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:
No comments:
Post a Comment