Hot and out of water to drink

Hi family! 7/20/15
typical day at train station
This week was a whirlwind, so fast and crazy! But the good kind of crazy.

So first of all, S is getting baptized this Saturday at noon. She is sooooo excited and it makes me so happy to see that. We went to a ward baptism with her this week of a little girl and she loved it.
The girl was baptized by her dad and it was really cute and sweet and you could feel the spirit. She loved it and it made her even more excited for her baptism!
hot day out of water
So P, the guy I mentioned last week who lived in Canada for a while... He came to church with his fiancée, Y, and her daughter and they all loved it and said they'd all be back next week before we even got a chance to mention anything about church next week. They are really cool! We're meeting with them tonight actually. 
We taught M the word of wisdom because he is has a hard time with the Word of wisdom when we meet. So, we taught it and he agreed to live it! Which honestly was
the biggest surprise ever because he didn't seem like it'd be something he'd accept... Hopefully he sees the blessings of it and continues on with it!

We had a zone conference and met President and his family. They are literally the best. No joke. I love them! They make me feel so at home. 


They really are like parents. We had interviews too with President and I loved that too. He's a really wonderful guy. His wife is so funny and so southern. She's from Louisiana. They have two kids here, a 13 year old son and a 15 year old daughter. I've decided I will be friends with their daughter. She's awesome. Anyway, I get to go to Alcobendas tomorrow for leadership training and I'm so excited to see Alcobendas again, even if I'm just in the mission home.

Today we went to Torrejon for pday. We played volleyball and had a water balloon fight. Super fun. We came to see Hermana Kelemen. She's the best.
Anyway, that's about it for now. Things are just crazy busy trying to get ready for S baptism. It hasn't been too hot here this week, but it's supposed to get hotter. 

I love you all. Have a great week! 

Still Hot in Spain, fans sold out!

Hola familia! 7/13/15

What a week. Alright, so let's start with the people we are teaching. 

L, our investigator with the baptismal date, is awesome. So she has family in her country who are members so she knows quite a bit about the church. She told us that her family had all been married in the temple. So we told her there was a temple here and she didn't know that, so we did a tour with her. So awesome! The spirit was soooo strong!

Temple view from ward building

Turns out, when the temple in the Dominican Republic was built, she went to the open house. She loved it and she remembered a lot. She's fabulous. She is trying to change her job now so she can come to church on Sunday. She just had an interview and she said it went really well, but they told her she won't hear back for 2-3 weeks. Here's to lots of praying that she gets it!!! 

A is awesome as usual. He is Adventist, so we have quite a few differences in doctrine, but he is so polite always and genuinely wants to know. He had a bad day this week and he called us, because he says he has no other friends here and if anyone could help him, we could he set up 3 appointments with us this week because he loves studying with us. He's so wonderful!

 We met with a new investigator named S. She is amazing. She just moved here from Venezuela 3 months ago. Her fiancé is a recent convert, but she never wanted anything to do with the church until Hermanas in Barrio 9 (right next to Barrio 3) contacted her. I was so close to her my whole time in B3 and never met her! Anyway, she went to church in B9 with her fiancé and loved it. So, we met with her this week. We taught the restoration and she loved it. We left her the introduction of the Book of Mormon to read and she comes back and read the intro and all the testimonies! She's just the best! So we taught the plan of salvation and she loved it even more. The spirit was so strong and she told us that she feels more peace in the church and when she meets with us than anywhere else! So we invited her to be baptized... The 25th of July. And she accepted! And she said that is the 6 year anniversary of her and her boyfriend... And then we realized that her boyfriend just received the priesthood and can baptize her. Anyway, aside of all this preciousness, she is really understanding and loving everything. We're a little overwhelmed trying to cram everything that we need to teach in in time, but I'm not worried. She is already developing a testimony and has the desire to learn and know more. Also, she has all the time in the world to meet, which makes things so much easier for us. Also, did I mention she speaks perfect English... She corrects me sometimes, which can be slightly embarrassing.

We found a bus that goes to Arganda del Rey, the farthest part in our area. Normally we take the metro for about 50 minutes... This bus takes 20 minutes. So we took it this week for the first time and we got to Arganda no problem. On the way back... Not so much. We got off early and ended up on the side of the highway. We found a park off the highway and walked through it... Super sketchy, but eventually we made it back to civilization... Just an hour and a half later. My navigating skills are rusty obviously. 

We still can't find a fan... Everywhere is sold out! So we basically die at night. We wake up just soaked in sweat. That's not even an exaggeration. I'm at the point where 42 degrees is pretty normal feeling though, you just get used to the heat and sweating disgustingly. I don't care what anyone says, dry heat is still heat and you sweat and feel gross just as much!

Unfortunately I think that might be all... We are going to meet he new mission president this week and I hear that he is amazing! So exciting!

Also, I contacted a man who lived in Sarnia the other day!!! So cool. Hes been in Port Huron! He's from Columbia, but he moved to Canada to work but then moved back to Spain just recently while he applies for residency in Canada. He used to meet with missionaries and really liked it, he just never could meet with them more because of work. Hopefully we can meet with him because that'd be great.

Also, D and J, our menos activos are really progressing and they are letting us do a noche de hogar each week in their house and also, J has agreed to come on lessons with us! Those are really big steps for them!!!

I'm feeling really blessed lately. Sometimes you have downs in the mission, but the ups like this make it all so worth it!

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

Hermana Griffin

Transfers and good byes

7/6/15 Hola familia!

So, this week was super sad because it was Elder Bybee's last week in the mission and Hermana Kelemen got transferred today. Mostly this week was just a bunch of "lasts" together which is the 

worst part of the mission.

Once again, our investigators have dropped off the face of the earth. It's so frustrating. But I suppose the Lord wants me to learn something from this process and experience.

We had a change in our mission president this week, but so far I haven't met or seen him and still nothing is changed. We will be meeting him at least the 17th, if not sooner.

Our investigator L. accepted a baptismal date for the 8th of August. I'm super excited. She has family in the church in her country and I think that is and will be a huge help. She is really excited to know about the temple, so we are giving her a "tour" this week!

S was baptized the 4th! I'm so happy! I of course wasn't there,
but I was so happy to hear it. Also, J from Barrio 3 and S from
Barrio 3 (my investigators) accepted baptismal dates as well!

This week, we were walking and talking in English, and we walked by
this guy, who turns and says hello. So we asked if he spoke English.
His name is A. and he is from Equatorial Guinea. He is so awesome!
He speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese and English. Anyway, he asked
why we were here and so we explained that we were missionaries. Before
we could even ask, he asked if he could give us his number and if we could meet sometime. Awesome guy! We're gonna meet tonight actually.

We got transfer calls this weekend, and I am staying in Barrio 8 with Hermana Spencer. Hermana Kelemen went to Torrejon and Hermana Irigoyen is staying here with a Spaniard named Hermana Vilariño. Also, I am
sister training leader now. Super crazy. I'm excited but nervous. I have a lot of intercambios to do and a lot of Hermanas to oversee.
It'll be good though, I'm sure.

That's about it. One of our members is from Nigeria and he had some
friends from Nigeria here this week. His friend asked where I was from and I told him Michigan. He started freaking out because he has family who lives in Detroit. He called his family and I talked to some people in Michigan! So crazy. It was strange, but somehow it made me feel so much closer to home.

I love you all. Have a great week Here is a blurry picture for the
week. Sorry. It's us just before we sent off Hermana Kelemen. Also, me and Hermana Kelemen with a member on the 4th. We were all red white and blue.

Over 100º and melting!

6/29/15

I 've officially hit 8 months in the mission! Crazy, huh? Literally all of our amazing investigators dropped off the face of the earth this week. That's the worst feeling ever. We didn'tget to meet with M. last week, but we're meeting tonight! He is just great. So, it poured the other day, which normally, I'd hate, but it was about a 100º and so it was welcomed. It just rained for about an hour straight. We were in it just walking, enjoying it while everyone was hiding under awnings and such. They looked at us like  crazy people. It  was fun.

So, we had a ward activity. It was an international dinner and everyone brought food from their countries and then we ended   with a talent show. Of course, us Americans brought the dessert.  I brought peanut butter cookies and even though they were  made with gross Spanish peanut butter, They were a hit! And  of course, us missionaries danced and to feed the stereotype  that we're all country bumpkins, we danced the cotton eyed joe

 This activity made me really  miss the U.S., especially the closer we get to the 4th. Someone eat a hamburger and apple pie for me! It was 102 yesterday and from today on, we have a week and a half straight of 105 degree weather. I'm trying not to die. I'm hoping I get transferred somewhere cooler, but that's unlikely.

 Speaking of transfers, they are next weekend and I'm really sad because Elder Bybee is finishing his mission and Hermana Kelemen will probably be leaving because she's been here for 6 months. Speaking of them, I've attached a picture in the other email of the

beautiful people I serve with.

We were stopped by this strange guy about a week ago. We decided to meet with him this week and it turns out, he is an old investigator from about 2 1/2 years ago. He is so awesome. His name is D and he is from Turkey. Turns out, he's also like a millionaire... But he's cool. He called us the next day and told us he also wants us to teach his friend, which is awesome!
So we were walking and another guy contacted us. We've seen him before, his name is R, but he works handing out fliers for a restaurant and we can't stop people who are working, so we've never talked before. He stopped us and asked us for Book of Mormon and a Bible and talked about his religious beliefs and everything. Well, he is a very expressive Colombian and is talking sooooo much with his hands the whole time we're talking that I just start ignoring his hand gestures and such until what I thought was a hand gesture, turned into him grabbing me and hugging me and rocking with me during the hug. I was shocked. And he starts talking again and tells us, more about him and his beliefs and such and as we go to say goodbye, he grabs my chin, like you'd expect a grandma to do, and then pulls me in for another rocking hug. So awkward. My companion was just hysterical. Anyway, he's pretty cool, we're gonna meet him this week hopefully.
  I got really sick. Like really sick. I woke up Wednesday night just puking uncontrollably and all day Thursday too. I couldn't keep anything down and I had the pleasure of reliving everything I'd eaten in the last 48 hours. Sorry, probably more than you'd care to know. Here's nothing like being sick in a different country to make you
realize that you just really miss being home and your mom.
Other than that, things are good here. Slow, but good. Pray that I don't die in the street from the heat. I'm glad everyone is doing well! Know that I love you all and am constantly praying for you!

Love you lots!
Hermana Griffin

Cranes!

Hola familia!   6/22/15
This week was slowwwwww. It's hot, school is out, and thus, no one wants to talk to us.

 Anyway, we met with M. on Monday. He is fantastic. We taught him the Restoration and he loved it.

We asked what he thought about Joseph Smith and he said, God appeared to Moses, why couldn't he appear to Joseph Smith? He said God used to call prophets and he should today.  He's the best! He also showed us a park we'd never been to before that over looks all of Madrid.

.. But having problems with this email it is dumb and it won't let me send the picture. You'll have to settle for a self of me instead.

S. has been reading the Book of Mormon. She loves it! She said she believes it is true, but she still hasn't prayed. We told her she has to do that so the Holy Ghost can testify to her that it's true. She's so funny. We met with a new investigator named O.He is really nice. He used to go to our church when he was a teenager and lived in Ecuador,but never got baptized. So, he knows a bit already. We'll see how it goes!

We had interviews with president because he is about to go home! He leave July 2 and the new president gets here July 1. He just told me how proud he was of me and how thankful he was for me. It was nice to say goodbye to him. He gave us all a final hug too. So sad!

The other new investigator is C. He is a miracle. I saw him one day, but didn't contact him, and about two or three hours later, I saw him again. I knew I couldn't pass him up. He was wearing a London shirt, so I started talking to him asking if he speaks English. He said he didn't but wants to learn. I started chit chatting and all. He said, we could meet with him some day and hat him and his wife are looking for a church. They are from Bolivia and they have two little boys, one is 5 and the other is 1 1/2. We had a day where everyone cancelled and we called him to see if we could meet during the week,
and he says, "I'm free in an hour, can you meet then?" We met him, and he loved it! We taught him the restoration and he was so excited about the Book of Mormon. Especially when we told him it was his. He said in the 15 years he has been here, no one has ever given him anything, let alone a book. He said he would read it asap and then asked us when he could meet us again. He was out of town for the weekend, but he told us him and his wife would love to come to church this coming Sunday. Hopefully they do! They're awesome. We hope we can meet his wife this week too. He's so humble. He said he's without a job right now and so he has all the time in the world to meet with us. He also is a chef. So he offered to cook for us sometime, and I'm all about that!
We went to see a menos activa too. Her name is J. We've never met her before, but we've been trying to meet her for a while. She is awesome! She is a return missionary. She joined the church with her family in her early teens. Her husband is a convert of about 3 or 4 years they have gone inactive. They are so great though! And
they have the cutest 3 year old. She has a speech impediment and Spanish is really hard for her, so she picked up English from TV shows. So she understands Spanish, and tries to speak it, but it's really hard to understand her, but understands and speaks English. They're really great and hopefully we can get them back to church soon. 

Also, between Arganda del Rey and Rivas-urbanizaciones, some of the  pueblos we have, there are tons of cranes!

  

And in case you didn't know, cranes are giant! So here is a picture of me, with some cranes in a nest at the metro station... They're creepy!

And also, those are the crazy people I live with 

Last but not least, don't think I forgot about you all, and please pass this on because I don't have everyone's emails! Happy birthday
Ashley! Happy birthday Uncle Sean! Happy birthday Uncle Colin! Happy
Father's Day!

I love you all! Have a great week!
Hermana Griffin

Bowling and missionary work in Spain

Hola familia!

Sorry I didn't write last week. But bowling was fun. I didn't lose,
surprisingly enough... Ok, here are the
highlights for 2 weeks.

Abuelita got her transplant! She got a call and they had a kidney for
her! She is still in the hospital, but I hear she feels 10x better. I
literally started crying when I heard. Hermana Sykes called me to tell
me. She is just so wonderful and this is honestly the best news ever.

Ok, ready? K****, on of my investigators that I found in Alcobendas,
got baptized a few weeks ago and so did her 8 year old son D****.
J*****, my investigator from B3 is getting baptized in a few weeks and
S**** from B3 had his baptismal interview yesterday and is getting
baptized the 19th! Apparently I have a really good ability to find
people and have them get baptized as soon as I leave... Also, J***
from B3 finally asked her husband to start meeting with the hermanas
and they are both planning to get baptized this summer! So exciting!

We met this menos activo on he street named C*****. He just moved here
from Venezuela. He is the only member in his family. He is really
awesome. We are really excited to start meeting with his and his
family! His wife is super nice too. They are just the sweetest people.
Hermana Irigoyen is hoping they'll invite us all to eat. She says
Venezuelan food is good... We'll see.

We taught A****** and Y***** about tithing and they loved it! They
were like, yeah, it's a commandment of God, why wouldn't we pay it?
They told us about how they lost their baby too. I don't want to go
into too much info, but it was a really sad story. When that happened
to them, they said it was a really trail for their faith and after,
they went inactive in their church, because they felt like God wasn't
there for them and such. But shortly after is when they met the
Hermanas and then I came. They are really just starting over. We had a
really awesome lesson with them when they told us about that and the
spirit was super strong. We talked about trials and we shared parts of
D&C 121 and 122 and they really enjoyed it. I really admire them for
their faith and strength. They're amazing people.

This weekend was so awesome. The elders had a baptism and the spirit
was so strong. I've literally never felt the spirit like that in a
baptism before. Also, we had stake conference yesterday. So good! I
really enjoyed it. They talked a lot about the temple. The members
here really take for granted the temple and the fact that it is right
here. It's sad honestly. I wish I could go more often, I totally
would!

We have several new investigators. S****** is from Peru. We gave her a
Book of Mormon and when we met with her, she had been reading it! It
was amazing! Next, M*****. He is a Spaniard! He had some questions
about the plan of salvation, so we taught him that and he really loved
it! We're meeting with him again tonight. We're really excited. Then
we have P**** and J***. They are from Angola. P**** walked by us one
night and said to Jose, I'm going to marry a Mormon. So me and Hermana
Spencer looked at each other and said... Let's go talk to him, so we
did. He said he has seen missionaries all his life in Angola and here
and they've never stopped him, but he's always wondered what we believe
and teach. So we met with them yesterday and P**** (who appeared more
interested at first) was a bit close minded, but J*** (who seemed to
want nothing) asked if he could have the Book of Mormon. It could have
gone better but P**** told us at the end, "God is telling me I should meet with you again, so we'll see them next weekend."

I love my companion too, and the other Hermanas. It's been a bit slow
because vacations and summer are starting, but it's been good. We're
making things work and at least meeting lots of people in the streets
if nothing else. It's fun. We have a new rule, if anyone has clothing
with English or an American flag on it, we talk to them. There are
tons and it works every time... People are generally fascinated by
Americans.

Ok, last things. I tried fresh passion fruit juice and fresh tamarind
juice. So good!

Worst thing to happen yet in the mission... A bird pooped on me. Right
in the middle of my head. You better believe I literally ran home and
showered... So gross!

That's all. I love you tons! Have a great week
Hermana Griffin

Barrio 8

Barrio 8 is good! It was a rough first week, but Im adjusting.

First, when we had transfers, I met a member from Barrio 8 in the train station... turns out, she´s a recent convert of my companionship. Her name is D***! She is fantastic! She has two sons who have been members for a long time. One is actually serving a mission right now in Los Angeles! The other is named D**** and he is 16. Ok, D**** is already my favorite person here! He told me yesterday that Im his best friend haha. He´s just the sweetest and so funny! His birthday is right before mine, so he started planning a combined birthday party for us when I first met him... then yesterday, he told me he´s going to Peru to see his dad! So sad! I may not even be here when he gets back! Anyway, D**** is the best. He is a ward missionary and always always always helps us in lessons. He´s such a blessing!

So we are teaching this couple from El Salvador, A****** and J******. They are 24 and are preparing to be baptized at the end of this month. They´re wonderful. A****** just accepts everything, J******, is always a little slower and it´s so funny because A****** will sit and help us try and teach her because he just gets it. They´re really great. They are always inviting us over and always wanting to learn more. They come to church every week and all of the ward Noche de Hogars and everything. People already think they´re members really. It´s funny. They´re so great! Also, they feed us the most delicious Salvadorian food. YUM!

There is a recent convert who helps us a lot too. His name is V***** and he is a Spaniard. He has a really interesting story. He was a member of the church, served a mission, and later in life, asked for his name to be removed from church records. Well, one day, the other companionship of Hermanas here, met him by accident. He said he didn´t need God in his life, but the Hermanas told him he did and were really forward with him. He realized he did and started meeting with the Hermanas and taking the discussions and was baptized again this past February! He is amazing. He is such an awesome teacher too. He´s just fantastic, and he speaks perfect English as well.

We went to visit a menos activo family. The parents are J**** and O*****. They are so sweet! They are from Ecuador. They have been members for quite a few years. We just met them, so we´re not quite sure why they arent attending, but we have a few ideas. Olivia said she still prays all the time, but J**** says he feels like his prayers havent always been answered. Anyway. We just got to know them and read part of Moroni 7 with them and invited them to read the rest and to pray as a family. When we finished the lesson, after we prayed, I didnt even think about asking, but the words were just flowing out of my mouth and I was asking them to come to church. They said they would. And they did! We walked into the chapel yesterday and there they were! We sat next to them and we listened to the most amazing sacrament meeting I have ever been in. J*** and M******* M****** from Alcobendas were there and talked about the temple and the importance of going and the sacrifices we should be willing to make for the temple. It was so good, and it dawned on me, that J**** and O***** have not been to the temple. I really feel like that was an inspired question, because I really think the Lord knew that they needed to hear those sacrament talks.

Speaking of the temple, we got to go this past week. It was wonderful, like usual. Im always by the temple now because we attend the ward right on the temple grounds. I just love the temple and the amazing spirit there, even if you´re just outside. Also, the Madrid Temple is gorgeous, in case I havent said that enough.

Hermana Spencer is amazing! She´s so positive always, which sometimes is exactly what I need. It´s funny because I never thought I was unhappy in my mission, but since my first day here, I have been so incredibly happy here. It´s strange, but I love it. Hermana Spencer is a really good teacher. Her Spanish isnt wonderful, but it´s not bad. She´s got all the skills, she just doubts herself a lot. My goal is to make her talk a lot in lessons and try and get her to build her confidence, because she is really wonderful and could be even better! I really do love her. We live with two other Hermanas too, Hermana Keleman and Hermana Irigoyen. Hermana Keleman is from Provo, Utah and is in the same CCM group as Hermana Spencer. She is literally ALWAYS making everyone laugh. She´s hilarious. And Hermana Irigoyen is from Argentina, though you wouldnt know because she speaks perfect English! She is an amazing missionary too. She goes home in a few transfers. I hope that I can be a missionary like her. She is just unbelivable! I listened to her call a list of "Future References" from our carpeta de area (sorry, I actually dont know what is called in English...), and usually that is super unsuccessful for us... she got 3 appointments and taught one phone lesson all in 10 minutes. Amazing. Basically, they´re just the best people ever and I love spending time with them! The only other people in our district are two elders, Elder Bybee and Elder Damft. They´re pretty cool. A little strange, but awesome missionaries.

My new area covers a pueblo called Arganda del Rey and it is gorgeous. It´s so fun to go out there. We have to take a train out there, it´s the only way. And it´s not a city and there are fields and mountains. I love it so much!

Im sorry I dont have more fun things to tell you. Im more in the center of Madrid now, and it´s hotter. Im trying not to die. Im getting more tan (the awkward tan lines are real- watch line and sandal lines).

Anyway. I love you! I´ll be sure to send some pictures next week. We´re going for a picnic today with the other Hermanas and we had a fun wardrobe coincidence... pictures to come! Have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Griffin