Elder Van in Spain: January 2021

The Missionaries of Bilbao

Hola a todos!

We have had another wonderful week here in Basque Country, with a little less rain! We enjoyed more sun this week, and we had a lot of visits and citas this week.

A highlight of the week was a cita with one of our amigos. He has been being taught for a year or so, and is basically ready for baptism, however, he struggles a lot with smoking. In our cita, it wasn't going super well as he is still really struggling with it, and we were not exactly sure what to do to help him. But during that time, I got the impression to ask him for how long he has been trying to shake smoking. To which he responded well 1 year. So I then asked him, vale, how many cigarettes were you smoking a year ago? He replied with 2 packs, so 40 cigarettes every day. Which, is a lot, and that was when I realized the Spirit wanted him to realize his progress. Even though he is still struggling with it, he has made incredible progress, smoking 1, maybe 2 every day, if that. But it was a really awesome experience because I was really not sure what to say during that cita, but the Spirit certainly did.

We have also been seeing a lot more success through social media, Facebook, and Instagram. We have been able to talk to lots of people, and many of these people, when we offered a message of hope, peace, and comfort, the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were like well yeah sure! We are finding that many people thought that 2021 would be a new slate, and things would quickly end and we would be back to normal. Unfortunately, it's not that way, (but read my last email for some ideas on how to make it great), and these people need some comfort. We spent some time making an ad that we will put on Facebook to reach more people, and we will see how it goes this week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Élder Van Wagenen

God Bless America, Viva España

Fotos:

1. Intercambios with the man, the myth, the legend, Elder English

2. Aupa Athletic!! The Bilbao soccer team (Bilbao Athletic) beat Futbol Club Barcelona this weekend, expecting high spirits in Bilbao this week!

3. Mundaca, a little pueblo on the Atlantic coast

4. País Vasco flag

5. San Sebastian

Bilbao

Hola a todos!

For those of you who know me, I adore the rain. I absolutely love it. For some reason, it makes me happy seeing storms come over the horizon, the smell of rain, the sound of it crashing down, I don't know why but I love the rain. HOWEVER, in Bilbao, and mainly in the north of Spain in general, it rains, and doesn't stop. In my few weeks here in Bilbao, the past 2 few days have been the only days where it hasn't rained. So, as much as I love the rain, my appreciation for sunny and dry weather has increased jaja. But I absolutely love the north, being in the Basque Country is awesome, and I love the people here, and the city is beautiful! We also had some unexpected changes, yet again, and my companion Elder Gomes left, and I got a new companion, Elder Jacobs. He is a great missionary and we have had a really fun past few weeks..

This past week we saw a little miracle, for those of you who don't know, a big way we found people to teach was by street contacting, or in other words, talking to people in the streets. However with the current situations, church headquarters has asked that we do not initiate street contacts during these times, however, if someone contacts us, well that's a free game. So this past week we were in Las Arenas, by the Atlantic Coast, on a way to a visit with a member. We had just exited the metro, and my companion and I were talking about our plans for this visit, when we were interrupted by a lady who asked us in perfect English, hey who are you guys??? So we got to know each other, and come to find out she is an American!!! From North Carolina, and was in Spain as an English teacher. We talked for quite a bit of what we do as missionaries, and she mentioned that she was looking for a new church because the church she currently attends only has services in Basque, and well she doesn't get much out of those meetings. So we invited her to our meetings the following Sunday, and she came!! So we are super excited to teach her the Restoration this week but just goes to show that the Lord makes these encounters happen, even in difficult circumstances.

Something we have talked a lot about with people is how to make 2021 better. 2020 was a very rough year, and many people ask the question, 2021 will be better? What if it's worse? And what we tell people is the decision is yours. Every one of us has the opportunity to show faith, and do our part to make 2021 a great year, no matter the world's circumstances. And what is a good way to show faith? Well, one may consider setting goals to achieve what your vision of future success looks like. As we set goals, and not just any goals, S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) we show faith to God that we want a great year. And as we keep working at those goals, the Lord will make the difference. In Ether 12:27 it says:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I invite all of you to think of some weaknesses you have, things you would like to improve this year and do as just as Moroni recounts in this verse, as we show forth humble, and have faith, or in other words, we are open, honest, and teachable, willing to receive correction, and we show the Lord by our actions we want to improve, the Lord will make said weak thing strong. I know that this is true, I have done it time and time again in the mission, and I continue to do it. Sometimes it is no easy process, but before this life, we knew that earthly life wouldn't be easy. So keep going, keep at it, and I promise the Lord will bless and help you in your efforts to be more like His Son.

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen

God Bless America, Viva España

Fotos: