¡cuidado pescado! 🐟

Holaaaa a todos!!

It's Monday again! I swear this has been the fastest transfer ever - it's over in 2 weeks! But I hope you all had an amazing week and that you're thriving! 😁

Our friend Maritza is getting baptized this Saturday on the 15th!!! She just had her baptismal interview, and we were kind of worried the whole time because she always has so many questions. But apparently, our district leader was very prepared and helped her out a lot. He did say "hey Hermanas she's great, but did you know that she drinks coffee every day?" We had no idea but apparently, it's just a tiny bit before work to keep her going during the day. But this morning, we got a text from her with a photo of her drink and she said: "I prefer Nesquik"!! We honestly have the best friends 🥰

Ok gross story (sorry in advance). So before I got to Leganés, apparently a recent convert gave the sisters an entire fish and some other ingredients to make a soup from his country. Pretty sweet of him, but when I got here there was a whole fish in the freezer. I asked Hermana Romero if she was going to eat it, and she said no but she didn't want to throw it away because she felt bad. So that's not a good reason..but I said alright and we moved on. Until a few days ago, I said ok Hermana the fish has to go. She was reluctant but she also didn't want to touch it, so I put it in a bag and she put it by the door to take out later because our trash is outside across the street. Sooo I forgot about the fish for about 3 days and apparently, she didn't forget but just didn't want to do it, so then when it started to smell I remembered. We decided to put it in yet another bag but when she lifted up the first bag with the fish, it dripped red onto the floor. Absolutely disgusting. We put it in 2 more bags instead of one just in case. Needless to say, we had to mop thoroughly and spray the entire bottle of air freshener throughout the piso to get the smell out.

But anyway! Unlike the fish, our week was delightful 😌 We went to 2 members' houses this week, one to eat lunch with the sweetest little lady in all of Spain, and the other to teach a 7 year old one of the missionary lessons. For some reason, our bishop wants all of the kids in the ward who are turning 8 to receive the missionary lessons before their baptism, so we're working with a few families. We taught the plan of salvation with little drawings, and then they fed us lasagna and ice cream at 9pm(!) and we played a game. They're such a cute family and I have been loving the chance to meet the members of the ward bit by bit.

Something from district council this week that stuck with me was, first of all, our district leader eating a crepe off of his face (yes I'll attach a picture). No, but seriously, they shared a quote that I didn't write down correctly but it's something like "when you act like you love someone, you will eventually develop a genuine love for that person". In the mission world, especially when you're learning a new language and trying to have enough vocabulary to be yourself in that language, it can be hard meeting so many people, remembering them, and loving them. In normal life, sometimes there are those people that are hard to get along with. Before my mission, I had a coworker that I kind of struggled to love. I remember I was on break and was talking to my sister about it, and my dad was eavesdropping in the background. He took the phone and said 'hey - try to love her.' Of course, I rolled my eyes and said oookay, will do, but then I actually decided to try it. And lo and behold, it worked. I really tried to invest in her and learn more about her, and we ended up developing a friendship. I was shocked but I shouldn't have been, because I know that when we get to the point where we can really understand someone else, we grow to love them. And that's Christlike love, the perfect love he already had for every person before meeting them. He didn't size people up or evaluate if they "vibed" well enough to be friends. I know charity can sometimes be hard to acquire, but that's why we're asked in the scriptures (Moroni 7:48) to ask the Father with all the energy of heart to receive it. Sometimes it doesn't come naturally, and that's ok. It's a daily fight to rise above the natural man and our self-centered tendencies and to turn outward, look around, and identify the needs of others, but it's a fight worth putting our energy into winning. As we continue to turn outward, we will be changed and purified inward.

Well, I hope that you all have a great week! I love you all (with all the energy of my heart 😉)!!

Un abrazo muy Fuerte,

Hermana Carlson

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