Heyheyheyhey Eternal Family!!!! :D

Dear family,

I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!! 8D Haha, that is so COMPLETELY understated, but it's so true!!!

Items of business:

Brother and Sister Rogers: thank you so much for the package you sent me!!! :) That was so kind of you!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I was so happy to see it!!! Thank you for your thoughtfulness, and for knowing exactly what to send!!! :) Thank you so much for your love and kindness. I love you!!

I am super excited to read your emails later today! I love you!!

To sum up what some people don't yet know: I am serving in the Barcelona, Spain mission. I have been out for 11 months (I will have been out for a year in this next transfer). I have served in Vitoria (in the Basque country, for 6 weeks), on Ibiza (an island for 6 months -- don't look it up), and now in Sabadell (in Catalunya, for 4.5 months now and counting). I have had 7 companions, two of them are currently my companions (we are in a trio and it's AWESOME!!!). In two weeks I'll get a fresh, new companion. Things are crazy busy, and it's all because of Heavenly Father.

I love this work.

Our friends will be baptized this month: Flor this Saturday (the daughter of our Peruvian friend Maribel who was baptized last month), Veronica the Saturday after (on the same day as her sister who has also found the gospel in Ecuador), and Peter at the end of this month.

I quickly want to explain about Peter.

He is from Ghana, son of a Muslim father and evangelical mother. He used to fight against the Church, telling people to stay away from "the mormon". He has a friend who is a member in the other ward, who has always been a good example. He has been reading the Bible, the gospel of John, and has been feeling the Spirit tell him that he needs to have a true baptism. He can't change it, nor deny it -- he feels the Spirit of God telling him what he needs to do. He likes to watch christian videos, and saw the Restoration video. He felt the Spirit tell him that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that he had to be baptized in the Mormon church. So we got a text last Saturday that said this: "My friend Peter wants an English Book of Mormon, and he wants to come to church tomorrow. Call him at this number and visit him as soon as possible". So we did. He told us his story, and asked us how he could prepare for baptism, and join our church. He wanted to learn our way of worshiping the Savior, and to worship with us. I felt prompted to invite him right there to be baptized at the end of the month, and he accepted with a smile and with tears in his eyes. We had one of the most amazing lessons of the Restoration EVER -- teaching in English was super weird, but it was easier for my companions, and so it turned out really spiritually impactful. We then walked with him to the bus stop he would need to take the next morning at 8:20, and then we had to go. Even though it was raining the next morning, we saw him coming up to the stop. It was amazing. He loved being at church!! He could feel the Spirit so strongly!! It was ward conference, and the messages were spectacular!! I translated all of the meetings for him (which was interesting, as there are things about English that I forget now and again). Yesterday, when we explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and talked about his reading (he STUDIES the Book of Mormon!! He could teach members how to improve!!), he expressed his desire to meet and get to know the ward members. He wants to get to know them, and was happy when we invited him to come with us to visit with the Bishop and his wife. He is the most prepared person I have ever met (and that being amongst the extremely prepared people that we are blessed to serve here). 

I know that there really are prepared people who are out there, waiting to know about the gospel. They are in the sphere of the lives of members everywhere. They are watching our example, and will remember that over time. They need our example and for us to open our mouths -- in other words, they need our love.

This is what I wrote to President Pace for this week:

 

Dear President,

I am doing so well! I can't describe how blessed and humbled and happy I feel. Heavenly Father has decided to open the floodgates of blessings over our area. While I don't understand completely why, I'm grateful, and I don't want to let Him down! We can only be obedient, have faith, love our companions and the people, and then leave everything else to Heavenly Father.

Something that has been surprising me this last transfer is how important it is to be obedient: to the commandments, mission rules, and to the promptings of the Spirit. It's really delicate, and not something that I am amazing at yet, but I'm learning to have a more aware and conscious relationship with the Spirit. When a prompting comes, you HAVE to act on it, or it's taken away. Situations and relationships every day, quite interestingly, radicate very dependently on the impressions of the Spirit that we do or don't act upon. We are hugely blessed in our companionship, district, ward, and friend relationships, and experience progress, when these impressions are followed. I'm so grateful to be learning this, especially now. What a blessing!

My companions are phenomenal! They are such a blessing to have as my companions! Our ward, friends, and companionship were all praying that we would get to stay together, and remain in Sabadell. Your call, President, was an answer to our prayers!! It was such a tender mercy to see so many people so happy to know that we are going to be able to stay. I loved seeing my companions, getting the appreciation that they both deserve. Élder Seegmiller is a spectacular missionary. He is teaching me so much about how to be a missionary leader, and what that really means. He is so aware of his duty to serve, and he teaches with such power and clarity. Élder Wheat is a fantastic missionary. He is always looking for opportunities to serve those we visit, and he is uniquely deliberate. He sends so much love in the daily texts to our friends. I have the two best companions ever! 

We are going to make these next two weeks as a trio count! I promised Heavenly Father that, whether we got to stay the three of us in Sabadell or not, I would work in the Area Book every day. I've been keeping that promise so far, and I want to continue repenting of not having been as dedicated in the past.

Our friend who is being baptized this weekend is the daughter of our friend Maribel, who was baptized a transfer ago. Maribel has used almost all of her 8 vacation days per year to attend church on Sundays, and two Sundays ago she told me that Flor wanted to be baptized. Flor had previously been too busy with school for us to visit. Even so, Flor has been involved with the Young Women of the ward, and even sang in the choir on Sunday. Maribel has taught her everything, and we confirmed that early on last week (Maribel would be a wonderful Sunday School teacher!). Flor told us that as she had attended church, read in the Book of Mormon, and prayed, she has felt that she should be baptized. She told her friends, invited them to come, and then told her mom about it. Haha, and then we found out. She told me that she wanted me to baptize her on the Thursday before Transfers. I was shocked. As I might have been leaving, she was planning to have her baptism this Monday. When I told them in church on Sunday that I was staying, they cheered, and were excited still for the baptism. I felt that we should move it to Saturday, which after some talking, they agreed to do (haha, she just wants so much to be baptized!). We went to reteach the Plan of Salvation yesterday, and Maribel brought her niece (Flor's cousin), who had amazing questions, and who felt the Spirit.

Miracles happen when we work with our members, and love Heavenly Father, them, and His work. This is the happiest time of my life! I am so blessed to be a part of this work!

I love you!
Élder Zubeldia

Family, (you all being my family) I love you so much!! I love being a missionary. I am so excited for Sarah to be out serving, too -- you are going to be an incredible missionary, like Susana and Brittany are!! I love you all so much!!!

Thank you for your love. I have the best life EVER!!!!!!!!!

I love you!

Élder Zubeldia

 

P.S. Oh, I forgot to mention this. Before I start, Mother, please don't be worried, everything is under control.

The dermatologist that the mission uses has instructed me to wear a hat to cover my head during the summer. Our mission president's wife wants me to actually wear one, and so we went hat shopping yesterday. So, now I have a hat. I think I might be one of the only missionaries who has to wear a hat. It's one of those "Panama" style hats (so, it's like a fedora, but made of straw). So if you see any pictures of me with a hat, now you know why. :) Don't worry, I'm fine, and I'm taking care of my white skin. Everything is under control. :) So don't worry. :) I love you!