Thanks Mom for your letters! I loved the Christmas letter you guys sent out. I also finally got the letter sealer, thank you very much.
Well this week has been almost crazier than the first. The conference went well in Palma (The Islands) Elder Laney and I did our workshops and they went really well. I talked about becoming united in purpose with our local leaders. My main points were ceasing to talk smack about them, respecting and honoring their priesthood keys, and realizing that they have the right to receive revelation for the missionary work in their ward. We have to respect them and do it the way they want it even if we think we could do it better. I used the story of Ammon in Alma 18 how he made himself a servant and served and did what the King Lamoni wanted and in return the king offered him everything. Then I also talked about planning the way PMG tells us to and taking time each night to set goals and make plans to strengthen relationships with local leaders.
On the way home from Palma I scored a seat next to the Hinckley’s on the plane so we had a nice visit while my comp caught some zzzzzs. Then in the Airport we ate some burger king and talked about how the conference went. I love how humble the Hinckleys are, and how they evaluate everything they do so they know how to become better. We asked the missionaries when the Hinckleys weren’t there how the conference went and they told us the good things and the things that could have been better and then the Hinckleys asked us these things and changed the way they did it in the next conference. I was surprised when he asked us what he could do better. It shows his humility and desire to get better. Taking advice from a bunch of twenty year olds seems crazy but he does because he respects us.
Then Wednesday we had a conference in Barcelona which went well and Thursday we had another one in Hospitalet. I have enjoyed having so many teaching experiences and gained a lot of confidence while doing it. The first time was scary, teaching 20 missionaries, but now it’s not so much and I enjoy teaching. Being ayudante also means sheep herding or in other words making missionaries move to certain rooms at certain times. They are like sheep sometimes and you have to grab them and move them to their rooms. "Now we are going to do this then this" and they sit there talking.
It’s also interesting to see the difference in each conference. We have the same material but teach different stuff each time. This shows you how the Holy Ghost helps people receive exactly what they need. It also depends a lot I have noticed on the missionaries and if they come prepared to learn to if they want to just be impressed. You can feel the difference while you are teaching and it hinders the spirit. I asked President about this because in the Barcelona conference I felt the spirit the whole day and it was such an edifying experience and then the day after in Hospitalet we talked about the same things but there wasn’t as much participation and the spirit was not as strong. A good teacher depends a lot on the student as well.
It has also been interesting to see how some missionaries have to or in their mind want a limit or a rule for everything they do. I love how President always teaches the doctrine or the principal and then lets them make their own decision. Some of the missionaries want the rule though like for how long can we be at members houses how many hours and he will just take it all back to our purpose and ask them are you fulfilling your purpose while you are there? And then leaves it at that.
We have been focusing on helping the wards set goals and makes plans for the amount of baptisms this year instead of having separate mission goals we will help them achieve their goals since we are on the same team.
Well today is Friday and it’s our P-day so we went down to Zara by Las Ramblas and I was so happy to find the suit and the jacket I wanted a few weeks ago but marked way down. I am glad I waited to buy them. I bought both and told myself Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday. I hope that’s ok with you guys it came to 200 euros.
Oh I almost forgot to tell you what happened the other night. After one of the conferences we went working in our area and on the way home in the metro some punk Spanish kid was staring at me and saying something under his breath but I ignored him. Then he followed us out of the metro and I kept walking but heard that he was walking close behind me. He then kind of spit but not a lot it was more of a spray on the back of my neck. I turned around quickly and grabbed him by the shirt and asked him if he wanted to die. Of course speaking in tu and not usted. Some missionaries have the tendency to speak usted to people when they are trying to talk down to them because they have the habit of speaking in usted and it doesn’t make any sense. Anyways back to the story I asked him if he wanted to die and why he had done that. Then he said some swear words and I let him go and kept walking. He kept following me and then got brave enough to try and trip me. I was shocked! I swung around again and grabbed him by the shirt but this time slamming him against the wall with my fist ready to hit him in the face. Then Elder Romney an office Elder grabbed me and pulled me away. We kept walking and I couldn’t decide if I regretted not hitting him or not. It was the right decision not to hit him but I sure wanted to. If I see him again I may not be able to refrain.
Anyways I´ll get back on Monday morning and tell you what happens with the rest of my week. For the rest of the transfer we will be having P day on Wednesday but President lets me write you guys on Monday because sometimes we are traveling and we don’t get a chance on Wednesday. You can write me whenever you want. Next week we will be traveling to the south to do conferences in Murcia and Valencia. Then things should slow down a little bit and we will hopefully have more time to work in our area. We still have one lady that wants to get baptized on the 23rd and this Saturday or tomorrow I will be going to Badalona to baptize a girl I taught se llama Violeta.
So today is Sunday and Friday night I went to Badalona to do an intercambio with the Zone Leaders there. It went really well and the highlight was Saturday night. Violeta a girl I taught from Badalona asked me to come baptize her and it was a great experience. While I was sitting next to her during the service I saw her grown up and giving me a hug as I was welcoming her to heaven. It was a day dream I kind of had and I felt the spirit. It was actually the most spiritual baptism I have ever been to. Right before I baptized her I felt the spirit very strongly and almost started to cry but it hit me all at once. After the baptism we went to their house and had a great feast which made us get home about a half an hour late. This girl is the cousin of two kids I baptized when I was there. I will attach a photo of the whole family but I hope to see them all get baptized one day. We baptized the two of the kids you'll see in the photo and then reactivated their parents. Then the rest of the family we are also teaching.
Well this letter is really long and I am going to send it tonight because tomorrow we are headed to Murcia and I don’t think I will have time to get on the internet. Love you lots! Elder Gogarty
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