It is chilly!

Birthday party for an Hermana in the district 

Hola a todos!

I hope everyone had a great week, and a wonderful Christmas! Here in Bilbao, I felt a little more at home because it is COLD here!!! Like super super cold. However it rains, and it rains a lot, almost every day, that is something I'm not used to, however, we here in Bilbao had a wonderful Christmas. Within our district of 6, we have a wide variety of cultures and countries represented. So we had a big Christmas meal together, and everyone brought some dishes from their home country, those countries being the good ol' U. S. of A. by yours truly, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, and Norway. We had a great meal and had a lot of fun together.

A kind of interesting experience I had this week was something kind of small but has really changed my perspective on some things. This week we taught one of our amigos of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and as we were teaching her about the concept of faith, the first step, something clicked. And I have always known what faith was, and my knowledge of it certainly has grown in the past year, but as I said, for some reason this week it just clicked. Our amigo was kind of confusing faith and hope. They are kind of the same thing, however, faith adds one thing, action. For example, we can have faith, and ask God that he will help us on a very big test we have in school. However, if we don't show action, doing everything we can to do whatever we are asking for, we just have hope. And hope is great, but it's not faith. As we read in James 2:20

20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Quite simply said, again not sure why it clicked for me this week, but that's what the Spirit does I guess. So have faith, but have real faith, which includes work on our part as well. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful end to a strange year and a great start to a year full of great potential. 

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1.In the mountains above Bilbao

3. Christmas feast

4. Christmas in Bilbao

Eguberri on!

Te quiero Palma

 Hola a todos!

I have landed in Bilbao, Pais Vasco, or in other words, Basque Country. It is completely different here, having served the first year of my mission in the south and islands when I came to the north I was not expecting it to be so different! It really does feel like a whole new country. First thing is it is cold! So I will no longer be flexing short sleeve shirts. It is quite chilly here, like Nevada, however, there is still much more humidity here, but cold is cold. My new companion is Elder Gomes, he is from Brazil, but when he was in his youth moved to Spain, specifically the islas canarias. We get along really well, we do have opposing opinions of which islands in Spain are better jaja, but it is going to be a great transfer!

And, looking at the calendar it actually caught me off guard that Christmas is this week! I guess being in the mission is different because before the whole month of December felt like 3 months, every day passing very slowly until the 25th. But, this month has been flying! If you haven't watched any of the Light the World videos made by the church, they are wonderful. They made some new ones that take into account the current situation with its limits and added rules like masks and social distancing, and how there are still ways we can serve as Christ did, even during an ongoing pandemic. If you haven't watched them, you can go to YouTube, find the channel, Come unto Christ, and they will all be right there.

In Luke 2, we find the most in detail account of the nativity. And I wanted to talk a little bit about my favorite scripture in the nativity, which is verse 10:

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Good tidings of great joy. That has always stuck with me before the mission, and even more so during. As a missionary, that is a big part of what I do. Everything I do, teaching, finding new people, doing service, all is so that I can bring good tidings of great joy to all people. Specifically in Spain, and in this moment, the people of Bilbao. I teach people that Jesus Christ was born for us. He is our example, what we should try to follow in our mortal lives. He gave us teachings and commandments, that help and guide us back to our eternal home. And most importantly, he suffered and died for every single person, so that we can repent of our wrongdoings, and return back to live with God. That is the good tidings of great joy. 

Another video that explains this much better than I can with very few words is called Because of Him, which if you typed that in YouTube surely will pop up. However, as we celebrate Christmas, I would like to invite you to ponder on that phrase, good tidings of great joy, and think about what that means to you. And then, think of ways you can give a gift to the Lord. We may not be able to give him any physical presents, however, we most certainly can give him "gifts," whether it be through service to another individual, a personal sacrifice, etc. And I promise that as you put Christ as the center of your Christmas, it will be a Christmas not to be forgotten.

I hope everybody has a very merry Christmas, until next week! Feliz Navidad, bon nadal, eguberri on! Yeah, that last one is euskera, that's the language they speak here.

Élder Van Wagenen

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Last consejo de distrito 

2. Boyz trip in Valldemosa

3. Me and my new companion, Elder Gomes

4. Bilbao

5. Bilbao

6. Adeu Palma

Milagros

Christmas in Palma

Hola a todos!

It has been such a good week! We really were able to see some success this week. This week, we challenged 2 people to be baptized! One of these people has had very difficult times in his life and has recently found God as a source of healing in his life. The other amigo we teach has been struggling with the concept of baptism for a very long time, but we sat both of them together, and we taught them and listened to their concerns. And there was certainly a point when I was thinking that maybe it would be better to wait to invite them to be baptized, but that thought was quickly replaced with a much stronger DO IT. So, I said okay these amigos need a date, so when I talked to them about the sacredness of baptism, the covenant we make there, and the blessings we receive from making and keeping that covenant, the Spirit was in the room. When I offered a date in the future to be baptized, they both willingly accepted it without any issues. So we are super super excited to keep working with these 2 awesome people!

This week I have continued my studies in the Gospel of Matthew, a great book, and learned quite a bit. One thing I particularly liked was what I learned from the Parable of the Laborers. To give a brief explanation of that parable, a landowner hires a bunch of people to work in his vineyard, he hires people at the beginning of the "shift," towards the middle, and right at the end. At the end of the day, every single worker was paid the same amount of money, whether they worked 12 hours or 1 hour. And so, as one may expect, the worker who was there all day was a little frustrated. Why did the other guy get the same amount as me even though I worked 12 times as long as he did? And so what I learned isn't about money, or working, or anything like that. But rather that all the workers, no matter when they started, got the same reward. Likewise, people may find God in different times in life. For some people may be not even in this life, yet, it doesn't matter when you found God, but that you did. And as long as we are obedient and faithful, we will all receive the same reward at the end, that being eternal happiness in the Celestial Kingdom. 

And on a sad note, something I just found out in the middle of preparation day, I will be leaving the island and going to a new area. I am super sad, as the island has been very good to me, and I have loved every day of it. But I suppose God needs me somewhere else, that somewhere else being Bilbao, in Pais Vasco.

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Stuck in the rain without umbrellas

2. Ripping mate and talking about God with an amigo

3. Valldemosa, a little town outside of Palma

4. Christmas in Palma

The Spirit is powerful

 Remember Pearl

 Hola a todos!

We had such a fantastic week!! We had the opportunity to listen to Elder and Sister Sabin, who are of the Europe Area Presidency, and it was absolutely awesome! I felt the Spirit very strong every day, and I also learned a lot from them, especially with regards to missionary work, and becoming a better teacher and a better representative of Jesus Christ. However, there were some things that can be applied to anyone, not just missionaries. One of those things that Elder Sabin invited us to do is make a list full of blessings we have received from the Lord. As I was making my own list, I quickly realized how blessed I am, and it was not difficult to keep writing down blessings until I ran off the page. So if you have some free time, a piece of paper, and a pen, I'd recommend doing it. Even just this past week when I was feeling a bit down or discouraged, that list always helped raise my spirits, and it is something I will refer to, and continue to add to for many years to come.

This past week we also spent some time finding new people to teach. And although we may be stuck in our pisos and not allowed to contact in the streets, we still saw many little miracles as God led us to people ready to hear the Gospel. We contacted tons of people, some of which we are going to meet with this week. We also had a really cool teaching moment with a really nice family consisting of a mother and a father, and 2 young kids. As we were teaching this family, I received an impression to ask them what is the most important thing in their lives. If they could only keep one thing in this world, what would it be? (And what would that be for you???) Well to my surprise, every member of the family replied with the same answer, almost simultaneously; family. We then had the opportunity to briefly explain what the Plan of Salvation is, and that through Jesus Christ, we can be with our families not only in this life, but after this life as well, forever in fact. The Spirit made itself manifest in that home, and we are excited to go back and continue explaining how this family can have true joy in this life. I am super excited!!

Patriotic reminder, today marks the 79th Anniversary of the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor. Hang your flags up, and remember the day that will live in infamy🇺🇸

And although I am not Spanish, I still love the country of Spain with all my heart. So, happy Constitution Day in Spain as well🇪🇦

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Cap de Formentor, one of my favorite places in Spain

2. Mirador Es Colomer, my favorite place in Spain

3. My first paella

4. Mirador Es Colomer

Christmas is coming!

Thanksgiving with the Fosters

 Hola a todos!

It has been an excellent week here in the islands, a great wrap-up to the month of November! We have been teaching lots of people and seeing God's hand as we work to find more prepared people to teach. 

I was pretty spoiled this week, as I got a very American-style Thanksgiving, and even more so, I got to eat the amazing food of a senior missionary who knows a thing or two of cooking. It was amazing, a full meal with a flavorful turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, the goods. And of course, topped off with a very large arrangement of pies. It was such a great day, and always a good reminder that we truly have lots of things to be grateful for. That is something that I saw as the whole world took part in the Prophet's invitation, that although we live in some really tough times, we still have lots of things to be grateful for and receive many blessings from the Lord. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. 

And well, seeing that it is December, not sure where the time decided to go, but it is time for Light the World! I absolutely love this program that the church does, and especially the videos, they are always so good! I am very excited to keep up with Light the World and to really remember the main reason behind celebrating Christmas, the birth of our Savior. And with that, here is a simple, yet powerful scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 6:36

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

Again, a very simple, yet powerful scripture. Walking through life can be quite difficult sometimes, full of challenges and trials. And I have been able to identify several of these just in the past year of my life. As I was reading in this section, this scripture jumped out, even though I have read it several times before. It made me think about it, and ponder for quite some time. How simple is that, to just look unto Christ in every thought. And if we do that, we have no need to fear nor doubt. That is what Christ does. He makes it possible for us to overcome anything, and all we need to do is have faith in him, and turn to him in every thought. And with this time of year, I invite y'all to find ways to turn unto the Savior in every thought. Use Light the World, serve as He served, love as He loved, live as He lived. Keep him in your thoughts always, and you will have an unforgettable Christmas season. I know that this statement is true because last Christmas was a Christmas that I won't ever forget, although I didn't understand very much, I spent almost every day of the week trying with all my might to serve as He served, and it was glorious. So y'all should try it😁

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. They turned on the lights! Paseo del borne

2. Mate and a Mallorcan sunset, a very good combo

3. Port de Soller

4. Lights