12/29/14
This week has been so interesting. We knew this week would be hard and that we wouldn’t receive a lot of lessons or people, so we spent most of our time on the streets. I really enjoyed it though and it was such a great experience. Although we didn’t receive a lot of success number wise, I really was able to feel the real importance of Christmas. What better way to spend Christmas than share the wonderful message we have about Jesus Christ with our brothers and sisters. I really felt the spirit this week. It was a wonderful experience. It was a lot different than last year. I was still in the MTC, and it wasn't much different than our Christmas at home. I will cherish and remember these experiences for the rest of my life.
Christmas Eve, we were invited to a members house in a pueblo in our area. They are so cute. They are the two grandparents, their son and his wife, and the three children. It was so much fun to spend Christmas Eve with them and they gave us so much love. We ate with them, played games with them, and while we were eating desert, the grandpa stepped out and came back in wearing a Santa Claus hat. They gave us all presents to open, and then we watched the kids open all their presents. It was so nice of them to include us and treat us like family.
On Christmas day, we woke up and followed our normal schedule. We studied and got ready, and then opened presents together. Hermana Clements and I both bought a present for each other. She bought me a bracelet and I got her a scarf. Thank you for everything you sent me:) Then we relaxed at home until it was time to go to the Jaboñeros for lunch. We ate with them and talked. Hermana Jaboñero would not leave my side.
I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. And I hope you could feel the love that I have for each of you. I love you all so much and miss you so much. Thank you for all your support and love. Your examples help me and my work here, you keep me going and I can’t wait to see you again.
As the end gets closer, it gets a little hard and scary thinking about going home and finishing. I have been feeling a little down on myself. I think I judge myself too roughly, but it is getting better and I am starting to realize that I have accomplished a lot during my time here, just in different (no less important) ways than I thought. I do consider myself a successful missionary. But I'm not done, I still have a lot to go! And I can’t wait to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me, there are important things he has called me to do for his children here in Spain.
I love you guys and I'm thankful for you in my life. Thanks for being there and helping me move forward. I have the best family in the WORLD! Have a great day! I'll talk to you soon!
Much love, Hermana Brumble
Monday, December 29, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Week 56 in Spain! (3rd Week in Mostoles)
12/15/14
Things have been really good this week. Last week was just so hard and stressful, but this week things really picked up and I'm really excited for this transfer. I just love it here. It is a really good area and we are working so hard. Hermana Clements is a really good example to me. She is ALWAYS working. She is an obedience NUT! But it’s really great because we both feel a ton better when we work as hard as we can and Heavenly Father provides us with more blessings. This week has been a true testimony to that. I love the ward too. There are some crazies, but I love them! There is this recent convert named Gustavo. He is so cute! Every Sunday he meets us in the hallway after sacrament meeting, holds up a bag full of treats and say "Bendiciones! " He is always looking out for us. He just recently received the priesthood and has been blessing the sacrament. Every time I can’t help but smile. The ward is really supportive of him and all the recent converts. He has also been sharing the gospel with everyone. He gave us the numbers of two of his friends yesterday. I love him so much, he reminds me of Roger. It's nice to feel so close to people here like the people I love back home. There is also a couple that work in the temple that feed us every Sunday. I really love the husband, he told us his conversion story yesterday. He is so great. His wife scares me....she's a little fuerte....She told the elders to make the message short because she wanted to go to bed:)
I did get released as sister training leader. We have a small zone here with only three companionships of hermanas, they took a companionship out, so there is only need for one STL in my zone and Hermana Costiogla has more experience than I do. It is actually a load off my mind and I feel like I can relax a little and focus on building up our poor little area.
Yep, we are right across from the plaza and next to the library. It really is so cute and they have everything all decorated for Christmas. There are two huge Christmas trees and a big nativity scene set up. We are going to pradillo (the town square) today to check out all the stands and take pictures. It is like the fair in West Valley. It makes me miss home.
Hermana Clements and I have been talking to everyone like crazies! We even talk to the scary old Spaniards and Jovenes! We have really funny stories from those experiences. We have been trying more to involve Christmas more into our contacting. It is interesting how much more open people are to listen to you when you share a message about Christ...or tell them you want to sing them a Christmas song:) We are doing really good though. I don't think I need anything in particular right now:)
I love this time of year in Utah. Everything looks so beautiful. That’s really cool that you were able to hear the madrigals. There aren't very many this year that’s really surprising.
Blessings from Heaven! A guy sitting next to us right this very moment gave us his number because he wants to know more about our church. We didn’t even have to do anything! Crazy!
Thank you so much for the family history stuff, It helped a lot! This whole experience has really helped me realize I need to do more of that when I get home. It is so important and will help us be together as a family sealed together with our Father in Heaven.
Thanks for everything. I sure love you. I have needed a lot of your support these past couple of weeks and I have surely been blessed . Thank you for being there and for being an example to me. I love you and I can't wait to talk to you!
Hermana Brumble
Things have been really good this week. Last week was just so hard and stressful, but this week things really picked up and I'm really excited for this transfer. I just love it here. It is a really good area and we are working so hard. Hermana Clements is a really good example to me. She is ALWAYS working. She is an obedience NUT! But it’s really great because we both feel a ton better when we work as hard as we can and Heavenly Father provides us with more blessings. This week has been a true testimony to that. I love the ward too. There are some crazies, but I love them! There is this recent convert named Gustavo. He is so cute! Every Sunday he meets us in the hallway after sacrament meeting, holds up a bag full of treats and say "Bendiciones! " He is always looking out for us. He just recently received the priesthood and has been blessing the sacrament. Every time I can’t help but smile. The ward is really supportive of him and all the recent converts. He has also been sharing the gospel with everyone. He gave us the numbers of two of his friends yesterday. I love him so much, he reminds me of Roger. It's nice to feel so close to people here like the people I love back home. There is also a couple that work in the temple that feed us every Sunday. I really love the husband, he told us his conversion story yesterday. He is so great. His wife scares me....she's a little fuerte....She told the elders to make the message short because she wanted to go to bed:)
I did get released as sister training leader. We have a small zone here with only three companionships of hermanas, they took a companionship out, so there is only need for one STL in my zone and Hermana Costiogla has more experience than I do. It is actually a load off my mind and I feel like I can relax a little and focus on building up our poor little area.
Yep, we are right across from the plaza and next to the library. It really is so cute and they have everything all decorated for Christmas. There are two huge Christmas trees and a big nativity scene set up. We are going to pradillo (the town square) today to check out all the stands and take pictures. It is like the fair in West Valley. It makes me miss home.
Hermana Clements and I have been talking to everyone like crazies! We even talk to the scary old Spaniards and Jovenes! We have really funny stories from those experiences. We have been trying more to involve Christmas more into our contacting. It is interesting how much more open people are to listen to you when you share a message about Christ...or tell them you want to sing them a Christmas song:) We are doing really good though. I don't think I need anything in particular right now:)
I love this time of year in Utah. Everything looks so beautiful. That’s really cool that you were able to hear the madrigals. There aren't very many this year that’s really surprising.
Blessings from Heaven! A guy sitting next to us right this very moment gave us his number because he wants to know more about our church. We didn’t even have to do anything! Crazy!
Thank you so much for the family history stuff, It helped a lot! This whole experience has really helped me realize I need to do more of that when I get home. It is so important and will help us be together as a family sealed together with our Father in Heaven.
Thanks for everything. I sure love you. I have needed a lot of your support these past couple of weeks and I have surely been blessed . Thank you for being there and for being an example to me. I love you and I can't wait to talk to you!
Hermana Brumble
Monday, December 8, 2014
Week 55 in Spain! (2nd Week in Mostoles)
12/8/14
Well I just got through my first week in Mostoles. It is a really cute little town. There are Christmas lights everywhere and we have a really cute view of the plaza by our piso. It has been a really hard week. Just dealing with everyone asking what happened (we try not to say too much) and getting into a new area the last week of the transfer. It's rough. This week has also been filled with meetings at President's house, Zone meeting (which we sang at) and getting to know members. It has been a crazy SUPER stressful week. But we worked hard and I'm glad it's over. Next week looks a ton better and a lot more laid back. We'll have a lot more time to teach and find which is great! I feel like I haven't been in a normal lesson in FOREVER because of all the meetings.
I really have enjoyed Mostoles though. It really is so much fun and even though we have just been so lost, I feel a lot stronger with my companion, I feel like a more responsible missionary, and I've learned a lot! I think this whole experience has been a blessing. I just hope Heavenly Father gives us a little time to relax and be normal before the next blessing in disguise. What happened is done and over with and I'm excited to start new are fresh in my new area Mostoles!
So let me tell you a little about Mostoles. It’s really, really cute and I am really excited. The town itself is really small and we can walk it in one day, but we have a bunch of little pueblos outside of it, so that helps. The town is so involved and they do really cute things. They had a Christmas tree lighting get together where they lit the town Christmas tree. SO FUN! We weren’t there, we just found out about it about 20 minutes after it happened. The ward is so cute and friendly. Right now the Bishop is out of town so the first counselor is in charge. His dad is blind, but he is the ward pianist.....that was interesting. He has pretty much memorized "versions" of all the hymns and he plays for everything. It is kind of hard to sing to, but it was funny. He played Jingle Bells for prelude during sacrament meeting. I'm not sure how long it will last, the ward found out I play the piano. We are having a Noche de Talentos on the 19th and the first counselor asked us if we would sing Chiciquita by ABBA. He didn’t really give us an option, so we aren't sure what to do. It was either his way or no way. We might just figure something else out and present the option to him. We’ll see. The ward has really been so nice though. There is a recent convert who gave us a bunch of treats and French Christmas cheese. We also had a surprise birthday going away party for Elder Lopez and this really cute old Bolivian member made us scarves. WE feel so loved here. I'm really excited and we've already been invited somewhere for Christmas.
Oh another cool thing, David Archuleta is coming to have a special devotional with the Spain Madrid missionaries! We can invite a few of our investigators. It’s going to be so cool! I'll be there! I'll tell you all about it.
Ok, so I have a special request. At our last leadership meeting President was talking to us about what he wants the mission to focus on this month. He decided that he wants us to focus on finding families. SO we talked about our families and the importance of them and our Ancestors. We each received a little booklet about our lives and our ancestors that all the missionaries in the world are using right now. We have to fill them out and start using them in our lessons..soooo.. I need your help. This is what I need: I need my pedigree chart (fan and normal), Then I need the dates and places of birth for everyone up to four generations, I also need the dates and places of marriage for everyone up to four generations (this all includes siblings) And then finally, just stories or memories about grandparents and great grandparents. I know it's a lot to ask for and its about 4 months’ worth of research, but I can’t use any other resource. If you could help me out that would be great! if you have any questions, let me know:)
Well, that’s about it this week! I hope you have a great week. You’re in my prayers! I love you guys. Let me know if I can do anything!
Hermana Brumble
Ps. My address now is:
Calle Mariblanca 7 3º4
28937 Mòstoles
Madrid
España
Well I just got through my first week in Mostoles. It is a really cute little town. There are Christmas lights everywhere and we have a really cute view of the plaza by our piso. It has been a really hard week. Just dealing with everyone asking what happened (we try not to say too much) and getting into a new area the last week of the transfer. It's rough. This week has also been filled with meetings at President's house, Zone meeting (which we sang at) and getting to know members. It has been a crazy SUPER stressful week. But we worked hard and I'm glad it's over. Next week looks a ton better and a lot more laid back. We'll have a lot more time to teach and find which is great! I feel like I haven't been in a normal lesson in FOREVER because of all the meetings.
I really have enjoyed Mostoles though. It really is so much fun and even though we have just been so lost, I feel a lot stronger with my companion, I feel like a more responsible missionary, and I've learned a lot! I think this whole experience has been a blessing. I just hope Heavenly Father gives us a little time to relax and be normal before the next blessing in disguise. What happened is done and over with and I'm excited to start new are fresh in my new area Mostoles!
So let me tell you a little about Mostoles. It’s really, really cute and I am really excited. The town itself is really small and we can walk it in one day, but we have a bunch of little pueblos outside of it, so that helps. The town is so involved and they do really cute things. They had a Christmas tree lighting get together where they lit the town Christmas tree. SO FUN! We weren’t there, we just found out about it about 20 minutes after it happened. The ward is so cute and friendly. Right now the Bishop is out of town so the first counselor is in charge. His dad is blind, but he is the ward pianist.....that was interesting. He has pretty much memorized "versions" of all the hymns and he plays for everything. It is kind of hard to sing to, but it was funny. He played Jingle Bells for prelude during sacrament meeting. I'm not sure how long it will last, the ward found out I play the piano. We are having a Noche de Talentos on the 19th and the first counselor asked us if we would sing Chiciquita by ABBA. He didn’t really give us an option, so we aren't sure what to do. It was either his way or no way. We might just figure something else out and present the option to him. We’ll see. The ward has really been so nice though. There is a recent convert who gave us a bunch of treats and French Christmas cheese. We also had a surprise birthday going away party for Elder Lopez and this really cute old Bolivian member made us scarves. WE feel so loved here. I'm really excited and we've already been invited somewhere for Christmas.
Oh another cool thing, David Archuleta is coming to have a special devotional with the Spain Madrid missionaries! We can invite a few of our investigators. It’s going to be so cool! I'll be there! I'll tell you all about it.
Ok, so I have a special request. At our last leadership meeting President was talking to us about what he wants the mission to focus on this month. He decided that he wants us to focus on finding families. SO we talked about our families and the importance of them and our Ancestors. We each received a little booklet about our lives and our ancestors that all the missionaries in the world are using right now. We have to fill them out and start using them in our lessons..soooo.. I need your help. This is what I need: I need my pedigree chart (fan and normal), Then I need the dates and places of birth for everyone up to four generations, I also need the dates and places of marriage for everyone up to four generations (this all includes siblings) And then finally, just stories or memories about grandparents and great grandparents. I know it's a lot to ask for and its about 4 months’ worth of research, but I can’t use any other resource. If you could help me out that would be great! if you have any questions, let me know:)
Well, that’s about it this week! I hope you have a great week. You’re in my prayers! I love you guys. Let me know if I can do anything!
Hermana Brumble
Ps. My address now is:
Calle Mariblanca 7 3º4
28937 Mòstoles
Madrid
España
Monday, December 1, 2014
Week 54 in Spain! (1st Week in Mostoles)
12/1/14
Hey,
So this week started out really well. We had a good little group of investigators and we were finally getting the hang of things. We received a cute little family from the Elders. Irene and her boyfriend (who is less active) and the dad of Irene. They just had a baby boy who was born with a disease that made it so he could never breath on his own. He died not very long ago. We had our very first lesson with them. We talked about the plan of Salvation and I shared the Moroni 8 scripture that says that children are alive in Christ. Elder Parkinson called them to confirm our appointment with them and that’s when we found out that their little baby died. They wouldn’t stop saying how they didn't want him to go to hell because he wasn't baptized. The lesson we had was probably the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed in my whole entire life! The spirit was so strong and everyone was just so happy and holding each other in their arms. There was hope and I could feel God's love for them. I felt the spirit bear witness that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and every one of us. He loves us and he is always aware of us.
Hermana Clements and I have been so excited about things going on in Leganes. Unfortunately, we are now the new Hermanas in Mostoles. We had a little "stalker" problem with our old investigator. We had to drop him because we just really felt uncomfortable with him during our lessons. The spirit just told us we couldn't go on with him. SO we had a final lesson about a week and a half ago and he dumped us. He was saying some really inappropriate things and told us he didn’t want anything anymore and gave us the Book of Mormon back. We left it at that and just didn’t worry about him anymore. We talked and considered it a blessing. A couple of days later, he called us wanting the Book of Mormon back. So we took the Elders with us and gave him the book. We still decided not to call him, the spirit told us no. Elder Parkinson told us he didn’t want us to visit him, there wasn't a problem. But he kept showing up to things at the church and he would always just be outside watching. Elder Parkinson just told us never to go to the church alone, so we didn’t. Then on Friday while we were inside doing clases de ingles, he showed up outside waiting. The Elders told us to go into a room and wait, they asked him what he wanted and he said he needed to see us. They said we were in a meeting, and he said that he would wait. Then they told him he couldn't because after we were all leaving to go to another meeting. He got really mad and stormed out saying things. Elder Parkinson called President and he talked to us a little about the situation. He decided it would be best if we changed areas. So he called us Saturday morning and we were changing with the Hermanas in Mostoles. Sundaycomes around and President decides to come to our Sacrament meeting. Well during Sacrament the other Hermanas go out for a second because Hermana O'keef started coughing. They come back in and take Elder Parkinson out who then comes back in and takes our mission leader and President out. Hermana Clements and I were watching the door the whole time. My heart was pounding. After Sacrament Elder Parkinson comes in and tells us to stay where we are and not leave the room because he came! President Jackson called the Police and they came to get him and we had to talk to the police about the situation. President then made sure we were safe and that we were always with someone until Monday. And now here I am in Mostoles. It was scary, but we were always being protected. I'm really thankful for President and Elder Parkinson. He took really good care of us and was always making sure we were safe. I am really sad we had to leave because we had made so much progress this week. But I know it’s for the better and that it is what needed to happen. If I was in Leganes only because I needed to give that lesson on the plan of Salvation, I'm ok with that. They invited us to the funeral. We are heartbroken that we can’t go. But we are here, moving forward. :) It's been a stressful situation, but it’s ok. Mostoles is really pretty and the ward is really great. I'm just sad that we couldn't even last 5 weeks opening an area and now we are white-washing. I'm glad I'm still with Hermana Clements though, that has made things a lot easier and less stressful, we've been through a lot together, so that’s a tender mercy.
SO for thanksgiving, we had grand plans to eat together (Hermana Brumble cooking for everyone) but we can only do things during medio dia which is only 2 hours and we had correlation that day. But Jeison (our ward mission leader) made us allarrepas and bread from Columbia. I also made hamburger and homemade macaroni and cheese for Hermana Clements. Delicious! It was fun and we all went around telling each other what we were thankful for. It was humble, but I enjoyed it and it really helped us think about what we were thankful for. Then Friday Hermana Clements and I were in charge of Noche de Hogar so we did a little thanksgiving activity with a turkey, it was fun.
Well I don't know too much about Christmas right now. Just that it is our P-day. I have a leadership meeting tomorrow, so we should talk about it then. I'm so excited, there are so many Christmas lights hanging in the streets. We live in a little pueblo and everything is decorated so cute, we're really excited. And I'm sure ward members will want to do things with us.
The house looks so cute. I really missed you guys this week. I'm glad you had fun:)
I sure love you guys and miss you! I can't wait to talk to you! And don’t worry, everything has been taken care of and we are totally safe. :) I'm actually really excited, I know everything happens for a reason and that we'll receive a lot of blessings here. We are being watched over. Thanks for the words of encouragement! I love you and I'll talk to you next week. I'll also let you know what my new address is.
Love Hermana Brumble
Hey,
So this week started out really well. We had a good little group of investigators and we were finally getting the hang of things. We received a cute little family from the Elders. Irene and her boyfriend (who is less active) and the dad of Irene. They just had a baby boy who was born with a disease that made it so he could never breath on his own. He died not very long ago. We had our very first lesson with them. We talked about the plan of Salvation and I shared the Moroni 8 scripture that says that children are alive in Christ. Elder Parkinson called them to confirm our appointment with them and that’s when we found out that their little baby died. They wouldn’t stop saying how they didn't want him to go to hell because he wasn't baptized. The lesson we had was probably the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed in my whole entire life! The spirit was so strong and everyone was just so happy and holding each other in their arms. There was hope and I could feel God's love for them. I felt the spirit bear witness that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and every one of us. He loves us and he is always aware of us.
Hermana Clements and I have been so excited about things going on in Leganes. Unfortunately, we are now the new Hermanas in Mostoles. We had a little "stalker" problem with our old investigator. We had to drop him because we just really felt uncomfortable with him during our lessons. The spirit just told us we couldn't go on with him. SO we had a final lesson about a week and a half ago and he dumped us. He was saying some really inappropriate things and told us he didn’t want anything anymore and gave us the Book of Mormon back. We left it at that and just didn’t worry about him anymore. We talked and considered it a blessing. A couple of days later, he called us wanting the Book of Mormon back. So we took the Elders with us and gave him the book. We still decided not to call him, the spirit told us no. Elder Parkinson told us he didn’t want us to visit him, there wasn't a problem. But he kept showing up to things at the church and he would always just be outside watching. Elder Parkinson just told us never to go to the church alone, so we didn’t. Then on Friday while we were inside doing clases de ingles, he showed up outside waiting. The Elders told us to go into a room and wait, they asked him what he wanted and he said he needed to see us. They said we were in a meeting, and he said that he would wait. Then they told him he couldn't because after we were all leaving to go to another meeting. He got really mad and stormed out saying things. Elder Parkinson called President and he talked to us a little about the situation. He decided it would be best if we changed areas. So he called us Saturday morning and we were changing with the Hermanas in Mostoles. Sundaycomes around and President decides to come to our Sacrament meeting. Well during Sacrament the other Hermanas go out for a second because Hermana O'keef started coughing. They come back in and take Elder Parkinson out who then comes back in and takes our mission leader and President out. Hermana Clements and I were watching the door the whole time. My heart was pounding. After Sacrament Elder Parkinson comes in and tells us to stay where we are and not leave the room because he came! President Jackson called the Police and they came to get him and we had to talk to the police about the situation. President then made sure we were safe and that we were always with someone until Monday. And now here I am in Mostoles. It was scary, but we were always being protected. I'm really thankful for President and Elder Parkinson. He took really good care of us and was always making sure we were safe. I am really sad we had to leave because we had made so much progress this week. But I know it’s for the better and that it is what needed to happen. If I was in Leganes only because I needed to give that lesson on the plan of Salvation, I'm ok with that. They invited us to the funeral. We are heartbroken that we can’t go. But we are here, moving forward. :) It's been a stressful situation, but it’s ok. Mostoles is really pretty and the ward is really great. I'm just sad that we couldn't even last 5 weeks opening an area and now we are white-washing. I'm glad I'm still with Hermana Clements though, that has made things a lot easier and less stressful, we've been through a lot together, so that’s a tender mercy.
SO for thanksgiving, we had grand plans to eat together (Hermana Brumble cooking for everyone) but we can only do things during medio dia which is only 2 hours and we had correlation that day. But Jeison (our ward mission leader) made us allarrepas and bread from Columbia. I also made hamburger and homemade macaroni and cheese for Hermana Clements. Delicious! It was fun and we all went around telling each other what we were thankful for. It was humble, but I enjoyed it and it really helped us think about what we were thankful for. Then Friday Hermana Clements and I were in charge of Noche de Hogar so we did a little thanksgiving activity with a turkey, it was fun.
Well I don't know too much about Christmas right now. Just that it is our P-day. I have a leadership meeting tomorrow, so we should talk about it then. I'm so excited, there are so many Christmas lights hanging in the streets. We live in a little pueblo and everything is decorated so cute, we're really excited. And I'm sure ward members will want to do things with us.
The house looks so cute. I really missed you guys this week. I'm glad you had fun:)
I sure love you guys and miss you! I can't wait to talk to you! And don’t worry, everything has been taken care of and we are totally safe. :) I'm actually really excited, I know everything happens for a reason and that we'll receive a lot of blessings here. We are being watched over. Thanks for the words of encouragement! I love you and I'll talk to you next week. I'll also let you know what my new address is.
Love Hermana Brumble
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