***Land of the Free, Home of the Brave***

Hi and happy 4th of July!!!

Man I love America. Hands down my favorite holiday with Christmas. I hope you all spent it well, and if you didn't I would admonish you to repent and re-celebrate it. I'll be celebrating it again for real in October when I get back and you are all invited! #bleedingredwhiteandblue.

This week was well hmmm we worked with and visited the members a lot this week. I think I mentioned this before, but we have the goal as a mission to all be able to teach clearly and powerfully the message of the restoration in under 4 minutes, then to share that message with every single member in our mission. It's been really awesome so far. As I have learned to teach this important message quickly but thoroughly I've been able to teach it more effectively in normal lessons as well. The coolest thing about it is that we are getting to know all the members! We have about 180 members coming every week and not going to lie, kinda hard to keep track of all of them. Respect to the missionaries serving in the states who are over stakes. But when we went to visit a dear friend Sandra (member) this week she welcomed us in as if she had called us and invited us over and had been waiting like a week for us to come. She started laying out a plan with her husband about how we are going to teach her sister the gospel and also how we were going to keep her recent convert friend active. Wow. I'm grateful for the revelation that President Pack has received for the mission. 

We have a cute friend Isa Mar that I think I wrote about before, well, she's doing really good! She has the best questions! She came to church last week but wasn't able to get much out of it because her son didn't let her leave. This week we just let him run around the Gospel Principles class and she had so many great questions for the class, like, "How can I know what the spirit feels like?" And others similar. It was awesome! She's progressing really well and although her mom isn't too into the Mormons, she has a baptismal date for the end of this month! Please send your prayers her way!

Guess who else came to church..... SANDRA!! It's been like 5 weeks I think without her in church. I thought for a second that we may have lost her, but our dear members have continued to reach out to her. She told us that she knows she needs to go to church and that she is so much happier and less scatterbrained when she comes. We are moving more slowly with her but I know that when it's her time she'll make the covenants she needs to to have the fullness of happiness she's looking for.

This week we also had an awesome intercambio with Hermana Tang and Leong. They are both my favorite. It's super cool, they are the first Chinese speaking missionaries here! They teach in English, Spanish and Chinese. It's crazy and it's really difficult, but they are rock stars. I was with Hermana Leong. I wrote about the time I was with her and she prayed that we could meet with another investigator, and this week another tender mercy occurred. We needed to get into our piso but didn't have a key to the portal so we were kinda just left in the street waiting for someone to let us in. We waited for a good few minutes and I remembered the experience we had with prayer last time so I suggested we pray in front of the martial arts gym across from our Piso that we would be able to get in. I prayed this time and to what shouldn't have been my surprise, we walked across the street and made it to our door at the same exact time as our neighbor who had a portal key. It was so simple but it was important to us in that moment. Still just so grateful for prayer.

We also had intercambios with the awesome Hermanas of Aranjuez but I'll save that for Monday so I have something to write about. (: Happy Temple day to everyone! I hope that you friends in Utah are taking advantage of the blessing to have so many temples so close. If you aren't going every month I would invite you to do so.

Have a great week!!!

Hugs and besos!

Hermana Warner

Hermana Tang and Leong

"You're a brat." --Hermana Tang

The BOM is the best. Read it.

Dear fam,

Last week feels like a month ago. So much has happened this week I can't even believe it. We had mission council on Tuesday, on Thursday we had intercambios with the Móstoles Hermanas Moyle and Vannucci, Friday we had interviews with president, and Saturday we had a ward church cleaning activity. So yeah, really busy and a lot of running around.

Right now our mission is focusing on using the Book of Mormon and teaching the message of the Restoration simply and clearly. President Pack has challenged us to read the entire BOM by the end of the transfer (July 24) in order to do so we need to read like 20 pages a day. He has also invited us to teach the message of the Restoration to every single member in our mission in under 4 minutes. It's been really fun practicing and improving in teaching in this way, as we make the time we have less we are able to really focus on what's important in the lesson and it has also helped me in improving my Spanish to speak more clearly.

But more than anything, we've been focusing on receiving revelation and acting on impressions by the spirit. On Saturday we had a few plans and some back up plans in the evening. And like any usual Saturday night, the people who actually "have time" to meet with us, failed us and we were left to pass by a few old investigators. As we were switching trains in the metro (subway) we found the Elder's recent convert Alexandra. Although we had planned to go to the other side of town, when she asked us where we were going and what we were doing, without hesitation I replied, "We're going to go get some ice cream and you're coming with us." My comp had the same impression so we just went with it. Alexandra's the only member in her family and has been working a lot. With all the other trials she's been facing recently, she felt overwhelmed and confused. We were able to share a small message with her and more than anything, we were there to listen to her. It was a really small thing and may even seem insignificant, but I knew in that moment that I was exactly where the Lord wanted me to be, doing exactly what He wanted me to do.

Although not everything went our way that night, it went the Lords way, there is always a reason and always a solution to everything we go through in our lives. As we look out and think of others we will be more able to find those reasons and we can become the instruments in the Lord's hands.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a full-time mission. It's such an incredible blessing that I wouldn't trade for the world. I know that God lives, He loves us so He sent His son to show us the way. He has given us living prophets to lead us and direct us today. May we all have the courage to serve others and share with them this marvelous message. Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Have a fantastic week all of you!

-Hermana Warner

Paella and Torrijas

Hello my dearest queridos!

     This has actually been a very interesting week, a very long but good interesting week. We started off with a full day of intercambios with Hermanas Christensen and Rivera, I got to go with Hermana Rivera :)

     This was her first intercambio so I wanted it to be super special. We got to share the #PrinceofPeace video with a lot of our friends here in B9. I love going out with the new missionaries, they always fill the day with energy and faith. I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend with Hermana Rivera, she is a true example of faith, hope and enduring to the end. She is incredible.

     On Wednesday we met with Mari Luz for the last time. She will now be working with the Hermanas of Barrio 8. She is amazing and I look forward to seeing her baptism photos in the next few weeks.

     On Thursday we had a super awesome ward activity! No one really had work or school so a lot of people came. We prayed that the members would invite their friends and.... THEY DID! Well, Annalise did and three of our investigators came. So HUGE success! We will be meeting with Annelises friend again on Friday. The activity was super fun, we just played a ton of group games outside and ate the most authentic Paella, made by our Stake President from Valencia. It was solid. And so good. Sandra came which made me so happy. I love her so much and we will finally be teaching her with someone from Brasil this week so that she can understand better. Yay!

    Then on Friday we had interviews with President Pack. He is incredible and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve under his direction.

Well this week has been fantastic, I really don't have anytime but just know I am happy and well! I hope you all are as well. I'm so grateful for the opportunity we had to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and redeemer. Because of him we can truly have divine happiness and Joy.

Let us celebrate always these incredible three words.

He is Risen!

Love you all! Have a great week!

Hermana Warner

Paella with Sandra

Ninez spoke in Conference!

Hey hey hey

Well it's another week in Villalba! I honestly can't believe I've already been here a month. Crazy. I love Villalba! The members here are incredible and I'm so excited for all the new friends we've been meeting. Thanks for everyone who's given advice and for all the prayers in our behalf. Prayers are being answered. People are being found. We are praying for miracles this week.

So update. Sadith, our friend that was going to be baptized this week, hasn't been coming to church so we will have to postpone it. Satan doesn't give anyone a break. She's been really stressed about school and has had to learn the hard way the promise in D&C 82:10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise. We've set some goals and made plans to help her organize her life a little bit more. 

I've been thinking a lot about obedience and sacrifice. We've taught our investigators and other friends time after time that really, when they are willing to put the lord first, he will provide for us. As we pay our tithing, the Lord will help us, as we keep the sabbath day holy, the Lord will give us strength to take on the challenges in the coming week, as we fast sincerely we can receive the revelation we need in our lives. With every Commandment there is a promised blessing. As we align our will to the Lords, and do as He asks, He will keep His promise.

This last weekend we had Stake Conference in Pavones (where the temple is in Madrid) We were allowed to go to the Saturday night session because our recent convert Ninez was asked to bear her testimony of her conversion! The spirit was so powerful as this woman with only a month as a member testified of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I absolutely love her! Her husbands name is Kike and they have two daughters Maura and Alba. They are the absolute sweetest most sincere people. We haven't been able to meet with them very much this transfer because of their crazy work schedules and because we've all been getting sick. But they come to church every sunday and the times we have met have been incredible. Maura and I like to play with Hermana Phillips hair together and Alba is an artist so we are great friends (:

At Stake conference we also heard from President Pack, Hermana Pack and a member of the 70, Elder Homer. Before Elder Homer went up to talk he was like, "There are two more people I feel we should hear from enforce I speak." Logically I thought he'd invite the members who invited Ninez and Kike to the Gospel and then he's like, "Sisters, will you come up and share your testimony?" We completely froze. We didn't expect it at all, I haven't been so nervous for a long long time. But we went up there said a few good words and sat down. I need to be better at expecting things like this. 

Anyway! It's been a really great week and I'm grateful everyday to be a missionary! I hope your weeks are fantastic and that you bake some delicious pie. We will be. 

Loves!

Hermana Warner

Photo from Halloween