Sweater weather is in our midst

Christ Statue overlooking the town of Esporles

Hola a todos!

Another week has flown by in the islands! It has been pretty crazy, and also kinda chilly! With the official start of fall, the weather seems to be getting cooler with lots of wind and storms. Recently, we have been working with Instagram. We are just doing a pilot program we can say, as very few missionaries in all of Europe have it, and even less in our mission. It is a totally new playing field, and we have been working a lot with it recently. Making posts, videos, and these reel things or whatever? It's been pretty crazy and we have been learning a lot, but it is a great tool and I know we will see miracles with it!

This week we taught lots of people as usual, but in one of our citas we talked about the words of Christ, and the importance of reading the scriptures, asking questions, and growing our testimony. And in 2 Nephi 32:3, it says:

3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

And so, according to this verse, we should feast upon the words of Christ. And I really love the promise found at the end of the verse, that is if we do that, feast, they will tell us all things what we should do. Like wow, what a promise! And so one might ask, what are the words of Christ? Bueno we know that the scriptures are for sure, but also the words of modern-day Apostles, and our living Prophet, Russell M. Nelson. And this weekend we will have the opportunity to feast upon the words of Christ, spoken through the mouths of His modern-day servants here on the earth. So I invite all of you to prepare yourself for this Conference. Think of questions you would like answered, pray and ponder about them, and I promise that if you do those things, General Conference will be an amazing experience and can help build and strengthen your testimony.

I hope everyone has a great week, and enjoy this weekend!

Élder Van Wagenen

God Bless America, Viva España

Fotos:

1. Cap de Formentor

2. Dominos with a member family

3. Mate at Santa Ponça

4. A very cute puppy

5. Santa Ponça with some beautiful clouds

6. Christ Statue

Another week in the life

El Toro

 

Hola a todos!

This will be a shorter email this week as I am quite low on time. And speaking of time like where does it go??? This week went by so fast!! I can't even believe that we are already at the start of another week!

But anyways, we had a really great week. We had so many visits, and met with lots of people. And something I wanted to share with y'all is that I know that keeping the commandments brings us blessings.

We are teaching someone who is really awesome. She loves reading the Book of Mormon, prays several times every day, and often attends our virtual meetings when her tricky job schedule permits her to do so. This week we taught her about the Word of Wisdom, which is usually tough for some people to follow, including our amigo. She is from Colombia, where coffee is like it is in the States, a very popular way to start the morning. And we explained that the word of wisdom includes drugs and tobacco, and she had no problem accepting it. Science has shown that avoiding these substances proves for a happier and healthier body. However science does not say too much with coffee. So what's bad about it? And bueno, there may be a few small things, but we don't really know. But it gives us the opportunity to trust in the Lord and say, well I don't know why the Lord has given this commandment, but I am willing to follow it, and will give my all to do so. And as we do so, and rely on the Lord for help, he will not only help us keep the commandments, but also bless us openly for doing so. I have a very strong testimony of this, and the Lord helps us to keep his commandments so that we can be happy.

Until next week! Here are some fotos of one of the prettiest places on this planet!

Élder Van Wagenen
God Bless America, Viva España

Fotos:

1. Port de Sóller

2. Port de Sóller

3. Port de Sóller

4. This was almost really bad

I love Spanish pastries

Spanish pastries are literally the best thing ever

Hola a todos!

It has been yet again another great week in the islands! And what a fast week it was! It feels like we went to las cuevas, yet at the same time things we did this week felt like they happened a long time ago, it's hard to explain, but the time does weird things when you're out on the mission. But anyways, we had an awesome week full of awesome experiences!

One of those experiences was I was able to hold a baptismal interview for an amigo in another area. They have us do these interviews just to make sure that said person is ready to begin their life as a member of the church, and that they have s genuine desire to do so. But before doing it, the Elders who have been teaching her told me they have only met with her twice, and only tuned in to one zoom meeting. The Elders and this person met a short week and a half ago. And not that this would be a problem, however only meeting with the missionaries for a week and a half is not very normal. But as I started in the interview, and listened to her testimony, we its hard to describe the Spirit I felt. In that moment I knew, that even though she has had a very short time meeting with the missionaries, she had a very strong testimony, and it was a testimony to me that God truly does prepare people to recieve the Gospel. She invited us to her baptism, which was held at a beautiful beach in Can Picafort, and just before she was baptized, she said although I barely know any of you, and have only been meeting with the Elders for 2 weeks, in this moment, I feel like I'm at home, and I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church on the earth today. And wow it was so powerful!!! It was an awesome experience, and it is something I will remember for a real long time.

This week we also had the opportunity to listen to Jack Welch, who while on his mission in Germany in the 1960s, discovered Chiasmus, a way of early Hebrew writing found in the Bible, but in the Book of Mormon. And wow listening to Jack Welch speak of his discovery, and all of the things that he found, just further deepened my testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. This chiasmus thing is something very complicated and is something that professors have taken years to wrap their heads around, and you're telling me Joseph Smith, with a 3rd grade education, simply wrote them out?? Haha I do not think so. If you are interested, Jack Welch told us to go to bookofmormoncentral.org, or simply search Book of Mormon Central on google, and read to find out more and read more in depth of his discoveries, because its awesome.

Anyways, another 7 excellent days serving the Lord I love. I know that He is there, and that through the Book of Mormon, a strong and powerful witness of Jesus Christ, we can grow closer and develop a better relationship with God, who loves us so much and wants the absolute best for us!!! Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen
God Bless America, Viva España

Fotos:

1. Picnic in Palma

2. Service at a farm!

3. A really small and beautiful town called Valldemosa

4. Our district and some other friends 

5. Eating pastries out of the rain