Maybe IDK

Another week come and gone, and another weekly update to write. I went for a song by Jon Bellion this week. Something that has always been a little hard for me is just to accept that there are some things that I just don't know. I don't always know the Lord's will or what he has planned for me, but one thing I've learned on the mission, is that often times it doesn't really matter. Bellion says, "Maybe I don't know, maybe I don't know, but maybe that's ok." Often times we just need to be able to trust that what comes next is exactly what we need, whether it be a trial or a lifeline. I've learned to be confident in that in the time that I've spent here.

Work wise, we've had a lot of signs of beginnings. Our increased efforts of working with the members here are in the process of starting to pay off. We've received a few references the last couple weeks. Although none of them have led to anything more than just one lesson, the intent from the members is there and that's what really matters. Another thing that we realized is that there are a ton of people that are contacts in our phone who we have no idea who they are. We started calling a them all up and have got a few visits set up for this coming week. We've still been doing a lot of finding on our own. Knocking doors, talking to the few people that are actually outside during the day, just grinding overall. We had a few visits with less active members this week, but haven't been able to meet with our investigators that have a lot of potential. People here work so much, so it can be difficult. It is what it is though, we press on.

Fun Toledo info: So our building that we live in is located at the very top of a hill here. Elder Ward and I have pretty appropriately named the hill "At the end of a long day." We're planning on starting to run up and down it for exercises in the morning and I already regret the decision hahaha. Another fun side note, I made a list of countries from which I have met people here, and I'll be adding to it for the rest of my mission. I'm up to 47 already which is even more than I thought it would be. 

That's all I've got for this week. Love you all. Sorry I don't have pictures again this week. I'll do my best to remember to take a few this week. ¡Que tengáis una buena semana!

Hasta luego,

Elder Penner 🇪🇸

Back to the Beginning Again

It's been a wild week, ladies and gents. Much of our time was spent saying goodbye to everyone that Elder Davis wanted to bid farewell. Transfers were today and since Elder Davis is going home, that meant someone new was coming to Toledo to be companions with me. Elder Ward, my companion from the MTC, is the lucky missionary that now has the privilage to be my companion hahaha. Hence, the song "Back to the Beginning Again," by Switchfoot. It's a little weird to be with him now that we actually can speak Spanish, but I'm so pumped to be able to serve with him out in the field. He's coming down from Madrid where he has been since we left the MTC. We're gonna put forth all our effort this next transfer. I also got called to be the new district leader here, so I've got responsibilities and such now. Exciting stuff hahaha.

As far as the work goes, it was a pretty ok week. We went by Fabricio's house and talked with him about some doubts that he had about the Restoration. We got them all resolved now, so we're going to move on as planned. He came to church on Sunday and in Gospel Principles class, we talked about faith and he explained to us his reasoning for coming to church and meeting with us, which we were a little bit concerned about before. He told us he wanted to make sure he was doing it for himself and not his wife, who is a member, or his two kids. That's exactly what we needed to hear from him. He has buckets of potential. I just hope he stays in town long enough for us to meet with him frequently to help him start building his testimony. Mauro got a job and was working all this week, so we weren't able to squeeze in a visit with him. We still need to finish lesson 2 with him and set a baptismal date. I'm excited for what's to come with them.

This last week at zone conference, President Pack issued the challenge to all missionaries in the mission to teach the message of the Restoration to every member in their respective areas by September. We're only supposed to spend a very short amount of time in the members' homes as well. I think it's a brilliant idea. It'll help gain the members' trust and also get them excited about the work here. We've been trying to pass by at least one member a day for the last week or so, but it can be hard when so many live in pueblos. We're gonna do our best to get to all of them in the next month and a half.

That's it for me today. Hope you all have an amazing week. I love the work I'm doing here and love the effects that I'm seeing. Love you guys!

- Elder Penner

Pictures:

1. Yet another picture of my cousin and I, this time at zone conference hahaha

2. Don't have any others so I guess I'll just attach another cool view of El Casco. (please note the taco dinosaur socks)

Summer

Just like the hot weather this week, I'M BACK. On this week's issue of Elder Penner's shenanigans in Spain we've got some fairly exciting stuff going on. Buckle up. The song in the subject line is brought to you by the band Vinyl Theater. Don't think I've mentioned this before, but if you ever happen to like one of the songs that I use as a subject, make sure you email me and let me know so we can be friends. We've got a busy week ahead since this transfer is wrapping up as well.

Ok, so as I mentioned last week, we dropped Diana after she was investigating for quite a while. We've switched our focus over to her cousins that live in the same piso. One of them, named Mauro, is also an investigator. We taught him a lesson this last week and he had a lot of really good questions. He seemed way more interested than he ever did before. After the lesson, we were talking with him and he told us about an experience when he went to stake conference in Madrid like a month ago. He said he felt something really strongly in his gut as they were singing the closing song. Something that he had never felt in any other church he had been to. (Why he didn't tell us this earlier, I have no idea). We jokingly said that he should get baptized this next weekend since it's Elder Davis's last in the mission and to our surprise, he was like "Really can I??" We backed up a little and explained to him that we needed to go over a few more things to prepare him first, but he was totally down. Fabricio is back in town this week, so we'll be looking to head over to his place to meet with him.

We've switched our focus over to the members more and more recently to help us find new people to teach. It's sometimes hopeless trying to find people in the streets here because of how hot it is. We've been trying to meet with as many members as we can and giving them a challenge to think of someone that might be interested in what we have to share. We're following up with many of the people we passed by this coming week, so we'll see if any good came of it. 

SPANISH CULTURE LESSON OF THE WEEK:

So in Spain, they have this rather interesting thing that my comp and I refer to as "park anywhere lights." It's generally understood that you can stop your car anywhere you want as long as you have your hazard lights on. The middle of the road is fair game as long as it's not a single lane road (and even then people still stop). It would drive me insane if anyone did that when I was driving in the States. Spaniards just don't care and it's great.

That about wraps it up for this week lads. We've got zone conference, interviews, and transfers all coming up this week. Should be a crazy one. Be sure to tune in next week. I love you all and I'll give another update next week.

Hasta Luego,

Elder Penner 🇪🇸

Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2 Oficina 8-B
28703 San Sebastian de los Reyes
Madrid, España

Pictures: On the way a little later (hopefully)

Eye Of the Storm

Wow, although it hasn't been a full week since I last wrote, it's insane how much has happened since then. My subject line comes from a song by X Ambassadors and applies to the weather last week. This last Friday was one of the most ridiculous days of my mission so far hahaha. 

So we planned to go to a pueblo to visit the Valerezo family, who we visit on a weekly basis. I glanced at the weather report and saw it was supposed to rain so I grabbed a light jacket just in case before we left. On the way over to the bus station to go to their house, it started absolutely pouring. Within minutes I was soaked from head to toe. The jacket did nothing for me hahaha. Then it started to hail. We had no umbrella and couldn't stop for cover because if we did, we would have missed the bus. The streets were flooding and soaked my shoes completely. We were most definitely in the eye of the storm. I guess that's what I get for complaining about the heat a couple weeks ago. All Elder Davis and I could do was laugh. It was honestly such a fun experience.

We finally arrive at this family's house and Rina (the mother) answers the door and says, "Oh Elders, I'm not sure if we can have you over today." I wasn't about to let that happen after all we had been through to get there. Upon asking why, she explained to us that she was cooking for us when she heard one of her kids yell to her, "SE CAYO EL GATO!" (The cat fell!!). Their cat had slipped off the window sill and fallen to the street below. I couldn't help but laugh at first, I genuinely thought it was a joke, but she was serious. Everything ended up working out. We stayed at the house with her oldest son while they went to the vet really fast. Don't worry everyone, Zeus the cat is completely fine. We all laughed about it over lunch when they got back.

As far as the work goes, things have been a little up-and-down. A member brought a friend to church yesterday who was really interested named Puri. We taught her a little bit in Gospel Principles class on Sunday and plan to meet with her for real on this coming Saturday. We met with Diana and the rest of her family yesterday and shared a message about the importance of the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, Diana told us that she didn't have a desire to gain a testimony anymore which is such a shame. We've been working so hard with her, but she just wasn't doing any of the things she needed to. It can be hard seeing people unable to understand just how important these things that we share are. John, her cousin who is a less active member, expressed that he really wants to regain his testimony while we were over. So that's good. He definitely has good intentions. He has two daughters in Colombia and has been trying to get them here with him for months. It's humbling to see people in situations that I'm fairly sure I'll never have to worry about.

Rollercoaster of a week as are most, but I'm still loving every moment of my time here. I gotta go get my haircut, folks. Hope you all have a stupendous week!

Hasta Luego,

Elder Penner

Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2 Oficina 8-B
28703 San Sebastian de los Reyes
Madrid, España

Picture:

1. #PisoFinds

Step Out

I apologize for (once again) forgetting to mention that my P-Day changed this week. It's been a good one ladies and gents. We're in a little bit of a slump as far as lessons go at the moment. We're not teaching as many people as we would like to, and the people we are teaching aren't able to meet with us very often. Basically we need to find some new people. It can be a little frustrating when there's no one out on the streets due to the heat. I chose the song "Step Out" by Jose Gonzalez. I actually first encountered the song on the Secret Life of Walter Mitty soundtrack. It's a little bit of a pump up song for me and calls for change. It goes, "Time to step outside... House on fire, leave it all behind you." We discussed a lot of different ways to find new investigators with the leaders in the ward here. We're doing our best to get the members more involved. They're the key, I know it.

We did meet with one of our friends named Marina after she wasn't able to for a while due to work. The lesson was straight fire. We taught the Restoration and it went ridiculously well. She understood everything. Perhaps better than anyone else I've taught here. She should be coming to church on Sunday. We also managed to meet with Fabricio (The miracle guy that I mentioned last week). We talked with him about why he wasn't baptized and he said really the only reason is because of his job. He has to work out of the area a lot for long periods of time. He's concerned because he wants to be a good example to his children by being a good member, but doesn't feel like he can with being away so often. He's really sincere and says he loves the feeling of being in church on Sundays. He's away in Barcelona for the next couple of weeks, so we'll see him when he gets back. Great guy. He's basically a member already. He's so prepared. We just have to talk to him about getting to church even when he's out of town. That's something that's great about the church. It's the same no matter where you are.

Our zone got to go to the temple today which means I got to see Hermana Penner. It wasn't until after the session was over though since Elder Davis and I got there a little late. We didn't account for the early morning traffic on the bus to Toledo. We also both realized on the way there that we had both lost our recommends. Rookie mistakes, I know, I know. I'm still learning. Anyway it was a great experience and I'm glad to be serving in the Madrid area (even though we're like an hour away from the actual city) so I can attend the temple once a transfer. 

That's all boys and girls. Sorry if this email wasn't super exciting, but that's what happens when you have to wake up at 5:00 AM and end up walking around Madrid for half the day. Miss you all. Until next time.

Hasta Luego,

Elder Penner

Calle Fuerteventura 4, 2 Oficina 8-B

28703 San Sebastian de los Reyes
Madrid, España

Pictures:

1. Elder and Hermana Penner at the Spain, Madrid temple (lit)

2. Compañero y yo (poor lighting smh missionaries aren't photographers)

3. Found a cool one from last week I forgot to attach