Dear Family,
I hope things are going well back at home :) It sounds like the holidays were awesome for all of you. I am glad that my package arrived safely!!! I was dying when I saw the photos of those masks. Hahaha. I really wish I could have been there. But I only have to do that one more time. This time next year I will be about to begin my last transfer. SO WEIRD. I have less than 14 months left. I don´t really feel suffocated anymore when I think about the time. Just a tad worried. It´s going by so quickly. I feel like I simply blinked and now all of the sudden Chapple is leaving me. We have been together for three months!! And they have passed by flying.
I am going to be staying here in Almería as anticipated, and Chapple is going to Badajoz (a city up by Portugal). My new companion will arrive tomorrow and his name is B. He is young. Only has 2 transfers in the mission, so he just barely finished his training. I will be honest, I did not want a comp that can´t speak Spanish. I was hoping for a native, or at least someone closer to my age. One because my Spanish isn´t improving very much, and two because I am a little tired. I was on splits with the ZL this week and he was talking to me about how it is so much easier when you have a companion that pushes you to work as well. Apparently when the two missionaries can hold their own, they each take one side of the street and just ¨toque¨ or knock every single door, by themselves. The work is much more exciting that way. They animate each other and set goals together, teach together, and the burden is shared. But new missionaries (generally) don´t know very much and are super dependent on the trainer, or senior comp. I basically followed my trainer around for two transfers. I tried to help but I will be honest in saying that I didn´t do a whole lot. (when you can´t speak it is VERY difficult to do anything. I really really believe that people underestimate the difficulty that newer missionaries have when they can´t even speak to anyone. Imagine trying to learn how to be a missionary and teach and contact and do everything...in a completely different language. It´s hard.) And then all of the sudden I was in charge of everything. So I had to grow up fast. And ever since then I have been the older comp. Which is great. I know it´s what the Lord has asked of me. But sometimes I get discouraged too. Chapple is wonderful and I really have loved being with him. So I guess I just didn´t want to be the one doing 95 percent of the teaching and conversation making and all of that. Again. But Pres calls and then tells me that my new comp is really new and has had a really rough start and that I need to really love him and help him out. :D Hahaha. Not exactly what I had wanted to hear. But I do find solace in the fact that this is the Lord´s will for me. Which means that for some reason, God needs me to learn to love and care for those who are really having a hard time and are suffering. Clearly I will spend a good portion of my life doing that. So this is just practice. I am going to love Elder B with all of my heart and do the best I can to help him be happy, have success, and learn to love the mission.
Almería is just the same as well. I know that I haven´t really talked about names a whole lot. But you see, I just don´t have much to write. We find people, but we teach them once or twice and then they either stop answering our calls or tell us not to come by anymore. It has happened a lot this week. It´s hard here. I honestly don´t know why. Several years ago Almería was the city in Europe with the most baptisms in one year. And now it´s just...dead. All eight of us are basically without solid investigators. I don´t know what has happened here. But I don´t want to leave without baptizing. So we will find someone. I know that I have more responsibilities than just baptizing, but we will do what we can. The goal is to split the ward next year. So B and I will be visiting and strengthening less actives and recent converts, as well as trying to find people that will progress. All the while trying to help Burbs (already have my nickname for him) as much as I can. It´s gonna be a fun 6-12 weeks :)
You all sound incredibly well. Which makes me happy :) I do love hearing about your lives and everything that is going on with you. I am all for Brigham leaving as soon as possible, but I do understand that there are consequences on both sides. To me it sounds like an issue between Brigham and the Lord. He should wrestle with that one on his knees. 8 months of 1200 dollars a month is insane. Here hardly any of the missionaries in this ward are being supported by their families. Well...probably half are. But the rest are totally supported by the church. And President Deere told us that the 400 dollars doesn´t even come close to paying for us Spanish missionaries. The church spends about 1000 dollars a month on all of us. It makes me want to work harder. I am on the Lord´s time AND money, as well as my parents´. So I would tell Brigham to pray about it, keeping in mind that the call COULD be a while later than the availability date.
Also...Abby is so awesome. Seriously that girl is bold. I would NEVER have done what she did. Brigham´s reaction was hilarious. I don´t know what I would have done were I in his situation. I really really like this girl. She is Erin Ws daugther?? Brigham needs to use his brain with this girl. Keep things light and safe. Brigham has probably already thought about all of this but he will leave on his mission and she will have two whole years of high school!! She´s a miamaid!! She will date other guys, go to Prom with other guys, probably kiss other guys, etc. etc. All whilst in the little safe bubble of high school. Next to being out on a mission, high school is definitely the best place to have a girl waiting for you. Cause nothing that happens in high school really matters. So he just needs to do this right. Hopefully he can swoop in after the mission and snatch her up again. But who knows? All of my district saw her answering him, and one of them that is about to go home was dead set on marrying her :) Hahaha. He was a little sad to find out she isn't quite 16 yet!!
I LOVE that Randy is getting baptized. That makes me super happy. That is such a big deal. Way to go Brittany. Now we just need some of our young single adults here in Almería to step up and follow her example. I am glad that our ward is going to have more missionaries. When I come home there will be so many out.
I don´t have a whole lot to say. When it comes to the package, don´t write ELDER on it ANYWHERE. When I went to the post office last time to claim the package this very frustrating lady that works there would not give it to me because in Spain my legal name is Preston Tyler Sharp. Not Elder. It was kind of a hassle. I really didn´t think she was going to give it to me. She literally just had it in her hands, right in front of me across the counter. I was totally about to lean over the counter, grab it from her, and run. But then I saw the huge security guard at the door and thought twice. So I asked to speak to the manager who came out and I explained that elder is a title, like mister or something, just in the church. And so we had to go to his computer and he looked up the definition of elder in spanish. (elder isn´t a spanish word. I don´t know why we still use the title as missionaries. It should be ancianos, similar to what it is in italian) But once they realized that it means anciano, they finally gave it to me. I was getting a little balistic. So just write Preston Tyler Sharp. And also, could I please have more socks? Any kind will do. You don´t need to by expensive socks from missionary stores, just regular church socks from walmart or something. I have somehow lost some of my black socks and I occasionally find myself proselyting with tan ankle socks when the laundry hasn´t been done for while. I can´t think of anything else I would want or need. I guess that is the good thing about having so much luggage. I don´t find myself needing hardly anything, because I brought all of it ;)
I am happy :) A little tired. And all of the members keep telling me that I seem weighed down and burdened. But I am working on it. I wouldn´t trade this for anything. I am so grateful for a Father that knows exactly what I need, and gives it to me. These experiences are all for my own benefit, and I am trying to be as grateful as I possibly can :)
I love you both so very much and I appreciate you
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