Heading Up North!

I figure you were getting bored with boring letters, so I started doing something every night to increase the level of awesomeness. I just write one thing about the day that I can include in a letter home. Actually a lot has happened, so I will just go in order. And by order I mean from the most interesting, not chronologically.

I am going to Oviedo on Monday. It's way up north. I am pretty super stoked because it's a great area with a lot of people and I will have a great companion. I am also going to be a zone leader, which means, I will actually have to shape up now. We found out today, way early, so we have time to make travel arrangements and junk. I am kind of sad because this little town has the town festival the week after I go. Two members and an investigator are having birthday parties, there is a special zone conference for only the Madrid missionaries, with a general authority, and we have a baptismal date. But it just means the new Elder here will love it. Actually it's my companion from the CCM here in Spain, and like my best friend in the mission, so that's cool. I also knew my new companion in the CCM, so we will have fun catching up. So that is that.

So I have this brilliant idea. Because I don't really believe that missionaries in South America contact like we contact here. If Spain missionaries and South American missionaries just switched halfway through their missions, I think it would stir things up quite a bit. We went to pass by a Peruvian guy's one night, and he hadn't returned from work, but his brother answered the door. We just decided to talk to him till he let us in, and after 10 minutes of talking at the door, we were inside drinking juice and eating pastries. It's just like a gold mine. I will definitely miss South Americans, but I will be working the Spaniards up north!

So, I have definitely learned the danger and the beauty in talking to young people. Three people have told us they want to get baptized in our church, (they have no idea what that includes but they said it), so there is gold in the youth. But we have this group of 13-16 year olds that we talked to and every time they see us, they come running up to us and hug us. They love practicing their English on us. The problem is they only know like 5 words, and 4 of them I would never repeat. But it usually turns into us teaching them the Law of Chastity, or Word of Wisdom, or some commandment. It actually turned out to be a sweet experience, because I was talking to one of them more seriously while my companion handled the rest of the group ( brave man.) The boy was like, you guys are missing out on the pleasures of life. I just asked him, if they really are the pleasures of life, why do you think we don't do them? He just kind of thought, I don't know... maybe because you are all weird? Then I asked, why do you think millions of people wouldn't do these things voluntarily, and he was all like, I don't know. Then I asked him if God told you that you could have a happier life by not doing these things, would you stop, and he said, well I guess. Then we almost got to the subject of prayer but the group got bored with my companion and started harassing me. But, two of the girls, 13 year olds and not virgins in case you were wondering, asked us if girls can be missionaries too because they want to talk to people about God. So in between f-words and crude jokes, we are slowing making progress with them.

Alright last story of the week. On Monday, we just had nothing going our way. Three set lessons already bailed, so we were running by some back up plans and contacting a bit. Well we left to go to our next supposed set lesson, and while we were walking on a rode of chalets (chalets are like nice condos, where wealthier Spaniards usually live), my companion in the middle of the road said, lets knock here. I was like, OK Mr. loving to waste time. Yeah, so he found a South American family of 4 that wants to learn more. Ha, ha. I just kind of realized, my companion is boss. It was a pretty sweet little experience. Other than that, we continue with Romanians that don't believe in God but can quote the whole Bible, and a couple of golden people that need to get married. Stay pretty.