October 20, 2010

Dear Family,

Hello, hello!!! I am sorry to hear that today hasn´t been one of the best days. Sometimes we have them, but we learn, we grow, and we get back up on our feet to run harder the next day. Like you said mom, the sun will rise again tomorrow. I love the idea of restarting, new days, new weeks, new transfers, and new goals. It is so nice to repent and then start over. What a blessing, repentance, and being able to apply it in our daily lives. It is hard to understand the way repentance works, but it is real and I need to make it more of a habit. I think it has been a lot easier on the mission to repent, or at least I have been more focused on doing so more regularly, than it was in real life.

We as missionaries are constantly evaluating, setting goals, striving to achieve those goals, and then re-evaluating. We try to specialize in one area, missionary work. On the other hand, being a regular person, there are a lot more things that you have to juggle and sometimes we get caught up in...life. Repentance is one of the most relieving ideas that we teach as missionaries. The idea of change and improvement and letting go of the past and improving.

We have started a new focus in the mission and that is to talk about baptism in every contact, unless the Spirit tells us otherwise, of course. It was a little interesting at first, because I always liked to talk about eternal families when I saw a family, for example, but baptism is the focus of everything in missionary work, and it is interesting that when we ask people how they would feel to be able to erase all of their sins and mistakes that they have had, they almost always say that it would be great. Baptism is our way out. It is the only way back to our Father in Heaven.

Without the receiving the baptismal ordinance in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, our brothers and sisters, neighbors, friends, and family cannot return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We see the importance of baptism and there is no reason why we shouldn´t be talking about it with everyone. If we talk more about it, people will know what we are all about and they who want to listen will already have that idea in their minds and know what our mission really is. So that is what we are trying to focus on right now in our everyday lives.

This week has been a good week. Not exceptional but not bad either. We had 7 people that had committed to come to church earlier in the week and only one person came. It was somewhat disappointing because the family of Luz, she and her two sons didn´t come. Luckily they had come to the baptismal service the night before and they felt the Spirit. (I played the violin for a musical number and the next day in Sacrament Meeting I accompanied while someone sang ¨Oh Savior Thou Who Wearest A Crown.¨) Hopefully they can come to church soon, because if not we might have to drop them. It would be really sad because they are a wonderful family, but it is hard because we can´t teach them very often as their schedules are really busy.

We are really happy because the one investigator that came to church is incredible. O si hablamos en español, es de maravilla, pero en serio, es increíble. His name is Segundo Moina, and we talked to him in the street a month ago, probably, and we invited him to church. We met him half way and he came, without ever having a lesson with us. We lost contact with him for a little while, as he didn´t seem to enjoy the reuniones, even though he stayed for the three hours. But we called him and taught him the first time two Sundays ago and again last Thursday, both with members acompanying us.

On Thursday while asking him if he had read what we had left him, 3 Nephi 11, he responded, well the first time I read it, I was a little confused. The second time I read it, it made a lot more sense, but the third time, it was as if the heaven´s had opened up and I understood everything. He said that he had read everyday and believed that what he had read was true. That was truly a miracle. We invited him to be baptized the 20th of November, and he said he wasn´t sure. We asked if we could pass by the following day in the morning. There was actually only about 12 o 13 hours diference between that appointment and the next one, Friday morning. He said that that we could come by and we invited him to pray and ask Heavenly Father if he should be baptized that day. He accepted the invitation and we left him with 3 Nephi 27. We all knelt down, and Segundo offered the closing prayer.

In the prayer he thanked God for the change that he had felt in his life, for the blessing of bumping into us that day a month ago, and many other beautiful things. We could tell, and he expressed to us, that he felt a difference in his life by reading the Book of Mormon. He felt that change in his life and the next day he had read the chapter, understood it well. When we asked him to tell us what it was about, he immediately said, Baptism. He is incredible. We invited him again to be baptized and after asking us if he, being baptized in this church, could still accompany his wife to the Catholic masses and us responding him, he said yes, let´s start preparing.

He came to church, stayed the three hours, and the priesthood hour really impacted him, as the lesson was miraculously on baptism. A few brethren shared experiences before they were baptized when they were involved with alcohol and how as they felt the need to be baptized, that desire was washed away. Segundo told me after that he has felt the same thing, that as he has met with us he has not felt the need like before to drink alcohol. I am not sure if he has stopped completely, but certainly, he has gotten better.

The miracles are many here in Madrid Spain. I am here for at least 6 more weeks and I can´t complain. We have a few goals and we plan to accomplish them. I am loving the people more and more and the work is going well. Elder Gomez and I get along great and I am really privileged to have him as a companion. Elder Moreno went home yesterday, but he is going to come back up on Saturday because his last area, Alcalá (where uncle Paul served) has a baptism and I heard that the person wants Elder Moreno to baptize them.

Luckily Elder Moreno lives within range to be able to come back. Elder Moreno opened back up Alcalá his last six weeks, after President had taken the missionaries out for 6 (Alcalá normally doesn´t have very many baptisms). But when Elder Moreno left they had 8 baptismal dates, which is unheard of, anywhere in the mission, let alone Alcalá. He told me that they were all miracles, but Elder Moreno is a good missionary and he works hard and loves the people. There are a lot of Spañiards there in Alcalá so I sure he got along really well with everyone.

Well, I have to write my inform to President Watkins, so I hope that all of you have a great week. Take care and keep praying and studying the scriptures. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Driggs.

P.S. Keep smiling and loving life, this is our only chance to do so.