that I didn´t go and followed the rules and passed by a less active´s house to lift him up a bit more. It was pretty cool!!

Sunday was full of farewells to Elder Simmons so we ate at one house, rested for about 2 hours, and went to a dinner. At church though, we also had Lesly come as well as her friend, which was pretty cool!! Ana also came to church which was super cool!! Then the farewell dinners for the rest of the night. Monday we all went down to Pavones to help him with his bags and to say goodbye. This transfer was interesting because usually the sisters have stayed in Madrid, but now, they´re all going up north or to the islands. Not really, just two companionships to the north, and one to the islands. Elder Jeppson is also going to the islands and I´m excited for him since he´s wanted to go back since he got out of the islands!! He´ll finish there in the islands for sure since he only has 12 weeks left so yeah. We then picked up Elder Cunningham and went to Parla. So Elder Cunningham is known for being able to fix any type of electronic device. He could open it up and tell you what the problem is and fix it. It´s crazy, yet awesome!!! He´s also built stuff in his ties so that he could listen to music from his tie!! It´s just crazy!! I love it though! When we got back to the piso [apartment], we talked about dividing out the investigators and helping the work move forward. I think it was pretty good so yeah!

Tuesday was my first district meeting as district leader, and I tried to keep it cool and calm since I was pretty nervous! It took me a whole hour to put the meeting together on Saturday, and to give out assignments. All went well though. We then also saw Melisa and Erik and Juliana. Erik and Juliana were in Parla 2 at first, but with the changes Monday, we put them in our area since Elder Alvarez knows them and the things they need so yeah. Erik is a member, less active, and a singer!! I haven´t heard him sing, but I´ll bet he´s really good!! His soon to be wife Juliana, helps him out with his work. They also have two daughters and they´re just full of energy!! It was fun to get to know them and help them out. Today we went to Pavones to see a family that Elder Alvarez knew from Vecindario, Gran Canaria! They came to do a few sessions in the Temple so we saw them!! That family is pretty awesome too!! I hope to serve in Vecindario! I´m glad that all went well for you in your move! How are you guys? How´s the house? Take care and I´ll talk to you soon!! Love you all!!

Elder Bauer