March 9, 2010

Dear family,

Well I hope that all is well. We have a crazy schedule this week and things have changed a little bit. Luckily I get to write to you, but the sad thing is that I don´t get to hear your letter. That´s okay, that just means that I will get an extra big letter next week right? Haha. Well, the reason that the schedule is different is because Elder Kopischke of the first quorum of the seventy and the European area presidency is coming to speak to us and train us on Wednesday, tomorrow, which is normally preparation day. So we just switched and had preparation day today and will hear him tomorrow. I am very excited to hear him. I remember when the last general authority came and I absolutely loved it. I am sure that I will love it again.

So today for preparation day we woke up and left the piso at 7:35, because we wanted to go to the 9:00 session at the temple. (It is a mission rule that we visit the temple at least once a transfer). Well in order to make it on time we needed to leave at 7:15, so we ended up arriving at 9:15, and missed that session. It was fine because we got dressed and had a little time to sit and be reverent. We don´t get very much time to do that as missionaries, so it is nice to do that every once in a while.

We came out at 12:00 and walked 30 feet to the stake center and played soccer for about an hour with 20 other missionaries. It was a lot of fun until the security guard told us that soccer was not allowed, only basketball. That was a shock as Spain is a country that is certainly soccer dominant. So we picked up our stuff, moved to a soccer pit 5 minutes away, and played for a little longer. It was a lot of fun and I recognize that I should have played soccer more as a kid because I do like it, but just lack the skills to be great. It still is very enjoyable.

I am sure you are all dying to hear the news about Ernesto and I can honestly say that he has been found. Yesterday we got the call from the Zone Leaders who now are in charge of that part of our old area, and they told us that they finally got a hold of him. The whole week we were calling him, trying to talk to him, as well as 4 or 5 members, but he never answered his phone. We were so worried that he might have been offended or that something happened. We went to his apartment yesterday and his brother in law said that he wasn´t there but that he was looking for us. This had us super confused.

Long story short, is that he arrived last night about an hour before the zone leaders knocked his door and he answered. He had received some sort of work or training out of town, about 1 hour away, and had been there the whole week. Normally this wouldn´t be a big deal, but he forgot his cell phone at home. So we had no way of contacting him the whole week and we were just so nervous. Luckily, he told the zone leaders that he still wants to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and still wants to come to church. He thinks that he will not have work this weekend so that he can come to church. We are so glad that he is found!!!


Well now that our area has basically been broken up and we only have about 1/3 of the old area, we are in the search for more investigators. We have a lot, but not very many of them want to progress. So we are looking for more people like Ernesto, that are just ready to progress and keep their commitments.


Well I have to go now. I hope that all is well at home, especially with the computer. That must have been so depressing. I love you all soooo much and pray for you all the time. Seriously, I do. Please keep praying for me and the people here in Spain, so that they can soften their hearts and be guided, through there difficulties, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.


I love my Savior and love serving him and this people. I learn more and more about the work every day and time is flying by, way too fast. Keep up the good work and I will give you another report next week.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if you want me to tell you more about certain things. I don´t know, I really don´t write letters very often, or at least hardly ever before the mission and now I get to do it every week. So let me know if you want something more than what I am writing you. If you´re not satisfied.

I love you all!!!



Love,



Elder Driggs


P.S. Mom, I heard that you wrote back to one of the member girls here on facebook. They forwarded the message, so thank you very much. I love you too!!!

We hear bits and pieces of the natural disasters that are going on in the world, and I guess that the prophecies are coming to pass, huh.