Chapter 6: Praise to the Man
I can hardly believe that it is almost time to leave for Barcelona ! I will leave bright and early Tuesday morning via train
(which I am so excited about). This week has dragged a little, but I think it
is just because I am so excited to go out and teach the people of Barcelona (or
whichever area I am assigned) the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I always thought it
was strange when you read about the histories of some of the early missionaries
and how they would stand on street corners, proclaiming the gospel to all that
would hear, but I completely understand that now. I seriously just want
everyone to hear the words I have to say, feel the spirit, and believe that
Christ is our Savior and He has restored his Gospel on the earth once again.
However, I found that this desire of mine is going to be a lot more difficult
than I thought. Last Saturday, it was proselyting time once again. It is a mix
of the scariest and most exciting time of the week since you don´t want to say
something that you don´t mean to, but you just are filled with the spirit as
soon as you hit the street. There´s not really a feeling quite like it. We were
in Goya once again this week, and I was assigned with the same companion I was
the first time we went proselyting. At first, I was a little nervous about this
since the first time I was with her…it was less than enjoyable, but I was
praying for love! If God can touch the hearts of those we are trying to speak
with, then he can touch mine, right? Well, there we were on the streets and the
first two people we spoke with wanted the Book of Mormon AND
wanted to hear more. It was super exciting not only because we found two people
who were receptive to our message, but because my companion has yet to receive
a reference during our proselyting experience each week. I was feeling pretty
good, which is probably why God decided to humble me. Haha For the next hour
and a half no one would listen to us. Not a single soul. So get this, we come
across this lady who comes up to us and says, “Wait! Missionaries! Stop! I want
to talk to you!” I was simply elated…that is, until she opened her mouth again.
She proceeded to say as we came over to talk to her (in English), “You people
don´t know God! You don´t believe in the right God!” I just stared at her and
asked, “Well, who do you believe is the ´right´ God?” And she just looked at me
with the a scowl of a menacing bear and said, “I am a Catholic. It is the only
true Church and we have the ONLY true God!” My companion jumped in and said,
“That´s great! We believe in the same God then!” That did it. She went off for
a good five minutes about how all Americans are evil because the pilgrims were
all convicts who had to endure indentured servitude and then killed all the
Indians. AND because Joseph Smith is American he obviously didn´t learn
from the Indians. As I was about to say, “Have a wonderful day” my companion
started and said, “Well, the Book of Mormon is about the Indian´s ancestors…” I
thought saying that we believed in the Same God sparked something, oh no. I
just stood there in a state between amusement and horror as I watched this
small little companion of mine try to bear testimony over this woman´s
accusations of how we capture souls in our church. Needless to say, she did not
want our Book of Mormon. Her loss. I still laugh about it. However, I did not
want to end my day on that lovely note with that little miss sunshine. So, we
said a prayer that on our way back to the CCM, we would find someone else who
would be receptive to our message. Well, God answers the prayers of these
missionaries! We were sitting on the Metro, and the first woman we talked to
asked where we were from because we looked different (remember, we sparkle ;) )
she wanted a Book of Mormon before we even explained what it was about. The
next man who came sat by us asked where we were from. As we were talking (in
Spanish this time, might I add) we found out that he was from Peru , I believe, and that he didn´t believe in God. When we
asked him why, he said that he didn´t know why. Well, I took out the Book of
Mormon and bore my testimony of the divinity of the book, and that if he read
it, he would come to know God and Jesus Christ. With tears in his eyes (and I
am not just adding that for dramatic effect) he accepted the book and said he
wanted to come to church Sunday. Can I just go into the field already?? Haha I
was so excited for the rest of the day. Then Sunday came, and it usually one of
my favorite days of the week. For our afternoon devotional, we watched the
Joseph Smith and the Restoration movie (the same one that plays in Salt Lake Barcelona they speak Catalan, in Valencia they speak Valencian, and in Bilbao they speak Bask… This will be fun, Also, our Italian´s
companion arrived from Argentina this week (yes she speaks not only Spanish, Italian, and
English, but she also knows French). And we love them both so much!! They are
just a hoot! Sorella (sister in Italian) Lemos helps us with our Spanish and we
have a good time. Every night, we still go around to all the rooms and tell
them good night, often accompanied by their favorite Disney song haha
Apparently, all the hermanas think I would make a great Disney Princess at Disneyland
when I get home. I think it was me and Sorella Fossa´s duet of “Once Upon a
Dream” from Sleeping Beauty that really gave them the idea hahaha I love all these
girls, especially my companion, and I will miss them dearly come next Tuesday.
I love Madrid , but BARCELONA here I come!!
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