8-9-10

Hannah is a bit of a boob, we knew that. Probably because she´s spoiled rotten.

 

Gandia is kinda...well, not that big, really. But that´s because the Europeans build up and close. They don´t typically have the big rural areas that we do.

 

Still haven´t gotten anything mail wise, but maybe some things will come today. The mail is pretty slow around here. I never thought I´d ever see USPS as ´fast´, but it actually is.

 

No, we don´t haz pouch mail around here. Only to countries where the mail just doesn´t work at all, mainly in South America.

 

This week went fine. We´re still working on getting people to commit to baptism, but in the end they have to make the decision.

 

So, the food was a little calmer this week. Apart from the snails.

 

Yes, snails. Two of them. At least they were steamed and cooked, but I still had to pull them out of their shell and eat them that way. I managed not to puke.

 

They´re really pretty tasteless, but that doesn´t mean I want to eat them ever again.

 

Went to dinner with the Summerfields three times last week (they really like Elder Hall, who was here when my comp was in Barcelona). Thankfully they didn´t make anything off the wall. And it wasn´t paella. (I don´t think I´ll be eating any rice for a decade when I get back). They´ve got a huge house out in the mountains that I know you´d love...the pool in the back, the twin fireplaces for cooking out back, a view of the Med...just not much parking.

 

It´s always a little sad to see how so many people have hardened their hearts to the gospel. Most of our street contacts end with the shaking Spanish finger and the ¨no, I don´t want to listen.¨ Thankfully, there are a lot of immigrants here who are more receptive than the Spaniards.

 

The other day, Elder Crofts and I were walking to an appointment when we struck up a contact with an older gentleman. We were talking about how we have a prophet on the earth again when he asked ¨Who?¨. So we showed him a little picture of President Monson. But, the conversation turned downhill after that. He told us we were too young to know anything, and that there was no way God loved people because of all the evil in the world, and then he said that we were being led to hell by a false prophet. (and gave me crap because of my Spanish ;P) Finally, I just testified that President Monson is a prophet, and we left.

 

You´d think that an experience like that would be depressing, but it was actually testimony building. And while it may not be here, one day that man will know that what we told him was the truth.

 

I´ve got a talk for you all to look up and watch. (or read, or listen to) ¨Safety for the Soul¨, by Elder Holland, from October 2009 General Conference.

 

By the way, I just found out that the 12 year old was baptized Saturday. Thank goodness for that little miracle. That was a tough experience. You go expecting to see this dark little terror and see only an innocent little boy who has no idea that what he was doing was wrong. I felt bad because I didn´t have any US coins on me (I´ve still got some, just put away) and he wanted one. Thankfully, he´s got a good ward who wants to help him, as does his mother.

 

The scriptures tell us that ¨in the end we are saved by grace, after all we can do.¨ Your father will be okay in the end. One day soon, he´ll be resurrected, and ¨not a hair on his head shall be lost.¨ That includes the mind too.

 

Well, we have a CD player in every flat, so I don´t need one. And this one has a selection of music, so I´m okay for now. But there is one thing I could use. American deodorant, as I´m being told to avoid the Spanish stuff like the plague. Just two sticks should be fine for a while.

 

That´s all I have for this week.