The end of an era

 Hola a todos!

I currently find myself writing this email in the good land of the United States of America. Boy is it good to be back. We had quite the adventure returning though. Our flight from Barcelona to Newark was delayed 4 hours, which meant that we were going to miss our connecting flight from Newark to Denver. United apparently felt bad and they got us a hotel for the night, so Elder English and I had a fun night in Newark, and we got back a day late. But I will say seeing the large 12x20 American flag in the Newark airport brought some very moving feelings.

It is still pretty hard to believe that my mission has come to an end. And this past week has been a very weird week of trying to adjust to not being a missionary anymore. I am so grateful for my mission, and I wouldn't change it a bit. Not where I served, when I served, or who I served with, And that's what I love about missions, the Lord calls us to a certain place at a certain time, and custom tailors missions to the individual. And that is how I feel about my mission. The people I met and taught, the companions I served with, and members I met, were all put in my path because the Lord saw it fit. I am forever grateful for my mission, and I know that it has left a long-lasting effect on my life.

For those of you who read my emails, thank you. It really means a lot to me that I had friends and family back at home that were aware of me and that supported me, and I hope my adventures in España weren't too boring. Unfortunately, this will be my last email, however, I do hope to remain in frequent contact with you all. I will not be using this email address anymore, so I will drop my updated contact information down at the bottom.

But if there is anything that the mission taught me, it taught me that our Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. He really did rise from the tomb the 3rd day and has his arms extended out to every single one of us with the invitation to come unto Him. He lives, and He is actively leading His church here on the earth through a modern prophet, Russell M. Nelson. The best way to live this life is by letting Him lead and guide us, and as we follow the commandments and His teachings, we are not only happy but blessed exceedingly. (Mosiah 2:41)

Thanks y'all for joining me on this ride, have a wonderful week!
Hermano Van Wagenen
Viva España God Bless America

The best wine was saved for last

Baptism of Micaela

 Hola a todos!

While on the earth, one of the first miracles that the Savior did was change water to wine at a wedding party. In that time era, wine was very common, and the best wine was often served at the beginning of the party or celebration. When the Savior changed water to wine, He did it pretty well, and the guests of the party were in awe that the best wine was saved for the end of the party. What does this have to do with anything? Well, I can relate to this pretty well, because these past 5 weeks have been nothing but the best wine. Don't worry, the word of wisdom is being kept, simply an analogy folks.

With that said, it is hard to believe that within the coming hours, I will be leaving Spanish soil, and going back to the United States. How do I feel? I don't know. It's a lot like how John describes in Revelations, where he eats a book, and it is sweet to the taste but later bitter. It's the same. I am so grateful for the past 2 years and 10 days, for all the people and experiences I've had. The Elder Van Wagenen that entered Spain, and the Elder Van Wagenen that will leave it are 2 different people. I have grown so much, and I will always treasure these 2 years. The bitter part, leaving a country I love just as much as I love my own. Saying goodbye to people that, it is possible I never see again in this life, and also the fact that the end of an era is very near. So, it's bitter-sweet. But, I am taking a part of Spain with me, and I hope to come back in the future.

This past week was amazing. The Lord blessed us with some serious miracles, and we had 2 amigos enter the waters of baptism. It was an amazing week, and I couldn't think of a better way to finish. To not make this email novel status, I will share more of my experiences with yall in a few days.

This time, it's probably not an until next week, but I will probably send out 1 more email after I've returned home. So, until a few days!

Élder Van Wagenen 
Viva España, Visca Catalunya, God Bless America 

Fotos:

1. Baptism of Nelson

2. Baptism of Nelson

3. Micaela and her sister, Erika

4. Fútbol with some chavales

5. La capilla in Barcelona, I'll miss Catalán so much!

6. The district

T minus 8 days

Montserrat with 67% of the Barcelona zone

Hola a todos!

The weeks just keep slipping away faster than I had ever imagined, but we are trying to make the best of every single day! We are still pretty busy teaching lots of people, and our friend Micaela is going to get baptized this week! She is so excited for her baptism, and it's going to be such a good way to end my mission. But trying not to think about the end jaja

I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference as much as I did. I really felt the love that our Prophet, Russell M. Nelson, has for us as he spoke. The way that he invited us to strengthen our spiritual foundations, with warnings that it is imperative for our spiritual survival that we study the scriptures every day, it strengthens my testimony that he really is the watchman in the high tower. He knows of the dangers that are down the road and is telling us how we can prepare ourselves for the dangers. We share the same exact thing with the people we teach. God has called Prophets to teach and warn His people, he did so in the Bible, he did in the Book of Mormon, and he continues to do so now.

Go take a look at some of the talks from this past weekend if you didn't get a chance. They get better and better every year!

Until next week!
Élder Van Wagenen 
God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Last General Conference in Spain, but definitely not the last with un buen tereré 

2. An Eagle next to another

3. Sagrada Familia 

4. Sagrada Familia 

5. Yoga

6. Monasterio de Montserrat

El Espíritu habla

Camp Nou

 Hola a todos!

This week I had one of the best teaching experiences of my mission. We are teaching a person named Micaela. She is absolutely great. I thought she was a member when I first met her, but she hasn't been baptized. She has been always been going back and forth on actually being baptized, and has had some difficulties in making that decision. The last time we met with her, we invited her to read Mosiah 18, which talks a little bit about baptism. As we talked about how her study went, she said she cried when she read the part, "what do you have against being baptized?" Hehe, I was hoping that would happen. We talked about it, and she said she talked with her mom, (who originally wouldn't let her get baptized), and her mom gave her permission, and Micaela wants to be baptized in November. We asked why November. And she said well that makes 1 year from when I met the sisters. Now we wanted to get her baptized sooner, and the perfect scripture came into my mind at that moment. Alma 13:27, it says:

27 And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;

I know, a little fuerte, strong, but it was the perfect thing she needed. That scripture, along with her older Sister's testimony and experience, (who was baptized about 8 months ago) helped her realize that she should consider having it sooner. And so, in October she will be getting baptized. Pray for Micaela!!!

Anyways, great experience this week. Hope everyone is doing well!

Until next week! Can only say that a few more times!
Élder Van Wagenen 
God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Dope Barcelona members 

2. Mate, scriptures, and alfajores made by yours truly

3. Sandy, a good friend from when I was in the office

4. Elder English told me to get a pic in front of this. I'm glad I did

5. Hermana Olson! I worked with her for MONTHS on social media through zoom, and she made it to Spain not too long ago!

6. A 2kg kebab in the flesh 

The power of the first vision

Tibidabo with the district

 Hola a todos!

It has been an amazing past few weeks in the heart of Barcelona. I have a very nice view of the Sagrada Familia from where I study, and I love being in the city. We cover 2 wards, and so I get to meet with even more people! But these past weeks have gone by pretty quickly.

A super awesome teaching experience we had this week was with a new person we found, Nelson. He just wanted to learn more about God and was interested in the Church and how it came to be. So we taught him about the Restoration, and we had a great experience there. When we got to Joseph Smith's first vision, we showed him a foto of his experience as we recited his experience. He said after that, upon hearing the experience, and especially seeing the picture, he said that he felt something he hadn't felt before, in his heart. We quickly helped him understand that said feeling in his heart was indeed the Spirit. We met with him again today, he came to church, and he loves the Church. We are super excited to keep teaching him, and I know the Lord has prepared him for this time.

Until next week!
Élder Van Wagenen 
God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Tibidabo

2. The Sagrada

3. What else do you do when a cita cancels?

4. I love all Spanish cathedrals stained glass windows, but this one is the best by far. Jesus is confronting the devil on Tibidabo, love it.

Alexa, play Barcelona by George Ezra

Palacio de Aljafería, a super old palace in the middle of Zaragoza 

 Hola a todos!

2 pieces of information. We do not own an Amazon Alexa, but playing Barcelona by George Ezra sure would be appropriate because that is where I'm heading! We got a call from Presidente, and later the Zone Leaders about some transfer news. I will be leaving Zaragoza, and spend the last 5 weeks of my time in Spain in Barcelona. It is very bittersweet because I was really thinking I was going to finish my mission in Zaragoza, and I have met some super amazing people and members here, but, I am super super excited to be going back to Barcelona. I won't be in the office this time, so I hopefully will be able to meet some more members in Barcelona, and I am super excited for this final chapter of my mission. 

This past week was been super busy. Like one day we had 6 citas, we were driving from cita to cita, and we were barely making it to our citas, it was crazy! One of our citas was an English class. We teach lots of English for free as a service, in hopes that the people we teach English will want to learn about the Gospel. This was like the 4th of 5th class we have had with these people, and at the beginning of the cita, they asked, hey just out of curiosity, could you explain to us where your church comes from?? We were kinda shook, commenced with the lesson of the Restoration. I felt the Spirit so strongly as I shared the first vision in the words of Joseph Smith. It was an awesome lesson, and they were very interested and grateful for teaching them. I hope they keep having interest in learning more, even after I depart.

Until next week!
Élder Van Wagenen 
God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Saying goodbye to gente part 1

2. Saying goodbye to gente part 2. I kid you not 2 seconds after this selfie Presidente called😂

3. Saying goodbye to gente part 3

4. Big doggo

Bautismo!

Angelhina's baptism

 Hola a todos!

This week was a great week, as always, but especially great because we were able to have a baptism! Our amiga, Angelinha, was baptized this week. She was going to be baptized a while ago, however, due to some medical issues, they couldn't do it. After a year, everything was all good. The baptismal service was super cute honestly, and the Spirit was definitely present.

This week we had the opportunity to teach our ward about missionary work, and how it has changed. We have been working on social media for about a year and a half now, and although there is still a lot of things we have yet to learn and figure out, we are slowly starting to get the hang of things. Lots of things have changed.  One principle that has not changed is the vital role that the members have in this missionary work. We made a presentation where we showed all the members our Facebook page, Venir a Cristo - Norte de España, (you should take a look, I've heard that the missionary who took the cover foto picture is super cool.), and we showed the member how to like our page, follow our page, and share the Gospel in easy and simple ways. It was a super great opportunity to teach others, and our ward is super awesome because so many members want to help us out.

I can almost guarantee that wherever you live, there is a local Facebook page that the missionaries are using to invite others to come unto Christ. You should definitely contact your local missionaries, and ask what you can do to help. They will be bouncing off the walls, I promise. I also might know a thing or 2 when it comes to social media, so if you have questions on what you can do to share the Gospel online, send me an email or a message on Messenger. I'd love to help as well. In Isiah 18:2 it says:

2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

Might I point your attention to the part that says "swift messengers" ? Literally taken, people who share a message quickly. We know that every nation and people will, at one point, hear of the message of the restored Gospel, and I believe that social media is going to have a huge role in that, thus the swift messengers. We are finding that we are reaching more people than ever before, and we need your help. If you have Facebook, Instagram, any social media platform, and a desire to serve God, ye are called to the work. And as you do so, God not only recompenses our efforts but blesses us 100 fold.

I'm praying so that the fires clear up soon! Stay safe everyone!!

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Baptism

2. Mediodía lunch 

3. We went to Bilbao for zone conference. I never get bored of this city.