I only have a few days left here at the MTC! Days here pass by so quickly. I'll be leaving this coming Tuesday (May 31st). The rumor is that we'll be leaving at 4.30 in the morning. I'm excited and nervous to get out into the real mission field! I'll spend Tuesday in Malaga in the mission home and then I will meet my companion for the next 6 weeks. I'm not sure when my pday will be so you might not hear for a few more days. But I might be able to email again on Monday before I leave the MTC.
Now I get to tell you about last pday! After I wrote you all, I got to go to El Museo de Prado (I spelled it wrong last time...) I had no idea how famous this museum was! While I was at BYU, I took a humanities class where I had to memorize a lot of paintings and their artists. In the museum I got to see a lot of the real paintings I studied! I saw paintings of Goya and Valasquez in real life! It was a cool day and it was nice to take a break from studying.
Most of this email will be about my experience with Park day! The contrast from last week's experience was incredible. We were so successful and I really saw God's hand all over that Parque del Retiro. I want to share some of the greatest experiences I was blessed to have.
I was put into a trio once again. Seriously, trios aren't common at all, but I've always been in them! On Saturday I was paired up with Hermana Favero who is here on the 6 week Spanish track and Hermana Dishlanian who is from Ukraine and is here getting ready for her call to Ukraine. Translation: one person that speaks minimal Spanish and one who doesn't know a word of it and speaks minimal english! In contrast to last week, I was the only one capable of communicating past small talk.
After several rejections, we found a lady sitting in the grass with her grown daughter and her son. The other two sisters spoke with the daughter while I spoke with the lady.. She knew quite a bit about religion and it turns out she was a Jehovah's witness before. She accepted a Book of mormon and said she’d read it (that's what they all say...) Even if she doesn't read it, a seed was planted by 2 americans and a Ukrainian. The next family we spoke to was the Mendoza family. A father, mother, 2 girls and a boy. And also an aunt. We approached their picnic blanket and asked if we could share a message. The mom and aunt agreed but it was obvious they didn't want to talk to the Mormons. We began talking about families and that's when the father came and sat down. Hma. Favero did small talk and Hma. Dishlanian made paper stars for the kids and I taught the whole lesson. I talked about eternal families and I was about to leave them in peace, when something caught fire in the father's eyes. My goodness I could truly see a light in his eyes and he was truly listening to my words. He asked about why we call ourselves Latter-day saints and so I went on to teach the entire Restoration lesson. Up until this, the aunt was uninterested and kept looking away.
Just the day before we set a goal as a district to memorize the first vision (an account by Joseph Smith), the first 3 articles of faith, and the missionary objective. It was a lot to memorize and I was overwhelmed and frustrated because I had to learn the pronunciation and grammar and then memorize it. But I studied and as I taught the Restoration, I mostly recited the first vision! The Spirit was THERE! With me. In the middle of the Parque del Retiro in Madrid, Spain.
The Spirit was helping me, a person far from perfect, testify of Joseph Smith and the restored Gospel of Christ.Hunger was in the eyes of that family and I know they felt the Spirit. Even the aunt had tears in her eyes. This little family, children of God, was crowded on a picnic blanket and I was blessed enough to be God's mouthpiece. As I was teaching, I just knew it was true and I couldn't stop smiling. I'm so happy to be here. That experience was one of the happiest of my life. Sitting on the grass teaching a family about the Gospel. I know this Church and its teachings are true. I gave them a Book of mormon and got a referral for them to hear more.
We had 20 minutes left in the park and still had one Spanish and 2 english books. Hma. Favero commented that she wanted to find someone who spoke English. Not 5 steps later we stopped to talk to a woman sitting on a bench. We said hello and introduced ourselves but she had the most confused look on her face. I almost laughed because I thought she just couldn’t understand our Spanish. But then she said I'm sorry! But I speak english. We almost yelled with joy! The other 2 sisters were able to talk to her a lot. She's from the Philippines and is here as a nanny. She's working on learning Spanish. After we read a couple of scriptures I told her I wanted to give her a Book of Mormon. I told her that it was like a gift from God and that He loves her. Tears welled up in here eyes and it was such a tender moment.
In this moment I thought of when I said goodbye to Sophie and she cried and cried. I told her that so many people didn't know that they were children of God. I told her I needed to tell people in Spain that God loves them. With Sara, the Philippino woman, I was able to convey that love. I also gave here a Spanish and english BoM to help her learn Spanish. We gave away 5 BoM's in an hour and a half. We sang 5 songs with all 50 missionaries and I was so filled with gratitude for my Savior and God and the tender mercies they give me.
On Sundays here, everyone prepares a 5 minute talk in their mission language and Presidente Packer randomly picks 6 to 8 of us to give them. This time he called me up and I spoke about God strengthening our weaknesses. I didn't even read what I had written. :) One of the teachers works with me on grammar for 30 minutes everyday and I'm proud of the progress I'm making. I don't think I've worked so hard to develop anything in my entire life. I'm so determined to dominate this language! I'm going to be a scripture master by the end of my mission.
A few days ago we did this activity where they passed out slips of paper and we had a certain amount of time to find scriptures that answered that question. Like: does God know me? and What can I do to unite my family? And we had to find answers for them in the Book of Mormon. It is really such a powerful book and sometimes I feel like I've never read it before. hahaha. My testimony of everything Gospel is being strengthened here. I love you all! This is hard work but it’s the Lord's work!
Con mucho amor, Hermana Moore
My sweet companions: Hermana Quispe from Peru and Hermana Boateng from Ghana.
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