Being a Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Dear Family and Friends,

I love you!! :)

I am serving as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have been serving for a year and a month, and I love it. I first served one month in Vitoria, then 6 months in Ibiza, and I have now been in Sabadell for almost 7 months. Being a missionary is a life-changing experience, and I'm very grateful to be a missionary.

I'm happy, and so is my companion (we serve with a companion; someone to work alongside with and serve). It is such a privilege to serve as a full-time missionary. I am still blown away at how wonderful it is to bear His name over our hearts every day! I know that we, and all our friends here, can have His name in our hearts as we are obedient. That is definitely the biggest miracle I've been shown.

With time and experience, we've seen this miracle in the lives of many of our friends. Maribel and Flor (mother and daughter from Peru, who were baptized two months ago) are active, tithe-paying members, and are excited about the basic things -- reading the Book of Mormon, praying individually and as a family, active participation in church meetings, and sharing the gospel. We are going to help the head of the house, Juan, act on his desire to be baptized this next month. It will only happen through God's power; in other words, if we are more obedient, our Father will bless us and our friends with miracles.

Carlos Fabian (father who was baptized last week) baptized his daughter Fabiola on Saturday. The priesthood truly is meant to bless families! Their family is so happy!! I am amazed at the change I see in Fabian and in Fabiola. They are both so much more happy! Fabian is so much more... I think the only word is powerful. After having been baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and having received the Priesthood he has been full of an energy, a hope, that he didn't used to have. I will never cease to be amazed by the miracles and confirmations of truth that we are blessed to see, and will surely continue to see.

I believe in angels...

...Our ward (local congregation) is full of them. We love our ward and they know it; Heavenly Father loves them and we're trying to help them feel it. We pray for them and for their friends by name; we pray that He will send angels to strengthen and guide them. We pray for angels to prepare the hearts of their friends to hear the gospel. We are seeing miracles because of faith, and obedience. We're working with the youth, recent converts, and their families in organizing "Noches de Hogar" in their homes (our ward is very wide-spread, with no center, so this is what works). Last Saturday night, we had 6 non-member friends of members at the activity. The members are catching the vision of member-missionary-work.

Our friend Leticia (a mother from Ghana) will be baptized this next month. We don't know when, but we have faith that it will be so.

Élder Ahlstrom, my companion, is a hardworking missionary. He is focused, and he likes to reach goals. I'm trying to help him to understand Spanish better, and to stay calm in potentially high-stress situations. We are on Week 7 of the 12 Week Missionary Training program. He is a really good sport; he is feeling exhausted very often, but he pushes forward with me. I love that, and how he understands how important obedience is. He will be a great trainer -- he is already training me!

Family and friends, I just want to say that I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that Heavenly Father listens to prayers, and that He answers them in the way we need to receive the answer. He loves me, and He loves all of us. I know that as we have faith in Him, we will be blessed. If we do our best, He will guide and strengthen us to advance His work.

I love you!!

Love,

Élder Zubeldia

P.S. Please, those of you who are returned missionaries, would you please tell me how you felt when you were at your year-mark? What sort of things did you do to become the missionary that you wanted to be? What sort of things might you say to your son if he was in this situation? I would love to hear ALL ADVICE AND SUGGESTIONS, big or small!!

P.P.S. Haha, I'm sorry for not sending specific emails to everyone every week up to this point. I understand that my father set up a blog for people to read if they are interested in knowing what I write home. I might not send this email to you all every week, but I love you, and I invite you to check it out (ask Kepa Zubeldia (from the list of people who received this email) for details). :) Haha, love you!!!

This is under the olive tree in front of our chapel in Sabadell.

The picture: Our District from left to right: Hermana Wirthlin, Hermana Jarman, my companion Élder Ahlstrom, our Ward Mission Leader Juan Deltoro, me, our Bishop Kyle Merrill, my old companion (from when we were in a trio) Élder Wheat, and Élder Oliveira.

    

We got everyone the District tie, but only Bishop Merrill, Hno Deltoro, I wore it. :) Haha, maybe next time!!