MISSION: POSSIBLE

"Oh hermanos, adiós, pues, adiós!
El momento de ir vino ya.

Si guardamos la fe ̮en el gran Dios,

nos veremos aún más allá.

Más allá, más allá.

¡Oh hermanos, adiós, pues, adiós!

Más allá, más allá,

moraremos con Dios en amor."


Name: Hermana Twede
Location: Spain Málaga Mission
Assignment: Preach the good word of God
Difficulty: Bastante high

Mission: ACCOMPLISHED

Well.......it's been a week. Or a month. Or a transfer. Or a whole year and a half of earth life. This week marked my last full week in the south of Spain and as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And it was great!

When one starts their mission, they kind of create a vision of what they'll look like at the end of their mission. For me? I imagined having grown a few inches, speaking Spanish perfectly, key indicators off the charts, baptizing like it's my job, and just having the time of my life. Well......not everything turns out the way you expect......I should have learned that a long time ago. As I've drawn to the end of this week, I come to realize I'm still 5'5.5", Spanish sometimes is still hard (like when you don't know how to say ostrich), key indicators were improved yet still on the charts, and not a lot of people were home due to festivos.......but one thing I can tell you is that miracles still exist. Even when life doesn't turn out the way you think, it's because God has something better waiting. Let me just let you in on some of the miracles this week.

Jóvenes. Once upon a time, Hna Sigcha and I were walking in the street and contacted one college age student and then his friend appeared from behind the bus stop. They are from Peru and Colombia and just got here a few months ago and still don't have Spain numbers so we set up a cita with them for Saturday. Well.....come Saturday, it was Dia de Los Reyes soooooo that means almost all of our plans fell through. We were sitting at the gate of the church, 10 minutes past the time our friends were supposed to come, and things were looking rough. We were gonna wait five more minutes.....and then a miracle happened. Two minutes before we were going to leave, two joven boys walked up.....OUR FRIENDS!!! I was so surprised I almost hugged them! 🚩? We had a killer lesson with them and then invited them to church the next day. Well Sunday comes and we were in class, not expecting them to show up, when the Zone Leaders called us out of class and THERE THEY WERE!!!! They came to church and everything!! I was so shocked. MILAGROS!! Literally they are so prepared. La lastima is that they live in He elders area but ITS OK THEY ARE GOING TO HEAR THE GOSPEL!!

Fechas. Once upon a time we contacted this cute family, had a lesson with them in which their friend came and listened and is literal GOLD!! We had a lesson with him on Tuesday and another on Saturday during which we taught the Plan of Salvation. At the end we invited him to be baptized and he replied with, "Yes yes yes I will be baptized. What do I need to do?"
Us: "Well the goal is to be baptized on February 10th."
Him: "Yes yes ok great but what do I need to do to do that."
Me: *Complete amazement at the scene before my eyes*
He is so prepared and has been searching for a long time for the peace that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings. I had a secret hope/prayer to find someone who had been searching for the gospel. Well......we found him. And he's so ready.

Food. I have literally been stuffed full of food almost everyday this last weekend. Due to it being festivo all week practically, people have been extra generous. The miracle in this situation? I did not have to re-live/re-taste the food I ate if you know what I mean. Saturday it got to a point where is hurt to breathe. But hey......Heavenly Father blessed me to fit it all in my stomach.......and throats a little bit.

Years. Well......on January 6, 2017, I was in the exact same place that I was on January 6, 2018. Due to intercambios a year ago while serving in Elche, I was in Alicante on that day and due to being transferred 4 months ago, I was in Alicante again on that exact day. It was interesting to think about where I was one year ago and how much has happened since then. Having not even completed 6 months in the mission, I had no clue the adventure that was awaiting me. Now looking back, I'm glad I didn't know what was going to happen, but grateful that God did.

This week has a big week of reflection on the last 18 months of my life. I've had my highest highs and my lowest lows. I've had trials come that have brought me to my knees, but learned how to lean on my Savior to get back up. There's been blood, sweat, and tears. There's been prayers said out loud and in my head. There's been moments of vulnerability. There's been thoughts of why I'm even here. But along with all of that, there's been days where my cheeks hurt from smiling. There's been moments of humble submission to the will of the Lord. There's been a happiness found that I didn't know was even possible. There's been a love felt for the people here in Spain. There have been companions who have forever changed my life. There have been priesthood blessings that have corrected my course and given me hope. Overall that's what's there's been.....hope. If I've learned anything in my mission it's that there is hope. In Christ there is hope. In the gospel there is hope. Hope is the anchor of my soul. When there's no one to teach, hope keeps my head up. When there's no one in the streets to listen, hope keeps my feet going. When we get dropped, hope keeps me grounded. When it's too hard to stand, hope brings me to my knees in prayer to my Heavenly Father.

Brothers and sisters, hermanos y hermanas, and whoever else is reading this. There's one thing I hope you learn from reading this weird crazy letters and it is this: there is Hope. No matter what your difficulties may be, no matter how hard the storms of life are hitting you, no matter the thoughts Satan is putting in your head, there is hope. And that hope is found through Christ. So please, I invite you to find that hope again. Through Him. Don't go looking in the world, because you won't find it. If you've strayed from the path, I urge you to come unto Christ and find your way back. If you're testimony is feeling rocky, I invite you to get on your knees, and then open your scriptures and feel it become grounded again, one stone at a time. I know this gospel is true and that it's a gospel of hope. I know that Christ is my Savior. He's saved me so many times. I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. I will never tire of testifying of that very thing. Nor will I ever stop testifying that it's true even when I'm no longer to pin the chapa to my chest. Even when I won't be walking the streets of Spain as a representative of Jesus Christ. It will all still be true. And I will testify that it is until the day my lips can't move anymore.

Thank you for the support during all this time. Thanks for the love shown. It means a lot. I wish you all luck in your lives. See you on the flip side. ;)

Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

P.S. For homecoming details.....ask Bea Twede:)

Lunch with Arlex y Edilia

PAN DE BONO

Last time with Mina and Mina

LUIS! He's gold and also weirded out that we can't give besitos.

Roscon. What you eat on Dia de Los Reyes.

We hit that up with Marisol, Juan y Mayte

Friends! Guillermo y Alex y me feeling awkward.

The crew. Love this family.

Last lunch with Gaby. Love her.

I Love It All

I go through moments where I'm really excited and really sad to not be a missionary anymore. It gets me teary just thinking about it. I don´t know my life without the mission and it´s hard for me to want to. I love what I do. I love being on the Lord´s errand, I love being so close to the spirit all the time and always striving to be better. I love Spain. I love it all. I am really excited to see my family and continue my life but I kinda wish I could do it while still being a missionary. I just look at the elders and think how lucky they are to have more time and they don´t even know it. I remember Darrick telling me when I was starting that he would pay any price to be where I was. I didn't understand then, but I understand now. I am so tired and ready to see everyone, but I would give anything to keep being a missionary. To see the miracles we see everyday. To see people change through the gospel and get to be the person teaching them the good news. I love it. I tried explaining it to an elder and he asked if I just keeping thinking "I should have done this or this..." And it's not that. It's just I'm in something so good and wish I had more time to apply all I'm learning even still. But I'm so grateful for this transfer. It's been hard. But oh so good. I've had one of the best weeks of my mission. We found 30 future investigators and we've been completing most of our goals every week. This is the first time ever in my mission I've done that so continuously. I've been blessed. Very very blessed. This last week I've been the most tired I've ever been in my life, but my companion and I have not passed a day where we haven't been laughing and smiling until our cheeks hurt. I just feel very humble and very blessed.

SUMMER

So Olaf would really enjoy the weather here in Alicante because it is
literally HOT!!! Like today people were swimming at the beach.

Ok so this week was awesome. Christmas was the best. I almost threw up
because of eating so much food. Tuesday we went to a Latino restaurant
after district meeting and I got nothing more than a huge plate of
Southie food so that was awesome.

Wednesday and Thursday we had intercambios with Hna Magoffin and Hna
Valdez!! It's was so good we saw some killer miracles and met with
some awesome Bulgarians and contacted all morning on Thursday!!! LOVE
IT. MISSIONARY LIFE.

Friday was a splendid day I don't really remember. We had weekly
planning and it was all great. Then Saturday was also good and a day
full of contacting and meeting new peeps.

Sunday was sooo great!! I love the sabbath. Church was awesome and
then we went out and worked and had a great mini lesson with an
investigator. And then we went to the house of Alejandra with the
elders and ate delicious food and played some games and the elders
gave some blessings and made me super grateful for the priesthood.
That night we went back and did some things and then ate 12 grapes in
12 seconds......or like 35 seconds. So the tradition is spain is that
the last 12 seconds of the year, you eat 12 grapes, one for every
month, and you make a wish with each one. Pretty difficult stuff and
we didn't succeed but did succeed at eating them and enjoying them.

I know these last few emails have been lame and short and I promise
next weeks will be better........#ultimo but I just want to end off by
saying how grateful I am for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I read the
talk, "Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach" by Neil F. Marriott
and it taught me a lot about how we need to use the Atonement to truly
love our neighbor. I know that as we pray to have the love of Christ
in our hearts, God will help us have that love and see others through
His eyes. I love this gospel of love and the opportunity to have felt
the love God has for the people of Spain these last 18 months. I don't
know how to describe my experience with it but it's been life
changing. I love the mission. I love my Savior. I love my Heavenly
Father. And I love this gospel. It's true. I know it.

Have a great week love you all
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

Intercambios!!

She loves me. Jejejeje.

Very typical Spanish Christmas thing.

New Year's Eve Dinner Crew

Feliz Ano Nuevo

Alicante

Alicante

What Alicante is known for. Gorgeous.

Reason For The Season

This was our Merry Christmas! Brielle surprised everyone except Darren and Darrick.
She skyped us after she said she wasn't going to since she was coming home in 2 weeks anyway.
Best Christmas present!

Hey y'all I, sending out a very quick and very short email today about
this week. Apologies but it's Christmas so I assume y'all are in a
forgiving mood today.

This week basically what happened was craziness. Tuesday was Hna
Sigcha's birthday!! There was signs and secret texts sent to everyone
to wish her HBD so it was great!!

Birthday Girl

Also we went to Elche for their district meeting (my last time
in that beautiful place #tears) and then brought Hna Nelson and
Hna Brinkman back with us for intercambios. I was with Hna
Nelson for the tarde and she's super awesome I love her to death.
It was a crazy night but long storyshort, God is super cool and
put us in a situation where we ended up teaching 4 potential
investigators and getting the information of
three of them in the house of an inactive. #WAT

Elche

Hna Nelson and goodies

Wednesday I don't 100% remember what happened but ''twas a good day.
Thursday we had district meeting and then Hna Malcom and Hna Smith
came for intercambios. I was with Hna Smith that night and once again
we saw lots of milagros and she is just a máquina. I'm so grateful for
this opportunity to work with these new missionaries and see their
faith and get them pumped for the rest of their missions.

Friday the poor Crevillente Hnas got stuck in the parking garage with
no working cards to pay for parking so we went and bailed them out.
Friday was a great rest of the day I don't completely remember what
happened either but it's fine. Oh right it was the ward Christmas
dinner and baptisms of a family that has been waiting 6 years to get
in that font!! Such a cool day.

Saturday was a good day with weekly planning and making calls. Sunday
was a really cool joint sacrament meeting with both wards and musical
numbers and just made me a little emotional about my timetable here in
Spain. I love these people soooooo much it's ridiculous. We ate that
night with Marisol y Juan our great Bolivian family and they fed us
Picana AKA sooooo much food. Nothing like la Nochebuena without a ton
of food right??

CHRISTMAS IS TODAY!!! We went and had lunch with the elders at our
fave members house and once again ate a ton!! Then I got to surprise
skype my sweet family and that was awesome!! Y'all though I wasn't
gonna skype....#GOTCHA

Basically I just want to express my gratitude for the birth of our S
Savior. Had He not come down to earth, I wouldn't be here in Spain, I
wouldn't have a shot at an eternal family, the gospel would not be a
part of my life, and Christ would not be my Friend who suffered and
died so I that I might know JOY!!! I love my Savior and I'm so
grateful for this season to celebrate Him. May we all look for ways
EVERYDAY of the year to celebrate Him and give thanks for all He has
done and continues to do for us.

Love you all

Feliz Navidad
Kia Kaha

Hermana Twede

Samantha stole my chapa

Surprising the mum #SheCried

Merry Christmas to me. Ruben and Eva came to see me!!!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

"I think if I were any more tired I'd be dead."
- Anonymous


HI FRIENDS THIS IS GONNA BE A QUICK EMAIL IM REALLY SORRY BUT ES LO QUE HAY.

Ok so Monday was awesome with some fab Noches de Hogar!! Tuesday we
had Zone Consejo with all the District leaders (was that really this
week?) and it went well. Then we had a great lesson with one of our
investigators, the ward Noche de Hogar, then Hna Garcia and Hna
Mckeown got to spend the night with us. Fun stuff.

Wednesday was INTERCAMBIOS!! Spent the morning with Hna Aguilar and
the night with Hna Reed. We saw some killer miracles, found a long
lost menos activo, found another menos activo, helped a dizzy old lady
find her bus, ate some pan de bono, then sang Christmas songs with
some old Spanish grannies. Good time. Love those Hermanas and the
miracles that come from intercambios.

Thursday was CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE!!! Sooooo fun. The talent show was
soooo fun and funny. Basically all you need to know is Elder Stewart
could beat a BYU football player in an eating contest and that Vikings
are really hard to train. LOVE MY MISSION!! Awkward moment when you
have to say bye to everyone and then you sing the mission hymn and
everyone sings it wrong. JAJ #LaMish

Everything else was a breeze and I don't remember all of it so I'm
skipping to Sunday when we had 3 future investigators come to church
and then went and sang at an Old Folks Home and it was a good time.
Spanish villancicos are really fun to sing.

Ok I'm really sorry this is lame but I just hope you all know the
significance of the season we are in right now. Had Christ not been
born, the entire Plan of Salvation wouldn't be possible. Because of
Him, we can be together as families. Because of Him, we can overcome
sin, illness, sorrow, and all injustice in the world and in life.
BECAUSE OF HIM I AM HERE!!! I love my Savior. Remember the reason for
the season.

Love you all have a great week!!

Kia Kaha


Hermana Twede

Spanish Christmas ft. Me

What happens when you don't wear a coat so Marisol gives you her vest and scarf.

HOMIES. Bye Elder Liza.

Intercambios with Albacete

Conf squad

I got glasses. (No she didn't)

Pan de Bono with Hna Reed

The nice lady we helped. She was lost, but we found her!

MOOOOOOOOO 🐄

What do you call a cow with one leg?
Leen Beef
What do you call a cow with no legs?
Ground Beef
What do you call a cow in an earthquake?
Milkshake

Ok well this is gonna be a lame email so I decided to start off with some jokes to make up for it. Lame email, lame jokes, ahí vamos.

Monday and Tuesday were SUPER great because consejo and that was just super spiritual and learned a lot. And I got to chill with a bunch of my mission buddies. Although Tuesday was sad bc I had to say goodbye to a bunch of my best mission friends as well as give my last testimony. Dying in the mission is the worst.

Tuesday night I had intercambios with Hna Pickett! Oh my the best ever. We literally just cried laughing all night, taught a bull fighter who is GOLD, met two Americans, and then met a guy from Africa named Jocelin. 'Twas a great night reliving the Elche dayz.

Wednesday morning I had a great talk with Hna Torjeson and then we met a nice lady in the bus station who was ready for the gospel. Then we had a great long trek home on the bus. BUS TRAVEL. LOVE IT.

Thursday was district meeting and Kebab. Aka bad day for my stomach. Pero bueno.

Friday and Saturday we had INTERCAMBIOS! We had the awesome Hna Lake and Hna Dillon over and I was with Hna Lake for the night and it was SWEEEET! Loved it. She's the bomb.com. Then Hna Dillon in the morning and it was awesome we found a new investigator! Basically it was just awesome.

Sunday was super awesome. This new family came to church and they just moved here from Mexico and were affected by the earthquakes and lost a lot of their things. I had the opportunity to sit and talk with them after and I just told them it wasn't by chance that they were here in Spain and in the church and had the glorious opportunity to testify of the gospel and how much it blesses our families. I just watched as the mom started crying as she felt the spirit and then gave her a big hug.

I love this gospel that gives us hope in times of trial and pain. I love this gospel that focuses on families and gives us hope to be with our loved ones for eternity. I love this gospel that gives us hope of a Savior who came to the earth and suffered and died for us so that we could have someone who understands us. I love this gospel that gives us hope of a merciful and loving Heavenly Father who we can communicate with wherever and whenever. I love this gospel of hope. It's given me hope in my times of trial and pain. Hope in my eternal family. Hope in my Savior. And hope in my Heavenly Father who is merciful and loving. I love this gospel. That's why I've been spent the last 17 months of my life sharing it.

Love you all. Sorry for the short email. Have a great week.

Hermana Twede

Consejo Squad

Admiring our grandchildren ft. Elder Tabilo

Saying goodbye to Hna Johnson

Hermana Pickett

Awww had to say bye to my best Elder friend, Elder Wilding 

Spain in pretty!

When someone reminds me how cold Utah is even though I'm "suffering" here in Spain.

LONELY

Hello friends. Here we are again. Another Monday. I'm currently
sitting on a bus to Málaga with my fave half Mexican previous comp, my
current Ecuadorian comp, and my CCM British roommate. So you could say
we're having a good time.

Ok so this week was REALLY interesting I don't even really remember
what happened. First off, I've had about 5 different companions this
week. Before I get to that though I need to start with the struggle
that was Monday night. So since Hna was leaving, EVERYONE wanted us to
come to their house. So we had 3 Noches de Hogar!! THREE!! TRES!! The
first house gave us a full course meal of pique machu. Delish but for
some reason my stomach decided to shrink that day. Then we had Cola
Cao and Pan de Bono with Alejandra and fam. Then we showed up to the
last NdH at Rossana's and my stomach was already crying and so was I
on the inside and we walk up and I'm praying for like a little snack
and we walk in and see........FULL SIZE HAMBURGERS!! As a citizen of
the United States of America - Land of the French Fries, Home of the
Hamburger - I've never been so horrified to see a hamburger. Hna
Bailey just looked at me with an almost pitiful look and after the
spiritual thought I literally went into the bathroom and said a
prayer. I needed actual Heavenly help to fit the Hamburger in my
stomach. Well Hna Bailey was the answer to my prayer with the excuse
of packing her suitcases. #BLESSED

Tuesday was a sad day for it was the day my beloved Hna Bailey (now
returned Macey) left me for home. So I got to be comps with Hna Aase!!
We had a good time together. And then she left me on Wednesday morning
and I was with......no one. I went from the bus station to the train
station by myself. #weird and met the elders there. Then they left to
go study and I waited for almost an hour for my train to Elche......by
myself. #AlsoWeird #Lonely Then I rode the train to Elche and talked
to two Muslim men......by myself. #CouldItGetWeirder? Then I stood by
a JW stand while I waited for Hna Lake and Dillon to come retrieve me.
#StraightUpAwkward but I spent the day with them and then headed back
to Alicante where I was retrieved from the train station by the elders
again and then waited for everyone to come in including my new
companion!!

Lonely on the bus

And pretty much it's been a normalish week since!! Kinda slow but
normal because it's the beginning of the transfer.

I just want to end with my testimony that God listens to our prayers.
I've had some really great experiences the past few days of that. When
I don't have energy, I pray and I suddenly have energy to finish the
day. When I get discouraged I pray and hope is shined into my heart.
When I need comfort, the Holy Ghost is there to comfort me. I know God
loves and loves me. I know He listens to my prayers because he shows
me in many ways that He is listening, even if I don't get all the
answers immediately. I am so grateful for prayer. I will never cease
to have a prayer in my heart for the rest of eternity.

Love you all. Have a great week.

Kia Kaha


Hermana Twede

Lunch with Arlex and Edilia (Arlex tried to hug Hna Bailey...'twas funny.)

Recording our voices for Zoilo's radio.

Travel time with Hermana Sigcha.