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.

80s shows = relationship builders

 The bull. These are everywhere in Spain, and I love it. I think the States should invest in these, but have eagles. Thoughts?

Hola a todos!

This week, I built a solid relationship with the Bishop's family in one of our wards. And I just happened to do so using 80s TV shows. That's right. For all you who may be lacking a little in your TV show knowledge, might I suggest you go take a look? Magnum P.I., MacGyver, Knight Rider, CHiPs, all would be a great place to start. You never know what can help build bonds with the bonds haha. But other than having great citas with members, it was a fantastic week with its miracles and great teaching moments. 

A quick miracle to share. Today, we went to the outskirts of Zaragoza where we explored some ruins of a super old castle and did a little hike to a huge bull, see photos. We were there for a few hours, and in our entire time, we saw like nobody. However, as we were hiking to the bull, we saw 3 people who were heading the other way, a cute family. As we were walking past each other, the dad said, "Oh hey guys! How's it going??"  Being surprised he didn't respond in Spanish, as one would assume people would speak Spanish being in Spain, we stopped and talked. He then asked us, you guys on p day today? Very shook, we replied well yeah! By chance, you a member? And he replied with a yes. Crazy, out of all the people we bump into, we run into some members. But it gets better. After having a good laugh and just getting to know these people, he told us that he hasn't been to church since the quarantine, and his wife isn't a member. He asked us when we were having our meetings, and we got his WhatsApp number, and he said he would come to church on Sunday. I'm telling you, I woke up today with so many ganas (desires) to go to this bull and take some dope photos, which we definitely smashed that objective as well, but who knew that we would also meet someone who hasn't been to church in a long time, and be able to talk with him and help them come to church. God has His purposes, and He makes sure they get done haha. Missionary work never stops.

I also think this scripture can be applied pretty well to all the scary things that are happening in the world right now. Ether 12:4

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Believe in God. Trust in his plan. Combine hope with faith, and abound in good works. Ether was kind enough to give us a checklist of things to do when maybe the world is a little scary. And just as he says, those who do may hope for a better world. 

Until next week! 

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Back to the fields

2. Meeting with my favorite people. Argentinos

3. Hike around ruins

4. The miracle 

No Secondary today!

The barn/farmhouse 

 Hola a todos!

The past 7 days have been slam-packed full of awesome experiences and fun memories. From cows interrupting our daily planning sessions in the fields of La Seu, to surviving the terrible heatwave here in Zaragoza, it has been an awesome week!

At the beginning of the week, we had some intercambios with the Zone Leaders. Those poor Elders don't have a car, and we do, so they took advantage of that and we drove up to the Spain/French border. Over yonder, there is a very small country that sits right on the border, called Andorra. Like, it's own country. It even has its own flag emoji 🇦🇩. It's very small, probably smaller than Douglas County, but it's beautiful. There is a very small group of members who live over there, but we had a day full of citas with the members, and it was tons of fun. We stayed in this small town right outside of Andorra, called La Seu. Oh, we also slept in a barn. Okay maybe better said farmhouse, but it had a barn. Before the quarantine, a Senior Missionary couple stayed in this house that sits outside the town, in the middle of all the fields and pastures. This is why our daily planning and studies were accompanied by cows hahahaha. It was so awesome. The title of this email also comes from our adventures in Andorra. I may or may not have forgotten my passport when we went to Andorra, but we weren't sure it was necessary since Andorra and Spain are pretty good friends and I have a Spanish Residency card but worried nonetheless. For those of you who may have seen the show Border Patrol, you know it's bad news bears when people get pulled into "secondary" at the border if they are suspicious. I was worried about being pulled into secondary and being interrogated on why I didn't have my passport and what my intentions of doing in Andorra would be, but the Border Patrol Officers didn't stop us, so we were all good haha!

If you remember from my last email, we had a temple tour with our friend Richi, well we met with him again, and we asked him, Richi, are you willing to follow Jesus Christ? Will you follow his example by being baptized? And he said YES! It was a really awesome spirit, and Richi is super excited to be baptized, he won't stop telling the members about it! We are going to keep meeting with him, and he will be baptized in a couple of weeks. The work of the Lord is so good!

I know I shared something from my studies last week, but I'm going to do it again. I was reading in Mosiah 24 where Alma the older and his followers are kind of under captivity of the Lamanites and the wicked priests of king Noah. But something that I hadn't caught before is found in Mosiah 24:14

And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions

The part that stuck out to me was where it says "and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter..." We all pass through times of tribulation, but if we are obedient, and endure our trials with patience and faith, God will lend us a hand. And He does that because He loves us, but also so that we can testify of His power and grace after our time of trial is over. I have found that some of the best teaching tools I have are my own experiences where I can testify that, during a tough time of life, God was there and He helped me through it. God helps us during trials, and He just asks that we testify of His divine help afterward. 

Until next week! Stay safe y'all!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España, Visca Andorra

Fotos:

1. The fields where the barn is

2. The barn had some bikes that actually worked, and we took a morning ride to thus small pueblo 

3. Andorra

4. Bike ride

2 wards, one huge city

The district 

 Hola a todos!

It has been a few very crazy weeks here in Zaragoza. Not only is my companion brand new to the mission, but we are now covering both wards in Zaragoza, in other words, our workload has doubled. We have tons of citas everyday, and the members of the other ward are excellent. So excellent that we get fed quite a bit. We have also had some really good teaching moments with some of the amigos we are teaching, and my companion is getting lots of good practice, they grow up so fast. 🥲

Something super cool we did this week was a virtual temple tour with one of our amigos. One day, he found a picture of the Madrid temple on Facebook or something, and he was asking me tons of things about it. What is it, what do you do in them, who can go in, etc. And luckily, in our mission we have a companionship of Hermanas that have a virtual tour of the Madrid temple, so we coordinated a tour date, and we did a one-on-one tour with our amigo. And it was great, I always love doing temple tours because you can really feel the Spirit that you would feel in the temple, without actually being there. And we were able to answer all the questions he had about the temple, and he wants to be baptized so he can go someday. Temple tour success. 

This week, I was reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish, and something I read just really strengthened my testimony of it. I'm not sure why, but even know that I've read the Book of Mormon before, when I read it in Spanish, sometimes it's like reading it for the first time. Maybe since I need to focus a little more on each word since I speak English way better, but I was reading in 2 Nephi after Nephi finishes quoting Isaiah, and basically goes on a rant about how good the Savior is, and just bears an awesome testimony of him. One of the verses that really got me, and one that I have certainly read before, but I'm Spanish really stood out to me was 2 Nephi 25:26,

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

The testimonies and prophecies of Christ I found in the Book of Mormon are just even more evidence that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Give it a read sometime, it will be one of the best decisions you make all day.

Until next week!

Élder Van Wagenen

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. The outskirts of Zaragoza had me thinking of Idaho or something haha

3. Vaccinated. Visca Catalunya 

4. Preaching the word of God