Gypsies!

Yep that's right, I have been transferred! So sad and so hard to leave my favorite and the most beautiful area of the mission, and guess where I got called to go, Badalona! Which is the most ghetto area of the mission! It's famous for singing, cat-calling gypsies (that are notorious for being homeless, lazy, and drunk). So, that's comforting. Haha, I really am exciting to be here though. I'm finishing the training of my new companion! So she's only been out on the mission for 4 weeks, because this was a short transfer! But she's awesome, her Spanish is already so good, and she seems like an awesome missionary already, I think she came pretrained. ;)

It's so weird to be back in a big city, with a metro, 4 girls in our apartment, 2 wards that meet in our building! It's going to be awesome!

This last week in San Sebastián was so great! I was so nervous all week that I would be getting transferred! I have like a curse, I never have very long, like more than 2 transfers in an area anymore. Also I've had like 5 companions for just one transfer! It's so weird! I think it's because I just get bored, I need that change to switch things up. (Or maybe I'm just an awful companion and no one can handle me for more than 6 weeks...) But change makes me thrive! So I'm so grateful for the chance to grow and change this transfer!

Saying goodbye to everyone was so sad. I only cried a little bit though!

I love the mission so much! I got to talk to some missionaries who have been serving in my old areas today on the train, and I got to ask about my recent converts and my investigators and it's so hear that everyone is doing good! The gospel really has changed these people's lives!

This is Sonia, I taught her in Valencia, she got baptized a several weeks after I left, and apparently she's still going strong and coming to church every week! I love the gospel!

Love you all so much! The church is true, I've never been more sure of it in my life!
Hermana Birch
Hi everyone! This has been a crazy day! I woke up at 5am to take a 7
hour train from Bilbao to Barcelona! Insane!

Lighthouse!

Today we hiked up to this lighthouse!

As far as our area goes and the missionary work we are doing, things are going really well. We contact a lot on the streets and we are finding a ton of people that seem interested, but then later when we call the,m or passby, they are too busy. A few of them seem pretty golden, so we are working with them, it just seems like no one is progressing quickly. Which is kind of frustrating. We are inviting people to be baptized daily, which is something our zone has really been focusing on.

A miracle contact we had the other day was when I contacted a guy, and he immediately started talking to me in English! And he was like, I know you! And I couldn't remember him, but then as we talked to him I realized that me and Hermana Wiseman had talked to him around Christmas time. Hermana Wiseman saw them at the very end of the day as we were walking home and saw that they were taking a selfie and offered to take a picture of them. Something so simple, nothing came of it at that moment, but now we are going to start meeting with him! He's cool. He's from Ecuador!

I'm getting really nervous about transfers this week, I'm scared that I'm leaving! And I really don't want to leave! I love this area and we are seeing so many great things! Also I love working with Hermana Crofts! I don't want to leave!!

Me and Hermana Crofts

sights from the prettiest area of the mission! ;)

So it's been a great week. I'm so grateful for all the members that help us so much. This week we had a family home evening and a convert of like 2 years brought her friend. A member that is putting in his mission papers gave lesson on the atonement after we explained the Book of Mormon, and it was probably the most spiritual lesson Ive ever had in my mission. The investigator was crying. It was so beautiful. The friend of the investigator was testifying of the truth of he Book of Mormon and of Jesus Christ and it was so amazing. That's how missionary work works!

I love you all so much, I'm so excited to be a missionary forever!

Love, Hermana BirchHola a todos!

This week was a crazy week, they just keep flying by so fast! I
started the week off with some weird sickness where I was like feeling
really nauseous and faint and couldn't walk very fast without feeling
sick, so the elders gave me a blessing of health. It was a super
special blessing, my first one in a while, and I felt God's love for
me and that he really does know me. The blessing didn't even talk so
much about my sickness, but about my mission and who I am. It was
really cool, and since the blessing I've been feeling great and back
up to normal!

How Many Awkward Moments Can We Fit Into One Week

Dear family and friends,

How are you all? I hope you're having an awesome week. It's really
cold here. There is snow on the mountains and it's really rainy.
Luckily I bought a pair of rubber rain boots and a member gave us warm
scarves, so we're good to go.

So because it's been raining a lot, it means that we are talking to
lots of people in the rain. But if we can find an open building, we
knock it. So we had just finished knocking a building, and we actually
found some really awesome people there, and we were by the elevator
and a black guy walked in the building, so naturally I started talking
to him. He was super nice and cool, from Ghana, and we said a prayer
right there with him and he said we could visit him another day. So
later in the week, we passed by. His Spanish wife answered the door,
and when we said that we were missionaries she didn't look too
impressed, but she went and got her husband and he let us in! Which
was a big deal, this was the first house I've been let into in 2
weeks! So we were pretty excited! He speaks English. We were on the
sofa with him, and the wife was at the table on her computer. I wanted
to speak in Spanish so that just in case she was listening would
understand and feel the Spirit. Sabes? But the guy would keep
switching to English so it was super weird. Also we are supposed to be
inviting people to be baptized in the first lesson, but his wife was
like there listening, and I don't know how much English she knows, but
I didn't want to like scare her off by asking him to be baptized, so
instead we went from talking about the video we watched, to
introducing him to the Book of Mormon, to talking about the plan of
salvation. Then he said he didn't want or need 2 bibles. Then we told
him he could learn even more about God and receive even more
blessings. And then he was like, I don't even need more blessings.
I've got my house, my wife, my job. I send things to kids from my
country that don't have anything, I'm good. And in my mind I was like,
all we have to give this guy is blessings, what can we do for this
guy?" Anyway there's not like a miraculous end to this story, like he
wants to be baptized or anything but it just goes to show that some
people need more help than you think.

Love you all, Hermana Birch

Opa!

Big holiday, Día de San Sebastián! Doesn't he look like Barney Fife? ;)

Chistorra!! Fancy sausage and cheese in a flour tortilla, they only sell these on holidays!

Los tamboros, drums, in front of the cathedral!

Love, Hermana Birch



Hola! Opa!

Our family from Honduras finally read in the Book Of Mormon on their
own! Their countenances were literally shining! It was so awesome! We
had come in to darles caña (give them the business) and get them
reading, turns they had each read, and they read a lot! And then the
dad came to church on Sunday, for the first time ever, and with his
baby daughter! The mom works on Sunday's, so couldn't make it. But it
was so awesome!

Also, we had a great Family Home Evening with Jacques, and I know he
must have felt the Spirit, because he said that he would commit to
live the Word of Wisdom. We talked about how he needed to give up
coffee and he said he would and he'd drink hot chocolate instead! We
were so happy! But then he kind of fell off the face of the planet for
a few days. So we were suspicious, and he didn't come to church. Well
we met with him last night, and turns out he had drank some coffee,
and for the parties that we were having in the city, he drank some
beer. And he said he won't give them up, he says he doesn't see the
harm. We were really sad. We tried to find out what the real heart of
the problem was, and we realized he hasn't had a change of heart yet.
As great as he is, as knowledgable as he is about God, he is too
prideful to give up these worldly things and follow the word of
wisdom. He kept talking about why coffee and wine are actually good
for you, and we were like, you know what it doesn't matter, all that
matters is that God has told us not to, so what are you going to do?
So he told us he doesn't want a baptismal goal right now, but that he
will keep praying and try to receive an answer. It will be hard to
receive an answer if he's not humble enough to follow what he already
knew to be true.

I love the mission, I learn so much everyday about my weaknesses,
about my Savior and about my purpose.

Miracles

Took our favorite people for their first milkshake ever!

Sorry no time to write! We had interviews in Bilbao today! but I love you all and I love the mission!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Love, Hermana Birch

Intercambio with my friend from the Mtc!

That's my home

The gospel is such a blessing, we can see miracles everyday. When I first told Kenneth that something was a miracle, he was like, I wouldn't really consider that a miracle. But this week, when he helped us, he was the one that was like, "that was a miracle! And it will be a full miracle when they get baptized!" Yeah Kenneth!

On our way home last night we passed a Catholic mass that was going on so we sneaked a peek. It was very cool. Singing, reciting, the priest doing the Sacrament. It was focused on Christ's death and sacrifice, and it was nice and everything, but I have to say, the restored gospel is so much better :)

Love, Hermana Birch



Hola a todos!

This week has been amazing and full of miracles!

Our big miracle is that we found Jacques! We contacted him in the
street and we met with him the same day at the library a little later!
And he wants to be baptized! He's the sweetest guy. He spends all his
time in the library reading, he's super smart, super humble guy. He's
from Cameroon and so is our bishop! He came to church on Sunday and
he's already telling people about his baptism on the 23rd! He's so
great and really prepared! What a blessing to teach someone with real
desires to learn and change. As we taught him about the celestial
kingdom he said "that's where I want to be. That's my home." :)

Also, funny things happen sometimes on the mission. Like when three
different investigators suddenly each have family members that won't
let them listen to us, all in one week! But it's okay. They each have
a Book Of Mormon and it's just not their time yet!

On Sunday night we had a cool miracle! We didn't have any planned
visits so we were just passing by a few people, with our favorite
member who always helps and comes with us, Kenneth from Nigeria. It
was cold, dark and rainy so we've got our umbrellas. Well we contacted
a lady from Cape Verde named Tina! She was so adorable! She told us
that we are beautiful and that we have a light, and that she's looking
for light! Best thing is, we already had her number in our phone
because the hermanas were teaching her a year ago! She gave us cute
African bracelets and said she'd come to church on Sunday and does she
have to bring chocolate, and we aren't ones to turn down chocolate, so
we said no you don't have to but we like chocolate! Haha she was
adorable

Also, sad news, a cute young family that we have been teaching, we
found out that they're not married, and that the man actually has a
wife that he still hasn't divorced from yet in Honduras. So that
complicates things a bit, but no pasa nada, we will keep helping them
develop a testimony of the Book Of Mormon then they will have more
desire to get married!

This week was 3 Kings Day and it was super fun! We saw a parade and
each wiseman had his own float. They were throwing candy to the crowd
and there were mules and children carrying torches and bands. Also for
3 Kings Day they eat Roscón de Reyes and it's really yummy!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Today for Preparation Day we ordered a pizza and took a nice long nap. It was really nice. Now we're in this adorable cafe.

For New Years Day we got invited to the Honduran party :) it was so much fun dad! The lady who hosted it, Alquilina, is from Honduras and served her mission in your mission in San Pedro Sula in 1994! We made tortillas de maiz.

Our Mission President's wife shared this with us, I love it.

Have a wonderful week!
2 Nephi 26:28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

Love, Hermana Birch

Hello everyone :)

What another fantastic week. I feel so blessed to be here and to
experiencing all the things that I am. Thank you for your sacrifice
and love so that I can be here.

On Sunday night we had a nice miracle. After knocking a whole 6 floor
building full of Spaniards with no success, we decided to head back to
our main area via bus. I was feeling like we really needed to see a
miracle before we left. Waiting at the bus stop we started talking to
this Guatemalan girl and as we talked to her the other two guys at the
bus stop started joining in, turns out they're all cousins. They were
awesome. One of the guys lives right around the corner from a LDS
chapel in Guatemala. The other guy just got here to Spain 3 days ago,
he's 19 and here to earn money to support his family because he has 3
younger siblings and his mom doesn't work and his dad is really old
and can't work a lot. He said he'll come to English class on Saturday!

Today me and Hermana Wiseman decided to read in our mission journals.
Looking back to my training one of my entries said "This is really
tough. We never have time to just sit down and rest and think about
ourselves." And I realized today that that's still true, but I've
gotten used to it and my heart has changed. I think to what I would be
if I hadn't come to the mission. I think I would have gone my whole
life active in the church, but without a deeper understanding of it
all. Or at least it would have taken me a lot longer to get to the
point where I am now.

I started crying today, reading my old entries. I am so grateful for
all the people I've met and all the spiritual experiences I've had.

Today as we were shopping, we ran into one of our investigators in the
rainy street. He couldn't pay his rent this month, so he's kind of in
a rough spot, living with a friend, trying to find more work. He has a
one-time job tomorrow helping with a special fancy event as a host,
but he has to wear a suit and he doesn't have one. So I was like, our
bishop is your same size and I'm sure he has one you can wear! He was
so grateful! So we are going to try to get one to him tonight!