Week 13: The British are coming! The British are coming!

Hello A Todos!

Another Week in the work of the Lord and things are going great! 

The weather here in Spain has started heating up! We have even had some days where we have had to put the car´s air conditioning on level 5!...I bet you can tell the other walking elders really hate us haha. However, with the heat, the ants have come marching one by one into our house and the other bugs are sure to come soon! This area has started overflowing with outsiders. The pueblos around here increase in population by at least 100,000 people during the summer months when everyone comes to enjoy the beach and so the amount of English Im hearing and fancy cars I´m seeing is increasing drastically. 

This past week, we had an awesome activity at the church called the Fiesta de las naciones. We had a bunch of different tables set up and every table represented a Spanish speaking country and so people from that country came and brought food and flags for their country. It was such an awesome cultural experience and I got to see the dancing, hear the music, and try a ton of food! There are so many different spanish speaking cultures I was unaware of. I´m excited to go back to the United States afterwards and realize that everyone who speaks spanish isn´t from Mexico...

Speaking of Spanish, the language is going really well! Sometimes, I forget that I´m not speaking English in the lessons. I am kind of hoping for a native companion next transfer though so that I can really work on refining it by speaking all the time. Really, Elder Whetten and I only speak spanish during lessons and the rest of the time we speak in English. Sometimes I try to speak a little more spanish to him, but he just answers in English haha

I think one of my favorite things about being a missionary is feeling the love that you develop for the people around you and how much love they have for you. Some of our investigators really had some hard challenges this week and it was hard for me to believe that they would turn to 2 20 year old boys to help them feel better. It was even harder for me to believe that we actually could, and did, help them feel better. ¨Whom the Lord calls, he qualifies¨ I gain a testimony of that statement more and more every day. One of the best things I heard this entire week was when one of our investigators said, ¨I want my kids to grow up to be like you two¨. For me, that was one of the most spiritual moments I have had on my mission so far. It was a testimony of my purpose here. I know that I´m not just here learning a language or experiencing cultures, but truly helping people every day. Its the most satisfying feeling in the world. 

This week for the mission is the ¨week of consecration.¨ Its a week where we really focus on trying to give everything we have to the Lord, be exactly obedient, and make ourselves worthy of the miracles He has in store for us. I challenge you all during this week to find even just one way that you can make yourself just a little bit more consecrated to the Lord. Be a little better in one aspect of your life and I can promise you there will be a noticeable difference in even just a week! 

Love you all and hope and wish for the best! Adios!

Elder Jenkins

Things that are different here in Spain

1. They put their doorknobs right in the middle of their doors!

2. Most of the hot dog buns don´t come pre-cut

3. Love handles are called ¨Michelins¨ like the brand of tires

4. There are two smells you encounter when walking into a grocery store, one is the smell of freshly baked bread, and the other is the smell of fish sitting out on big piles of ice

5. You can be anywhere on the road and just put on your warning lights and stop. We call them your invisibility lights.

6. You can be REALLY forward in spanish. I have had people tell me that can bare to look at my face when I have a pimple and if you are getting fat people will definitely tell you!

7. You don´t have to tip hair cutters here

8. A goodbye takes like a minute because there are a ton of words you can use to say goodbye and some people use them ALL! Hasta luego, venga, adios, tenga un buen dia, igualmente, hasta ahora, venga, adios. 

9. Salutation kisses are a big thing here, where you just touch cheeks and make kissing noises, its pretty much a substitute for a hug. 

10. There are vending machines that sell ciggarettes

Here are some pictures of the Pig Leg I love So much!

Week ?? (12 actually)...: Ive Lost Count

Hola Queridos Hermanos y Hermanas

Sorry for the wait this week! I promise Im not being disobedient, but I was assigned as a mission taxi driver this past monday so I went around and picked up all the new missionaries here and took them to Malaga to get their residency cards. At first I thought about complaining, but then I realized people fly thousands of miles just to see southern spain and we just casually stop in Granada to get some mcdonalds. I feel like in the 6 months I have of driving here, Ill have driven more here than I did in my entire time driving in the United States!

So I have gotten a lot of questions about the Jamon leg. Unfortunately, I forgot the pictures at the house but I promise I will send them next week. Basically, you walk into the store and there are literally just a bunch of pig legs hanging on the walls...hoofs and all...and so you just pick one and then you take it home and set it up on a special stand and then feast for the next month. The crazy thing is that the leg has never been cooked! They just seal it up in a container full of salt for like a year and a half and then you eat it. A lot of people don´t like it but I am definitely a fan! It does make the house smell a tad bit interesting though...

This week, we definitely saw some miracles. One of them was with an investigator who has made an incredible change. I remember looking at her teaching record and the exact words for this lady were ¨muy mala¨ or very bad. Apparently she had kicked elders out of her house and wouldnt let her sister join the church. This past week, she was at church with her whole family and she loved it! We went to her house before and decided that we would try and watch the restoration video with her. I went over to the computer and started to set it up, but then literally the computer just turned off without anyone touching it! It took about ten minutes, but we finally got it to work. During the first 2 minutes of the movie, her house was bussling and loud with people running around and kids screaming, but then all of the sudden everyone except her two youngest kids just left. Then her two youngest kids passed out for the entire rest of the lesson! It was a miracle and we were able to watch it and have a really powerful lesson. 

I can´t believe how fast time is flying. This past monday was my 3 month mark, but I feel like I barely just left! Elder Whetten barely has a month left of the mission and its inspiring to see how sad he is to leave. I know he loves the people here with all of his heart. I´m not quite there yet, maybe half a heart, but I can feel my love growing as I serve here with them. 

I hope all is going well back in the United States! Its crazy how isolated I feel from everything that is going on there! Yesterday, I heard a song playing that I never heard before...that was a reality check! But I wouldnt rather be anywhere else! Love you all!

Elder Jenkins

1. I always wondered why people in the passing lane would put there left blinker on! I just thought people here were really forgetful, but it turns out thats the way of telling someone to get out of the way! It works like a charm and now I don´t have to look dumb waving my arms around to get people to move!

2. Also, Im still learning how to use the horn right here. I still feel so bad when I honk at someone, but people here literally honk if you even wait a second after the light turns green to go. 

3. Being a virtuous person doens´t mean bad thoughts never come to your mind, it means they never stay. But remember, the goal is ¨unceasingly¨

4. Hot water is not unlimited

5. There is a Very good reason for the ¨conmigo¨ rule - only understood by spanish speakers

Week 11: Transfer 1: CHECK

It´s hard to believe that the first transfer of my mission is already over! The time truly does fly by and I can´t believe one more of these and Elder Whetten will be gone and I will most likely have to be teaching another missionary everything about this area that Elder Whetten has taught me...SCARY THOUGHTS. 

I haven´t really talked about food a lot, but its been a working progress. For those who don´t know, I was a VERY picky eater before my mission so I have been trying really hard to change that. I have been able to eat everything, but somethings just take me a little longer. Really, the culture here is so diverse that we eat things from every country. Some of my favorite things, however, are Spanish tortillas, chocolate filled croissants, and paella. 

We had a really fun P-day as a zone today, because a lot of the missionaries are leaving for transfers, so we climbed this mountain on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and at the top there was an old World War 2 Cannon lookout. It was so awesome to see all of the cannons and the watch towers, and then we even got to go into one of the cannons and explore. The view was amazing too. Every day I´m more and more astounded by this country. 

I had a really awesome experience in a lesson this past week. We brought out the stake president with us, who is pretty notorious for being long winded, so we didn't really expect to have to do a ton of talking, and we were definitely right. Right from the start of the lesson he took over and started talking, using such beautiful and amazing words and examples. I was pretty impressed and I felt kind of inadequate to try and talk, but after about 20 minutes I decided to just slip in and give a small little testimony to let him catch his breath. As I was talking, I saw her eyes get super big and after I was done she told us that she felt something so strong as I was talking. She said even though the words of president were beautiful and eloquent, when I spoke she felt like there was a knot in her throat. I was absolutely amazed and humbled. The Lord had used my measly 5 weeks of broken Spanish in order to touch the heart of one of His children. It reminded me that we as missionaries do so little. We find, and open our mouths, and the spirit does the rest. 

Also, I remember talking last week about the feeling of disappointment when an investigator doesn't come to church. Well this week, I got to feel the total opposite. The excitement and fear of sitting next to an investigator who finally came and wondering what is going through their head and if they are liking it or not. So many emotions, but in the end its really just a pure joy in knowing that someone took a step toward Jesus Christ. 

As a mission this month, we have been studying chapter 6 in preach my gospel, which is about the attributes of Christ. There is an attribute assessment at the back of the chapter, and so we all took it, extremely honestly, and are now in the process of trying to improve on these attributes. I would challenge anyone reading this to do the same. Either take a PMG, or just think of an attribute, assess how you are doing, and then make goals and study to improve. As we strive to become more like our Elder Brother, we will be more able to receive guidance in our lives, surmount our challenges, and recognize the hand of God every day. 

Hope you all have an amazing week! 

Love, 

Elder Jenkins

Week 10: i-Spain, i-conference, i-easter, i-...

Wow! What an amazing week and ending it with General Conference was just the icing on the cake. It was pretty hard to watch all of the sessions here because of the time difference. We did get to watch them all in English, but we watched the Saturday morning session, Saturday night at 6 and then spent all day Sunday starting with the priesthood session at 11 am and ending with the Sunday night session at 10 pm. Take a bunch of 19 year-olds who have been going to bed at 11 for the last 6 months - 2 years and stick them in a room listening to general conference at midnight...it was an interesting scene, but I am so grateful we got to watch all of the sessions. Everything that was said I was able to apply directly to myself as a missionary and I feel like I've been given a breath of life for this work; however, I know that it only applied to me as a missionary because that's what I need right now. I hope that you all enjoyed conference as much as I did and if you didn't get to watch it then please go back and watch it! You will be edified and find guidance for your personal situations and trials, I can promise that.

This week we weren't able to get a ton done because I was in Malaga for half of the week. Because I´m one of the only missionaries legal to drive, I had to drive 4 zone leaders to Malaga for the zone leader meeting. Really I should say, ¨got to¨ because it was an amazing experience. Every time I drive across Spain, I'm appalled by the beauty of this country. One minute you are driving down steep canyons, the next you are in the midst of miles of olive vineyards, and then in the snowy mountains, and on the beaches of the Mediterranean sea. I also got to eat at the mission home with President and Sister Deere and meet all of the mission leaders. Not a lot of missionaries can say they got to go to the zone leader meeting as a greenie. This meeting was also a pretty special meeting because there was a pretty huge announcement...

May 4,5,6, the Spain Malaga mission will officially become an IPad mission! There is going to be a HUGE mission wide conference and two general authorities are going to come to talk to us and then give us all of our IPads. I'm so excited to see how this work can improve with the proper use of technology, and it will be nice to get a touch screen back in my hands! 

After missing so much of the week, it was really difficult to switch gears and get going on the missionary work this week, but we definitely still saw miracles. One thing I was reminded of this week is the power of the message of the Restoration. We were able to share it three times this week in lessons and every time the spirit witnessed so strongly to me of its truth. It reminded me of what was said in conference. Sometimes we talk about these powerful messages of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of the Restoration so much that we take them for granted or don´t give them the sacred attention they deserve. We are so blessed to live in a day where we have a knowledge of both of those amazing miracles, and I am even more blessed to be here in Spain spreading this glorious message. 

Hope you all had a great Easter Week and were able to find time to remember what this holiday is really about. We did have a little zone Easter egg hunt in between sessions just to keep the American Tradition alive but we had to look for boiled eggs instead of plastic ones with candy in them because they don´t have them here...which really made it a lot less motivating to find eggs. 

Elder Jenkins

Things I learned

1. Apparently the right turn on red lights thing doesn't apply here...good thing a native told me and not a policia....

2. You can choose to be right, or choose to be happy, but most often you can´t have both (This one is easier in theory than in action...)

3. The smaller toilet looking thing next to the real toilet is NOT a baby bath, contrary to my prior belief

4. There is a mission wide obsession with this super intricate way to shave your face, Once I grow enough facial hair to try it Ill let you all know how it is...

5.  You lift me, and Ill lift thee, and we´ll ascend together¨

 

Week 9: Don´t Forget The Miracles!

Apparently the Easter week is really huge here. There are tons of parades and processions and festivities. I haven´t really gotten to see anything yet, but I´m sure I will get to this next coming week!

So I decided with my new experience of driving, I would give you guys a little taste of what driving here in Spain is like with this weeks ¨Rotonda De La Semana¨. Basically the most outlandish roundabout that I had to drive through this week. Literally, I was driving on what would be the equivalent of an interstate, so around 120 kmh, and I start seeing signs to slow down. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY there was a GIANT roundabout, probably half a kilometer in diameter. I was absolutely flabbergasted - that's the only word to accurately describe it.

Spanish is hard. I have gotten to the point now in my speaking that I speak in Spanglish without even knowing it, which I guess is kind of a good thing because it means that I´m not having to concentrate so hard in order to speak the language. Other times I forget I´m in Spain and I ask a question in English, only for it to be returned by a blank stare of a native. Whoops!

I cooked my first very own Spanish cuisine this week...Fried Plantains. I´m not quite the Bobby Flay of Spain yet, but one step at a time. The coolest thing about being here is that you get the European culture and the South American Culture all in one. I've eaten food from Spain, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru here because the population is so diverse. There is one really district group of Ecuadorians here called Otovalans, and you can usually tell them apart because the men have pony tails. They are such an amazing people and their culture is so unique. They have their own language that I've been trying (to no such avail) to learn and the women wear these super brightly colored dresses to church. Whenever we see one, Elder Whetten practically takes the wheel and pulls the car over so we can talk to them!

This week, not unlike every other week, has been amazing; full of miracles at the hand of the Lord. I realized I probably shouldn't include names in my letter, but I would like to tell you all about a miracle man that we found this week. We got a call from other missionaries and apparently they had been contacted by a man on the street who once he started talking, couldn't help but cry. He was a past member of the church and actually an ex-missionary and he wanted missionaries to meet with him. Once we heard that, we tried to call him every day. Finally, he picked up and told us we could meet with him tomorrow, but he was really hard to understand and the little pueblo he lives in is about an hour away. We decided the journey was worth it and so we set off to find this man. After another hour and searching through fields and fields of crops, knocking doors and asking for directions, and finally this man picking up the 12th time we called him, we arrived at his humble abode. What we expected is what Elder Whetten calls a Sleeper Cell. The name is derived from those movies where there is an unsuspecting family in a nice suburban neighborhood living a fairly normal life, and then they one day receive a call and are activated as like spies on a secret mission. Likewise, sleeper cells in the missionary work are ex-members who have started a family and have a wife and kids who are all potential investigators, and this is what we expected at this house. What we found was a more or less 70 year old otovalan man, living alone, with years of trials and pain burning in his eyes. At first, it was hard not to be a little disappointing, especially as a new missionary thirsty for investigators and a baptism, but I was not prepared for one of the most powerful lessons of my mission up to this point. It had been 20 years since this man had been to the church. He served part of a mission but never finished. Since then, he had separated from his wife, his daughter had died, and at some point he somehow lost a finger and an ear (i must have missed that part in translation). There were so many points in that lesson where I had nothing to say, and not just because of the language. I was just at a loss for words. The Lord had entrusted me, a missionary of merely four weeks, with the task of bringing back one of his prized lost sheep. After the short lesson, we asked him to say the prayer and even though he insisted that he didn't remember how, he still agreed. The spirit during that prayer was so undeniable. Underneath those years of trials and pain, this man still had a testimony and love of His Savior Jesus Christ and although that flame was suppressed, exhausted, and barely flickering, it was there and guided him to us.

I realized then that my purpose isn't to baptize. We are here to invited others to Christ, whether or not they have been to Him before or not. This is a search mission and a rescue mission, and the rescue is just as satisfying as the find.

I hope you all have an amazing General Conference weekend. And if you don´t know what I mean by that, go to mormon.org and look up general conference, and then watch it. I promise that if you go into General conference with a question, something that you truly want to know, you will find your answer. But just like a test, if you go in without preparing, you are bound to miss something! Seek the answer to your questions in the scriptures, not look, but seek, and you will be better prepared to hear what the spirit has to say during conference.

Love you all and hope you have a great Semana Santa!

Elder Jenkins

I only really have one big lesson for the week, partly because I don´t have my journal with all of my stuff written down in it, but mostly because I think it had the most affect on me. I was sitting in church this Sunday, waiting the arrival of our investigator and her family who she ASSURED me were coming, and then all of the sudden, we were singing the opening him, and then the sacrament hymn, and then people were speaking, and still no sign. I´ll be honest, it was kind of hard to be happy in that moment, as I was looking back to the door so often I´m pretty sure my neck is sore now, but it was then that I realized my lesson.

1. This work is REALLY hard, only when you forget all the miracles. 

Week 8: Paz, Calmense

I feel like just yesterday I was sitting on the plane flying across the Ocean to Spain, and I just happened to blink and now I'm starting my 4th week here in Spain. People who say Disney World is the most magical place on Earth I'm sure haven´t been to Spain. Not only is it a huge blessing to be serving a mission, but to be serving in such an amazing place is just a cherry on top. Elder Whetten and I had an amazing week!

Just thought I would give you all just a little bit of the nitty gritty on my trainer. Elder Whetten is from Arizona and has about 2 months left on his mission, which will mean I'm his last companion...I know, what a stressful position for me!...He is one of the most motivated and determined people I have ever met. Just to give you all a little taste

of what I mean, Elder Whetten arrived in the mission at 5,11 280 pounds, and is now an unrecognizable 190. His picture of when he came out literally looks like a different person, but the weight didn't just fall off by himself. He works out HARD every morning and puts more thought into what he eats that I put into trying to match my socks with my ties...which is a lot just so you all know. He has had such an amazing mission so far and I´m constantly edified by his stories and daily examples; I´m glad that I still have 2 months to learn from him.

Some new things I found out about Spain this week. Just when I thought the roundabouts couldn't get any worse, I drove to a Zone Conference in Murcia where I was confronted with a 6 LANE ROUNDABOUT with 4 stoplights in it. It took me probably 10 minutes just to get through it. Also, The toilet bowls here don´t spiral when they flush. And no matter what the weather, if its not spring yet people will wear pants and a jacket even if its really hot out. One of the biggest styles here is wearing both the top and the bottoms of like a track running suit. It always reminds me of my Dad wearing all of his free Reebok track suits ha ha.  

The miracles of this week were definitely not lacking. One in particular was pretty amazing. So last week, we found Isabel and her family. At first, they were pretty intimidating because they quickly told us that if we were going to meet with them, we needed to support everything with the Bible. We took the challenge happily and started to meet with them. In fact, we had a lesson with them everyday of the week. They are so receptive and have such a strong spirit. 

When we first contacted her at her door, she was kind of skeptical as to what our purpose there was, but I quickly told her that we weren't there to change any of her beliefs, just to help her faith in Christ grow. I didn't realize at the time what I had even said, but I know the spirit `put those words into my mind to say. A couple lessons later, she told us that she had stopped going to church when she had her baby and she was looking for a way to help her faith grow in God. When we came to the door and said those words to her, she knew that we had been sent to her directly from God. Hearing someone acknowledge that was very powerful. Another cool moment was seeing her face when we told her her family could be together forever. I think i heard her jaw hit the floor. 

The weather at the end of this week had been HORRIBLE. It was super cold and the wind was the strongest I had ever seen in my life. I never fully imagined what the apostles felt like in the boat with the Savior as they feared for their lives. Well, they had reason to fear!! The wind about knocked you over when you tried to walk. Luckily we have a car, but we had many moments of silence for the faithful missionaries out walking. We invited Isabel to church, but she said that the weather forecasters said the weather was going to stay like this all weekend and she couldn't afford to have her baby get sick and have to buy medicine. I told her confidently that I would pray for better weather and we did. Saturday, the next day, was the most beautiful day of the year so far. Clear blue in a million, 33 degrees (Celsius of course), and zero wind. I was awe struck. While we were at a members house eating that day, the TV was on and we got a chance to see the weather for Spain. Literally, the entire southern half of Spain was COVERED with a huge weather system, except for a teeny tiny spot on the eastern coast....our pueblo! It was a miracle. The next day was exactly the same, perfect weather. Unfortunately, she still wasn't able to come to church, but that experience taught me some great lessons. It reminded me of what my Dad would always say. If your obedience to the commandments is conditional, you will always find a condition. 

Well, I hope life back in the States is treating you all well. Everyday, I thank the Lord for the blessing of being able to serve Him, and for the ability to do so the best that I can. If you do the same, I can promise you will find opportunities to see miracles in your own lives. 

Elder Jenkins

Things I learned

1. Never judge and investigator by his or her cover

2. If your obedience is conditional, you will always find a condition

3. If you want to see miracles, be someone else's miracle first

4. If you want to say something is cool in Spanish, you literally call it the stick. For instance, ¨Oh dude! those shoes are the stick¨....

5. Before you dunk on a basketball hoop, check to make sure the backboard isn't made of cardboard

6. If you try to buy candy to give to kids you visit, but leave it open in the car, it will be gone by the time you get to the kids.

Week 7: Miracles of Missionary Service

What a Week! Every single day I have just collapsed into my bed out of
exhaustion (which you would think wouldn´t be a big issue since we
have our luxurious car) but with the biggest smile on my face. I have
felt the Lord literally walking beside us, or navigating in the
passengers seat, almost every day this week and because of that, we
have seen miracles.

Honestly, I can´t tell if the time is flying by or not. I mean, on one
hand, I can´t believe that I am already starting week three here in
Cartagena; however, on the other hand, I feel like I came out of the
womb wearing a chapa (missionary name tag). I thought I would share
some of the few things different about living here in Spain and then
close with some of the miracles that happened this week.

Right now, I´m writing my email from what we call a ¨Loc¨ which is
short for locutorio. Its a super sketchy internet cafe place where we
have a little cubicle to write letter in, not exactly the luxurious
laptops we had in the MTC but it gets the job done. I started driving
this past week and it has been pretty scary. There are never any
intersections policed by traffic lights, just roundabouts of every
size. There are small round abouts, big round abouts, roundabouts with
traffic lights in them, and roundabouts that have other roundabouts
connected to them. Its pretty different, especially driving on super
small cobblestone streets where I feel like I could stick my tongue
out the window and lick the cars passing me, but I´m already getting
used to the European style of driving. The other weird thing is seeing
speed limit signs that say ¨120¨, even though its only in Kilometers
per hour. Other things that are different. All the super markets REEK
of fish, because they just have fresh fish and sea food of every size
sitting on ice, and the toilet paper is slightly longer here too! The
other thing that is weird to get used to is not having a drier. We
have these little racks that we hang all of our stuff on and then a
space heater that we put under them to make them dry faster, but it
makes all your socks super scratchy and shirts super wrinkly, but I
guess that's the price you pay for being able to live in the most
beautiful city on the planet.

This last week we had a cita in a place called The Manga, which is a
little strip of land that bordered on one side by the Mar Menor and on
the other side by the Mediterranean sea. The lady we were visiting
lives on the top floor of an apartment building right on the coast and
we were there right during sun set. It was such a breathtaking moment,
and i was sad i didn´t have my phone to snapchat it, but the image is
ingrained in my mind forever.

This week has been FULL of miracles. Everyday, we set goals that we
never thought we would be able to accomplish, but we worked hard and
kept walking and the Lord guided our steps. The first day of the week,
my trainer, Elder Whetten, who is also the zone leader, had to go to
Malaga for a meeting so I was on an intercambio with another elder in
our apartment, and I didn´t have the car so we were walking. It was a
pretty hot day and I was in an area that I had never been to before,
and on top of that my companion was kinda lost. Everyone was out
working so we couldn´t get anyone to teach, so we decided to just try
to visit one more Antiguo, which is someone who hasn´t been taught in
a long time. We knocked on the door and a man answered, but said he
was an inactive member and had absolutely no interest in listening to
us. As he was shutting the door, my companion just shared a tiny
testimony with him about God´s love for him. We walked away, and i was
feeling like this day was pretty wasted, but then we heard someone
calling our names (well...Elder...haha). We turned around to see that
this girl was literally running after us. I figured it was probably
because we are american and she wanted a picture with my blonde
companion or something. When she caught up to us, she told us that she
was the daughter of the guy who just rejected us. She was sitting on
the computer when we came to the door, and heard my companions
testimony and wanted to know more. She ran after us and told us that
she wants to be taught. I literally was at a loss for words, and not
just because of the Spanish. I just kinda stared at her and almost
asked if she was serious. Unfortunately, she goes to school in Murcia
so we aren´t able to teach her and see her growth, but we got the
reference and passed it on to the missionaries up there to teach her.
I was in awe and I immediately prayed for forgiveness for all the bad
thoughts I had up until that point. Someone literally thought our
message was important enough that she ran after us! I realized an
important lesson. The Lord won´t let a single day of His work go to
waste, unless you waste it.

I know this is long, but I just want to tell one more story. So within
the first couple days of being here, I had the opportunity to ¨find¨ a
family of four. Finding means that you got a reference and then you
contact and teach them a lesson and they become a new investigator.
Well, we found Nanci and her 3 kids a day or two after I got there and
got to just get to know them. Well this past week, we got to have
another lesson with them, so we decided to teach the restoration. She
is so golden, I could spend ten more minutes of time talking about how
great she and her family are, but I just want to focus on one part.
Just the night before, Elder Whetten and I were talking about how
something ALWAYS happens when you share the first vision. Well we
shared the restoration with them and it was time for the First vision.
I shared it and all was going well, the spirit was so strong, and
nothing had happened. We let a couple seconds of silence pass and then
Elder Whetten started to bear his testimony. As he was talking, I
watched as a huge tri-fold mural behind Nanci started to wobble, and
in slow motion fell right onto her head. The room erupted into
laughter and me and Elder Whetten could not believe our eyes. I
jokingly told her she must not have been listening when I said
´´escuchalo´´ and so this was God telling her to listen. We were able
to get the lesson back on track and as of right now the whole family
has baptism fechas, but it has been an amazing experience to be a part
of the entire conversion process with them. I will keep you all
updated on how it goes.

Well, everything is going absolutely great here. I couldn´t be more
happy to be here in Spain, but more importantly here in the service of
the Lord. I know that this gospel that I am here spreading is true and
if you are seeking true joy and happiness in your life, the Gospel of
Jesus Christ will bring exactly that. I hope all is going well with
all of you and I send you my love. Until Next Week!

Elder Jenkins

Things I learned
1. The Lord won´t let a day of his work go to waste, unless you waste it.
2. If during the day, you ever say, ¨what are we going to do next¨ ,
your planning the night before was a failure
3. Pedestrians here will expect you to slam on the breaks without even
looking to see if a car is coming
4. When people ask a gospel question, give them a camera case of info,
not a suitcase of knowledge
5.The choco-pillows cereal doesn´t turn the milk into chocolate milk,
BUT if you mix it with coco pebbles you can enjoy the goodness of
choco-pillows without the grossness of shelf milk