New Area...and now he is in....

Dear..... Well, Everyone!

Well, I just want to start off apologizing to all of you for how bad I am at writing back. For that, I decided that it would be a good idea to start another group email, and let you all know what´s going on!

So, I just barely arrived about an hour ago in my third area! And I´m finally in Madrid! Our area is called Barrio 3 (The 3rd Ward) in the Madrid West stake! The ward boundaries cover a rather large part of the sourth western part of Madrid. It will be very strange to be in a ward that is more normal sized! But, I am very happy to be back in Madrid. From that first day that I landed here, back in October, I have always liked Madrid. It is very hot, but luckily the islands got me used to that. I will let you know more about the new area next week as I learn more!

As great as it is here, it was indeed dificult to leave Vecindario. I don´t think that I let anyone know last week, but Dominga is getting baptized this saturday! Since Fiorela, her grand daughter, had left to go to EFY in Segovia, she had to be a lot more independent with her scripture study and prayers on her own, and she really got to know her answer. We had a lesson planning on setting a date for the end of August, but she said, "I´m already ready!" We just have to wait for Fiorela to get back!" Haha, that was a very happy moment for me. We actually had the interview a week ago saturday, and we were excited to do it last saturday, but then she asked if we could wait one more week for her daughter´s boyfriend to come into town. I was a little bummed, but family comes first, so I´m excited to see pictures from Elder Gentry. Dominga is such an amazing person, and I have been so happy to be able to teach her. Her faith is astounding, as her greatest fear before baptism was that she would´nt be able to live the comandments. But she really feels ready now. She was sad to see me go, even though I´m sure that I was a lot more sad to leave, but I know I will see her and her family again. 

Farewells were hard, but they really helped me to realize how blessed I was in Vecindario. I had such an amazing time with Elder Gentry, and I am very excited to see him after. I also had to say goodbye to Fabio. He is such an amazing person, and I will miss his amazing testimony. He really defined to me the importance of living the gospel every day. I´m going to miss the Islands, and all of the craziness that goes on there, but I am so thankful for all of the things that God had taught me during my 6 months there.

Anyways! Things are going great here with Elder Smith! We actually knew eachother from our district in the North of Spain. I´m very excited to work with him, and see the hand of the Lord in our lives.

Spiritual thought! Yesterday, I got up in Sacrament meeting to share my testimony one last time in the ward, and I felt prompted to share Moses 7:53 

"And the Lord said: Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith—I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall; wherefore, blessed are they of whom I have spoken, for they shall come forth with songs of everlasting joy."

Christ really is our Rock. If we enter through baptism, and after climb up by him, we will never fall. The mission can be difficult at times, but I have really seen that as I confide in Christ, I am raised up, and given more power. I then am so happy that I have desires to sing "songs of everlasting joy"

Thank you Family and Friends, for the patience more than anything. I love all of you, and I want you to know that I am having the time of my life out here!

Élder Rawlinson

Kriss is baptized

Well Family, Im sorry, but the email this week is as well going to be short. We went up to the center of the Island today, to the same place we went to back in April, it was a blast, but I sure don´t like rushed Pdays!

This week was a good one! Woah! Already week 6 of the transfer! I can hardly believe it! Time has really flown by here in the islands! We were able on Saturday to see our investigator Kriss take the step of baptism. He is very excited to start this new life, and to serve others here in the ward. We were also able to find some new investigators that we are teaching about the restoration and we are excited to see if any of them progress! Yesterday, we were able to visit some part member families and less active families that had children who went to EFY the last week, and they enjoyed it fully. All of Spain had a joined EFY in Segovia, and we have heard that it was a great experience for the youth. Ethan! Think about going to EFY next year! I know that it will be a great expience for you!

All is well here. If you could please check the account, I have had to spend a little bit of money, for the window on the car mostly (Unfortunatley, the church doesn´t cover that. ;) ) We will see if I get lucky to stay here for another transfer! It will be really hard to leave the Islands whenever I go, but "I´ll go where he wants me to go"

Love you family! Until next week!

Elder Rawlinson

PS Mom, you are always in my prayers, It is sometimes hard for me too, but the time is flying by. I look forward to the day that we see eachother again. Always sending love your way! 

Breaking a car window

Dear Family,

I want to start off by apologizing for the short email last week. Last Pday was very rushed! Congratulations to Donelle for her wedding! The pictures look great, and I am so glad to hear that she is happy! Those times when all of the family is together are always some of the best ones.

This week was pretty great! I will start off with a story about last Monday. We were going down to the south of the island to work down there, and after we had parked, I accidentaly locked the keys in the car! The feeling that I got when I closed the trunk, and I knew that the keys were inside was one of the worst feelings ever! Haha, we had to take a bus home, and then go back the next morning to get the key out before the meters started in the morning. Locksmiths are very expensive here, the cheapest one we could find was 140 euros, which would be almost 200 dollars. So, with the help of the new senior missionary, Elder Larson, we decided that the best solution would be to break the window. As brutal as that sounds, it ended up being only 65 euros, which was a whole lot better. (especially since I had to pay with my own money) That was one of the strangest incedents that has happened on my mission, and I don´t think that I will ever lock the keys in a car again. :)

Last night, we had a Family Home Evening with a Peruvian family in our ward. Kriss, who I don´t think I have told you about, is getting baptized this Saturday. His story is an interesting one, as he was baptized in Peru, but his record was lost somehow. So, he needs to be baptized again. He has been meeting with the missionaries for a while, but has recently commited to being baptized. Some of his cousins are also members, so we met with all of them last night. One of the aunts, Naty, invited one of their neighboors who is also named Natividad, and is also Peruvian. She is an older lady, who actually has three grandchildren who have served missions, but she doesn´t know too much about the church. She asked us why there are so many churches in the world, and why they all read the Bible in completely different ways. Haha, my companion and I immediatly knew that was the perfect question to teach her about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. She told us that she would like to meet with us more, so we are excited to see her!

The Lord has really blessed me here in the Canary Islands! These are the last two weeks of the transfer, and there is a chance that I could stay here for another one, but it is more than likely that I will be leaving. The things that I have learned here, are things that I couldn´t have learned anywhere else, and it will be a little sad to leave. But I have two weeks left! I will try my best to enjoy these two weeks, and to help as many people as I can!

I love you family! I miss you tons! But, it is crazy how fast time flies here! I have seen it start to speed up, and it scares me a little bit. But, I love the mission, and all of the things that I have learned. I am always praying for you, and I hope that you have an amazing week!

Elder Rawlinson

Monday, July 7

Hey Family!

It was great to hear that your fourth of July week was great! And that your birthdays were fantastic as well! Haha, I´m a little jealous of the bike ride that you got to take on Friday, but I´m so glad that Aubrey has gotten so good at riding her bike! I can´t wait to get back and see that! 

My Fourth of July was also fantastic. Haha, to celebrate, Elder Gentry and I bought popsicles and watermelon for lunch. :) That was definitley fun. That night was the Brazil vs. Columbia game, and to answer your question, the world cup has been very good here! Haha, everyone was a little disapointed that Spain was eliminated so quickly, but there are quite a few immigrants here, so everyone roots for everyone else pretty much. The closer we get to the final, the lower number of people that can meet and are out in the street, so during games, the missionary work gets a little harder. But we definitley saw a miracle on Friday night during the game! We were out contacting, talking to many a drunk person, and not having too much success, when we came upon an older Canarian couple named José and Carmen. They were very nice to us, and they told us that they had talked to missionaries about 10 years ago. They also told us that they are both dealing with sickness right now, and it has been very difficult for them. We testified to them that our message of Christ could really help them. As we finished, José said they needed to be on their way, but as they left, Carmen said, "Give them our address, so they can pass by." Haha, when we heard that, we were elated! We met with them for the first time yesterday, and it was an amazing experience. Carmen answered the door, and imediatley said, "Come in! Sit down, sit down!" José had quite a few questions for us about God´s plan, and we were able to teach them about the plan of salvation, but most importantly, we shared a message about Jesus Christ from Alma 7:11-12. By the end of the lesson, Carmen was crying, and I could really feel the spirit testify to us of the mission of Christ. As we left, Carmen wanted to give us a kiss, but I guess a handshake will have to do.

We also met yesterday for the last time with Damian and Solange. It was a really good lesson where we were able to talk about the goals that they have for when they leave for Argentina. I was actually surprised about how not sad I was, (if that makes sense). I really feel like I will be able to see them again. These past couple of months that we have had with them have been amazing. I really saw how much the gospel has helped them in their lives. Damian was able to quit smoking. Solange was able to forgive her family for an argument they had been in for years. But, more importantly, they were able to gain an eternal perspective on their family. They are very excited to go to Argentina to get married and baptized, and I am very excited to see their progress! The had of the Lord has really had a great impact in their lives, and I am so grateful that I was able to witness that.

We have been visiting a Family that lives in the South of the Island. I might have mentioned them already. Sammy is the dad, and he is 45 years old. He has 5 kids, but only one lives with him and his girlfriend. He is half Sweedish, half Egyptian, and he is a performer at the hotels and resorts in the south. He has an amazing voice! His girlfriend is named Ulga, and she is Russian, but speaks Russian, Finish, English, and Spanish. She is an amazing piano player, and her and Sammy are putting together a show to audition in a couple of months. He is a inactive member, but has a very strong testimony. They were able to come to church this week, and we taught Gospel Principles in English, because there was no one else for that class! They are amazing, and I will tell you more about them next week.

Well, thats about it. It is very hot here as well! I have been using the alergy medicine very ocasionaly. But my allergies have honestly been better since I got to Spain. I love you family!

Elder Rawlinson