Hermana Twede: Adventures in Spain: So Long, Farewell!

SO LONG, FAREWELL, ALVNEJAJAJS SAY ADIEU! ADIEU, ADIEU, TO YOU AND YOU
AND YOU!!!

I never know what they call themselves actually so sorry. Sitting in
the church with all the JAS (Young Single Adults) (because they are
having an activity today) and they're playing this music and everyone
is just chilling and golly I'm so happy. I love Elche so dang much.
But......all things come to an end.

On Saturday night, I got a bittersweet phone call from my dear
Presidente and was informed that my work here in Elche is done and
it's time for me to leave. Just writing that brings tears to my eyes
because I have fallen in love with this place and these people. They
are my family. But now it's time for me to go meet my new family
in....................CARTAGENA!!! I've been asked to go be companions
with Hermana Johnson who just finished her training!! I LOVE being
comps with missionaries straight out of their training! I did that
with Hna Garcia and it's so fun because all they know is their trainer
and so you get to teach them how to have a new perspective on the work
and their area. But also they teach you sooooo much and they're still
new and have so much fire for the work. So I'm really excited for the
opportunity to learn from sweet Hna Johnson in the old area of Hna
Pickett. Oh right did I mention that? I have a bad habit of going to
my companion's old areas haha.

Well today for Pday Hna Herrera and I sent off our comps Hnas Pickett
and Clark to go to Malaga since they are both going to be TRAINING!!
So that's exciting. So we get to be comps until Wednesday when I will
head a few hours over to CartaG.

Ok so this week was THE BEST WEEK I've had in Elche. Lots of miracles.
Hard but good. Monday we had citas set up and we were leaving Piso and
Hna Pickett was saying the prayer and it was longer than usual (don't
be offended Hna since you now get these letters) and I'm thinking,
"Girl we got to go!" (Really bad don't do that) and then I listened
and she says, "Help us to know that You direct this work and to see
Your hands today." When she said that I thought, "Well dang it,
everyone is going to fail us today and we're gonna be contacting all
night." But I didn't say anything and we left. So we leave and about
10 minutes later as we are getting on the bus to go to the members
house for a Noche de Hogar, she calls and cancels. And every other
plan and backup plan falls through. Sooooo.......CONTACTING!!! But it
was sooooo good!! We seriously talked to so many people and we were so
led by the spirit in where to go. #LAOBRA

Wednesday was oh my soooo good. We've been visiting this member who is
straight MÁQUINA!!! Aaaahhh I just love her. So she's always been very
open about her questions and doubts and she has told us that she
doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon but she keeps reading
and doing everything she can to get one. So this last Wednesday when
we went to visit her and we give a lesson on temples and it was
EXACTLY what she needed and that was awesome. It's nice to hear
verbally sometimes that what you plan is really what they need to
hear. But after the lesson, she turns to us and says, "Hermanas, I
have something else to tell you. I have a testimony of the Book of
Mormon." AAAAAAHHHHHHHH WAAAAT!!!!! Then she told us the story and I
was just saying a prayer in my heart thanking Heavenly Father for this
literal gift. That was the best thing I could have ever asked for in
my last week here.

The rest of He week was super great. Can't remember what happened
really. Oh OH WE MADE TORILLA DE PATATA AND IT WAS ACTUAL
TORTILLA!!!!! Wasn't like worthy to feed to the King of Spain
but......it was pretty decent not going to lie. So that was exciting.
We had two baptisms this weekend!! Our little chica who we've been
teaching the lessons too got baptized on Sunday and it was super
great. I got to translate for one of their friends who came and that
was WAAAAAY harder than I expected. Your mind literally has to think
in the two languages at the same time and it's #STRESS. But it was
good. After that was like the saying goodbye party sort of. Not really
but it helped that all the members were there so I got to say goodbye
to everyone almost in one place. IM GOING TO MISS THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH
OH MY GOODNESS!!

Oh also on Sunday we (missionaries of Barrio 1) got the BLESSED
opportunity to teach.......PRIMARY!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA *TEARS* we did a
lesson on how we can follow Christ's example and had cut out these
cute little footsteps for them and it kept them occupied.....for the
most part. The primary teachers had warned us before......BUT IT WAS
JUST GREAT I LEARNED MUCH MORE PATIENCE WHAT A GOOD EXPERIENCE!!! It
helps too that they are just the cutest. My goodness they're like my
niños. Then all Sunday I had the opportunity to accompany everyone.
After the baptism there was a mission farewell and I accompanied the
JAS while they sang the EFY medley in Spanish. It was super cool.
Super super great. NO PRESIDENT I CANT LEAVE THESE PEOPLE YOU CANT
MAKE ME!!!

Ok......time to wrap up. So I just want to talk about the mission.
Because it's great. I was talking to one of my friends who is the MTC
right now and she was telling me how she's trying to enjoy the MTC
because she knows the field will be so much harder and she's really
nervous. As I thought about it, I realized that the MTC is like High
school, and the field is like college. The MTC is like high school
because you enjoy it while you're there and it's hard and stuff but
you have a good time and you learn a lot and by the time you're done
you're ready to move on (at least for me). Then you get to college
(the field) and it's definitely harder than high school.....but it's
soooooo much better and you wouldn't choose to be in high school over
college. At first, you might want to go back to high school because it
was easier and you liked it and you didn't have to make Big Kid
decisions, but all the good times in college make up for the bad/hard.
It's exactly that way with the field. It's hard. But I can tell you
that I would never choose to go back to the MTC over the mission
field. The things you experience in the field can not be replicated in
the MTC no matter how hard they try. This whole mission experience has
been incredible, exhausting, and never easy.....but it's been the best
experience of my life and I wouldn't change the decisions I made to
get here for anything. No amount of money in the world could convince
me to give up this place, these people, and this mission.
I love the Lord with all my heart. He is my heart and my song. He is
always there. And definitely ALWAYS hears every child's prayer.

Love you all. Have a great week
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede