It's a new area with New Surprises

Famous for the running of the bulls

Now you have heard it all.  I am in a new area.  It´s called Pamplona!!!!  This is the city where running of the bulls is held!!!!  I´ll just grab my saucony shoes and take it for a spin and try to not get killed (or because I´m so tall, I could just walk over them...).  No I´m sure that missionaries are not allowed in those areas during holidays and stuff, so you don´t have to worry. But I did get a new companion.  His name is Elder Dixon.  He is from Utah, I don´t know what part yet because I have only been with him for like an hour. 

Elder Streiff is still in Badalona and he is training now, probably because he has only 2 transfers left.

I took a train this morning at 12 and got here at 4.  It was a cool experience, except I rode alone!!!! There were no other missionaries going up in the morning, so I just sat and read scriptures and read letters from home.  It was a nice train ride.  I got to see the spanish landscape.  It looks a lot like a mix between Southern utah and California, then we turned this mountain and BOOM all green fields, big green alfalfa (the plant that turns into hay) fields.  I felt like I was in Scotland.  Rolling green fields and nice spanish sun!  So I am here in the providence of Navarra and family history says (from Abuela's side of the tree because for some reason Abuelo´s side of the tree is blocked) that we have family here in Navarra from the 1400s.  I going to find and baptize family!!!

So this past week we saw a bunch of miracles.  We saw the windows of heaven pour us a bunch of blessings.  I felt like everything we planned actually went the way we planned, except the baptism of Flor, but some day she´ll get baptized. For example we talked to a lady from Bolivia who out of the blue wanted a Book of Mormon.  She had been taught in her country and wants to learn more about the church.  We also went to a hospital to give a blessing to this girl who had fallen off a building 4 stories and landed on the first floor tarris (for your information in spain and maybe in europe in general the buildings have the first story on the second floor.).  She almost died.  She broke her back and a lot of her bones and now is in a coma.  Elder Streiff gave the blessing and only one person could be in the room at a time so I waited outside and talked with the father (by the way they are from the UK).  As we were walking out of the old, badly looking, horribly organized hospital, Elder Streiff said that we may never know what becomes of this family but we know that with faith all will be well and that the daughter is in the Lord's hands.  Weird right?

A random thought came to me as we were in sacrament meeting, I looked at the water as we Elders and two deacons passed the water around and thought of the dumbest, but in the real sense of the word, a spiritual shot glass.  Think about it.  With the atonement able to fix all of our problems, we can be clean with the atonement and receive the extra strength we need for our challenges and activites.  Sorry, dumb thought. 

Also that Sunday I gave my farewell testimony in sacrament meeting.  Also a lady who has really bad mental and physical disabilities gave her testimony and it hit me.  She said " I´m nervous now, but Christ is always in my heart".  How nice.

Well family I don´t have too much time left.  I´ll finish my letter as I sit here in this library that looks like a university library rather than a public library.   Family I know that we can be together forever just like in the primary hymn.  I know that my father lives and loves me too.  As we read and pray every day, we will receive the spiritual food to strengthen our testimonies like water and sun are needed to feed flowers (which I saw a lot on the way up here to Pamplona).  I know that this church is true and the sky is blue and that I love you.

Con amor,
Élder Gonzalez