Monday, April 17, 2017

April 11th- April 17th, 2017

Hello! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! :) I am so grateful to
be a missionary here in Spain, especially during this Easter season!
This week involved a lot of parades, contacting and miracles. It has
been Semana Santa and Spaniards sure like to celebrate. There was a
procession almost every day. The parades consisted of tons of people
dressed in robes and pointy hats carrying big floats. Some people
handed out candy and others carried crosses or candles. We live right
by a Catholic church so we could hear and see the processions de our
balcony from noon until two in the morning! We kept working despite
the festivities and found some really prepared people.

With Raquel, our mini-missionary, we went on splits with members a
lot. Splits are when we take a member with us and split into two
companionships to work. On Tuesday we did splits and I went contacting
with Mensi. She was awesome at testifying and we found two new people
to teach! On Tuesday while Hermana George was off with a member,
Raquel and I knocked all the doors in a building and set up a few
appointments to go back. Summer is setting in here in Murcia and it
was in the high 70's and 80's this week! Eeksies!

This weekend we had interviews with President Andersen and zone
conference with all the missionaries from Murcia, Alicante and
Cartagena. I love being around other missionaries and I always learn
things I can improve on.

Before I end I have two big miracles I want to tell you about. :)

On Thursday I went on splits with Magda. We were contacting in a town
and there weren't a whole lot of people out. We found a park and
talked with a few people there. We didn't have too much success until
we found two 25 year olds sitting on a bench. Juan and Jesus. We
showed them the Prince of Peace video and we could tell that Juan was
really engaged and interested and Jesus didn't want anything to do
with us. We stood there and Magda and I taught them an overview of the
Restoration. Then we testified about how the gospel of Jesus Christ
can change their lives. It was cool to see that the words I spoke were
not my own. I testified about how the gospel changed my life and
helped me (and continues helping me) cope with the loss of my mom.
That's obviously not something I talk about a lot, especially with
people I just met. I distinctly remember the one other contact in my
whole mission that I've talked about Mom. The Spirit testified of
every word I said and once we had finished, we got Juan's phone number
and set up another day to talk more. Jesus didn't want anything but we
gave him a card with our number anyways. The next day, I got a phone
call and it was Jesus!! He was choked up and said that he had been up
all night thinking about what I had said about how the gospel changes
lives. He said that he wants to change his life and he wants to meet
with us! God softens people's hearts and He is rally in control of
missionary work!

On Saturday evening we had two lessons scheduled at 7 and both of them
fell through. We started walking away to go to our back of plans and
as we were crossing the street I pleaded in my mind for us to find
someone to teach. Jus then, I looked up and on the other side of the
crosswalk I saw ANTONIO! Hermana Encarnación and I were teaching him
but he completely disappeared and I hadn't seen him for a month. His
life has completely turned around and he is now living in his own
apartment instead of in a shelter. Also, we were working with him to
quit smoking but nothing was working. But guess what?! HE QUIT
SMOKING! HE HASN'T SMOKED SINCE MARCH 22nd!! He is reading in the Book
of Mormon and he's working on gaining his own testimony so he can be
baptized! Ahhhhh!!! God is so good! He is a completely different
person and he is just glowing with happiness. :)

This Gospel CHANGES lives. I have felt it and I have seen it! If you
aren't happy, make a change! Get closer to Christ. Christ suffered,
died and now He LIVES. And His church with the authority of God exists
on this earth. It is the pathway to happiness. :)

I love you all so much! Thank you for your emaiks, prayers and love.
Enjoy some pictures!

Love, Hermana Moore

Hermana George and I celebrating our 11 months at Starkbucks! (The
only one I've seen in Spain!)

























Milkshakes with Rodolfo and the trio.

















Raquel, Hermana George and I.
















The view from our balcony at 11 pm. 

















The sound of these drums is engraved in my mind...


Monday, April 10, 2017

April 4th-April 10th, 2017--Miracles, 11 months and a trio!

Hello! Happy almost- Easter! How are you all doing? Well, I'm great.
This past week went by so quickly but it's been a good one.

Every investigator I had with Hermana Encarnación has either dropped
us or disappeared. Busayo, our wonderful Nigerian friend with a
baptismal date is the one who disappeared. We stopped by her house and
talked to her land lord and they said that Busayo and her family
haven't been seen in two weeks and that their house is a mess. So
either they picked up and ran or something happened to them. :( We are
so, so sad! We are praying a lot so that they can be safe.

To make up for all of the lost investigators we've been contacting
like crazy and God has blessed us to find seven people who want to
know more!

Let me tell you about some of the people we're teaching:

Rachel and Sunny are from Pakistan and they are so ready for the
gospel in their lives! They are expecting and they got to Spain
recently. I'm really excited to teach them! They just love talking
about God and their English is the cutest.

Kamel is a guy from Algeria and the last lesson we had with him we
brought him a Book of Mormon in Arabic and he sat there and read 6
pages of it without stopping! He has real intent of seeing for himself
whether this is true or not!

On Wednesday we didn't have an set appointments so we decided to go to
Librilla! It's a super small town that's in our area that I've never
been to. The two anterior hermanas hadn't gone either so we figure
missionaries haven't even set foot in that town for at least two or
three years. We scheduled to be there for two hours and we were off!
It was a twenty minute train ride and when we got off, we were in THE
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. There was one dirt trail leading to where there
were some houses. There was a church, a couple of stores and a lot of
deserted streets. We got to the edge of the town and prayed for God to
help us find the people that were prepared. When we said "amen"
Hermana George and I looked at each other and said "we're going to
knock EVERY door in this town." And then we pulled out our map and
started systematically knocking every single door. We soon found out
that the houses were either abandoned or lived in by very old people.
We gave out pictures of Christ and showed the PrinceofPeace video to
as many people as would allow it. We found a lady who told us to come
back another day. Then we found SONIA! We knocked on a door and a lady
came. We introduced ourselves and she was just so happy to meet us! We
showed her the video and then taught her the Restoration in 5 minutes
on her doorstep. She was just drinking it all in! We got her number
and will meet with her this week! As we were leaving we gave her a
pamphlet with a picture of a Book of Mormon on the back. She flipped
through it and then said "hey! What's this book! I want one!" So Sonia
is our wonderful new investigator from Librilla. She's the reason we
went there. The Lord has prepared her heart!

On Friday afternoon we picked up Raquel from the bus station! She is
our mini missionary from Málaga. She has the week off of high school
so she's here being a missionary with us! We have had a lot of time to
contact and we've been talking to everyone! We've been doing what we
like to call 3D contacting. We get on a busy street and all three of
us contact different people. Then we really get triple the work done!
It's been really neat to see that I can contact a person and teach
them all by myself (well with the Spirit. :) ). We've been really
successful and it's been really fun contacting!

Today Hermana George and I are celebrating our ELEVEN months as
missionaries here in Spain today!

I think that's all I have to tell you for now. Have a wonderful, happy
week! Share the gospel and be nice to everyone!

Love, Hermana Moore

Hermana George and I in Librilla! The place of miracles.
























Lunch time with Hermana George and Raquel!

















The trio. :)

















Read the book! Ohhh and look at the cool foldable water bottle I got. 






















Spain in its finest!

Monday, April 3, 2017

March 28th-April 3rd, 2017

Happy April! I hope your week was just fantastic!  This week I learned
a lot, got to do some service and learned that it's ALWAYS good to
smile.

On Tuesday we had an apartment check to make sure it was clean and
everything was working. The Gibson's, the senior couple, even brought
us cookies and root beer! So of course we had root beer floats that
night. :)

On Wednesday morning Elder Holowell calls and says, "Soooo
hermanas.... what are we going to eat today after district meeting?"
Hermana Encarnación, the district misses you and your Dominican
Republican food. 😊 Hermana George and I looked at each other and
agreed to make chicken Alfredo for everyone. So that was fun!

On Thursday after weekly panning we had time to make cinnamon rolls!
We put chocolate in them too and they were divine. On Thursday
afternoon I went on splits with Hermana Højholdt because she hurt her
foot. We stayed home while Hermana George and Hermana Prior went to a
few lessons. It was fun being back with my companion!

On Thursday night we set up an appointment with a person we found and
were sitting outside a park waiting for them. While we're waiting, a
guy crossed the street l his bike and came to talk to us. His name was
John Emanuel and he was from Nigeria. He said that he was watching us
from across the street and because I was smiling so much, he felt like
he needed to talk to us. "You looked so happy I figured you must be
missionaries of God!" He congratulated us for preaching the word of
God and told us that we are more important than presidents and kings.
In the curse of the twenty minute conversation, John rapped for us
about missionaries, we talked about the Restoration, he told us that
we are brothers and sisters in Christ 27 times. At one point he left
us with his bike and ran to a grocery store. He comes back with a bag
and two plastic gloves and gave us half of the onions he got from a
friend. Yes, onions. It's not every day that you can say that someone
gave you a bag of onions for smiling. We're not sure how interested he
is, but we got his number and we'll try to meet with him again. What a
contact. :)

On Friday we started contacting with the new Easter video the church
has put out! It is so cool and you have to see it if you haven't
already seen it on Facebook. The church media department is so cool.
Well, really this church is so cool. I love contacting with the video
because most people believe in Christ. I love testifying so simply of
my Savior! He really did die for our sins, but more importantly He was
resurrected. He is the Prince of Peace and we can find a balance in
our lives with the help of His gospel!

It was General Conference weekend where we had the opportunity to hear
the words of our prophet Thomas S. Monson and the apostles. My
questions were answered and I felt peace.

Oh! And Hermana George and I got a surprise call from President
Andersen telling us that on Friday we will receive a third companion!
Her name is Raquel and she is from Málaga. She'll be serving with us
for a week as a mini-missionary! So that'll be an adventure!

Have a happy week and don't forget to pray!

Love, Hermana Moore

Rolling out the cinnamon rolls



















A sunset in the country.






















Our bag of onions from John!























Hermana George. :)

Monday, March 27, 2017

March 21st-March 27th, 2017

It's been another week in Murcia-land! It's been a pretty busy and

full of adjusting but I've seen a whole lot of miracles. Here's a
rundown of my week.

On Monday and Tuesday we visited people like crazy and got Hermana
Encarnación all ready to go to Sevilla. It's been a blessing to serve
with her and learn with her! We'll see each other around. :)

On Wednesday morning we went to the bus station and I said good bye to
my sweet Hermana Encarnación and picked up Hermana George, my new
companion! We were in the MTC together but I didn't know too much
about her. In the last few days we've been having a last together.
She's from Texas, she's happy and positive and good at talking to
people. I'm excited for this transfer to see miracles with her!

On Friday during zone meeting we watched the new Easter video the
church will release on March 31st! And then we got new contacting
cards to use for Easter time! I'm really excited to talk to people
during the Easter season! Christ lives. :)

Saturday was a WONDERFUL day. We had some really good lessons. One of
those was with Busayo. She's from Nigeria and has two adorable girls.
Her husband usually has to work so we've been just teaching her. Last
time we taught part of the Plan of Salvation and left her the pamphlet
to read. We met with her and she had read it! And she had a lot of
good questions. We explained the wonderful plan God has for us and the
Spirit testified of every word. We were inspired to talk about temples
and Busayo said that a wave of peace washed over her as we talked
about them. She said she could imagine herself there and felt so much
love. Then, although we had not planned to, we invited her to be
baptized so she could experience the peace of the House of the Lord.
She looked at us calmly and said, "That is exactly what I want to do!"
She accepted to prepare to be baptized on April 22nd! We are so
excited and so grateful for the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday had another miracle in store for us. Soon after the lesson
with Busayo, Hermana George stared feeling sick. This led us to go to
the grocery store to buy a few things for her. While we were in line,
a man started speaking to us. He is from Nigeria and was extremely
impressed that we are here, away from our families and friends just to
talk about Christ. He's a pastor of a church here and insisted that we
meet with him to tell him about what we believe. We were super excited
and so on Sunday night we met up with him. Well, things went
differently than planned and he ended up bible bashing us... BUT the
cool thing is that one of his friends who was there had met the elders
just a few weeks earlier. I don't know if Michael will accept the
gospel in this life but I have hope that his friend will see he
difference between his pastor, who stood up and yelled/preached at us
and us who spoke calmly, respectfully and with the Spirit of God. It
was a good experience and it was cool to be able to testify of what we
believe so straightforwardly. Although Michael thought we were lost
and we were wrong, I know with all my heart that what we teach is the
true doctrine of Christ.

I love being a missionary. I love getting to strengthen my testimony
of my Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the Plan God has for me
to live with my family forever. This week has been great. We have
found five new investigators and a lot of other people who are ready
for the gospel in their lives!

Have a happy week! Go on LDS.org and watch General Conference! We get
to hear our prophet Thomas S. Monson and the 12 apostles speak to us!

Love, Hermana Moore

Sorry for the lack of pictures!

Here's one of Hermana George and I!



Monday, March 20, 2017

March 14th-March 20th, 2017

Sorry about not emailing much last week. We went hiking and the. The wifi wasn't working at the church. But here's what happened two weeks ago! 

Well folks. The 7th transfer of my mission is over! Only 6 more! Hermana Encarnación had a wonderful last week together! We saw a lot of miracles and really did our best to adopt God's will for the work as our own. So here's how it all went!

On Tuesday we had district meeting and I got to lead a discussion! I talked about how important it is to have our own spiritual experiences so we can testify with more power. I swear you could've cut the Spirit with a knife it was so strong. :)

On Wednesday morning we went to Cartagena for another dentist appointment for Hermana Encarnación and in the afternoon one of our plans fell through so we visited Busayo. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and she loved it! She just kept on saying "that makes so much sense!" And "why didn't I know this??!". This Gospel is going to change her life. 

On Thursday we saw the biggest miracle of the week. Earlier this week I got sick (again. 4th time this transfer) and so on Thursday I wasn't feeling so great. We did weekly planning and then I slept. We had a few lessons in the afternoon and at night I was pretty exhausted. But we had one more lesson with Mari and Selena (an investigator and her less active daughter). The only problem is that they live 40 minutes away walking. We went to the bus stop but when we got there we felt like we needed to walk. At that point I was wondering why and I was fighting that impression. But we got walking. 30 minutes into our tired walk a guy on a bike passed us. I pulled Hermana Encarnacion aside so he could pass and he looked back and smiled at us. He kept biking but kept looking back. He stopped a few minutes later and got off his bike, waited for us to pass and then got back on. At this point I was tired, sore, and not in the mood to deal with a creepy guy. He passed us again and then a few minutes later he had turned around and was waiting for us. He stayed there waiting and once we caught up to him he asked us who we were and what we did. At this point I was holding my bag tight. When we explained what our purpose is as missionaries his face lit up and he said, "I felt like I needed to talk to you! I'm Muslim but not very active. I'm spiritually lost and I'm looking for the path!" And he was serious; we could see it in his eyes. So we said, "Well, Yassine, you found the right people!" We got his number and set up a time to meet! We kept walking and five minutes later he caught up to us again and asked us if we could teach him right then. We explained that we had another lesson to go to but we gave him a quick run through of the Restoration. Then we tried to give him a pamphlet. But it turns out he speaks Spanish but doesn't read it very well. He only reads Arabic.  It we have a few Arabic pamphlets at home! So we are so excited to teach him. God is a God of miracles!

On Saturday we had an awesomely planned day but most of our appointments fell through. But every time one fell through we found someone new or we ran into someone we needed to see. My testimony was strengthened that God is truly in charge of this work! 

On Sunday morning we got a call... a TRANSFER CALL! Hermana Encarnación is going to Sevilla and my new companion here in Murcia will be Hermana George! I am so excited! She's from my group! So that meant that Sunday was full of good byes. Also, I got recruited as the choir pianist and so I basically am in charge of organizing the ward choir now. I also play the piano every Sunday for Sacrament meeting. There is not a single member who plays so bishop made a deal with President Andersen that he would always send a piano-playing missionary to his ward. When I got here all of the members said, "Oh hi Hemana Moore (amor? Moooree? More? That's a weird name.) Do you play the piano? Good. Welcome to Murcia!" Hahaha. 

And that brings us to today. The last preparation day of the transfer and the last one with Hermana Encarnación. We went with the other missionaries to hike up to a Christ statue! We got up halfway and then we ran into a locked gate... but we still had a nice picnic together.

So it's the end of the transfer. It's been a hard one but a good one. I learned a lot about teaching with the Spirit. I learned that we can have the Spirit with us constantly. I learned a lot from Hermana Encarnación about connecting with the ward members and everyone we meet. I learned how to trust more fully in God. I learned more patience and humility. I learned to be a more diligent and obedient missionary. I learned how to consecrate myself and work with all my energy until the end of the day. I learned how to see good in other people and to overlook their flaws.

I love being a missionary. I know this church is the restored church of Jesus Christ. I know that my Savior lives and loves me. I know that my Heavenly Father knows me. I know that miracles exist and that the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives.

I love you all so much! 

My sweet Hermana Encarnación!






















Hiking!





















The district!