HALFWAY .......

WEEK #38

 HALFWAY!!!!!

Can you believe that I'm already halfway in my mission!?? The time has gone sooo fast and they say it only goes faster from here! That means I'm going to be home in no time! These last two transfers combined have gone faster than my first transfer alone. The time just seems to be speeding up every day. It's crazy! It's good and bad. I mean I'm obviously not ready to leave yet, but I miss all of you mucho!

That's cool you got to see Les Mis. It's playing here in Barcelona as well. I wish we could go see it. Hopefully you liked it though. and mom I'm so jealous that you made home made rolls. I miss American food!! This week we had paella with seafood....ITS SO WEIRD! The gambas (shrimp) are huge! You have to peel them and pull off the legs and clean out the...poop! It's a little gross. There are also squid rings and sticks.  Not sure its ever going to be my favorite. Don't worry though, I'll make sure you get to try it when you come :) haha. 

I hope you all had a great Easter.  Mine was super quiet as well. Here it's not celebrated as much. Yesterday no one did anything. Today they celebrate it more...idk why but then again I don't know why Spain does a lot of things the way they do. Today we are going to Carolina's  house (the cook for the mission home) to hunt for eggs and eat. She is awesome and her family is amazing as well. We are definitely coming here when you all get here in January.  Carolina and I have already made plans. Last night the four of us (the elders and me and my companion) went around and did an "Easter drop". We made oreo balls and put a scripture on them and dropped them off at investigators houses and members and all the rest. It was fun and the people really enjoyed it. 

I'm glad to hear that you still decorated Easter eggs...that will never die no matter how old we are getting!! That's awesome that you all sang in church. I wish iIcould have been there to hear it. And that's hilarious that Tay had to point out the words. Don't worry mom, you can't be perfect every time!! I have had my share of singing in the mission. I definitely didn't think I would sing as much as I do. But its nice to get to share my testimony that way. 

As for this week...it was a good one. We started out by going to Montserrat. It is apparently a very well known mountain here in Catalunya (aka Barcelona area). There is a monastery and places to hike and look over all of everything. It was beautiful. We had Godson, our investigator come with us and a bunch of members. The hikes here are amazing! I love all the castles and churches and things that are up in the mountains...too bad America is a little boring in that sense. It was beautiful and reminded me of how lucky we are to have such beautiful things in our lives. It also reminded me that even though we are just a speck of dust in this huge world, our Heavenly Father knows and loves us no matter what. He knows our strengths and weakness and will never let us down as long as we show Him that we will remember Him even while we live in this huge world. It was a testimony builder of God that I will never forget.

Also this week, we were able to set a fecha (an appointment) with Ray.  Ray is the 20 year old whose dad is a member. He is amazing. He has such a desire to learn and to grow. His only problem now is he needs to come to church. But we are hoping to help him reach his goal to be baptized in May. Keep him in your prayers. 

We also got to spend a lot of time with Eva, Michelle, and Anahi. They are soooo cute!! we had a picnic with them and then played games outside with some kids from the ward. We played for like 4 hours! We were pooped after that's for sure. Yesterday, Eva the mom couldn't come to church because she worked, but Anahi (the 8 year old) came with us and loved it. She is going to the primary activity this week and wants to come to church again with us next week. It's amazing how sometimes the work starts with the youngest one in the family. Hopefully Anahi can help her family come closer to God as well. She is such an example for her sister and family. She so awesome. 

I am so grateful for this chance I have to be on a mission. I never realized how much it would change my life. My perspective on so many things has changed for the better. I am much stronger and I know who I am and what I want in life. It's amazing to see changes people make in their lives once they find God and Christ. To be able to help people find joy in the journey of life is the greatest blessing I will ever have in my life. Of course there are hard times, but life wasn't meant to be easy. The hard times are only to make us stronger. I hope you all had a chance this week to reflect on Christ and think about the things He has done for all of us. I hope you all can feel His love and hand in your life every day. Remember that you all are children of God and he is watching out for you in every aspect of life. I love you all and so does He. 

Have a great week and enjoy life!!

Con amor

Hermana Barker