Logan - Barcelona Week 1

Thanks for the great Christmas Package! I will be expecting the other package soon. I actually moved Sunday night and my new address and final address is

Elder Logan Gogarty
C/ Calatrava N 10-12 Bajos
08017 Barcelona

Well the rest of this week has been absolutely crazy. President called me as the new AP! I wasn’t expecting it even though everyone was telling me that I would be the next ayudante.

The day after Christmas I woke up to stomach pain and stayed inside. I basically used the bathroom more times in 4 hours then the average person in 3 weeks. I had nothing in my system. I got up to walk somewhere and I felt lightheaded and everything started going black so I yelled to my companion ¨Brother I’m going to pass out!¨ but we are horrible at communicating and he heard that I needed some water or something like that so he went to get me water when really I need someone to support me. Luckily I realized what had happened and I kind of just crumbled to the ground of the bathroom floor, not hitting my head on anything. My companion then came in and I woke up and my body instantly went really cold. I also started sweating profusely and my hands and legs were going numb. This was the climax of the sickness I suppose. My companion had no idea what to do but I calmly asked him to call someone that could help.

I then tried to stand up again making my way towards the couch but everything went black again. I luckily landed on the couch but was shocked at what I was feeling; I thought I was dying for sure. Then I told my companion to give me a blessing and I could hardly sit up. As soon as he put his hands on my head I felt the spirit strongly but I also still felt the sickness in my body. It was a weird sensation as the two seemed to almost battle. As the spirit went to my hands and legs the numbness instantly left and I no longer was feeling cold. It was an amazing experience and a good reminder of how powerful the priesthood can be.

I still felt sick the rest of the day, but the blessing gave me instant relief. At first President told us to go to the hospital but after the blessing I felt well enough to stay and recover in Piso. I didn’t eat anything until yesterday night and it has stayed fine with me and I feel perfectly fine today.

Sunday I stayed home from church as well and then packed my bags and headed down to Barcelona. After taking numbers from the whole mission we celebrated with the Hinckleys the fact that 402 people were baptized this year. We had a cake and then of course ended the Mormon party reading from Alma and offering a prayer of gratitude. It was an amazing experience.

Currently I´m in the office and we just finished having a meeting with President. We discussed a lot of changes that will take place in the mission. We were going to live here in the office but now we are moving in with other Elders that live close by. I think it will be more effective and I'll have place to put my stuff. Being AP entails to a lot more responsibility; it's crazy. I want to still baptize though and be an example to the missionaries. Next week we will be picking up the new missionaries, dropping off the old ones, and will be flying out to the islands to do intercambios with the Zone Leaders there.

I´m sure there is a lot more to say but I don’t have any time. We take Preparation Day when we have time so it will be changing every week but I will try to always write on Monday when we are here. I can’t think of anything else to even say because there is so much to say. Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Gogarty

Please dont write the President asking why I was sick or anything like that thanks. We are not supposed to tell you when we get sick I am perfectly fine no needs to worry.

Logan - Badalona Week 11

Well last Monday we finished Elder Monks Birthday bash in an Irish Pub. We were on a blitz in his area so I took him out and we had a great time. I also visited with an Irish man and he knew that my name came from his country. Its been fun to have Monks in the same zone for so long.

You can call me at 10 in the morning your time. Basically we are opening gifts in the morning then going to the mission house and to eat with some members and then I am all yours.

President called me this morning which was quite shocking because everyone has been telling me that I will be the next AP or Ayudante as we say in Spanish, and so when I got the call this morning I thought it was for that but then he explained what had happened with Grandpa and I felt pretty sad. Thankfully we know where he is and don't have to worry about it. A bunch of scriptures came to mind about death and I was instantly comforted.

Today we took a train with some other missionaries and Hermanas to a mountain called Monserrat. It was amazing and it was snowing! The first time I have seen the stuff since I left. I loved it and it made it feel more like Christmas. The view was amzing and I had a great time just sitting in the Monestary in the mountains. It's something you don't get to do everyday. I prefer one of our temples over the Cathedrals but it was still fun.

Alison was baptized on Saturday and it went ok. There was just so many kids which did not invite the spirit, and we have been so busy that we didn't have it planned as well as it could of been. I felt bad and upset with myself because baptisms can be such a spiritual feast when done right and the dad came who isn't a member so I felt even worse because it could have been a more effective baptism. The confirmation however went really well. I am very impressed with this girl and the example she is to her family. Currently we have baptized 387 persons this year which is amazing. Our goal is 400 and we have one more week with 15 people currently committed to be baptized this Saturday. I pray that we will reach this goal we set last year. It is a amazing how much more effective we are becoming even though we have less missionaries. Last year we baptized 267 so we have already come along way. God is pouring his spirit out over this country. So many people are prepared and waiting.

For the nasty food list this week I would have to say pig foot. The meat is gross and you can still see and feel the hair on the hoof. They also make it look worse by using big witch pots and having the hoofs surface from time to time. I have had some other soups though that have been good in this bitter weather. Its about 32 degrees but it feels so much worse because of the humidity. Well lots more has happened but I will save it for the phone call. I would appreciate leather gloves and popcorn for maybe a b day gift so maybe you can think about that. Likewise a motorcyle for a coming home gift? I think it would be perfect to get around on until I leave for school, then I ll sell it.

Well I cant wait to talk to you guys this week Feliz navidad, Bon Nadal, Merry Christmas!

Love, Elder G
P.S. The pics are from monserrat today. The one on the monument is me with an umbrella its not part of the monument.

Logan - Badalona Week 9

Thanks Ashley, The family Mcnitte, Sarah, and Mom for your letters!

Well the trip to Zaragoza went well and was effective. We had a good time and I loved getting to see more of the countryside of Spain. The big downer was the wind and cold. We are still rocking a pretty good temperature here in Badalona and I'm grateful for that. After returning from Zaragoza I did another intercambio in Barcelona. I was lucky enough to catch a lights show in Placa España. I'll send pics!

I have enjoyed doing the intercambios and have learned a lot from all the missionaries. I also feel like I can tactfully correct now. As Zone Leaders we are expected to correct and help the other missionaries, but a lot of missionaries don't take correction well. So usually you have two types of Zone Leaders: ones that don't correct because the missionaries don't like it and the ones that do but at the same time they turn the missionaries against them. I feel comfortable now talking with them and am able to help them out as they help me out.

We also taught Concillio notes this week and it went very well. I was nervous at first because the Zone is so big now and President and his wife were there, but everything went very well. We said a prayer in a different room before we started and then we were truly guided in what we said.

I met a girl from Nicaragua and she told me that if we go there the best surfing is in San Rafael de Sur. You might have to look into that.

Currently we are in Barcelona. We just did some Christmas shopping and we visited the 2nd oldest hospital in Europe, Hospital de Sant Pau. It was very impressive, it looks like hogwarts from Harry Potter. Then tonight we are singing Christmas songs in Catalan which is a different language and super fun and we will be singing on stage in some plaza.

The work is going well and we will be having a baptism this Friday.

I started filling out my application for BYU-I and its going well. I dont know when I will have time to finish it. Well that's all things are going well. I love you all !

Logan - Badalona Week 8

Thanks Grandpa for the email!

Well this week has been stressful with the renovation of out apartment and the trip to Valencia, but surprisingly it was still very effective.

Monday I traveled to Girona which is one of my favorite cities in Spain. We then traveled further North to Costa Brava to work in some beach pueblos along there. It was amazing. We ran through the narrow cobble stone streets to catch the sunset on the sea. It was amazing and I would love to go back some day. I'll send pics soon. We of course did Missionary workas well. Most of the people we visited don't come to church because of the distance and the price of traveling. We also had a Zone conference this week with Elder Kopiske from the Quorum of the Seventy. It went very well, and I learned a lot.

We always share success stories and one of the success stories was about a woman who called the missionaries and said I want to be baptized. She had live in Ibiza, an island and knew no members of the church, so when she came to Valencia to visit her Daughter Patricia (a woman I baptized while I was there) she called the missionaries and was baptized. I then actually had the chance to meet her which was amazing.

We took a trip to Valencia on Thanksgiving because we had a meeting with all the zone leaders. We got there early enough that I was able to visit all my recent converts. It was the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. I was so happy to see that they were all still strong in the Gospel. I was worried about them and had been praying for them and it was great to see them. I felt so thankful and full of gratitude. We then ate Kebap at my favorite kebap in all of Spain for the Thanksgiving feast.

In concillio, the meeting with the ZLs, we talked about reaching our goal of 400 baptisms by the end of the year. We are close: 350 as of right now. I'm excited to see if we can make it. The work is starting to open, I believe, in Spain. When you look at the numbers from lasts year you see a 30-40 % increase which is amazing. I´m grateful to be here at this time in the church's growth.

We also set another baptismal goal with a 10 yr old girl and she will be baptized the 12th of Dec. We have also been teaching two Russian women who will soon be getting baptized. The work is going well in our area and its not because of us. I feel like God is really helping us since we are trying to help the other areas. Half the week I´m not even in the area but we continue to see miracles.

Today we went to the top of the mountain Montjuic; it was incredible. I have a great time seeing the sites. I can't believe most the missionaries stay in on P-day; it's ridiculous. More good news: a woman I had been working closely with in Lorca finally got baptized. Her name is Maribelle. I baptized her Son while I was there.

Love you all have a great week!

Business: Could you please include butter microwave popcorn in the christmas package as well as a seal with a G or L on it. One you use to seal envelopes with wax like in the olden days. It may be hard to find. Oh as well some fun Physco Analysis tests like a few questions you answer and then they have certain meanings. You could just attach those to an email.

Logan - Badalona Week 7

Thanks Mom for the letter and camera card where are the pics of Cali? Thanks Jenny as well for your letter.

Well the first week of the transfer has been hectic but went by very quickly. I feel like I don't even have time to think. The last day for the missionaries that are going home everyone goes to Plaza Catalunya to sing to them or with them. That is one of the pictures.

One of the new missionaries that came into the zone got paired up with a newer missionary, and they are both very interesting characters. Well as I was getting into bed at 11:30 I get a call from them letting me know that they were in Sabadell instead of Mataró. I was shocked. The one missionary that's been living here for 5 months couldn't make it back to their house. In fact they went the complete opposite direction. I told them to come to our place because it was closer but they then got lost on the metro lines again. Finally at 1 am they called me from the metro stop that's close to our house and we left to go get them. Then the following morning the same kid manage to break our elevator which I wasn't super happy about. Carrying groceries up 9 flights of stairs is not fun. Lots of fun things happened to get the transfer going.

Good news is that we are now using the bus system up these crazy hills. Previous missionaries had said it wasn't worth it and the idea had just been passed down for a while. We investigated and now are taking the buses everywhere which makes things a lot easier. It's incredible no one has looked into it sooner.

More good news. We have been teaching a Bolivian mom and her child and in one of our lessons we talked about baptism and the mom let us know she wants to read all the BOM first. I felt down because I wanted her to get baptized before the end of the year. I was studying and thinking about her and how we kind of needed a miracle so that she would changed her mind on this. I prayed for the gift of discernment because that's what I was studying about and while I was praying I felt I was given what I needed to tell her. It was interesting because something like this has never really happened to me before. I went into the next lesson with her and I said what I was told to and then she really opened up and we were able to commit her and her daughter to get baptized in December. I'm really excited and feel blessed that God helps us so much.

We couldn't do it by ourselves and I finally am really understanding that. I felt overwhelmed last week but I rely and trust in God and things seem to work perfectly. Its funny we have to be burdened or have trials before we really rely on him.

Not to much else to say. Today we went to the highest point in Catalunya or Barcelona and its called Tibidabo. The Spaniards believe its where Satan tempted Jesus and offered him all the world and money. It was interesting and I attached a pic. I was also cursed and had a demon cast out by some crazy gypsies that live by our house. That's always a pleasure.

Things with Elder Davis are going well. He is a good worker and exactly who I need right now. Dad how is the bike shop doing? This week I will be traveling a lot. Tonight I go to Girona and then Wednesday we have a conference in Hospitalet then Thursday I ll be headed down to Valencia for concillio notes. It will be another crazy week.

Love you all have a happy Thanksgiving, Elder G

Logan- Badalona Week 6

Thanks Mom for both your letters!

So much has happened this week it has been an emotional roller coaster. I feel very exhausted and excited at the same time. Transfers happened and Elder York is leaving me to serve in the Islands. His mission is to baptize a new branch President because the current one went MIA. I´m excited for him and know he will get the job done. It has been great serving with him. I will be staying in Badalona but will now be the Zone Leader of all of Barcelona. I am super nervous about this because we combined the zones and there are a ton of people to worry about. There will be 3 Districts added, and I will be doing traveling twice a week to do cambios. One of the new ares that was added is Zaragoza which is a 4 hour bus ride away. I´m excited but nervous as well. The new zone basically entails all the North of Spain Barcelona mission. Likewise, Elder Petersen will be headed home tomorrow, and his area closed down which will mean that we will have to work that area as well. My new comp comes into Barcelona today form the Islands and his name is Elder Davis.

We have to much going on right now to slow down. More big news! We had three baptisms on Saturday and they all went very well. I baptized Vanessa, a 10 year old from Bolivia. We found her by passing by members on the list. Her parents are less active, but now the family is coming and Vanessa is a member. Also we baptised Asong and his Mother who are from Ecuador. The whole thing went very well and the spirit was felt. The zone saw 15 baptisms last transfer which is unheard of and was a great way to end the Barcelona North Zone.

We also had a chapel tour last week as a finding activity. 80 showed up from other churches. They did a tour of our church and we did one of theirs. We had Catholics and Muslims and other denominations. It went very well. During the tour the Catholic priest asked me in front of 50 people where I received my authority to do what I was doing. He asked me what school I had gone to and for how long I had studied. The scriptures have become a part of me and when people are talking doctrine with me scripture references are shuffling through my mind until the correct one is found. As response to his question I said we believe that a man must be called of God as was Aaron. In Hebrews it teaches us this. I said, "I have studied the scriptures and a modern day Prophet has given me the authority to teach and baptize." I think he was surprised at my answer and didn't respond. It went very well and I felt the spirit.

We found some new people to teach as well. Also I set a baptismal goal with a lady form Russia on Sunday. She is golden and I´m excited to watch her progress. She really understands and I get to use the little bit of Romanian language because the gospel words are the same.

Sunday night we also had a Noche De Hogar with the Ward members and after there was like a tribute thing to the missionaries. I was extremely grateful to hear them tell us thanks. Many times it feels like they are unappreciative and don't realized what we go through. The ward here is amazing though, and they all took turns thanking us and telling us how we have become like their family. This one girl whose family we have been working with said, "Once you get here my sister and I were the only active ones in the family and currently my parents and my brothers and sisters are coming thanks to your visits and commitments." It was great to hear and feel their gratitude.

Well not too much more going on. I´m now in a two man piso which will be weird but fine. I'll be traveling most of the week anyways. Dad I can't believe your thinking about Seattle that's crazy, and Jessica I don't want Brenna that far away but I guess whatever's right.

Love you all have a great week! Love Elder G

Logan- Badalona Week 5

Thanks Audrey for the letter!

Another exciting week in Spain has quickly passed by. Today we enjoyed a visit to Park Güell which is well known as one of Gaudi's many works. It was really pretty and I will attach some photos.

I had the oppurtunity to do intercambios a few weeks ago, and while I was in Granollers with Elder Lindsy we taught a Spanish lady that told me she didnt believe in God. I testified as boldy as I could that there is a God and that He loves us. I also asked her to prepare for baptism and to be baptized the 31st of Oct. I felt prompted to extend the invitation even though she had just told me that she didn't believe in God. She accepted the challenge and just last week I had the priviledge of doing her baptismal interview. She was baptized last week and I had a great time talking with her while doing the interview. I told her to explain to me what happened and why she now wanted to be baptized and how she now believes. She told me about the Book of Mormon and how she feels while she is reading it as well as attending church. What a great experience. You could feel that she was truly converted, and it was fun to play a small role in it.

Another miracle….I can now finally spell miracle correctly.

Likewise we were calling the mom of a younger girl we have been teaching to get permission so she can be baptized. I was worried the Mom would want to delay the baptism for whatever reasons or not give us permission. Elder York was talking on the phone and I heard Vanessa's mom say, "Well I feel like its too soon and maybe we should do it next month." When I heard this I started praying asking that God could change her mind so that Vanessa could be baptized the 14th. After I did that Elder York didnt respond to her. She asked do you understand and he said no I think the 14th would be great what do you think? and suprisingly enough the mom then agreed, it was amazing. Vanessa will be getting baptized this Saturday along with two other friends from Ecuador, a mother and her son.

More great news! Juan the older Spanish man was baptized last Saturday. I felt bad for the man because he was so nervous he about passed out in the font. He had to take his out tension before he got in the water! Everything went very well though, and I can't belive he got baptized. Just two weeks ago he told me he would get baptized but not until summer. Then some praying, planning, and fasting later and he tells us this Saturday, "I want to be baptized as soon as possible. He gave us his testimony after the baptism, and I felt the spirit strongly.

I´m thinking about doing a Nueva Comida section every week in which I´ll explain what new food I have experienced in the last week. This week it was Cow heart and lots of it. I cant say that it was that good nor that it taste like chicken as some say. I am not going to go into details on this one but we looked like vampires while eating it due to blood squirting out in every yummy bite. OK sorry about the details you can cut this out if you would like to parents.

Our zone is doing incredibly well. We have baptized more people this transfer than in any other in the history of Badalona Zone. Its great to see the changes in these people's lives and the happiness that always comes.

Buisness:¨Elder Petersen goes home next week and all he wants is one more letter from anyone but his mom. Could sombody Please write him a letter and just tell him thanks for being my friend or whatever you want to say. He is a great missionary and great example. You can send it to my address becasue we live togther just Label it Elder Petersen and send it soon like today if possible.

Love You all! Elder G.

Logan Badalona - Week 4

Thank you Grandpa and Mom for your letters and emails.

This week has been crazy like the majority of my weeks here in Spain. I have visited a few other cities on intercambios to do baptismal interviews like Sabadell and Mataro, both very pretty places. As a zone last week we had 7 baptisms!

I loved doing the interviews with the converts. I ask them to share their testimony with me and the spirit is always felt so strongly. One little girl I was interviewing stopped me in the middle of the questions and asked me, "Who made God? Does God have a girlfriend?" and "What do you feel like being bigger and older?" I told her to ask God those questions and that I felt the same as when I was 8 but that my body had just changed a lot.

The two kids we had been teaching Fernanda y Eduaro from Bolivia were also baptized on Saturday. Everything went so well, the spirit was felt strongly. We also got President Hinckley to come and I think he really enjoyed it. I feel like the spirit of the Lord is working very strongly in our area right now. After the baptism we had two cousins of the Bolivian kids that came up to us and asked to get baptized as well. We will be having 5 more baptisms in two weeks and one this Saturday.

We had also been teaching an older Spanish man who was a Jehovah's witness. Here in Spain there is somewhat of a battle between them and us. Not really a battle but they don't like us, and we see one another frequently in the street. They also go tracting and occasionally you will be knocking a building that they just finished and the people will get mad thinking you're Testigos de Jehovah. Anyways we had a cita with him and I felt prompted to invite him to be baptized. I was nervous because well, one he is Spanish, two he is 80, and the older people tend to be more set in their ways, thirdly he was testigo de Jehovah. I asked him anyways to be baptized and he said I want to be baptized, but not until next summer or spring. I felt a little frustrated about that so Elder York and I have been praying and fasting for him and then while we were planning the lesson and what we were going to teach him I felt that I shouldn't go to the next cita with him because I had already talked to him about baptism, and I didn't want to come across as pushy. Elder York wasn't in the cita and could come in and talk to him again about it without any problem. So we did intercambios, and Elder York started to bring up Baptism and Juan quickly told him that he wanted to be baptized pronto meaning right away. So we set the date for this Saturday. Turns out he doesn't live in our area so Sunday we took him to his church and announced the baptism. We will still go to his baptism but it will be in another ward; he has asked me to baptize him and I m really excited about the whole situation. The Ward he is being baptized in is actually the Ward Jess Emily and I visited when we were here.

Fast Sunday was amazing, they always are. I felt so good yesterday and felt extreme feelings of gratitude for the time I have had to serve here and all the miracles we are seeing, The area is just on fire right now. I love you all, have a great week! Love Elder G

Logan Badalona - Week 3

Thanks Mom and Jess for your letter this week!

Well my email was just lost, you ve got to love that! I will give you a review of what I said.

We haven’t had hot water or a stove since Thursday and we won’t be getting it fixed until this Thursday. We have enjoyed the cold showers and cold food. President laughed about it when I told him so I don’t know what that means. I think it means just deal with it.

2nd we went to an eating cita and while we were trying to hide the pig skin they were giving us Elder York coughed it onto his plate later forgetting and then giving to another missionary Elder Monks who it was then eaten by. After we walked out of the cita we all realized it and had a good laugh/gauge session. Two elders were able to sneak out the pig skin safely in their pocket wrapped in a napkin.

3rd we took a trip to the city of Girona which is near France and it was amazing. I fell in love with the city. We left Sunday night and didn’t give Elder Petersen the option of coming. We packed his bag for him and then we ran to the train station barley catching the train. He was glad he came after all.

4th Our Bolivian kids we have been teaching are still getting baptized this Saturday. They went to stake conference and I introduced the family to President and now President is coming to the baptism. Everything else is going well I have no more time.

I love you all.
Love,
Elder G
And the zone is doing great we are currently leading the mission in Baptisms!

Logan Badalona - Week 2

Thanks Hepworths, Mom, and Sisters for the letters and the great package that came this morning. I was so happy to get it and I was out of food!

Today it is so cold I can hardly type! We are already using heaters and I know this winter is going to be a cold one but no worries.

Last week we had an activity in the church for the 40th year anniversary of the church here in Spain. It was a neat experience and was fun to be able to see the pioneers of the church here in Spain. They bore testimony and talked by name about the missionaries that taught them so long ago. I felt the spirit and felt and do feel grateful to be apart of such a great work. The old pioneers told some stories of when they first started the church, and they didn't know how things really went. Sometimes after priest quorum they would go buy churros and chocolate on Sunday and then if there was a parade, they would pause sacrament to run out and watch it lol. Things have changed a lot.

Last p-day we went to the Colon statue and went to the very top of it. We had a great view of the harbour and all of Barcelona. We then went to the Cathedral de Barcelona and it was one I have been wanting to go to forever. Inside was absolutely gorgeous. We were able to go onto the roof and see a great view of the Ocean as well. It is the Cathedral where Columbus reported to after returning from the Americas. We also saw a baptismal font where they baptized some of the lamanites they brought back. It was interesting to read a quote by Columbus and see that he was clearly guided by the holy ghost to the Americas.

Dad- I loved the conference talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. I liked it so much I burned it and we used it in one of our Zone meetings. It was amazing to feel the spirit so strong while he spoke.

This week I have been traveling a lot due to intercambios. I feel like the missionaries in the south were a little bit more on top of it but I imagine that we can help raise the level here. I went on cambios to one piso and it was filthy. I spent most the time cleaning and then told them to stay in one morning and clean. They don't understand how important it is. The spirit was not there and we have to have the spirit to plan and study. Those things determine how well and effective we work in the streets. They are like the backbone and its crucial.

I also did cambios with the APs (assistants to the president) and that was way fun because I got to sit down with President for an hour and just talk to him about the Zone of Badalona and hear some stories from his mission. I told him about cambios to the dirty piso and he said hopefully they heeded your counsel because I will be doing surprise interviews there next week. We also talked about another missionary in the Zone who does not seem to want to be here. It makes me sad and I have been praying to know what to do. He is serving with Elder Monks and I also worry for him because he is a newer missionary. I hope he can stand up to the challenge. We will be doing intercambios with them this week after conference to try and help. I have never seen a missionary ike this with such a bad attitude. It seems like he is here to just get it off his check list.

Good news is that our area is exploding. We have found 15 some people to teach since I've been here and 2 of them are going to be baptized the 31st. They are two kids from Bolivia and there parents were less active. Well now the whole fam is coming to church and doing much better. The whole zone is doing well and we are seeing a ton of miracles. We should see a lot of baptisms. I also talked to President about the decrease in Missionaries we are seeing here and he said we might change the Badalona Zone boundaries and add 10 more companionships. We don't know whats going to happen for sure but Elder York and I won't be companions next transfer which I am sad about. I hope to become District leader because I enjoyed that a lot and would like to be in my area more time to focus on the people. It seems like I'm hardly here. Well all is well, thanks so much for the package. Another Christmas idea is Muddy Buddies! I love those things. You could even just send the chex mix and I could make them. I need the recipe as well. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Gogarty

Logan Badalona - Week 1

Thanks Mom and Jenny for your letters! I got them my last day in Murcia. If any other letters arive in Murcia Elder Flores will foward them to me so no worries.

This week has been crazy and I dont know where to start. I am loving Badalona minus the huge hills. My butt will most defiently be well toned along with my legs upon arrival in the US. It has to be worse than San Fransico. We have to literally climb some of them, but I am thankful for the workout and the good night sleep. The piso is a little run down but I am going to paint it and fix it up a little bit. The view is absouletly incredible. I see a lot of the Mediterranean sea and some famous sites in Barcelona like pickle building and La Sagrada Familia.

We actually found a exersice bike this week and carried it a mile across the city over and down the hills to put it on our balcony. Now I can work out while watching sailboats on the ocean and the sun rising and setting. Its very beautiful. I have also enjoyed living with such great people: Elders York, Petersen, and Close. Elder Close is actually a nephew of the President. Things are going well with all of them and it has been a pleasure living with them.

Oh there is an Elder Burton here who I met at a Zone leader meeting and he said his cousin is in your guy's ward, Do you know and Elder Burton?

It was great this week for Concillio meeting with all the zone leaders. We talked about what we want to change and add or quitar de la mission. Elder York and I dominated the counsel and we made some changes that I have always wanted. I have thought about better ways to do things the whole time I ve been here and we were able to dicuss and vote, hopefully bettering the mission as an end result. Elder York and I led the whole meeting and got exactly what we wanted. I am somewhat sad I want be here long to enjoy some of the changes but also happy I was able to participate and change some of the things I couldnt understand before. For example the jacket rule has been changed and each set of Zone leaders are in charge of when they go on and off. There were many changes and they are great changes.

On Sautrday Anotio the Spanish man's baptism that I missed called me and said how well his baptism went and expressed thanks. It was super good to get the call and made missing the baptism ok. The work here is going well and I am excited to see all the succuess that will occur. We are working with alot of people and since I've gotten here we have found 8 new people to teach/baptize. The ward is super great as well and I know that the converts will be comfortable and be able to plant their roots in the rich soil. The Bishop is on top of it and the members as well.

Everything is going well and I am enjoying the north. They speak Catlan here which is quite different. I can understand but I am going to study a little bit so I can carry on a conversation. It's an instant acces to the Spanish people's hearts. Today we are going to the staute of Colon (or Colombus) to celebrate Colombus day. I will send pictures next week.

Love you all

Elder G

Buisness
Please send address labels. I would also like to apply to a few school for next fall so I have options open. I was thinking ASU, CSU, BYU P and UNR university of neveda Reno what do you think dad?

¡Bautismo!‏

Hey we had the baptism tonight and it went very well. It was short and we were able to focus on the importance of the ordinance and not get carried away in all that other garbage.

I'm headed north!

Hey I´ll be catching an early train to Badalona which is right next to Barcelona. There I will probly finish the mish.
My new address will be

Elder Gogarty
C/ Pau Picasso
10-12,9,1
08914 Badalona (España)

Dont think you can just wait till I get home to talk to me. I still lack 5 months! Love you all!

Logan - Murcia Week 12

10.6.2009
Hey thanks Sarah for finally writing me and Mom for your letters!

A lot has happened as always this week. The biggest news is that I am getting transferred. I was shocked at where I am going and who I'll be with. It's almost too good to be true. I will be going to Badalona tomorrow at 6 my train leaves. Badalona is located a little bit North of Barcelona. From our piso you can see the ocean. I stayed there when we went up to a meet a few weeks ago and sent a picture of the sunset. I will be living with Elder Petersen which I am really excited about because we are good friends. My Comp will Be Elder York from California who is 26 almost 27. He already has his masters and is a great kid. We came in together at the same time and got along really well. We even joked about serving as Zone Leaders together. I cant believe its happening. We will have a super mature piso and thats exactly what I need.

The other good news is that Elder Monks my hijo will be moving to the same zone so we will be able to do intercambios and stuff still. He will be riding up with me tomorrow. I got special permission to leave tomorrow because Armando our Spanish friend is getting baptized tonight! He has asked me to baptize him so I asked if I could stay an extra day with Elder Monks. I am super happy to see him make such a huge step. I was worried because in church the ward mission leader came up to me and said "I can't even come to the baptism because of work. I feel like hes just going to get wet and go inactive"... and a bunch of other tontarias (silly or dumb things) as we say in Spanish. I felt bothered and annoyed and realized that he doesn't know the kid as well as I do and its not my fault he doesn't know him. He hasnt talked to him when he's come to church or come with us to citas and so I can see why it just looks like he is getting baptized out of nowhere. Anyway I was worried about the whole thing but I said a prayer asking God to let me know if he was ready and if this was the day. I talked to Armando very boldly and had him promise me he was going to do his hardest to live the commandments and come to church every Sunday. He said yes and did great on the interview and that's when the spirit confirmed to me that he was ready. I am very excited and there will only be me my comp a counselor form the bishopric and Amandos gf who is a member at the baptism. He is very timid and didn't want anyone there. I am excited for him.

The hardest part about leaving is that Anotonio our other Spanish friend will be getting baptized the 10 the and I am going to miss it. He is so ready and has been the best convert I have ever worked with. I am sad I will miss his baptism but excited that hes doing it. His programs and everything are already made. He will be a leader in the church here in Spain.

I was feeling it was about time for me to go here this whole week so I had been doing laundry and getting ready. I ve been in the south too long. I even have there thick accent. The members say I speak like a murciano which is not necessarily a good thing. They like it but I had no choice it has just rubbed off on me. I tend to cut my ssss and blend my D´s and O´s even. I am also going to really miss all the Elders and Hermanas in this zone. I have grown really close to all them and its sad I have to leave now. One Elder was impressed I knew his family and gfs name etc after only visiting with him one time and its something I learned from Dad, caring about someone enough to remember names. They really notice the difference. I loved conference and had specific questions beforehand that were each answered. I had also recently studied the majority of scriptures used and felt very prepared. I love the talk my Russell M. Ballard about the sons and Fathers. I was sad I was sitting with you dad but realized I will be home for next conference. Many other amazing things have happened this week but there is no time to explain them. Dad I am super happy to hear about the surfboards in California that is great news and saves so much money. I cant believe how many times you guys have been to cali in the last two years! Ridiculous! Love you all, Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 11

9.28.09

Thanks Emily for the package ! it was great!

This week has been a n eventful one. Tuesday I went down to Lorca to do intercambios with my Hijo Elder Monks and we had a great time. We got to teach some of my recent converts from Rumania and I got to do an baptismal interview for one of their kids that ahs recently moved here. I sent a picture of the family last week. Then while we were teaching we set a baptismal date with one of their brothers and they both got baptized on thursday. I wasnt able to make it becasue we had a meeting with the stake president but its been great helping this family come into the church. I was also shocked durning the interview at how much rumano I remembered. I was able to say the gospel words in his language which helped a lot so he could understand it better. I had to learn them when I was teaching their parents.
We also had to run to the train station at midnight becasue Herman Hinckley had left her purse on the trian with all her passport, money , etc. They hadnt gotten off in Murcia and then called us as soon as they found out. We booked it down to the station and luckily beat the trian there. Then we jumped aboard and searched for the purse and amazingly found it under sombodys seat. It was a mircale we found it and were able to get off before the train went to its next destination. I will admit I was half way tempted to just stay on the train and end up in the beach city of Aguilas for the night, unfourtantly the spirit said NO.
I also met someone from Egypt this week and it was fun to learn about their culture a little bit. He lived right next to the pryamids and loves to break dance. Today we are going to go out to his house and he is going to teach us some moves. He is an incredibly good break dancer. He does back flips and lands on its head all in style.
We had to teach a Zone meeting I pretty much had to teach zone meeting but it went well anyway despite the lack of prepatation from my comp. I felt very guided in what we were to talk about it and strongly felt it was what we needed. We talked a lot about gratitude and watched alittle bit of confrence. We also focused on the why of things. I wanted them to see the real goal which is Gods goal moses 1.39 and not get so caught up in the 20 in houses. I still encouraged the 20 in houses I just wanted to help them see why. We also talked about love being the motivator and not anything else. It was amazing preparing for it becasue during the week little parts were just kind of revelaed to me its hard to explain but I think you get the point.
We set a baptismal date with a 22 yr old who is Catalan. They are the hardest type of Spainard to baptize. They are like the Texas of the states. They think Catalunya is its own country and have their own language an everything. We had been teaching him and we were going about it very carefully. Usually I emention adn commit to baptism in the firt lesson but him we waited till the third or 4th. Finally I felt the holy ghost tell me that it was time and how I should go about it. After explaining the Dia de reposo and sharing one of dads sotries the spirit was strong and the question came to my mind that I should ask him. I said would you like to be a member of the church and he said yes. It was as easy as that. Then I said we will hold your baptismal service next week at this time. He said sounds great and I promised him blessing and told him that he was ready. It was a great experience.
Well I have written quite a lot this week. We did do service with Bill and Fran the English member couple like we do every week. Good news is that I fixed their pool with my fiber glass work and I will be remembered forever the other great news is that I leanred a new road rage english phrase. The following is to be shouted with an english accent ¨Put some wally on it why dont you!¨ Or ¨Oh please put your clock down¨I asked him where these come from and they refer to wallingtion boots so but your boot down or wally down and the other is when they use to wear clockers. Put your clock down. Wow this letter was long sorry love you all

Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 10

9.20.09

Thanks Ashley T, Elder Petersen, Mom, and Grandpa Gogarty for the letters.

Well this week has been really good. I now cary more then a year and half in the mission which is pretty incredible. I thought about it all day and dont even know where the last 6 months wents. I set goals and made plans to ensure a few things happen before I go home, knowing that this last six months will be just a blink of the eyes. The night of my 1 year 6 months I had a dream I was home and its the first dream I have had being home which was really weird. It made me even more motivated to get things done here these last 6 Months.
The big news is that gregorio was fianlly baptized. He was the guy I worked with a lot in Lorca. Elder Wrthen and I went down for the baptism and were able to be the testigos for the baptism and share our testimonies after. It was so great to see all the memebers from there I felt right at home and didnt want to leave. I ll be going down again on tuesday for intercambios with my hijo which will be fun. We showed up 45 mins late to the baptism but they had started almost a half an hour late. So there were still people showing up after us...unbelievable. One family that showed up late had a little girl that was always terrified of elder Worthen. She is a little balck girl and always cried and ran away form him. Well right as the family came in the door Emma the girl recognized him, started balling and they had to run out with here. I couldnt believe she still recognized him from over 6 months ago. The best part of being there was seeing people that we had baptized now with their families non-members that have a dates to be baptized. There was also an investigator I had been working with and he was there with his whole family. It was great to see fruit from the work done there. I thought the few baptisms I had were the fruit but those people have now brought other people into the church and it felt satisfying to be there with them. All I ever want is to see is results and feel effective so it was a great trip down there.
The weather finally permits us to sleep under our blankets which is nice. Its been months now sleeping on top. The good weather makes everyday more enjoyable. I love this time of year. I wish I was in the mountains to see the leaves change but I know I ll be there next year.
We also got a new ward mission leader which is great because the last one was is less active and I was just trying to get him to come to church before helping us missionarys. This new change should help pick things up even more here. We have a lot of people so close to getting baptized. THis week we also got 20 lessons in house with Investigators and Less Actives. That is what Preisdent wants everyone doing.
I have been preparing for the Zone meeting we have to give tommorrow and at first I had no clue what to teach but it was intresting to see it all come togther this morning. It seemed like durning the week I was revelaed little bits and parts and I jotted those ideas down, then this morning I said a prayer and the lesson came togther perfectly. I am excited to teach it. I love being an instrument in Gods hands.
The enlgish family are members Dad, oh and I had intercambios with and Elder From Italy who is 25 and it was super fun. We get along well and he told me he has a ducati motorcyle waiting for me in Italy. He wants to get rid of it. Too bad I cant drive it home! How much does it cost to ship?

Love you all!

Elder G

I was going to send pics but this comp is garbage. Dad I talked with my friends about a surf trip and they sounded exciting. The problem is that their spring break ends the week I come home. Is a surf trip important enough to come home a few days early? lol Love ya !

Logan - Murcia Week 9

9.14.09

Thanks Mom and Jess for your letters!

Aaron Happy B-Day!

Well not a whole lot happened last week. We had zone confrence and that went well. the President re-stressted teaching 20 lessons in house each week to Investigators and less actives. That has been going well and almost everyone in the zone is acheiving that goal. The best part of confrence was the testimony meeting at the end. I really love sharing my testimony. I believe that is how I found it to begin with and everytime I share it I feel so much growth. Durning my testimony I felt so much joy and gratitude for this oppurtuinty I have to be here. I have had some of the best days of my life here in Spain. The holy ghost has helped me to feel even happier then I have ever felt before and it makes everything worth it. Another brightside of confrence was that Jeanette and Gustavo my recent converts form Elche showed up and suprised me durning lunch. I didnt eat anything because we were just talking the whole time. It was great to see and hear how well they are growing in the Gospel. They told me about their callings and their family and just how much the gospèl has blessed them. It was a great booster to me. Knowing that God was able to use me to help them.
The hardest part of my week was yesterday listening to the bishop tell me stories from his misison for over an hour when I was planning on talking to him for 5 mins. It was a good bonding moment? but I really wanted to eat lunch. He told me he was the best missionary there evere was and his misison President had even told him so. Then he exhorted me to try and be as good as him etc. He kept asking me things like do you want to know how many baptisms I had? etc. I just kept saying wow how many did you have wow thats great I am proud please let me get out of here. I just wanted the names of some less active families to pass by and it turned into an ordeal. Anyways not much else has happened. Oh we did have a memeber preaching in front of our church with a sign on that said beware the third easter is coming or somthing like that. He was handing out material and has been confused on the doctrince. you cant blame him because he has been baptized in every church including islam. Anyway we got him to take it off and come in and listen.
Everything else is goign well. I painted the fiberglass work I did last week in the pool. I sure hope it dosent leak after all the work I did. If it does leak I pray that ia m transfered by the time they find out. I do like eating with the English people because its fun to learn their phrases. I love you all! Have a great week and dont forget to write me

Elder G

Logan - Murcia week 8

9.7.09

Thanks Jordan, Mom, and Jessica for your letters!

Well this week has been another eventful one. I was a testigo or a witness in a wedding which was intresting. It was not how I want my wedding to be but nevertheless I am glad the couple are now living in line with the commandments and can be Baptized. I mentioned this family before to you guys in Lorca I had done a lot of work so they could get married. I traveled to offices, got papers, talked to Ecuador etc. I was sad to leave Lorca because they still hadnt been baptized due to documents but, finally everything came and we were able to be a part of it anyway. Its was a neat experience to be with Elder Worthen and Monks who had both helped me teach them and now we finally get to see the fruit from our Labors. We were all witnesses in their make shift wedding and they will be baptized the following week here in Murcia.
The wedding went somewhat like this. We waited in a huge line with other southamericans smoking and wearing skanky clothing. Then the very pleasent lady at the end of the hall looked over the documents, asked some questions, stamped some papers and then said somthing like if you want you can kiss the women. Gregorio then looked at his wife and hesitated for like a minute making it super akward. It looked like he was deciding whether or not he wanted to kiss her. Then after that they thow a handful of rice in your face and you walk out the other door. I felt bad for being dressed better then the groom.
We also did some service for the Emglish people and that was fun? I had mentioned before how I was going to fiberglass their pool and I was a little worried about not knowing how to do it. I made it look like I knew what I was doing and it came out ok. The worse part was that there was still water in the bottom of the pool that was stale and grose and to add to that the resin for the fiberglass would leak off the walk into the water and then burn my legs. So my legs are still sticky today I will need a knife to cut the fiberglass from my skin. All is well in Zion.
My comp and I seem to get along ok? I miss Elder Petersen and I dont miss being Mr Mom. I hate having to tell everyone what to do. Hey today we have to get up just like we ve been doing for the last year. Hey its time to go to bed, do I have to look at the clock and take you to bed or can you read it and figure it out for yourself. OK sorry for the venting but thats how it is. I wont go into details but I hate playing that role. With little kids it would be fine because they dont know any better and they are cute but 20 yr old babies its not as fun. He also seems to never think of anything in advance which is the oppisite of me. durning lunch I am thinking of what I will need for the night and whats things will need to happen and how I can make it happen. With him its more like hey you dont have money for the bus again and I asked you before we left and you said you did. Alright I am sorry for the pouting. He is a great kid and there is obviously somthing I need to learn from him because this is the second tiem serving with him and that dosent happen often. Maybe I just need more patience.
Spiritual highlights of the week was taking one of our investigators that is a 75 Yr old spanish lady to church. Elder Diego Flores from Casa grandes came with me to pick her up because my comp was still getting ready. She is in a wheel chair so we pushed her to church and had a great visit on the way. She loved church and I hope we can help her shake her old Catholic ways. Our other SPanish Inv. Antonio is still getting abptized and is strong in the Gospel. He asks great questions a lot of them being the same ones I had. Its been nice to talk deep doctrine with him and teach some intresting things I have learned and never thought I would need. Most people you just barley skim the surface but him we go deep. The Gospel is simple but as you study an live it you gain a better understanding and it has deeper menaing. Well I have said way to much. I love and miss you all.

Love Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 7

8.31.09

Thanks Aunt Laura and Mom for the letters. It was also fantastic to hear from Nick, Ethan, and Reese this week. Where is Aaron?

Dad, Fire him if he continues to not write me...

Well the week has most definetly been an eventful one. Wednesday night we traveled to Alicante and I slept on the Balcony of some other missonarys piso. Thursday we then rode first class to Barcelona and were feed breakfeast. We got to Barcelona super early so we were able to see a ton of the sights and I really enjoyed my time there. I really like the city and learning a little better about all the history it has. Thursday night we watched the Sunset in Badalona which is where my old comp moved. We stayed in his piso and the sunset and rise were amazing from the 9th floor overlooking the ocean. The meeting we had with the Zone Lords and President went really well and I was shocked at some of the changes he is making. I felt the spirit confirm the changes and am very excited for the new direction the mission is taking. He is giving us a lot more slack and trusts us a lot. He wants us to start using our talents to bless the work more. Like by doing free guitar lessons etc. We have alos stopped counting and reporting contacts which is huge. We use to have to talk with 15 random people everyday and contact them by giving them the name of the church and seeing if they wanted to learn more. He wants us to continue doing contacts but also find more effective ways to find people. He says it dosent matter how many people you tlak to every week but how many investigators you find. I was so excited to hear some of these thigns because they were thoughts I have had.
I m afraid a lot of us feel like robots and just wait to be told what today and now The new president wants us to to what works best and think out of the box. Its greta and I am excited to see where it takes us.
An Elder that recently finsished the mission came back and was staying here is Murcia so him and his Mom invited us to drinks at the 5 start hotel they were staying at. It was way nice and we 2 spanish B ball players that play for the Lakers and the Grizzles. We felt cool as we walked past all the guards at the front of the hotel and when we walked out there were people camped all over the side walk taking pictures.
RIght now our area is going well and we are teaching a ton of spanish people which is unheard of. Antonio is already so strong and will be baptized the 19th. I m super excited. We also had a good lesson with an older Spanish Couple and at the end we read the Moronis Promise and then prayed togther paying attention to our feelings. It was amazing how we felt the spirit and received an answer so quickly. We hope to get them baptized but they have a harder time making it to church due to old age. Well everything is going well. I am getting along alright with the old/new comp. We also are living with a kid thats hald mexican and he is from Casa Grandes which is crazy because Ive ben there. It was funny talking to him because we actually know some of the same people. Well That is plenty for today, Love and miss you all.

elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 6

8.23.09

Thanks Dane and MInette, Jess, Mom, and the Schamels for your letters. Yes the address is correct and I have received letters there. The postal code is 30009

Well the biggest news is that my comp Elder Petersen has been transferred. We were both really sad because he has become one of my best friends. I enjoyed everyday with him and we never once argued over anything. He will be opening an area and training a new missionary for the last 3 months of his mission. We have talked about going to byu I-do and I was hoping that someone could register me for the summer semester. I at least want that door open, however I haven’t made any concrete decisions.
My new companion is that new lol I have already served with him in Lorca. Elder Worthen was called as Zone leader and we arrived this morning. I am excited to work with him and to better our relationship. Murcia has been a hub for missionaries traveling this transfer and I have already made 4 trips to the train station on the other side of the city. Yesterday we had to get up at 4 30 and drag luggage all the way across the city. It was delightful.
The other big news is that Antonio one of out investigator excepted a baptismal date and will be baptized the 5th of Sep. He is Spanish which will the first Spaniard I´ve baptized. He will be a great leader in the church. He already has such a strong testimony and I m excited to hear from him in the future. He is 26 yrs old.
I have been frustrated lately work with the bishopric. They don’t appreciate anything we do and always try and correct us or tell us how to do our job and that’s never fun to hear after working hard all week. They haven’t even read PMG and it’s hard for me to `just listen to them. Needless to say we are trying to combine our efforts and bring about more good here in Murcia. They just don’t have a lot of unity and their meetings are them just arguing about nonsense. My mind can’t even handle ineffectiveness and that’s all they do. I like to pin out the problem, brain storm, pray and then follow through with a plan and fix the problem. Anyways maybe I ll be able to learn something from them.
I translated for an English man during the High Priest meeting and I am not sure I ever want to be a high priest after attending that meeting. I won’t go into details but it did test my testimony lol jk
Well that is all for this week. The weather is becoming tolerable and the work is going amazingly. God has really blessed me with new ideas and approaches that have advanced the work here and I am grateful to be that instrument. My love for these people has become immense and the feeling indescribable, it motivates me to keep working hard.

Love you all

Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 5

8.15.09

Thanks Aunt Laura, Gabby, and Grandpa for your letters!

Well a few amazing things have happened this week and I will start with those stories. Lately like I mentioned before we have been visiting all the memebers and gaining their confidence by teaching powerful lessons and then making a plan with them about how they can help us in the work. We have set goals with almost every family of bringing either one less active person or family and or one INvestigaor or family of investigators to the church. This has proved to be incredibly effective. Yesterday I counted 15 Less active in Church that have been rescued through this strategy! We visit each pueblo or small outskirt city once a week and have a family night with everyone that lives close. Non memebers, less actives, and active memebrs. We are seeing a ton or results and have a ton of people to teach.
Yesterday at church Lorca ( my previous area) was also mentioned as a miracle story durning church. They have to expand the building because they have doubled in numbers over the last few months. I felt like I was a big part of that and it makes me happy to know that its still growing and the memebers have caught the idea.
As for the work here things are just going incredibly right now. We are recieving refrences like crazy and finally I think we will have a spanish baptism. We should be seeing the date this week so I will let you know how it goes. Hes about our age and dating a member from our ward.
Confrence was last week and it was funny to see how relaxed the new president was. He put on a slide show of spanish clips and we all sang vive españa togther. I was shocked but it was a nice change. I felt so comfortable around him and that was a nice change as well.
The new piso is great and it has made such a huge change! IT has so much more light and makes studying so much more effective. I cant believe how much the old one was effecting me. I am glad we got out of there. I dont understand why some people think the mission has to be a survival camp. I want to punch the elders that even signed the contract for the old piso. I dont even like going into the neighborhood where the old one is. Anyways we are much happier now. Oh and last wednesday we did service witht the english couple which I always enjoy. First of all I always to to pray us safely there because the man dirve like a lunatic. We went 180 km which is about 111 mph in his car. Whihc he was shouting crazy english things like ¨ohh do behave ¨ I do enjoy the accent but the almsot dieing part not so much. We were seriously burning out around turns and the man is in his 70s. I wonder if he even realize what hes doing sometimes. When we ot there we had a nice afternooon working in their fruit orchard and then sat up as they say in england to a nice mela of Curry which was fantastic. Well I have said plenty. I hope all is going well. I am happy to be here and love being guiding in so many ways everyday by the spirit. Its amazing what can happen as we put all we have into one thing especially with the help of the Lord. Have agreat week

Love

Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 4

8.9.09

Thanks Audrey, Ashley, and Mom for your letters!


Where do I start.... Today my head is kind of spinning beacause we have been moving out of the old piso and into the new one. The new flat is way nice. Its a first floor flat looking over the park,it has AC (which is rare in Spain) and is super new and clean. I am very pleased with it and it also is the same price. I am super glad I wouldnt put up with the crappy living conditions and that we were able to find a better place for the same price. I dont know if I told you about the old piso but it was horrible. There are so many buy and the walls are molding and the texture is just crumbly off. I took some video of it so you can see. As I was going through the checklist of things that the landlady said there was I could hardly find anything and just thought of all the stupid missionaries that had broken and thrown away things that were hers. We will defienetly not get back the security deposit.
As for the way of missionary work things are going incredibly well. We have been visiting all the members and winning their confidence. In every small city outside of murica we have been holding bbqs and Family nights at one members hosue and then inviting everyone that lives in that pueblo. Its really effective and we got some less actives in church yesterday because of it.
Yesterday we were visiting someone and it was just after we had finished eating and it was hot. As this guy was talking to us my eye lids just got so heavy and next thing I know I am waking up. I dont know how long I was out for but when I woke up I looked over at my comp to make sure he was listening and to my suprise he was sleeping too. lol then I looked at the man and he was still talking as if nothing had happened. I dont think he is very good at reading body language. lol
The only other exciting news is that I met a member who surfs and is from brazil. We hit it off quickly and he says we can take a surf trip to brazil whenever we want and he has family that will give us free housing and food. They live on one of the best beaches in Brazil.l You might have to look into plane tickets Dad. Oh I loved the pic of Brenna in canada that is the best pic I hva e seen in a long time. Ia m excited to get the card. ç
Well that is all, I am getting along super will with Elder Petersen and enjoying the heat. I just have to make it through Augusto. I ve enver sweat some much in my entire life. Hope all is well I love and miss you all.

ELder G

Logan - Murcia Week 4

8.3.09

Thanks Lis, Mom, and Jenny for your letters! Mom thanks for the package! Well somehow Dads email got lost so I wasnt able to read that which is a bummer but I am hoping you can send it to me via mail this week maybe urgent. Things are going very well here In murcia and yesterday we had a great success with the ward memebers who ahred their testimonies about missionary work. The ward is changing and we are seeing the benefits. We found 7 new people to teach last week and all them came from references. Things are now picking up and we have 4 people that will be recieving baptismal invitations this week. Its been fun to see the change within such short time. We have been visitng all the members and exciting them about the missioanry work and have started teaching a lot of their friends. this week we had a zone meeting and I felt strengthed through the Holy Ghost as we taught. I was super nervous but it went really well and I think it hit home with everyeone. The Zone as a whole did great last week and things are continually progressing. We have been eating with memebers a lot but when we are at home I have been bettering my cooking skills. I learned a lot of spanish plates last week and they came out super well. I am excited to cook for you guys when I get back. Sorry I cant think of much more to say. Main things are that the ward has completly changed and warmed up to us and we are now busy teaching alot instead of walking around in the streets. I like work effectively especially in this heat. I am glad to be here and so thankful for all the things I m learning. Elder Petersen is great and everyday is just a blast. Love and miss you all Much Amor Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 3

7.26.09

Hey thanks to the Hepworths, Kayli, and Laura for the letters!

Things have been crazy here lately! With the new calling came lots of travleing. I have been in all the surrounding cities last week and we took an 8 hour train ride to Barcelona for a meeting witht the President. This morning I was in Lorca figuring out more residency stuff and I think I am finally actually legal. It has been such a mess. Last week the Lwyer called me and said I might be going to TX to finish but today our last chance in Lorca was a miracle. The lady didnt look at the exp date on the paper and I detered a few questions that almost got me caught.
This week we visited a family from ENgland and I loved their accent. We drove in his car which had the steering wheel on the right side which made thigngs intresting. He also trusted too much in his ABS system on the car and was hitting cornerers way too fast, I thought we were going to die. He would then yell at people english phrases witha thich accent things like ¨Oh bloody heavens Sir, Get out of my way, Thank you lad, have a good day¨ I enjoyed are time with them. WE have already seem to have a lot of succes with the ward. We have been pushing missionary work. We are visiting all the members and reading parts of the bring souls to me confrence talk and then inviiting them to have a missioanry experience and share it in testiomny meeting. We literally had no investigators when I got here but through refrence this week we have found 5 and three of those 5 want to get baptized. Things are going well.
This morning while we were in Lorca we broke into my Old piso and scared teh other Elders really bad it was super funny. What else is going on....We have been hunting cockroaches a lot in our house and battling them. they are winning. This week they submerged from the toliet water. We have found a new piso and should be moving the 15th of August. Dont worry about the mail you can keep sending it to the same address. Sorry I dont have more time. Everythign is going well. We are working hard and seeing lots of miracles here right now. It was also 123 degrees last week...ya I know tell me about it. Love you all have a great week

Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 2

7.20.09

Thanks Mom, Kayli, Grandpa for your letters that came this past week! Well as you all know by now I am in Murcia and the farewell party in Lorca got a bit out of hand. The day I left everyone came to the train station with gifts and such and I am glad they liked me so much but I am turning into the old man and dont like making a big deal out of things. I did get some nice shirts from the youth which was nice. As Zone Lord I am mean leader everything is going super well. My companion is amazing and I have already learned so much from him Elder Petersen from reno Neveda. I read an artice about renos kayak course that was recently put in so I have an excuse to go visit him after the mish. He has 4 months left and I have 8. One experience I had this week was while visiting a member that is taking care of some handicapped people. We watched general confrence with her and I was super tired from the heat and eneded up falling asleep on the couch. I woke up to one of her handicapped kids screaming and kicking through the door where we were. It was terrifying I thought I was having a nightmare becasue when I woke up I didnt know where I was at. Luckily we were able to finish the lesson without getting beat up by the crazy girl. She was screaming though and knocking things down in the other room. We had to just kind of get up and leave the poor lady with those crazy kids. I think I have almost seen it all I think, knock on wood.The ward here seems kind of blah but I assume that is why I am here. I kind of had a vision yesterday durning Sacrament of what needs to happen here and I hope to do just that. We can not do it without the members and so this week and next we will be visiting all of them and Daremos la caña or in other words give them the cane. I am sick of excuses like¨I dont know anyone, or they dont want it¨We are going to talk about 1 nephi 17 with the questionin mind of what can God not do ? And have miracles ceased among the childern of men? If they have its because of our lack of faith. We are going to talk about miracles from the scriptures and then ask them if they think God and help them with their friends as we show fatih and Diliigence throught working witht them. If every memeber would do their job of being amisisonary the church would double within months I gurantee. I felt the spirit a lot yesterday and felt like this is the direction we need to go here in Murcia. We have to get everyone going because its not effective for ous to walk around in the street all day. One perk of the new calling is this week we will be going to Barcelona for a meeting with President. We get to eat a few meals and have meeting for two days so that should be fun. I also want to take time to see some sight sin Barc while we are there. I am glad I ve been called as Zone leader it was really what I need right now in my Mission. It has helped me get more focused and not worry about just myself. I was kind of feeling like I had things mastered last transfer and it was the same stuff day after day and so I am excited for the new challenge and responsability. Well I love you all and miss you. Elder G

Logan - Murcia Week 1

7.12.09

Thanks Mom, jess, Maureen, Ashley T, Lynn, and Jordan for your letters!

Well first big news is that I ve been called as Zone Leader for Murcia Zone. I was pretty suprised but almost expecting it at the same time. I was most suprised that I wont even be changing zones. I ll be taking an hour train today up to my new crib. It will be nice to be close because I lll be able to do intercambios and visit Lorca and keep up on all the investigators here. One of the people we are teaching wants me to come down to baptize him in a few weeks, so that will be nice as well.
The branch was pretty sad I was leaving. I would have rather just snuk away quietly but we visited everyone, and one of the families was crying which made it kind of akward for me becasue I wasnt. I had been working with their 14 yr old son a lot and they were sad to see me go but My comp will keep things going here. Everyone wrote me letters which were nice to read because they expressed thanks for the things we ve accomplished here. It was nice to recieve that kind of reward so to say. Sometimes it feels like your doing everything and no one notices so the letters really lifted me up.
Today the members are going to come see me off at the train staion and I have to keep reminding everyone that I ll be back and I am only moving an hour away. Its hard to just say bye with a hand shake becasue I really do feel so much love for all of them. They have become family and made me feel so comfortable here. I have enjoyed working with the youth the most. They have a lot more enthusiasm and be freind new people so much better then the adults here. We also have been working with the youth outside of the church. While I was gone last week some punk kids tried to thorw rocks at my comp and the other misisonary he was with. Today we saw him and Elder MOnks recognized who it was and so I just started chasing them but it was hard because i was in flip flops. Luckily they got away but I wanted to teach them a lesson as well, but not the kind you start with a prayer.
So I will be in Murcia an hour south and its actually hotter then Lorca Yeah! THats the only thing I didnt like about here but oh well. I ll try not to complain about wearing a tie, pants, collar, shoes in 100 plus degree weather while everyone else is in bathing suits. Maybe I need to learn how to not complain lol. Well everything is going well, I am going to make people call me Zone Lord instead of ZOne leader I think its a lot more fitting jk lol. My comp Will be elder Petersen from Reno NV and he is a great kid I am really excited about that. The hardest thing for me to leave is the shower. I took one last bath/shower today it is the only shower that has any pressure on the east coast of spain and I am going to miss it. While taking the bath I also imagined I was in the ocean and did some duck dives through the waves which is always fun. I ve already been to the Murcia Piso and the shower is horrible but hey things could be alot worse. I remember mexico showering with a bucket and cup. Well I have rambeled enough. love you all

My new Address is as follows

Elder Gogarty
Plaza profesor Tierno Galvan
Edf. 11, Bajos D
Murcia 30009
España

Sarah please post it on my myspace account!
Befoer you send the package please put in Ear plugs and Labels for the new address. thanks!

Logan - Lorca Week 26

7.6.09

Happy B-Day Mom and Brenna!
Emily are you going to be getting a new email soon?
Can someone get me Jesses email or physical Address?
Next week I ll be writing on tuesday the 14th due to transfers.
If you have anything to send me today is the last chance for the Lorca Address. If I leave it will be next week so make sure the mail to Lorca goes out today if there is any.

Well where do I start... We had a confrence in Alicante with the new President and it went very well. We almost got there late because the Zone leaders that have been in spain for almsot two years now still dont know how to read the train schedule. I was really suprised about that. My new comp has been taught and already knows how to see what times train leaves and when it changes due to weekends or festivos. Luckily we got there just in time and everything went well. President Hicnkley of course reminds me a lot of his Father in looks, voice and everything. It was nice to meet him and exciting to see how somthings will change.
Mom I read your letter about taking swim lessons I just want to let you know I am very proud. Keep up the Good work. Lately >I have been working out pretty hard morning mediodia and night and that keeps me sane. I feel like I have so much energry stored up and I cant get it out.
The highlight of my week was fasting and feeling the holy ghost strongly while I took the sacrament. Fasting has been one of the best parts of my mission. I recieve so much help through doing it the way its supposed to be done. I also felt like I recieved revelation over specific questions I had about some of the inestigators and now know how to help them better. The capilla was jammed packed and that made me content knowing that it wasent like that when I got here. I was sitting with 5 recent converts that have been baptized while I ve been here and then another 3 investigators. Its amazing to see the work grow so quickly. They will be expanded the building soon and I actually gave books of moromon to the contractors that came to measure it out.
One of our investigators is an 11yr old kid that comes to church all by himself, and he really impresses me. His drunk father is unfountanetly not letting him get baptized. WE talked to him about miracles and that God can do anything even changes his dads stubborn heart.
Sorry your not very updated on our investigators but I didnt know if anyone wanted to hear about that. We are teaching a ton of people and it would take a lot of time to get you updated. IF things go as planned we should have 4 more baptisms my last saturday here the 11th. I dont want to rush it though with any of theses people so I might be gone when they get baptized and put it off for one more week to ensure they understand everything. Its a miracle to see people converted to the Gospel. I have gained complete confidence over the promise in Moroni by seeing others recive the answer and by perosnally doing it everytime I doubt. I can tell the investigators I know its true God told me a few days ago, I asked him and this is how he answered he will answer for you I have no doubt.
Everything else is going well. I get along with my comp well and he is a good friend. for some comp study today I just let energy out and we fought for 30 mins. It was fun. I really want to just go do somthing fun but without breaking the rules that is very hard. We found out we cant ride bikes either by the way. When I get home I need to get some serious adrenaline rushs to make up for the lack there of. Speaking of that I would like it if someone could talk to the Maroneys for me about their sail boat and wind surfer and tell them that I will do work for them or buy them when I get back and to not get rid of them. Thanks ! Love you all and miss you. Send letters today if you have them and the 14th I could be writing from a new city. I will get the call bnext sunday. I want to leave just to get out of the heat and to help other peioplel I feel like I ve done all I can for a lot of these people and out of ideas. A new misisonary in here could see things differently and help people in ways I have not thought of. Love you all take care

Logan

Logan - Lorca Week 25

June 30, 2009

Thanks Mom, Kayli, Jenny, The hepworths, and Sarah for your letters! Thanks Elder Carpenter (my trainer) or I guess now its Fletcher for your email it was good to hear from you !

Well first big news is that we had a baptism, it went really well and I always feel an incredible amount of joy that comes from the Holy ghost on those special days. I also felt wet because I was practically baptized as well. We had and French African who just recently recived the Priesthood peform the baptism. He did it african style and picked her off her feet and then African slammed her to the bottom of the font. In so doing a wave came from the font and soaked my shirt and tie. I actually enjoyed it and pretened I was surfing in the ocean. I confirmed her yesterday and church and it was as always a special experiance. We hope to have at least 4 more baptisms before I leave here.
Last P day we were in Aguilas my beach town that I like and we went up to the castle I ll send some pics. We realized that we had to catch the last bus that left in 30 mins and the station was at least that far away. We started jogging and I actually held out my thumb to try and catch a ride with someone because I knew if we didnt make it we would be sleeping on the beach. No one stopped but luckily we caught the bus just in time.
Yesterday in church I got to bless the sacrament with Angel our recent convert and then another one of our recent converts Javier passed it. It was a neat experiance and I was bery greatful to have been a part of their conversion experiance. Angel is preparing for the mission and will help keep the Branch alive in the mean time.
Dad I loved the Bike shop article I was way xcied to read it. I hope everything keeps going well there I would love to work there when I got back if you need me.
My comp answered the phone this week and the ward mission leade3r asked hime for the telefono of Blanca who is a member but blacna is also the color white in spanish, My comp said no our phone is black sorry we dont have a white telephone lol I thought that was funny. well not to much else going on I love and miss you all. I will be probly getting moved the 12th of july and will be writing email on the 14th. If you want to write snail mail make sure to send it no later then the 6th of July. Take care

Elder G

Logan - Week 24 Lorca

6.22.09

Happy Fathers Day!

I recieved letters from ashley, Jess, Emily and Mom thank you very much

Well I got emilys camera card this week and that was very fun to see brenna and everyone. I also liked hearing about the surf comp. 2nd place dad thats way good. You guys better watch out next year though I ll be back!

Everything is going well here we actaully have two kids that want to get baptized but the parents wont let them. THe parents want them goingto church but wont come themselves, they told me that the kids need it but wont let them get baptized. Thats a little frustrating especially because the kids have really been converted. The One kid from Rumania told me about how he recieved his answer and what it felt like and said that he wants to get baptized and serve a mission like me but hes worried his parents wont ever let him. We will see what happens. I pray that things will change in the near future.
I had my first intercambios which is where we change comps and being Dl I am supposed to help them and their areas. I always thought they were kind of a waste of time but I wanted to actually have it make a differeance andI felt like it went really well. THey have been lacking on their contacts and I practiced and hleped the ELder with it a little bit and this week they did better then they ever had so that felt good to do somthing and see it work. I have three baptism interviews this week which will be intresting as well. I have never done oneof those before.
We have a baptism this Saturday and I am excitied about that and we will also have a couple being baptized after getting married the following week. My comp and I will actually get to be the witnesses for the wedding so that will be fun. I have been working with this family for a long time and I am glad I get to be here for their baptism that is finally goingto happen. I had to visiti offices in Murcia for them etc. to find out what they needed to do to get married. The husband has been truly converted and will be a great leader in the church.
Well not much else to say sorry this way kind of boring. EVerything is going well, its really hot and I hope and am pretty sure I will be getting moved to a new location in three weeks. We wills ee though because things could change witht the new president. We go to ALicante tommorrow for our last confrence with President Waddell. Then the following week again to Alicante to have one witht ht enew president. I miss you all and Love you. Send some pictures! I like how you play with brenna like a cat I think thats way funny. Have a greta day !

Much amor,

Elder G