Spain 76th Week 28 Sep-4 Oct 2009

Spain 76th Week 28 Sep-4 Oct 2009

Another fantastic week in the Temple has just concluded and we have reached the end of our mission here in the Madrid Spain. These past 18 months have been fantastic and we have dearly loved our time here. We have met many wonderful, faithful saints from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and other countries as they have come to serve in the House of the Lord. We have had the opportunity of saying goodbye to many dear friends and hope one day to be able to see them again? We will always remember the feelings and love that we have felt while serving here.

On Monday, we had our monthly pot luck dinner in honor of those completing their missions and those starting their missions. Sister Purificacion Gomez (Alcala, Spain) started her mission and of course we were completing ours. We had pictures taken with the Temple Presidency and other friends.

During the entire week we were packing our luggage and preparing for our journey home (we kind of lost our way though and went on a Mediterranean Cruise (Malta, Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa and Cannes France) before heading home. Lee & Colleen Haas, dear friends from SLC arrived on Tuesday, 29 September and we had a wonderful time with them in Madrid and surrounding areas. It was great to see them and to get caught up on the happenings of their family and our common friends. On Friday, following our Temple shift, we took them to Segovia and had a wonderful time.On Wednesday, Linda Lovera (Venezuela) came to our apartment and fixed us “Arrepas” a Venezuelan food and which we (Tom & Sharon) had eaten at her home in Venezuela on the first night that we picked up Scott from his mission.

On Saturday, I had the opportunity of being the coordinator on our final day (no rest for the weary/wicked) and what a day to remember. It was General Conference day and the Temple was to start its final session at 1:00 pm. Well, at 11:30am approximately 300 Relief Society sisters from the two Madrid stakes came to the Temple (this had been pre arranged) and they did some special sessions (baptism, endowment, initiatory and sealing sessions). The final sessions started at 2:00pm and they all finished and were able to go to the stake center and watch the rebroadcast of the General Women’s Conference. This was a wonderful way to conclude our mission, working until the very last moment!

Following the Temple we were able to watch the first two sessions of General Conference in our apartment as we finished our packing. We are going to leave the majority of our luggage with the Ford’s at the hostel instead of taking it all on the cruise. It has been interesting dividing up all of the “leftovers” (food, clothing, etc) between the missionary couples, members and the young missionaries. All were very appreciative of the spoils.

As we return from the cruise (11 Oct) the Sproul’s have invited us to stay with them in their three bedroom apartment that is about a block from the Temple. The hostel has a policy of not letting people check in to the hostel on the weekend and so we didn’t want to ask them to compromise their rules. We very much appreciate the Sproul’s and their love and hospitality.

With this being our first mission together we didn’t know what to expect or how we would feel. We can honestly say that it exceeded our expectations and we grew and developed much more than anything that we added to the mission. We have been taught by the spirit, some wonderful and dedicated leaders, and fabulous saints that have truly shown us how to worship in the Temple.

We look forward to reuniting with our family and loved ones, but know that we may never pass this way again (Spain) so with bitter sweet thoughts we say goodbye to our family and friends in Spain and May God Be With You Till We Meet Again and to our children, grandchildren and family in Salt Lake City we say hello and look forward to strengthening our relationships. We know the work we are/were involved in is true, God lives and Jesus Christ is our Savior. We have a living Prophet and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. This is our witness that it is TRUE!

Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw

Spain 75th Week 21-27 Sep 09

Spain 75th Week 21-27 September 2009

Wow, another week has flown by and here it is the end of September and almost the end of this wonderful calling. The week was filled with a lot of memories that will last a lifetime. There are always special memories from the Temple and this week was no exception. The saints from Bilbao (northern Spain) and Lisbon, Portugal were here-few in numbers but very active in Temple work. On Saturday morning two busloads of people arrived at 7:30am (a five hour ride from Bilbao) and they worked hard, including about 35 youth for baptisms, until 7:00pm when they re-boarded the bus and headed home. This group of people had a lot to celebrate as two weeks ago they became a stake instead of a district. This is what I call dedicated to travel in excess of 10 hours to participate in 10 hours of temple work. We only hope and pray that we would have the same commitment to serving the Lord if we were in their shoes.

This is a picture of a sweet little sister (Maria do Ceu de Jesus) from Portugal (notice the two crutches that she uses, she also has a full upper body plastic brace) that has been to the Temple six times since we have been here. She comes for 2-5 weeks at a time a does at least five sessions per day, everyday without fail. She is truly an inspiration to all that see her shuffling along to do her part.

Last Sunday night we were invited to dinner with some of the single sisters in the ward. Sister Fatimo Molina came and picked us up following the missionary choir program; we rode the bus to her apartment and there enjoyed a wonderful evening and dinner (a stew type dinner with rice and bread and of course a wonderful cheesecake dessert). The roommates (Eva Suarez Madrid, Fatima Molina, Victoria, Naomi Lopez and Monica Bermudes) were a lot of fun and we enjoyed a couple of hours together. These are darling girls with great testimonies (three of them served missions) just looking for some Temple worthy guys to date. I told them the story of our service in the single stake at the University of Utah where there is a large pool of qualified guys and a larger group of beautiful girls that still don’t get married…I guess they saw it as at least having someone that they would be interested in with the prospect of getting married. We are amazed at their dedication and the willingness to follow the Lord’s commandments.

On Monday, the Taggart’s took us to lunch to say goodbye. They don’t usually attend the monthly missionary dinners so this is their way of saying thanks. It was fun to spend the afternoon with them; they are on their tenth mission. They leave November 2nd and will be the last of the group when President and Sister Moore arrived.

On Tuesday, we were at the Temple and Sister Plume (Alicante) asked us to come to dinner at her apartment…as it turned out she cooked the meal in Mendez’s apartment and we ate there (chicken, rice, vegetables of course an apple dessert). She is a tiny little gal that comes to the Temple monthly and spends at least a week. She was on her way to see her son in Cadiz, Spain so she stopped and did some Temple work on the way. She is the one that gave Tom the little hawk figurine that saluted when you pushed a button on the back. She is a lot of fun and the food was wonderful.

On Wednesday mom got her hair cut and tinted, guess she wanted to look good for the cruise and the arrival home. She looks really good and all of the sisters think she is a doll. We also got an email from the Lunt’s this day and heard about their travels in and around the mountain west. They even stopped at our house and knocked; trying to talk with Paul and Kellie but they were not home…it was good to see a picture of our house again! The Lunt’s also sent a picture with Sister Lorraine Linares, who lives close by us (Kearns).

On Friday we changed shifts with the Ford’s as we had the opportunity of going to lunch with President and Sister Moore. They take the missionaries that are leaving to lunch and we (the missionaries) have the opportunity of spending an afternoon with them. They are wonderful people and have brought a great amount of love and fun to the work. They have been on the road the last four weekends speaking at stake conferences in Portugal as well as working double shifts at the Temple due to the lack of secretaries.

On Saturday, the Temple was really busy all day long with the group from Bilbao. We had baptisms and large endowment sessions throughout the afternoon. Following our shift the Ford’s invited us to dinner and the meal was wonderful…a Salisbury steak type affair with rice, salad and a wonderful dessert. Does it sound like I like desserts? These are great people from Bountiful, Utah and extended their mission six months to serve here following their stint in the Canary Islands. They had gone home about six weeks ago to bury their daughter who had been terminally ill for the past 16 years and have returned with stronger than ever desires to serve. We look forward to seeing them when they return home next April.

Today was a bitter-sweet day; it is our final Sunday in the Madrid 6th Ward. Bishop Ovejero had us bear our testimonies and mom did a great job in Spanish. We said goodbye to many friends that we usually don’t see during the week and took a lot of pictures. Brother Orlando & Sister Zacarias (Stake Patriarch), Jose Luis & Eva Zacarias, Pablo & Noemi and baby, Doris Roa, Linda Lovera, Hevelin and Doris.We are really excited to see our friends, the Haas’s, then our families and home, but we won’t soon forget the special people that we have met here and loved as our family. Following church we were invited to the Clemente’s (Victor & Asuncion)for dinner along with the Mendez’s. We ate, for the second time, RABO or bull’s tail and it was good even though we knew what we were eating. This meat is a delicacy in Spain, we had been invited there last week, but the meat did not come in from Alicante so they postponed the dinner until today. The preparation of the meat is about a 12-15 hour ordeal and has to be watched very closely during the entire time. Victor was up half the night taking care of “his” RABO – too expensive to not due it correctly!

We have truly been blessed to serve here in Madrid and to work in the beautiful Temple. We have been deeply touched and hopefully, have learned more about the Temple ordinances. Our lives have been enriched more than anything we may have accomplished here. We come away from this experience with a greater love for our Savior Jesus Christ. There is a large painting in the Temple Chapel that shows Christ calling two of his disciples (later apostles) to “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” This has always struck me with a spirit that is hard to describe and makes me feel so inadequate in what we have been trying to do. Our prayer is that we may always be worthy to serve any place, any time, or in any calling that may come our way. We are deeply indebted to the Lord for His goodness and mercy. We know the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TRUE! God lives and Jesus is the Christ. We have a living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, to lead, guide and direct us. We look forward to hearing from him and the other leaders of the church this coming week in General Conference. May God be with you till we meet again.

Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw

Spain 74th Week 14-20 September 2009

Spain 74th Week 14-20 September 2009

We survived another morning shift this week! It seems like it is hard to get enough sleep on those weeks, but once we’re up it’s not so bad. Last Sunday after Tom wrote the blog we had the Wilson’s (Kevin & Karen) and the Ford’s (Rodney & Marcia) for dinner. The Wilson’s are the couple who are living here in Spain while Kevin (United States Air Force) works for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They had invited the American’s to a 4th of July party at their house. They brought us gifts which were so nice; a table runner, which is beautiful, and a “NATO” shirt for Tom. We had an enjoyable time together. The Ford’s are the new kids on the block at the Temple.

On Monday, we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to our favorite Mall, La Gavia. This is as modern as any mall in the United States and has a great food court. We are trying to show them the ropes before we leave. Of course we ate there!

The Portuguese (Lisbon) were here in the Temple all week. They kept us hopping which is always great. They had big baptismal groups and a lot of adults doing a lot of family work. Many times in initiatory we had one worker speaking Portuguese, another speaking French, and another speaking Spanish. Thankfully the spirit is felt even though the language may be foreign to the patron.

Wednesday we took the Ford’s and the Picard’s to another Mall called La Vaguada. This is also a mall like many back home only older. We ate there too! When we came home we got rained on which is the first rain here in a long time. The temperature dropped quite a few degrees so summer could be over? The Picard’s are the couple from France who came before and left for three months and have now returned to serve for another four months.

Friday, after we got home from the Temple, we had the Elders assigned to our ward to lunch (Elders Stearns, Scott, Forberg, Ogden and Padrones). They sure can put the food away! Elder Padrones is from Spain waiting for his Visa to go to the MTC in Provo and then to Ogden for his Mission. He spoke English quite well already. They left us with a challenge to get better acquainted with the “Preach My Gospel” book. They are great Elder’s; our favorite is Elder Stearns (reminds mom of Scott).

Friday night we took Elisa Monteiro (Portugal) to get a Kabob. She comes to the Temple once a month and brings others with her in her car. She has been doing this for eight years. She definitely does not have a lot of money but she has a strong commitment to attend and work in the Temple. She grew up in an orphanage in a Catholic Monastery. She joined the church twenty five years ago. She is quite the little fire ball! She has gotten to know most of the Temple Missionaries through the years.

Today we spoke at the MTC for the last time. They have a totally new group of nineteen missionaries. About half are Spanish and the other half American. I had to have an interpreter which I’ve never done before, but somehow we got through it. Tom did his own interpreting and did a great job. We ate with them again afterwards. We are going to miss experiences like that and the spirit that we feel from them.

We have exchanged many emails and given out pictures to many friends here. Our hearts have been touched by many people here both in the Temple and out. Our Mission has been a wonderful experience. We are so glad that we set the goal to serve together many years ago. The Lord blesses us daily and has kept us healthy and safe. We look forward to being reunited with all of you. We look at pictures of the family often, and count our many blessings for all of you. Our kids are all very anxious for us to get back; in fact they are all going a little crazy! We love you all Mom and Dad / Nana and Papa / Elder and Hermana Shaw

Spain 73rd Week 7-13 Sep 2009

Spain 73rd Week 7-13 September 2009

This has been another wonderful week in Madrid! The saints from Hospitalet (north east part of country) were in town and kept the sessions steady in numbers. School has started here in Spain so there were not as many youth as usual during the week although on Friday a bus left their area (5.5 hour trip) very early in the morning loaded with almost 70 young people and they arrived here and performed baptisms the entire day. They then got back on the bus that night and returned home; now that is a lot of traveling for the opportunity and privilege of performing ordinances in the House of the Lord. Again, we had many dear friends come and go; tears were shed and hugs sent them/us on our way.

On a historical note, the first stake in the Bilbao area (northern Spain) of the church was created last Sunday; they had been a district but are now a stake. People from the area seem ecstatic and grateful for the growth that has taken place over the last few years that enabled this change.
On Monday, we went downtown with the Ford’s (Rodney & Marcia) to show them around Plaza Sol and the adjoining area. We had a fun time, ate at Burger King and while we were there, Marcia had her purse stolen. We were all sitting around a table (two of us on a bench); she put her purse next to her husband on the bench and we were eating, talking, and obviously not paying attention. We had all noticed a weird guy at the door and had seen a “different” guy sit down a few feet from us on the bench. We surmise they were working together and the one outside drew our attention away while the other one grabbed the purse. It is really frustrating to think that you must have a firm hold on everything at all times and that you can’t relax for one minute. We checked all of the dumpsters nearby to see if it had been thrown there after looking for cash, but found nothing. It was a good, yet bad reminder to all of us to be on the lookout as there are some people out there looking to take advantage of others.

Later that night we were invited to the Ford’s for dinner along with the Sproul’s (Bob & Susan). We had a fun night eating, talking and getting to know each other a little bit better.

The Sproul’s will soon be busy most every night of the week with Institute classes, socials, etc so it was good to spend some time with them. They have invited us to come to their apartment (3 bedrooms) when we return from our cruise for a couple of nights before we head home.

Paul and Kellie were kind enough to send us a few mementos to give to some special people that we have served with here and we began giving some of them out this week. We also had some pictures made up of us in front of the Temple with our address on the back that we are giving to a few people (probably use them for a dart board)! It has been really neat to see some the reactions on their faces as they open up the little gift and see what they received. Brother Barranco (all 4’ 10” of him) has been on cloud nine and today as we were leaving the chapel we saw the Madrid Mission President, he had been in Brother Barranco’s ward today and he said he was wandering around showing everyone the picture. Also, we gave Brother Quirce a glass engraved image of the Salt Lake Temple….now this is a “tough guy” who has never shown his emotions in public. He has worked here every day since the Temple opened, 10 years ago, he is a sealer and comes every afternoon. He is always willing to do whatever is asked of him even though he is one of the veterans and knows how to do everything better than 99% of the people that work here. Anyway, as we gave him this token of our appreciation, his eyes quickly filled with tears and he just grabbed me and gave me a big hug. When we composed ourselves we took some pictures in front of the Temple and they departed, after another hug (I have never been able to give him one before in the year and half we have been here). This made everything worth it, to see him brought to tears by a simple act. He is one of the people that we will never forget. In the ten years he has worked here he has performed more than 100,000 sealings of parents or children to parents…what a record!

We were also able to get some other couples together today to take some photographs: Brother Angel Barranco, Brother Emilio & Sister Quirce, Brother Jose Luis & Sister Oliveras (this guy is a clown, very nervous type and is really fun to be around), Brother Jamie & Sister de la Torre, Felix & Jennifer. These are just a few of favorite friends with whom we have worked.

Friday night we invited Aderson & Dolores (Lolita) Santos to dinner before they left. We went to a favorite Chinese restaurant. We had a meal fit for a king and the company made things that much better. It has been fun to watch them get ready for their trip home to Sau Paulo, Brazil. They had purchased so many things (clothing, bread making machines, waffle irons, etc) because they are so much cheaper here than in Brazil. Well, to make a long story short, some of their children were coming over to travel with them (they were bringing empty suitcases to take stuff home)….well, they didn’t come-you can imagine the mess. They shipped home six large boxes of “stuff”…needless to say all of the savings and then some was taken by the shipping costs. They were flying Iberia airlines from Madrid directly to Sau Paulo and they were only allowed one suitcase between them (23 kilos=50 lbs) and carry on of no more than 10 kilos. They had seven suitcases, including carry on, and as I lifted them this morning I know that at least three of them weighed probably 50 kilos! I hope they found a very generous ticket person at the desk. They are great people and everyone will miss them, they were really fun “tranquilo” people and she could imitate anyone in any circumstance.

Saturday night we had a knock at the door and opened it to find a short, little guy (Brother Acma) from the Philippines (now lives in Barcelona) standing there. He had been in the Temple this week and wanted to take a picture with us. He had a BYU hat on-said the Mission President had given it to him and it wears it everywhere! We laughed with him, not really understanding his English nor his Spanish but he left happy. He’s returning home to the Philippines in a few months.

We hosted the Saturday night movie and watched The Black Stallion. The movie was good but the company much better…it is fun to just get together and spend some time. With two shifts at the Temple we don’t always have an opportunity to get to know one another.

Later that night we listened (KSL radio) to the BYU versus Tulane football game. It was fun to again hear the action of the game…we had not listened the week before versus Oklahoma because it came on at 2:00 am. It’s hard to believe that we will actually be home to see the last three games this year.

Not being trunky, but wanting all family and friends to know we will work our final Temple shift the morning of 3 October. Lee & Colleen Haas will have arrived on the 29th of September and we will leave for a Mediterranean Cruise on 4 October out of Barcelona. We will return to Madrid the night of 11 October, have a day to finish up any loose ends then leave the Madrid airport the morning of 13 October, arriving in Salt Lake City at about 8:30pm. We look forward to seeing our families and friends, but are not anxious to leave our friends and family here in Madrid. We have been invited to give our mission report on Sunday, 25 October at 9:00am in the Taylorsville 27th Ward-we have forgotten the address, but it is within a half a block of our home in West Valley. You are all invited to the meeting and to the house afterwards for some snacks.

We know the gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE. God lives and Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer! The Book of Mormon is TRUE and was written for our time. Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God on the earth today. We appreciate all of the prayers that have been offered in our behalf, they have truly been heartfelt. We love and appreciate each and every one of you. God be with you till we meet again. Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw

Spain 72nd Week 31 Aug-6 Sep 09

Spain 72nd Week 31 Aug – 6 Sep 2009

This past week has been a week of dinner invitations and we certainly are not complaining! We started off with a pot luck dinner for the couples who are leaving and for those who have come. We were in charge of setting it up and making the food assignments. Tom put ham in a crock pot with barbeque sauce and it was a big hit! The salads, desserts and rolls were brought by everyone else. It was nice and everyone seemed to enjoy sharing time together. Those who had come were the Ford’s from Bountiful, who served some of their mission in the Canary’s. They will be here for eight months. The Anta’s were going to stay for two months, but have had some family problems so they have already gone. Sister Massei,a single sister from France who will be here for eighteen months.Brother Silvestre (Barcelona) also left he had been here for a month-his wife is inactive and he came on his own. The Moreira's (Portugal) have been here for a month and are returning home, they are wonderful people and always did more than their fair share.The Santo’s who are from Brazil have been here for eighteen months leave tomorrow. Most of the couples that we have served with most of our time here have now left, except for the Taggart’s who will leave in November.

The Stake assigned to come to the Temple this past week was the Porto, Portugal area. They brought a lot of youth for baptisms but not as many adults. The sessions weren’t as big but they were steady. Now that it is September school will start and they will not be able to bring the kids as much. They also plan other activities for the youth when they come so it’s kind of like a youth conference.

On Wednesday we took the Ford’s around to some stores and of course to have a Turkish Kebab. They are quite happy to serve the rest of their Mission here at the Temple. Of course I had to show Sister Ford where the Chino stores were, which is like our Family Dollar stores back home.

On Friday night we went to dinner with the Santos after they finished their afternoon shift. Night is really the happening time in Spain, and we really have not been out late very many times our whole Mission. We went to a Mall to eat at a place the Santos’s like called Salad and Company. We all know how much Tom loves salad so of course he was pleased at the selection! We are really going to miss them. You could never really understand Brother Santo’s but he was such a nice guy.

Saturday we went to dinner at the Sproul’s apartment. They are the CES couple here and he serves as a counselor to President Hill in the MTC. They have become good friends and are from South Jordan but most recently St. George. They are serving for two years so they have some time left before they go home. We had a fun time and good food.

Today our Bishop and his wife (Oscar & Sarah) blessed their little girl in Sacrament Meeting. She was very welcome being the first grandchild, and because it took 5years of trying before they had her. They named her Ruth (Rut).

Today we had dinner with the Taggart’s. They invited us and two full time Sister Missionaries, Sister Miller and Sister Salas. Sister Miller is the Physician Assistant here for the MTC and the full time Missionaries. The food was excellent and of course we ate till we were full to the brim! The Sisters shared a scripture about gratitude. It’s always great to share time with them.

Tomorrow we have been invited to eat with the Ford’s so you can see why I said this has been the week of dinners! We are a month away from finishing our Mission and wonder where all the time has gone. We are very excited to see our family and friends again, but not looking forward to leaving many good friends here. This is such a choice Mission and such a beautiful Temple. The church is such a place of comfort no matter where you are. We love being able to share our thoughts about our Mission here with all of you. We know that we will be glad that we have things written down, to keep our memory of this time fresh through the coming years. We love you all and one last note, we were pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning and read the score BYU 14 Oklahoma 13 Go Cougars!
Love Mom and Dad / Nana and Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw

Spain 71st Week 24-30 August 2009

Spain 71st Week 24-30 August 2009

Another busy week in the Madrid Temple has passed. The saints from Setubal, Portugal were here in great numbers including youth. This was one of the busiest weeks and month for the Temple in the last several years. The members brought thousands of family names for baptisms, confirmations, initiatory, endowment and sealing ordinances. Most of the endowment sessions had 30-40 people in them (I know this doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you realize the rooms have 40 chairs) which was pretty amazing. The only problem was that they didn’t bring many Temple workers and our afternoon shift was hampered by a couple of Temple missionaries being sick (one couple-Brother and Sister Guillen) went home to Elche to see their own doctor and to visit with their daughter that had just arrived from Brazil. Those of us that remained were extremely busy and there would have actually been times when we would have had to shut down ordinances/sessions if it were not for the arrival of some unexpected local temple worker. It seems like almost every day there was a “miracle” in the Temple and when we recognize what had happened we stood in awe of the direct hand of the Lord in His Temple and getting the work accomplished. There were many friends again that we said goodbye to and will look forward to meeting them sometime in the future; Brother and Sister Olinda Silva (she works in the Human Resources area for the church), Sister Sophia Silva (Tom has called her Queen Sophia and bowed to her since we have been here for the Queen of Spain), Brother and Sister Ferreira from the Azores, they come once a year for their entire vacation. They are truly an inspiration to us. On Monday, we took a picnic and went down to Retiro Park (similar to Central Park in NYC), ate lunch, sat in the shade of the hundreds of trees and read books; it was really a relaxing time. We visited the majestic lake and monument to Alfonso XII, he must have really been proud of his accomplishments as the monument is very expansive?

Tuesday, before our shift we went to the Open Flea/Farmer’s Market and shopped around a little. It’s crazy to see how many people they can pack into one street with the booths and all. It was a robbery just waiting to happen with people as thick as flies.

On Friday we were going to go a smaller version of running of the bulls (in Madrid). Robert and Susan Sproul had gone the day before but told us that it was kind of a joke…there were fences up along the street, thousands of people that thought they were matadors or world record holders in the mile or drunks that made the whole affair a mess. So we passed on the event, he forward us two pictures so you can see how crazy it really was.

Saturday we went to the store to buy things for the Missionary “Bienvenidos/Despedidas” party that we will have on Monday evening; more will be covered next week. This is the last one that we will be in charge of as we will be leaving shortly. It really is amazing how fast time passes when you are busy!

Today we invited Scott and Lou Ceil Taggart (Scottsdale, AZ) and Fidel Silvestre (Barcelona, Spain) to dinner. The Taggart’s arrived shortly after we did (this is their 10th mission) and Brother Silvestre has been her for a month. He is a great worker and our hats come off to him as he is here alone, his wife was baptized several years ago but is inactive at this point. He hopes that one day she will want to return to activity and then they can fulfill a mission together. We also went to listen to the weekly Missionary Choir…it is a little bit different now as they only have seven missionaries in the MTC. Five are French and two Americans. The numbers have really dwindled and will stay pretty low until next month about this time, but long range forecast has the numbers staying relatively small through the end of the year.

We are so blessed to be here in Spain, serving with wonderful missionaries and members. The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TRUE. The teachings will help us grow closer to God than anything else in this world. We know we are not alone in the work and that there are thousands upon thousands involved on both sides of the veil working with the Lord to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of mankind. May you all know of our deep love and appreciation for your love, support and prayers, THEY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Love Mom & Dad / Nana & Papa / Elder y Hermana Shaw