Hiking and Babies

No, the two subjects don't really go together. But I realized I haven't updated for awhile and I want to get to the family reunion because they are some fun pictures there.

A week before the family reunion, my ward and Annie's ward went hiking for FHE. It started great... and then we realized we had been going the wrong way and had to climb UP the mountain. It was hot. And I whined. But Annie kept me going all the way to the top (or at least the end destination).
That same day, my friend, Michelle had her baby! I went to the hospital the next day to see her and meet Drew (Andrew Tyler) and was so excited that I got to hold him. He was so adorable. So quiet. I wished for one of my own. And then I realized that a) I still needed my job and b) I wasn't married. But for a moment, everything was right with the world.

And then came the reunion. Which I will post about next. Maybe tonight? Or tomorrow morning. Cheers!

Part Six: Last One... I Promise

My two days in Spain were crazy. Monday morning I woke up early and dragged my suitcases to the bus stop. The elders and Hermana Allen were kind enough to accompany me all the way to the train station. Then was the train ride to Barcelona, the attempt to get up to the main floor where I met some office elders. I was whisked to the office and had my exit interview with President Watson.

After that, I was put with another sister whose companion was in a meeting that evening about becoming a trainer. Hermana Scott and I had served near each other for only one transfer but I had the opportunity to go back and visit some old friends in the L'Hospitalet area.
Our first stop was to an investigator, Sofia. Her neighbor was the ward mission leader in the Cornellá branch. He had invited Sofia to multiple Family Home Evenings and she came. During my last week in L'Hospitalet, Hermana Whitford and I were able to teach her the first discussion. It was a very strong spiritual experience. From the time I left in July to January, she had continued the discussions and been baptized.

When we went over there, Sofia's daughter, Laura, opened the door. We told her to keep it a secret. Sofia asked who was at the door. Laura smiled and said, "Las hermanas!" I walked into the apartment and as soon as Sofia and I saw each other, we both began to cry. It was a sweet moment to see her and how much she had changed. We talked for awhile and she told me her conversion story. I will NEVER forget that moment. After that, we went to Carolina's house. Carolina was a very strong member who was so kind to me. I loved Carolina. She always made me feel wonderful. We had a quick dinner and a traditional "suck the flan" contest as my send off.

The next day was preparation day. Hermana Estrada was in Barcelona so she was my companion for the day. We ran around doing some last minute souvenir shopping for me then it was off to get her new companion and for me to have my final dinner and meeting with President and Hermana Watson. There was one other elder going home at the same time.

After dinner and the meeting, we headed to Plaza Catalunya for one last Transfer night singing and then to say goodbye to the missionaries. I felt so alone. A group of elders were my "companions" and it was so hard to just leave, realizing that it might be a few years before I returned. I stayed in a room in the mission home by myself, got myself up in the morning and 23 hours later I arrived in San Diego. I wish I could explain how the mission changed me, but to be honest--I don't know. I hope it made me less selfish, more willing to look outside myself at others. I know my testimony grew immensely. I hope that it made me become a stronger person and able to do what I need to do. It's hard to judge my own self because I don't see the changes. But I know that when I walked into the MTC in Provo 5 years ago, even though I REALLY wanted to go home--my mission was the best thing that has happened to me. At least thus far in my life.

Part Five: Almost done

Phew. Almost done.

So, after paradise, I was sent to Zaragoza. The best part about this transfer was that it was of my own choosing. President asked where I wanted to go and I told him. How cool is that!

I arrived and met Hermana Allen. She was the best companion. We laughed so much. We saw so much of Zaragoza. And I got to watch her grow as a missionary. She was amazing.This is me with the model of the Aljafería. I was inside of the palace at this point.
The cool thing about this palace is that it was originally built by the Muslims and then as the Christian Kings and then the Catholic kings came to power, they simply added onto the existing palace. And you can see each section and note the differences.

This staircase was built for Ferdinand and Isabella. The steps are not very deep because they wanted to appear as though they floated down the staircase.
Like I said before, Hermana Allen and I laughed a lot. This is her after our long two night adventure to Barcelona by bus for the mission Christmas conference. Her reaction is to the fact that we only get a few hours of sleep and we have a baptism that evening. Our baptism.This is Hermana Allen pondering how we're going to manage everything.And this is her just being cute.
This is Delia. She was from Romania. She was absolutely amazing. She read her scriptures daily. Her husband was going to be baptized with her, but he decided he couldn't do it. So she went forward anyway. After she was baptized she told me and Hermana Allen that she felt like she was walking in the air.
Yes. That's -2˚C. I have no idea the conversion. But the coldest temperature I saw there was -6. It was cold.Funny story (for which I wish I had better pictures). On Christmas, the elders got stuck in an elevator on the way to an eating appointment. We had to call the service guy to come in on Christmas Day to get them out.

This pastry was to die for. Napolitanas. They are amazing. If you go to Spain, you have to get one. This was my favorite--a creamy inside. Usually you can get one that has chocolate, but I liked the cream.Ruth was an investigator. She was totally amazing. Surprisingly, we taught quite a few Africans.Hermana Allen is contemplating a traffic sign that translates as: Speed Can Kill.
The Butlers were an American family living in Zaragoza while the dad, Joseph, went to a program through MIT (I think). They were so good to us. The kids were adorable and Emily and Joseph definitely made us missionaries feel at home.The Wolfarts. What can I say about them? The COOLEST people ever. Jochan and Ines were always so nice and funny. Their two children, Ayla and Eric were absolutely adorable as well. Eric sang along to all of the hymns even though he didn't know the words. Jochan was the branch president and on my last Sunday (which also ended up being my birthday), there were no sacrament meeting speakers. He asked me to give a nice testimony. I forgave him enough to go to dinner that night.Ines had all of the missionaries over for dinner on each of our birthdays. The elders couldn't make it on this Sunday night and so it was just me and Hermana Allen. I remember Ines made burritos for us. They were incredible. This is them singing "Happy Birthday" to me, in German, no less.
Hermana Allen and me with the cake. It was such a great way to finish my mission. I was so sad to leave. I didn't want to. But all good things must end.

Part Four: Will it Ever End?

After spending most of the year in Barcelona, President assigned me to the south of the mission. It was paradise. Alicante.

My companion was Hermana Bambrough and we had so much fun together.
We found old parts of town that were adobe buildings and small walkways--no cars allowed.
If you recognize this picture, that's because this is the one I sent to all of my friends. It's the only one I liked and wanted them to have. (Alright, I confess--I was hoping they could find someone for me to date when I got back! Some guy at BYU would walk by the fridge and ask about me.)

I experienced the real meaning of tropical storms and had to purchase an umbrella that understood as well (I miss that umbrella).
I ate paella. I don't know if you really want to know WHAT that piece of meat is. So, I just won't tell you. This paella was made by a woman who had some disabilities. A very nice woman, but a little crazy. She fell asleep during our eating appointments at the church building. One time, she had a made a flan as a dessert and it was pretty gross. She wanted us to take home the leftovers. She fell asleep and we convinced the elders to flush the remainder down the toilet. Then we had to unclog the toilet. It was a great way to spend an hour.

I did crazy things in order to keep the men away from me. It was insane what Spaniard men will do to get your attention. Especially if you have blond hair.
I played basketball with the young women and had a blast doing it. (It also helped that they made me look like a REALLY good player.)I visited pueblos that were in my area and that included getting slightly closer to the beach.And I met Leslie.Leslie was thirteen years old when she was baptized and had just had a baby a couple of weeks before. It was weird to teach her when she was pregnant because I felt like I should be teaching someone my own age or older. Not someone so young. We grew so close. Her baptism day was such a great day. Her family was there with her and everything went perfectly.

After three months, President sent Hermana Bambrough away and gave me Hermana Estrada. A native companion helped improve my Spanish from mediocre to at least decent.We spent some time on exchanges with the sister missionaries from Elche. Hermana Hernandez came over and we learned to make paella from the Relief Society.President told me that my time in Alicante was coming to an end, so I quickly learned to appreciate every moment that came.
Mariela was baptized the Sunday after I left the area. She was from Cuba and the elders had found and taught her husband a few years before. She had decided it was time to be baptized. She was amazing and I was so blessed to visit with her.
The eight of us missionaries in the city had so much fun together. We met up to do contacts in the park, and afterwards would enjoy a nice pizza meal. I think it was the only time the elders didn't eat cereal.Patricia was wonderful. Every Sunday night, after we had our numbers for the week, my companion and I, without fail, would go to Patricia's apartment and watch the sunset. We would talk and eat ice cream and just have fun. I never felt more at home. And I never wanted to leave. It was such a peaceful feeling being at her house.Alicante felt that way to me. Although I had been in Barcelona and loved it, Alicante was laid back and is a favorite spot in Spain. I need to go back. I want to go back. But I was destined for opportunities in other cities.

Part Three: It Continues

After a month in a trio, President returned me to Barcelona. With Hermana Ballif.

We experienced the great things in Barcelona.

The Mona de Pascua (Easter Mona), a cake served at Easter time.

I spent a lot of time admiring the Damm Beer Factory that was over three blocks from the apartment. Yes. That's REALLY the name of it.

< And President promised that this transfer would be my last in Barcelona. He, or rather the Lord, had other plans for me. So I had to say goodbye to some of my favorite people.

Jessica, Susana, Joel were amazing members. Jessica wasn't a member, but was Joel's sister-in-law and diligently came every week to church. She was unable to be baptized because she wasn't married, but she still remained strong and learned as much as she could.

When I arrived in Barcelona, Joel was just starting to reactivate himself, with the help of the missionaries. At the time of this picture, he and Susana had gone to the temple and were sealed together and he was serving in two callings simultaneously--Ward Executive Secretary and Ward Mission Leader.

Marcela and her daughter were from Mexico. She made the best food ever. I loved visiting her. She was a returned missionary and definitely helped me to have more confidence in my abilities with the language.

And then, transfer calls came. I was training. And it was back to L'Hospitalet. I was assigned to Hermana Whitford.

The office elders didn't have enough room in the van to transport us, so they took us and our suitcases to the metro and sent us on our way with the promise that our district leader would meet us at our metro stop. Funny thing was--the elders never showed. So, being the trooper that I am, I showed her the way to get out as we lugged our suitcases up the escalator. At the top, I tripped and fell, just as the elders arrived. I'm sure I was a sight to see.

That night, we went to Plaza Catalunya, as we always did on transfer night. The missionaries gather there to sing and say goodbye to those missionaries who are leaving the mission. Hermana Whitford got to meet my trainer, and I was able to say goodbye to Hermana Olson.

And thus began my adventure with the polynesian. With her, I learned the greatness of Hawaiian pizza and the Hoki Lau. I learned to "chill" and take my time. I needn't rush to every appointment. And I learned to laugh a lot. And often.

We discovered Parc Guell, as I had only been there once previously.

We had a Hawaiian night with the ward and with the help of her parents decorated the cultural hall to perfection.

We went to Montserrat and stood (well, I kneeled) on the top of the Steps of Life.

We went to the Olympic stadium.

We met Elder Oaks (which I don't have a very good picture of....).

And I tried to remain positive throughout all of it. Succeeding only somewhat. 

We had amazing experiences as well. One day, we were teaching Monica and in the middle of our lesson, she asked about the Book of Mormon and whether or not the Bible ever teachings about the Book of Mormon. Into my mind came a scripture in Ezekiel. I immediately showed her the scripture and explained its meaning to her. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at me. You see, Monica had read that exact chapter the night before in her personal scripture study. But she did not understand it. She had prayed to God for understanding. And the next day was our lesson, when I explained it clearly to her.

After three months, President decided to send me down the coast to the south of the mission. And I was definitely in for a new experience.

Five Years Have Come And Gone.... Part Two

It's amazing what things you learn in such a short time.

In my first two transfers, we had General Conference and Thanksgiving.

Hermanas Ashby, Britt, Goulding, Me, Olson

In the midst of all of that, I was lucky enough to find the best friend a girl could have as a missionary. A bosom friend. Hermana Ashby. She was a transfer behind me and it felt so nice to have someone to talk to who understood me. We immediately became friends.

Even when our trainers turned all Franco on us. (Our phrase when someone became a bit like a dictator...)

The craziest time Ashby and I had was when both of our senior companions were sick on January 6th--Kings' Day (Dia de los Reyes). We decided that we would go out and do the work. I was in my third transfer, Ashby was in her second. We got to one appointment and were talking to this one woman. She began talking and I had no idea what she said. She started laughing. So that's what I did. Ashby looked at me and was laughing too. Afterwards, we realized that neither of us had a clue what the investigator said--we just laughed because she did.

I experienced such things as my first and only FC Barça football game in the second largest soccer stadium in the world--Camp Nou.

December brought not only Christmas, but a new companion. Hermana Shaw.

We discovered new areas--including the beach in Barcelona.

(Yes. That's as close as I got to the beach. I wish it had been closer.)

Hermana Shaw was sick most of our transfer, and was finally sent home in January. Two weeks before my birthday, I received a new companion. It was a dark time for me. She was also very sick. We spent the next two weeks in the piso. And my mission president gave me a birthday present:

An emergency transfer to L'Hospitalet. A suburb of Barcelona. I was stationed (I like that... ha ha) there with Hermanas Price (the tall one) and Thomas.

They indulged me on my birthday, returning with me to Barcelona to attend various birthday celebrations.

Michelle (a new member I taught) is giving me my birthday card.

We attempted to make sugar cookies but failed in following the recipe...

We made a cake instead. It made us a little hyper for the next week. I don't recommend it.

The members in L'Hospitalet taught us how to make Tortillas de Patata and even flip it using the frying pan and the plate. (Ask me to do it... I'm a pro!)

I sucked flan and didn't choke.

Yes... I was in the ghetto. Or at least the place where they spell out the city name in graffiti.

In March of 2005, I returned to Barcelona. But that's a story for tomorrow.