People are AMAZING

Hola mis amigos!! I hope you all had a semana fabuloso! 

This week was good. We had zone conference which is always amazing! We talked about becoming more holy. This means to endure and do the things of a disciple of Chirst and develop a personal relationship with God and submit ourselves to his will. He knows what is best for us and if we humbly come unto him, he will bring things to our attention that we can change in our lives. 

I see examples of people doing this every day!  I love the people here. They are so strong and full of faith and such great examples to me. I learn something from the people here every day. 

We had a baptism of our good friend Abel this Saturday! He is so great! When we first started talking with him we asked if he believed in God and Jesus Christ he said he believed in "something". Three weeks later he told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church and he wanted to be baptized. His parents weren't too keen on the idea of him being a member of this church but he told them it is something he wanted and they agreed to support him in his decision. His baptism was beautiful. He shared a simple but powerful testimony of the restored gospel (which in and of itself was a miracle because he is SUPER shy like superrrrr shy). Its been amazing to see him change his life. You can tell he is happier now. He is such an example to me of walking with faith. Not many people supported his decision but he knew it was the right thing to do and he trusted in his Savior to help him in his journey. 

We also have another really good friend. She is a mom of 2 kids and she has been taking our English classes and inviting us over to talk about the gospel. She is so sweet. She started talking about her husband who is in the hospital right now. I thought that he just worked a lot but actually he was in a tragic accident. She said he can finally come home in a month. It's been really hard on her and her family. She says she has a lot of faith in her Savior and prays to him everyday for strength. She is amazing. She teaches me that we can get through anything when we rely on the Savior. He knows our circumstances and will carry us through the hard times because he loves us. 

I've really seen here on the mish that everyone has their thing that they have to deal with or go through. It's a part of life. I also know that our trials can be a lot easier when we look to the lord and press forward in faith. Its easier said than done but we've got a while to practice jaja. 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  Keep them coming please!! Have a great week! Hablamos pronto.

Hermana Ross 💛💃🏼

A Whole New World

Hola a todos! 

Que tal!? Espero que a todo esta bien! 

This week has been good! It's been different adjusting to a new companion and leading the area but everyday gets a little easier. I'm hoping my Spanish gets a lot better with my native companion! 

We've seen a lot of success recently! We have a lot of new amigos and some old amigos that want to meet again! It's been great! My favorite thing to experience is seeing the change that the gospel can bring to people's lives. I can see the difference in people when they focus their lives on Christ. They are happier and brighter, its beautiful to see. 

I am happy to announce that the weather has become bearable! 🎉🙏🏼 Oh happy day! Its definitely made park contacting much easier. We have some people that we meet with for English class and they live ON the beach and have the prettiest view!!  In the coming weeks I hope to go to the beach and play some volleyball! We are allowed to go to the beach during the winter months so bring it on moderately cool weather!! 

This week I was studying a little bit of philippians in the New Testament and one scripture really stuck out to me. It says,

 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" 

I love this because Paul was writing this while in jail. He suffered much and lost much but he says that the things he lost are as to dung compared to the knowledge and love of Christ that he received. Sometimes we have to give somethings up to make Christ more of a focus in our lives but it is SO worth it. Through Christ we can have eternal peace and joy and literally be redeemed through his sacrifice for us. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my Savior. He can truly turn all the negatives in our lives into positives through his atonement. I know that I've had to give up some things to be on the mission and serve the people here but I wouldn't change this experience. I know that as we come unto Christ he change us for the better and through him we can be happier than we ever thought possible.

 I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Adios, venga, hablemos pronto,

Hermana Ross 💛💃🏼

Update/Transfers

Hola a todos! 

Its been a minute. A lot has happened! I went to Barcelona and got my residency so now I'm a legal woman here in ESPAÑA💃🏼!!

Ok so some AMAZING news: Franco got baptized! It's been a long time coming but wow, it was so great. The spirit was so strong! He bore strong testimony that he found the path that will lead him back to his Father in Heaven. It was amazing to feel the spirit present in that moment.

Ok so for some sad news: mi madre Hermana Bates got transferred... It ok cause we will stay in touch. Now I have a new companion and she is a nativa!! Hermana Vaca is from Boliva and she lives in Madrid. She is súper sweet. It's been really good Spanish practice for me! She is super patient with me trying to lead our area. It's been a lot of responsibility and un poco stressful but it's going good. Our amigos are doing good and we are busy so that has been a good change. 

General Conference was great!!! I only watched it in Spanish so I will definitely be reading the talks for personal study jaja. Everytime I watch conference I am reminded how blessed I am to be a member of this church and be able to feel the peace and love from our Heavenly Father. 

There is a scripture in Ether 12:6 that says, "And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I have truly seen this these past couple weeks. We have had to work really hard and sometimes see no success. After we show God all that we are willing to do, then we see the success and the miracles. I know that if we press forward with faith, we will be blessed. This life is hard, its a time of learning and progression so we will be tried and tested in all things. I know that trials can be for our good if we endure with faith. I hope you all have a great week!! 

Love, 

Hermana Ross 

El bautismo de Franco

Mi compañera nueva: Hermana Vaca

Paella in the Parking Garage...

Hola a todos!! 

I hope all is well! I love getting your emails and hearing about what is going on so thank you!  

Last week we went to Gandilla for preperation day so I didn't have much time to email. It was super fun though! We went on a hike and visited a palace of some dukes of Gandilla. The architecture and history that is in Spain amazes me everyday! 

This week has been good! Our amigos are killing it! We are also teaching some new people and they are so fun! We have also been able to teach the kids in our ward a mission prep class and they are such good kids, I love them. I am continually inspired by our amigos and how they are so willing to change because they want to come closer to our Savior. They are such an example to me of strength and humility! 

Ok to explain my subject line a little... Saturday me and my compañera were in the church doing some studies and two old men from another ward show up saying they need to make paella for a niño activity in Valencia. We let them in to the kitchen but it's too small for their HUGE paella pans so they decide to go into the parking garage. We weren't too sure about it but they seemed like they knew what they were doing so we went back to our studies. A couple minutes later we hear a huge bang and one of the old men rushes all frantically upstairs and tells us to come downstairs. We see the other old man on the ground grabbing his leg. The garage door also is being propped up by a piece of the garage door that is now broken. We are freaking out! We asked what happened cause we thought this guy was gonna die and ther other guy tells us that something happend with the van and it crashed into this guys leg and the garage broke. (We couldn't really understand him cause he was freaking out) the man on the ground starts trying to get up and we just tell him to wait and we ask if we need to call an ambulance but he refuses so we just grab some water and help him sit up. Then he continues to give us directions to bring all the ingredients down and help him make the paella. Guys it was crazy. This guy was just like "Los niños necesitan la paella!!" He felt a little better after a couple minutes so he stared to make the paella and he was just limping around throwing ingredients everywhere and saying that the niños needed their paella. This guy was determined to make this paella. We helped as much as we could but this old man was pretty controlling. Needless to say, it was a crazy morning. We still dont really know what happened jaja. 

Ok for something a little spiritual I wanna just share a scripture from El Libro de Mormón. 

"And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led."

-1 Nephi 17:13

I love this scriprure! Christ has our backs. He knows what we need and is so willing to lead our way if we follow him and keep the commandments. He lives and loves us. He is our older brother, our savior, and reedeemer. I am so grateful that he suffered for me, as imperfect and stubborn as I am, he took upon him my sins because he loves me. Wow. How lucky we all are to have Christ on our side. 

Well I love you all! Have a semana maravillosa!! Adiós hablamos pronto! 

Love,

Hermana Ross 

The best District!

Palace in Gandilla

Palace in Gandilla

Our Jóvenes

¡Vamos a Alicante!

Hola a todos! 

This week was a good week! It has been RAINING!! ITS A MILAGRO!! We have been needing to find some new amigos so we have started trying diferent ways to meet people. We started offering free cooking class where people can learn how to make American desserts! We already have 2 students, a tiny Spanish lady and a big urban Hungarian man (the kind a man that wear scarfs and sits in Starbucks reading a book) I'm so stoked jaja. Our amigos are doing good! It was a little hard in the beginning cause Alexander "broke up" with us saying he doesn't have time to meet anymore which was really rough but we've seen some other amigos progressing so well! 

Along with the work coming along, we got to go to Alicante for a zone conference with the 3 zones in the south. Guess who I saw?!?! Hermana Heitonga, Elder palmer, and elder harbor!!! Some of my old district! It was so fun to see and talk to them!! Zone conference was SO good! We talked a lot about church history and family history! Super interesting! 

One of my favorite things I heard was that there is power in finding out more about our ancestors. They are part of us, they are cheering us on, they love us. We need to do our part to find out more about those who have passed on so we keep remeber their legacy. We were challenged to write a favorite memory we have with a grandparent, aunt, uncle, great grandparent, parent, anyone! We were challenged to write it down so we can remember it and that story won't be lost. I challenge you all to do that too. I know that there is power in knowing where we came from and who were are. I can testify that we are all children of God and have the families we do for a reason. I know that when we feel alone and weak we can look to our ancestors and our father and heaven and they will help us along. I've seen this in my own life and have felt so much love and peace as I do my family history work,  it's amazing. 

I love you all! Have a great rest of the week! 

Hermana Ross

"I am electricity!!"

Hola a todos! 

This week was pretty good! We met a lot of kind people. To explain the subject of this email...we met with a man and his family to teach them English. We were teaching the verb "to be". We taught them how to say their jobs, he is an electrician. We went around in a circle and introduced ourselves. He said, "hi my name is ----, I am ----- years old, and I am electricity! He was so proud of himself and I had to bite my tongue so I didn't laugh jaja. Good times. 

This week I have been learning to be patient. I just want to have something to do all the time and have someone to meet with all the time. This isn't realistic because people need to progress and move at their own speed. I cant control others so I just need to be there to offer my love, support, and testimony. When people are ready to learn more about their savior it's an amazing experience to be able to be apart of. You see the peace that comes from knowing that we have a loving Father in Heaven and a Savior who knows us perfectly. 

This week, I've also realized what an impact one kind person can make. We honestly had a hard couple days. People can be really mean... on Sunday we decided to stop by an older couple in our church and share a little message with them. They welcomed us in and made us bocadillos (sándwiches) and postre. They talked to us about our week, our amigos, and our families. They gave us encouragement and advice that really helped us. We walked out of their home so happy and ready for the week ahead. This experience showed me that I just need to be kind no matter what! We dont know who is having a bad day or who might need some extra comfort so just be kind all the time. 

I'm truly grateful for all of you! Thank you for your prayers and emails!! Have a great week!! 

Our amiga Sol who painted our nails😍

Hermana Bates y yo

Bomb poke bowl

Me with some artsy tile

Milagros Pequeños

Hola a todos! 

Como estamos? I miss you all! Estoy agradecido por sus correos electrónicos y sus oraciones! Gracias! 

This week nothing too exciting happened. Most of our amigos are doing great! We had some good sitas and some discouraging ones también! Spainsh is hard guys. Its been hard to speak this week. The mission can be really hard sometimes. There is always a sense that I'm not doing enough or living up to my full potential. I know that we all feel that at times. It's hard and discouraging. I know that as we push on, it will get better. 

I was having a hard day this week. I felt bad about myself and I was frustrated with our amigos. I just kept working though. We kept walking and eventually those feelings went away as I kept doing what I was supposed to.

I have realized how grateful I am for the little milagros I see everyday. They aren't really miracles but they are things that make me happy and so I call them that. This week I saw a super cute baby, a puppy in a baby shirt, and heard Thrift Shop blasting from a car #milagros! It really is the little things that we all should focus on to help us keep going. We cant have a crazy amazing experience that makes us feel like everything will be great everyday but as we seek out those little blessings we will find the joy and strength to push on. 

I know that my Heavenly Father helps me recognize those milagros pequeños everyday. He wants us to be happy. He loves us. 

The mission is amazing, Spain is amazing, the people and the things I'm learning are amazing! I really love it here! 

I'm grateful for all of you! Have a great week!! Remeber that God and Christ live and love you! 

Nos hablamos, adiós, chao,

Hermana Ross 💛💃🏼