August 11, 2010

Dear Family,

Before I forget, I wanted to wish Dad a great, big, happy birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!!!! I would give you a hug if I was there. I have now missed both of Mark´s birthdays and dad´s. I will not miss your birthdays again, while I am serving this mission. So time flies and I feel a sense of rush and urgency in the work, as I feel more and more each day, that there is an end to these two glorious years. At the beginning it is too big to comprehend and you just work, but when you have been out as long as I have, you decide to work harder, knowing that you will never have these days again.

Well, I wish I had more to report to you from the work. As of about two weeks ago we had 4 investigators, 3 of the which were progressing. Now we have given the 3 progressing to the hermanas that are now in our ward. So, estamos en la búsqueda, or we are in the search, for more investigators, just like Kathia and others that are ready to progress and be baptized. We have received so many blessings this week.

Even though we are not teaching very much, we are talking to a ton of people every day, trying to sort through the fields of people, to find the elect. Some missionaries don´t talk to people in the street until they feel like they should talk to them, or they look elect. I have found that many times, revelation comes in movement, and we come to distinguish those that are teachable to those that are not as we just talk to everyone.

There is a section in Preach My Gospel about talking with everyone and the last two days I have gained a whole new testimony of the importance of doing so, ALWAYS. There is no way we can relax during the day and give ourselves excuses that we don´t have to contact during certain times. It has to be done always. These last two days Elder Gómez and I have been in exchanges with the Elders in Villabla (A city about 30 minutes to the north in bus). We have received permission from President Watkins, that we have the option to have exchanges that last more than the 1 day limit, and so this exchange was the first I have ever had for 2 days.

At first I was hesitant, knowing that the missionary that was going to come to Madrid with me was new. But right from the start I new that this missionary was special. His name is Elder Holub and let´s just say that he is an ANIMAL! He, from the first minute of our exchange until the last minute, talked to everyone in sight. It was great for me, as I have recently set a goal to do the same, but he was so impressive as he started his mission in Provo in April.

This exchange, was actually the first he has had during his mission, including his first time working in the great, big city of Madrid. He had no fear, no doubts. There was nothing that could stop him from talking with the people, and I just loved it! It was one of the most fun exchanges I have ever had, and it is definitely one of the days where I have worked the hardest. It´s Interesting, that my level of fun, is in direct relation with my personal level of effort and hard work.

During the day, as we talked to tons of people, we went to a lesson that we had planned, but unfortunatly, the person was not there. As we were calling his cell phone, a man came out of the building with a trash bag in his hand. We started talking to him and asked if he had a couple of minutes to share a message. He said yes and we started with a prayer right there in the street.

After the prayer we asked him what his expectations were and then if he had some worries in his life that the word of God could help with. He answered and said that he didn´t have work, he was worried about his family, and that above all he was worried about his personal salvation. He wanted to know what he needed to do to be saved. Obviously, this last answer brought a huge smile to our face, knowing that this man was sincere and wanted to know what he needed to do to be saved.

We explained that there were five steps and he asked for a piece of paper so that he could write them down, and after we were done with the explanation, he shared with us a scripture from the bible in Acts that explains perfectly what we had just taught him. We invited him, there to be baptized the fourth of September, and he said that he was interested in knowing more and if he felt he was ready by that day, he would be baptized.

The whole experience was obviously a huge tender mercy and I thank my Heavenly Father for the blessing of being an instrument in His hands in being able to find him and share with him that message. It isn´t coincidence that his name is Rolando, because we have already nicknamed him ¨ORO¨lando, because he is golden. The whole experience was a feeling of great joy and peace. Every once in a while you need those feelings to know that what you are doing is good, and to confirm your steps.

As a missionary we feel that peace quite a bit and it is a big blessing. I believe that as we had talked to many people before him that day, we were blessed because of our efforts. As we open our mouths and share the message of the Restoration, someone will always listen. That is where the faith comes into play. We talked to someone else that day named Rosa and she too was very interested in the topic of baptism and was willing to learn more so about it. So we are happy with the fruits of our labors and count them as great blessings.


We are happy to be counted worthy to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to represent Him and His church. We are trying to ¨seek out the righteous where´er they may be,¨ and we are seeing the fast results of that decision. It is fun being a missionary when you realize that you are trying your best. Two nights ago I went to bed with a feeling I have had very few times during the mission. It was a feeling that I had done my absolute best. I couldn´t think of anything that I hadn´t done. There is always a couple of things that I could have done better and a few more people I could have contacted, but that night was something special.

I was so tired and knew that I had done my best. That feeling is driving me to do even more every day and to push away those temptations to slack off, taking advantage of every second possible. This requires an energy that is very rare to me, but I love it. It is so fun just to be thinking, always, who else can I talk to. So that is my goal this week, to talk to every single person possible, and not to waste one bit of time. I am getting to understand that concept a little bit better every day, the concept of using your time wisely and diligently. It is fun being a stickler about it and pushing yourself to never rest or relax but to always be a missionary. It is great stuff.

I love you all, and hope that all continues to go well, and that Heavenly Father continues to bless us.

Tell Grandmother and Granddad and Kelli that I got their letters and tell them thank you. I love hearing from the extended family too. Mom, I am sorry that I still haven´t sent that package. It is hard finding time to do it, as stores close early and are far away, but I will be able to do it this week. Just keep an eye out for it. Thank you so much, everyone, for your love and prayers.

¨Never Give Up, Never Surrender.¨

Love,

Élder Driggs