So, big news! Transfer calls came around. We actually call the missionaries within zone to let them know if there are changes. The only change with us is that Elder McConnaughey will finish his mission on Wednesday and Elder Black and I will stay together in Granada. We´re very excited about the way that things are going.
We´ve been able to see a lot of great progress in our area, especially with Nelly and Gisele. This last week, we really wanted to focus on baptism with them, and what we could teach that would develop that desire for them to get baptized. We prayed a lot to find a way to bring about their baptism quickly, because Nelly will be returning to Peru within a few days and we want her to be able to go to Peru a baptized member ready to share it with her family there. She is incredible. She keeps telling us about how much she loves the church and how welcomed she feels. She really loves the doctrine. Gisele´s a great help. About every lesson that we have with her, Gisele turns to Nelly and says, ´Bautízate, Nelly´ (Get baptized Nelly). Which, isn´t necessarily the best invitation we might use, but I must say, for not even being a member, Gisel sure knows how to be a great missionary. But our focus really has been that this whole week. Getting them to come to church, to read in the Book of Mormon, and to really develop the faith to get baptized
Yesterday was stake conference. The Granada Stake encompasses Malaga, Granada, Jaen, Almeria, Motril, and last but not least....Fuengirola!, (I´m not sure that will mean anything to you, but it´s a really large amount of territory that it covers, so a lot of people have to travel for a while). It was really great to be able to see a lot of old friends from Fuengirola and from Malaga. The Idahoans unfortunately were not able to attend, but I was able to talk with my old Mijas branch president. The benefit of living in Granada is that we didn't have to travel at all. The stake center is actually our chapel, so it took us about ten minutes to get to the conference. The conference was great. I really love how universal the church is, and how similar it is throughout the world. Really, the only difference between our meetings in Granada and the ones in Utah is that the ones here are conducted in Spanish. It was a great conference. Nelly and Gisele both came and really enjoyed the conference, but I think what touched them even more was the baptism that happened that night. The sisters in our ward had been teaching a young woman, and she was baptized yesterday. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the font, and it didn´t fill with hot water. The mother would not let her get baptized in cold water, so we only had one option -- heat up the water on the stove and run it to the baptismal font. It´s amazing how much the ward can come together on something like that, after a rousing speech by our young single adult representative, everyone there jumped to help fill pots, pans, and anything that we could in order for her to be baptized. It was quite the experience. The baptism went really well. The sisters had actually asked Elder Black (violin) and I (piano) to do a special musical number at the baptism.
After the baptism, we talked with Nelly and Gisel. We´ve been asking a lot about their possible baptism this Saturday. Gisel came up and told me that she has a lot of desire to get baptized, but she has a couple of things holding her back. So, now we have got to pray and really hope that she gets the answer that she needs. Nelly, on the other hand, felt really strongly about baptism. She felt so good at the service and told us that she wants to be able to take this feeling that she has with her home to her family. In fact, she called us the night before asking for the address to the chapel to be able to invite some of her friends. She actually asked Gisel if she would speak at her baptism. So we are praying very hard that she decides to get baptized this Saturday. Please keep her in your prayers.
It really has been a great week. I was able to go on exchanges with the missionaries of Almeria on Wednesday, and was able to see the sunniest city in our mission. Supposedly, Almeria, gets the most amount of sun in our mission per year. It´s a great city, and the missionaries there are doing really well. We also, held our first zone meeting here in Granada.
I really love it here. Granada is a great place to serve. I love the people. I have two great companions, and we are working really hard here. It really is a great day to be a missionary.
Love you,
Elder Weenig
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