November 7, 2012

Last P-day of transfer one! Can you believe that by next Wednesday I will have a full transfer under my belt? Pretty cool!

Haha, I wish I didn´t have to hear about politics! We just got back from a p-day activity at the mission home, and the topic of discussion was the election. It was basically what Erin says her class will be like. You´d think being a missionary and not even living in the US would make a difference, but I guess not. Nonetheless the mission home activity was a lot of fun. We just hung out, played some soccer and ate a bunch. It was fun to be with a bunch of missionaries (take a little break from the same people all the time) and not have anything to worry about. President and Hermana Jackson are super cool and Hna Jackson makes the most amazing deserts! (Not better than Mom´s, it´s just that anything cooked by someone other than a missionary tastes like heaven).

Ah, roadshow! Such memories. It was actually pretty fun as I remember. That´s so cool that Sarah wrote the script! Is she acting in it as well? How about Erin? I can´t wait to hear about it and to see the video of it (though that might have to wait a little while longer).

Good to hear that people are thinking about me and wishing me well. Say thanks to Jared and the Andersons for me. Also, I´ll keep Chris in my prayers. They actually announced today that we will be having a Thanksgiving activity as well. I´m really lucky to be here in Madrid, close to the mission home and lots of other missionaries. I don´t think other areas have activities like this nearly as often. Hopefully I will get to stay here a little longer. Elder Rigtrup found out today that Barrio 6 is going to change this transfer, but not who. I´m praying I stay right here with him.

Haha, that´s great that Gordan put up that picture! That was some good fried rice. It´s a family tradition of Elder Rigtrup´s. Every Sunday after church they make fried rice. Funny story about teaching me actually. I wanted to try one day so he explained how and then went into the bathroom and I completely messed everything up. It turned out okay though and now I think I´ll remember how.

Well, on to the news of the week. First of all, the baptism for this Saturday is off. We´ve postponed it until further notice. Kancho called us on Monday and told us that Beatriz still hadn´t left, but she was going to move to an apartment in town, but a separate ward. That´s fine, but we were afraid that they would get baptized and then just move back in together. So we had a lesson with them yesterday. It was very intense. We found out that what we were worried about is what would have most likely happened. They share all their money and it just wouldn´t have been possible to maintain 2 separate pisos. So we explained to them how that wouldn´t work and told them to pray about what the right thing to do is. It´s so hard because they know what is right and they want to do what is right so badly, it´s just a financial issue. It was a really intensely spiritual lesson and I was able to bear strong testimony that God would answer their prayers and that no matter what the answer was he would provide a way for them. It is going to be a huge trial of faith for them, but I know they can do it and will be baptized. As of now we are going to meet again tomorrow and hopefully figure out the right thing to do. Please keep them in your prayers, they need as much help as they can get. Thank you for doing so already, too. I know it helps.

Our other main focus is Albert who is doing wonderfully. He is progressing incredibly fast, accepting everything and keeping his commitments. We had a lesson with him this week to make sure that he has a testimony and is ready for baptism. It was really cool. Almost without asking he bore his testimony to us that he knows that God exists and that this is the way He wants. He told us that he would continue after his baptism and keep coming to church and praying. It was an awesome experience when the Spirit testified to me and Elder Rigtrup that he is ready for baptism. I´m so excited for him!

We also had a lesson with Carlos and Jerson, the teenagers. We decided to teach them the first lesson and get them progressing with or without the mom. We were about halfway through the lesson when the mom walks in the door. At first it was super awkward. Here we are, two guys she has never meet before, in her house, teaching her children about God. But it turned out incredibly. She sat down and we explained who we were and what we were doing. She was very interested in what we did as missionaries and asked a lot of questions. She was really impressed with our sacrifices and what we do. Then we quickly recapped the first part of the lesson and finished it with her there. She seemed really interested and asked a lot of questions. The best part is that she asked some question about life after death and we were able to use that to set up a second lesson next Sunday to teach the Plan of Salvation. It was definitely a miracle of the week.

Well I have to run, we an appointment soon. Sorry that I didn´t get pictures of the apartment still, I will post those next week. Also, I bought a Spain jersey last Wednesday with my card, in case you were wondering about the charges (it´s freaking legit! I will put pictures on next week). Thank you for writing me, for thinking about and for praying for me and my investigators. I love you all so much! I hope everything is going well and you are safe and happy. I pray that you are everyday. 

Thanks again. Love,

Elder Cousins