September 12th-September 18th, 2017

Oh my GOODNESS. I am so HAPPY. It has been such a good, spiritually filled week and I just feel like I'm on cloud nine! This is a long one but I just can't help it. 

I can't even begin to describe what an incredible blessing it is to be serving here in Málaga at this time. I am so content with everything in my life right now. My companion is one of my best friends. We get along so well (again!). I'm learning to fall in love with this area and the people. Malaga is beautiful and the people are so nice here. This last week I've had some really focused personal studies and I wanted to share with you all a scripture that I especially relate to. It's in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 17:13. It says, "inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led."

There are two very important promises made to Nephi and his family as long as they keep the commandments of God. 1. They will be led and guided to the promised land. 2. They shall know that it is all thanks to God. 

In verse 14 it says, "ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you."

God loves to bless us and if we are observant, we will always be able to recognize that He is the one blessing us. Right now I am certainly well aware of where all the blessings in my life are coming from. They come from my perfect loving Heavenly Father. 

This week we had people staying with us every single night (for residency and exchanges) of the week except for Saturday and Sunday night! But it was fun getting to know some Hermanas better. We had exchanges with Hermana Bailey and Hermana Twede and it was so fun to be back with my old companions. We saw a lot of miracles and when Hermana Twede and I were together for the afternoon we found three awesome potential investigators and taught the Restoration to a man named Hicham. He's a cool Muslim guy we found looking for an old investigator. 

And all of these blessings before even scratching the surface of hearing Elder Holland speak!! I'm still pretty speechless about all of it. 

Saturday was one of the most spiritually uplifting days of my entire life. In the morning, we went to the other church building in Málaga. All the missionaries in the Spain Málaga mission got together (180 missionaries!) and we all took a group picture together with Elder Holland! Then we all got to shake his hand!

For the next two hours, we got to hear from an apostle of God. He spoke so many inspired words and I can't sum up what he said into just a few words. But here's a few of my favorite parts. With every word he spoke the Spirit testified to me that he is an apostle of the Lord and that Jesus Christ's church truly has been restored on the earth.

He talked a lot about the importance of missionary work and the importance of sacrificing everything. Maybe not all of this applies to you, but it has really impacted me. 

-"I just want you to change the world. I want you to give everything you have."

-"We are engaged in the most important thing in the universe. You are engaged all day every day in the salvation of human souls."

-" The clock is running. Savor it and serve and sacrifice. I expect you to give as close to nothing left as possible. It doesn't matter how much we think before the game or how many plays we think we could've done after the game. It matters what we do when the clock is on."

-"I'm asking you to give everything you have for this period of time and never ever look back with regret."

- "You teach the gospel. You bear witness. Let people see your soul. Be what a missionary is supposed to be. There's nothing that devastates me more than anything is when a missionary goes home and doesn't live the gospel. 

- "If your integrity means anything to you, you cannot ask people to make changes in their lives and then walk home and not do the same."

The statement that impacted me the most was "I want you to live your mission in anticipation of you going home." He then went on to talk about living a worthy mission and getting ready to go home to tell our friends and family, nieces and nephews, and eventually children and grandchildren about all of the wonderful things we learn and do here during this year and a half of our lives. Then, with love overflowing and tears almost falling from his eyes, he slammed his hand on the pulpit and said "THIS is real life. Capital R capital L." Serving a mission isn't a travel trip, it's not a vacation or a study abroad. Rather, I'm here to do the Lord's work, to be His hands and serve my brothers and sisters. But living the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't stop there. I will continue sharing about the Plan of Salvation until the day I die. This is the life of being a true follower of Jesus Christ. It requires sacrifice and lots of love but the blessings are endless. 

Later that day, all the missionaries in Málaga had the opportunity to go to a meeting with Elder Holland and the entire stake of Granada. There, Elder Holland gave a talk based on a simple idea: "If He can't give us what we want, he'll give us something better. This is a gospel of mercy and compassion." I testify of that with all my heart. God loves us, His children, so very much. When we ask for His help, He will help us, giving us either what we want, or something better. 

After the conference when my heart was already overflowing with happiness, I got to see some of the people I love the most, the members from Granada. (The ward I served in with Hermana Gentry 8 months ago!). I got to hug and cry of joy and hug them some more.

And that leads us to today, Preparation day. We rounded up our office elder friends, the elders and the hermanas and headed on a road trip to Ronda. It's a tourist-y town where we had a nice little adventure together. 

I love you all! Thanks for your love and support!

Love, Hermana Moore 

 Everyone needs a good ice cream break!  

Exchanges with the friends. :) 

 Rondaaaa!

The group. :) (plus Hermana Gentry who is taking the picture)

Your favorite girl in Spain. 🇪🇸 

Rocio. One of the sweetest women I know. 

September 5th-September 11th, 2017

Hello from Málaga! It's been a good week of adjusting and I already
love it here. Here's a quick rundown of the week!

Last Tuesday was a day of goodbyes. Fernanda, a member made us
breakfast and Tuesday night I taught my last English class in Alicante
and went to the last ward family home evening. Alicante sure has FHE
figured out. We had quite the crowd and I got to say goodbye to a lot
of my favorite people.

Wednesday was transfer day and after saying good bye to Hermana Bailey
and an 8 hour bus ride, I was in Málaga! Hermana Gentry and I hit the
ground running. On Wednesday night we taught a small English class and
the ward FHE too. On Thursday during weekly planning I got to learn
more about the people we're teaching here and where they're at with
the lessons. Thursday night I met a recent convert named Felix and
then later taught Nadia. She is an investigator and we set a baptismal
date with her for the 7th of October! She is young and she is really
excited to continue learning and be baptized! There are a few other
people who want to be baptized but we need to rethink their dates to
be baptized. Teaching Nadia was such a blessing because she is so
eager to know more. She had studied the pamphlets the other Hermanas
had given her and she had specific questions about what she had read.

On Friday we visited with Samia, an Argentinian less active member and
then studied. After lunch we headed over to the church for mission
council! It was fun to see a lot of other missionaries and we had a
really good meeting! We talked a lot about the miracles we are seeing
as a mission and about how to focus our studies on the needs of the
people we teach. It was a spiritually edifying meeting and afterwards,
we had a sleepover at our apartment! Hermana Clark, Stilson, Twede and
Bailey all stayed over for the night and it was a fun night.

Yesterday was my first Sunday in Málaga and it was interesting. It's
always a bit chaotic meeting everyone but still trying to be helpful.
But there are a lot of great people here. I'm excited to work with
them and get to know them bigger. Hermana Gentry and I made savory
crepes for lunch and then got to the church to set up for a youth
activity. Hermana Gentry and her old companion, Hermana Burt planned
an INCREDIBLE youth activity to get them excited about missionary
work. It went really well and we had a good turnout. We did some
activities, a question and answer session with their questions for
preparing to serve a mission and had President and Hermana Andersen
speak.

And now it's p-day. A day of rest before this next busy week! Elder
Holland is going to visit us and I get to listen to him at the mission
meeting in the morning and at the general session for regular members!
I'm pumped!

This week I've gained a stronger testimony about the Book of Mormon.
Every single page testifies of Jesus Christ and our loving Heavenly
Father. I love that book and I know it is the word of God. I know that
we can find the answers we are looking for. :)

I love you all!
Hermana Moore

Hermana Bailey is a rockstar and I'm going to miss being her companion!

The activity!

We were in charge of the photo booth! 

August 29th, 2017- September 4th, 2017 ---Málaga!

Hello friends!

It's been a week full of service, crepes, new investigators and transfer calls!

This week we found three new investigators we are excited to keep
teaching. José is an old future who we called and set up a lesson
with. Matilde is a lady who the elders contacted in the street is
LOVING life lessons. Glinda is another street contact who has been
going through a lot lately. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and
she said that God had sent us as angles to help her. :) oh what a
blessing it is to be a missionary with this life-changing message.

Most of Thursday and Friday we spent helping a family from the other
ward move. Hermana Bailey and I transferred everything over to the new
kitchen and swept and mopped the whole house. We also moved a lot of
things while the elders did the furniture. It felt good to serve but
we were pretty exhausted afterwards!

On Saturday we played fútbol and then Herman Bailey, Elder Larsen,
elder Wilson and I ate at Sandra's house! She made us chicken crepes
and we had a nice time with them. I love Sandra and her family so
much. :)

On Saturday night late I got a call from President Andersen.... and
I'm getting transferred to MÁLAGA!! And I'm going to be companions
with Hermana GENTRY! Again! We didn't get enough time together in
Granada so we're back together again. :) I'm really excited to fall in
love with Málaga, a whole new ward, investigators, and learn
everything the Lord wants me to learn in this next part of my journey.

I can't explain how I feel leaving Alicante. Yesterday, Sunday, I got
to bear my testimony and thank the members of Alicante. I have fallen
in love and Alicante will always have a big piece of my heart. As I
was leaving Murcia, I got a blessing and was told, "this work is about
others, it's not about you." I've seen that phrase take on a whole new
meaning in my time here. God has shown me time and time again that I
am here to do HIS work and that as I turn out to serve others, I am
happier than I am when I just focus on myself. I've met so many people
that have impacted my life and showed me that I am here to be a humble
servant and do the willful the Lord.

I'm excited for a new adventure in Málaga and I am grateful for every
lesson I've learned in Alicante. I love being a missionary and am so
excited to serve God with all my heart for these next two transfers!

Love you all, Hermana Moore

Moving!

With Allison and her family!

 Sandra and Samantha have my heart.

 Hermana Bailey ❤️

The squad.

August 22nd-August 28th, 2017

Hola friends and family! Woah woah woah. It's the sixth and final week
of the transfer and that's just cRaZy! But don't worry, Hermana Bailey
and I still have one more awesome week together.

Hermana Bailey and I had a week full of miracles, a heartbreak and
snails. But overall, it's been a good week to reflect on all the
little miracles we've been seeing together. Here's a rundown of the
week!

On Tuesday we had district meeting in the morning and then had our
typical Tuesday night wth correlation, English class and ward family
home evening. This last week my family has been together on a family
vacation and I've been getting cute little updates randomly.
Naturally, it's bittersweet to see pictures of your family all happy
together. On Tuesday I was feeling a little bit down and it was kind
of a long day and I just asked God to give me a pick me up. And when I
got to English class, He let me know He's aware of me by sending me
Samantha. Samantha is a 7 year old girl and she and her mom and
brother always come to English class. Well, you can pretty much say
I'm one of her favorites. She saved me a seat in the family home
evening and held my hand most of the night. :) Just a little tender
mercy.

On Wednesday we had a PACKED day. We did all of our studies in the
morning and then ate with Arlex and Edelia for lunch. Wednesday night
we taught Manuela (a really sweet less active member). We met with
Victor too and figured out a lot of his doubts. He has a sincere
desire to know if God knows him and we taught him a little about the
Plan of Salvation. That's what I'm here to do: help people realize
that they are children of God.

After that lesson, we taught Santiago. When he sat down, he just said
"I'm not coming back." We sat and talked with him and he said that he
knows that God out us in his path and he loves us like his daughters,
he loves the church and the doctrine of Christ has been changing his
life, he loves the Book of Mormon and knows it's true, and he loves
being at church around the members. Then he started sobbing and told
us that he is never going to come back to church and that he doesn't
want to meet anymore. It was such a sad lesson! It was frustrating
because he never even told us WHY. So we cried and said good bye and
watched our vest investigator walk out the door for the last time. I
think he'll come back but I'm not sure when that'll be. So that left
Hermana Bailey and I heartbroken and that night we sat on the couch
and ate ice cream. :( But, it must not be Santiago's time yet. God is
in control and I'm grateful to be an instrument in His perfect hands.

On Thursday we did weekly planning and in the afternoon we had two
visits with members. We are putting into action a plan to help the
active members have family home evenings every week with less active
members and us and our investigators. Then, as they all get
comfortable, they will want to invite their friends too! We had really
positive reactions to this plan and we are excited to get it rolling!

On Thursday afternoon we had a family home evening in Allison's house
with our investigator Brenda. We had a really good lesson about the
Restoration with her and discovered some of her doubts. Alison's dad
works for a radio station and he had us record a few phrases for
advertisement. He likes our gringo accents. :) hahaha.

On Saturday, a family of four got baptized. Hermana Lopez and Hermana
Swartzberg have been teaching them and the baptism was so nice! Also,
Sandra came with Samantha and Justin. I think I've written about her.
She is from Colombia and lived right next to elders for 8 years. She
was nice to them but only ever went to a few family home evenings.
Hermana Simpson and I contacted her a few months ago and she started
to coming to English class. Her heart has softened and now she is
coming to English, 3 family home evenings a week, church on Sunday and
baptisms! Last week she started listening to the lessons with the
elders! God softens people's hearts and prepares them to receive the
Gospel.

Well, this one is getting a little long so I'm going to finish up.
Today for pday we went out and ate snails. 🐌 They really weren't that
good...

Have a happy week! Look for the little miracles!

Love, Hermana Moore

I'm radio famous. :)

 We're pretty tight.

My little friend Samantha! ❤️ 

A video of me eating a snail!

August 15th- August 21st, 2017

Holllaaaa friends! Wow has it been a good, packed week.

Today Hermana Bailey and I went to make lunch and eat with the Arias
family so we don't have a ton of emailing time. But this week was
awesome and I want to write about a few highlights. So here we go!

Tuesday was a normal Tuesday filled with meeting with our ward mission
leader and discussing the needs of investigators, teaching English
class and going to the ward family home evening. Elder Weenig, my
first district leader from when I was in Elche came to visit with his
family and when he saw me he said, "Hermana Moore?! You're still
here?!" "Yep, still here." :)

This Thursday we had zone conference and interviews with President
Andersen. In zone conference the zone leaders and Hermana Bailey and I
taught a lesson about how we can work with the youth more. Conference
was really uplifting and I'm excited to apply what I've learned.

Exchanges. We had exchanges with our favorite Albacete Hermanas,
Hermana Dos Santos and Aasee. We had a lot of cool finding miracles
and we felt God's guidance.

Santiago. Santiago is our wonderful investigator from Colombia. He is
progressing really well and is praying about baptism! He is really
intent on gaining his own testimony and we are so excited to help him
develop one! He comes to the ward FHE, Rosanna's FHE, English class,
church, AND he meets with us twice a week. He's awesome.

Domestic hour. A few weeks ago, Hermana Bailey and I started a joke
that sisters have an extra hour every day to learn home-making skills.
Sewing, scrap booking, baking, etc. We started it with a few Elche
elders and then it spread to the Alicante elders too. They bought it
for a little until we got too obvious about it. But we still kept it
going as this big joke. We drop little comments like, "oh, do you have
a recipe I can turn out during domestic hour?" As week ago, we started
making jokes about how overwhelmed we are with all the ties we have to
make for some conference. They knew it was a joke, but they still
said, "wellll we want ties too!"  So we took one of my old skirts and
cut it into strips and made them ties! Bahaha. Hermana Bailey and I
keep things fun. :)

Hermana Bailey and I are trying to work with members more and during
weekly planning we made a lot of plans to do it. We prayed that the
hearts of the members would soften and that they would let us into
their homes. As soon as we said amen, a member called and invited us
to eat! She was a member on our list to work with! God is aware of His
children. :)

Have a wonderful week everyone! I love you all!

Love, Hermana Moore

Hermana Aasee and Hermana Dos Santos.

 Allison is an incredible member and she helped us out in our lesson during zone conference! 

 Domestic hour. :). When we made the ties. 

The elders with their ties. Bahaha. 

August 8th-August 14th, 2017

It has been a looonnnggg week. But lots of miracles, so it was all worth it!

We had a district meeting in Elche and got to see some hermanas we don't see too often. Tuesday night is always fun because we have correlation, English class and then the ward family home evening. Hermana Hauber came to visit! She was my first sister training leader and now I'm in her old area! So that was fun to see her again. 

On Wednesday morning we did weekly planning and a miracle happened! We were calli a few futures as last chance calls before we dropped them. I called Rosa, an awesome woman who came to church and loved it, one last time. I've been calling for three weeks and she hasn't picked up. She didn't pick up so I dropped her. But ten minutes later she called back and said that the elders contacted her a few minutes after I called her and she took it as a sign she needed to call back and meet again! God is completely aware of each of His children. 

Wednesday night and Thursday morning we had exchanges with Hermana May and Hermana Hargis. At night Hermana May and I taught two really good lessons about that Restoration and found a few cool people on the street who want to learn more. Hermana Hargis and I had a nice lesson with a less active family.

Once the Hermanas left, Hermana Bailey and I got to work together again! We had an awesome family home evening with a family in our ward and we are starting to teach Allison (18 year old daughter)'s friend Brenda! We are super excited to keep teaching her. 

On Friday to Saturday we had exchanges with Hermana Woods and Hermana Lindley. They are both so sweet and I made a really thorough language plan with Hermana Lindley. 

On Saturday we taught Patricio! He's an Ecuadorian man I met with Hermana May who was really excited to meet with us. We had an incredible lesson about the Restoration. That has become my favorite lesson to teach. He understood everything well and by the end he said, "I'm attending another church but ever since meeting you, I feel like God is guiding me to this church."

I love bringing this gospel to the hearts of the people here in Spain. ️

Have a wonderful week!

Love, Hermana Moore 

 The district. 

Hermana Lindley and Hermana Woods!

Hermana May and Hermana Hargis exchanges!

Sunday night treat! 

Hermana Hauber!

August 1st-August 7th, 2017

Well it's the end of week two with Hermana Bailey! And boy, oh, boy
had it been a crazy one. Here's what happened!

Last Monday and Tuesday we had a wonderful session of mission council
and it was neat to analyze the needs of the mission. We're going to
put a big emphasis on Preach My Gospel and strive to learn and apply
the doctrine of Christ it lays down.  I'm excited to put it into
practice!

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had exchanges with Hermana Burt annndddd
Hermana Gentry! I got to know Hermana Burt and had a really nice night
working with her. Then in the morning I got to be back with Hermana
Gentry. It was like we were back in Granada as companions but we could
also see that we have both changed so much.

On Wednesday night late Hermana Bailey and I were finally back in
Alicante in time to get a few things ready for intercambios Friday
afternoon.

Thursday was a busy day but it was nice to be back working in Alicante
with Hermana Bailey. We had district meeting on Thursday morning and
in the afternoon we taught Santiago again. The problem with him is
that he's planning on leaving for a 3 month backpacking trip.... BUT.
Our prayers were answered and he called us today and said that he got
a job! Which means that he CAN'T leave and that we can still teach
him!! He's cool and he's starting to make friends at church. Another
miracle happened when we met with Victor! Let me just take a second to
explain about him.

***In the first few days with Hermana Bailey here we were walking and
contacting. We were walking on a certain sidewalk (Hermana Simpson, I
know you're wondering, so it's the sidewalk by the auditorium by the
parking lot security guard) and we contacted four or five different
people and got four or five really rude rejections! So Hermana Bailey
turned to me and we decided that we would always contact every single
person on the oath, no matter how much of a rush we are in. Hermana
Bailey has so much faith and so she looked me dead in the eyes and
said, "someone we contact on this is is going to be baptized." It
started out as kind of a joke, but then we kept talking about it and
started believing in it. Last week we contacted Victor on the end of
this sidewalk! He's Brazilian, 30 years old and believes in God, but
he doesn't know if God loves him or knows him personally. We have
taught him twice and he is awesome! We promised him that through the
Book of Mormon and our message, he could find out how much God loves
him.***

After Victor's lesson, we taught English class and had a really good turn out.

On Friday afternoon we had exchanges with Hermana Lake and Hermana
Grover and it was nice to get to know them better.

We've been making lots of plans to work with members and this past
week we started a 40 day fast with our ward and they are all really
excited about it. We also have been putting into practice a plan that
our stake has for us to reteach the members the first few lessons and
ask for references from them. We have already received a reference
from a member! We picked up a few solid investigators this week and we
are really excited to help them progress.

I think that's about it for now. Today all the missionaries in
Alicante climbed the Santa Barbara Castle.

Enjoy a few pictures! Love you all! Read your scriptures and do
something to grow closer to God and your Savior.

❤️ Hermana Moore