Semana 63 - Rain Rain, go Away!

Hello everyone,

There has been so much rain! For almost too weeks straight we just got
poured on every time we tried to do anything. It's funny because about
a week before leaving on the mission, I told my mom that it would
probably be a smart idea to just take a little umbrella, so she ran by
dollar tree and got me one. Well that tiny umbrella has sheltered half
of me and half of my companion for the entire two weeks of storms. The
worst is when you are outside and an unexpected downpour hits you in
the back of the head (see photos for more information). Luckily (or
not so luckily) the sun is out and beginning to burn the sweet city of
Sevilla. And yes, my next letter will begin complaining about how hot
it is...

This past week we did a lot of traveling...kind of like every week. I
was able to reunite with one of my past companions, Elder Reeder. If
you aren't good with names, he's the one that could play The role of
Godzilla with 0 special effects. It was pretty incredible to work
together and see how we have both changed so significantly in the past
10 months. Oftentimes I don't realize how blessed I have been by my
time in an area or especially by a companion until long after we have
parted ways. Luckily, this elder turned out to be a real boss, despite
my knowing absolutely nothing during his training!

As I was studying during the exchange, I felt impressed to study from
the doctrines of the plan of salvation, which answers questions such
as where did we come from, what is our purpose in this life, and what
will happen after death. It is something that obviously we have
studied to great lengths, but I felt like I should try and figure out
ways to do is as quickly as possible - 5, 3 , and 1 minute summaries.
We went out for the day and not after long we walked past a gated
fence and saw a lady up on her porch cleaning. We called up to her and
began to talk. We quickly came to find out that she had stopped
believing in God because in the past year 4 of her family members had
passed away. It started to rain, so we didn't have much time, but in
that moment I felt "this is what I prepared you for". I quickly
spouted off a 1 minute summary of how God has a plan for us which
includes the ability to see those family members we love again. She
invited us to come back another day and share more with her and her
family. Lesson learned: Be Prepared!

Other highlight: after 7 weeks of searching I finally found someone
from Ghana! ECHISEN! When he said where he was from I just screamed at
him in twi because I was so excited and we were able to talk a little
bit. I was a little rusty but he said that I speak better than most of
the people from Ghana...hype.

Another transfer comes and goes, but elder bean and I will stick
together to continue our efforts of baptizing all of Sevilla!

I hope that you all have a great week and that the Lord continues to
bless you all.

Love,

Elder Jenkins

Renfe is my best friend

Hello everyone!

This past week has been pretty crazy in terms of trying to do
missionary work. We traveled from Sevilla to Malaga and then back,
then had meetings and interviews and then went from Sevilla to Córdoba
for the day and came back the next...so basically we never got to work
in our area and all of my bananas that I bought last week went
bad....which reminds me if someone has a really good banana bread
recipe that is dummy-proof and can't be burnt I could use it :)

It was pretty fun to be able to travel to Córdoba. It is a beautiful
city with castles and amazing people. There is also a rumor about the
city, but I'm not sure if it's true (although there is substantial
evidence), that a long time ago, the king living in Córdoba decided
that he only wanted beautiful women to live in his city. He sent all
of his servants to the far corners of Spain in search of these
beautiful women aS he kicked out all those who were...not. Then those
women begs to have children and their children began to have children
and for that reason Córdoba is rumored to have the most beautiful
people in Spain. It is an interesting story, but I make no comment
regarding its veracity.....

This week is also very special for Sevilla because it is the week of
the fair. Everyone dresses up in special flamenco dresses...well the
girls at least...and there are huge lights displays and horses;
supposedly it's one of the biggest fairs in all of Spain. We shall see
if it beats the Texas state fair and it's fried menagerie.

Being a missionary is easily one of the most rewarding experiences of
my life. This week, we passed by one of our investigators houses only
to find that she was in the midst of packing her bags. She had been
having a lot of family problems and so she decided to move out of her
house, at 16 years old. She expressed her gratitude for what we had
shared with her in the little time that we have been able to talk with
her and the hope that it brought to her life. It was a blessing to
have been able to catch her at home only hours before she left and I
truly felt like I had genuinely helped someone to come closer to
Christ. The greatest thing is that she has merely touched her tongue
to the fruits the gospel can bring to our lives, and my only hope is
that she and everyone can fully partake!

I love you all and hope you have a great week

Love,

Elder Jenkins

Our larger than life co-Trainee