Jet Lag

"Jet lag, been in a state of disaster ever since I [got here]," as the song by Magic Man starts out. I feel like the jet lag from when I first got here has never completely gone away. And it's only been worse this week. I've been exhausted and I'm not entirely sure why. It's been an unbelievably good start to the transfer though. I think this is the most motivated and excited I've been about the work my whole mission.

We taught Yocasta the rest of the commandments and she should be having her baptismal interview next Sunday! She mentioned she wanted to visit the temple when we met with her yesterday, so we're making a trip with her tomorrow. It should be great. It's kind of amazing how prepared she is. We also had a really good lesson with Jose and his girlfriend Sheyla. Neither of them have a lot of motivation to get to church on Sundays, so we discussed that and talked about faith. We also started working with a reference we got named Doris. We taught her lesson 1 and the day after came to our activity, and the day after came to church. She's got a lot of potential. We had an activity with the ward a couple days back. We watched the Restoration movie and it went super well. 

My new companion is pretty great. We're pretty different, but we get along well. His name is Elder Burton and he's from South Jordan, Utah. He ran track in high school and played in his school's band. His Spanish isn't the best, but he's brand new here so that's expected. He's finding extra time to study and improve all the time, so it'll definitely come.

I think that's all I've got for this week. I probably forgot a few things, but like I said, I'm very tired. We'll see if I can get more sleep hahaha. We rented out a field and played some soccer with a bunch of other missionaries today. It was a blast. Only bad part was that there's a hole in the bottom of my soccer shoes now. Anyway, hope you are all doing well and having a great time back in the States. The church is tru.

Hasta luego,

Elder Penner

Fotos:

1. Futbol hoy

2. Another pic of the cathedral in our area

The New Black

Transfer day today! Another one gone with each transfer going faster than the last. My companion Elder Parkinson is on his way out. He'll be going to Salamanca. Great guy - we had a lot of fun together. I was planning on stealing his expensive insulin pump for his diabetes and selling it on eBay, but I guess that can't happen now. Oh well. This next transfer I'm gonna be a dad!! I'll be training a brand new missionary fresh out of the MTC. I'm ridiculously excited. This next transfer is gonna be brilliant. I'll be picking up my son tomorrow. "The New Black," by Moon Taxi was the only song I could think of off the top of my head that had to do with something new. It's a good song though.

Also, something that I've known for a couple weeks but keep forgetting to say: There are going to be changes in the boundaries of the mission. Malaga mission is being disolved into the missions of Madrid and Barcelona. We still don't know exactly how it's all going to play out, but it'll happen in June/July. I could finish my mission in Seville or somewhere down South. Pretty sick.

Investigators are all about the same. Yocasta is still awesome. She's given up coffee as hard as it's been for her. I told her that I wouldn't drink soda as long as she doesn't have coffee. She liked that idea a lot and told me that I couldn't drink juice either. So basically I'm just drinking water now hahaha. We found a super cool guy named Ariel on the street this week. He's from Paraguay and has only been here two months and told us he was looking for a church to go to. Miracle. He was going to come yesterday, but had something come up. We're gonna meet with him this next week though.

Segovia last week was so dope. We saw the famous Roman aqueduct that's there. It was built without any mortar, so it's just straight stone holding it together. We went to the castle after and it was probably the coolest one I've been to. Lots of history and boring stuff too, but still sick. I can't think of anything else exciting that happened this week so I guess that's all for now. Hope you all have a superb week!

Hasta luego,

Elder Penner

Algunas fotos:

1-2. THE CASTLE

3. I almost died getting this picture - worth it.

4. I ran into a member from La Palma and her son! It was pure chance too, they came all the way from the Canary Islands

We're Only Getting Closer

"I pray the best is yet to come," as part of the song by Everyone Moves Away goes. And it surely is. We've been working really hard trying to get the work moving quicker here in B1 and it's starting to pay off. We're only getting closer to seeing a lot of success throughout our district. This week has been really exciting with zone conference, intercambios, and more progress made with investigators. 

Yocasta is still progressing exceptionally well. We really think she'll be ready for her baptismal date next month. She sometimes has some kind of odd questions that don't matter too much. It's kind of funny actually. She mentioned a week ago that brownies were her favorite American dessert so I attempted to make some. They turned out pretty ok for not having anything to measure with lol. We also met with Jose again and taught him the Plan of Salvation. It went really well and I think he understands the things he needs to do to progress better now. He still hasn't come to church, so we'll keep working on that.

On Thursday, I went on intercambios (exchanges) with Elder Knapp. He's from Kansas and is a super funny guy. He was also my trainer, Elder Kamimoto's last companion before he went home. It was a blast and we taught two lessons that were really cool. The first was with an Egyptian guy who Elder Parkinson and I found that they're now teaching. His name is Ayman and he prefers English over Spanish, so we taught in English. I think it was the first time I've taught in English in the mission field. Let me just say, it was weird as heck. He's also Muslim and doesn't have a Christian background which made teaching him even more interesting. The lesson ended up going really well despite my uncomfort with teaching in English hahaha. 

The lesson made me realize that I feel like another person when I speak in Spanish. My personality is a bit different and I feel like I'm more spiritual than when I speak in English. We had a lesson later that night with an older man, who is a Catholic priest. It was a really cool eperience and he has super pure intentions. We shared the Restoration, and at the end, he offered a super sincere prayer asking to know if it was true. 

Honestly, in these last few months I feel like I've been changing more than ever before here in the best kind of way. One thing that the mission has helped me with is perspective. Seeing all these differences in peoples' lives and where they come from has helped me learn a lot. We're on a bus headed to Segovia to see a castle and some old Roman aqueducts amongst other cool old things (Spain seems to specialize in that). I'll see if I can attach some pictures later on today, but that's all I've got for now. Hope you all have a great week! Love you guys!

Hasta luego,

Elder Penner

Fotos:

1. Elder Knapp :)

2. District after zone conference

3. Some guy told us all to line up so he could take a picture of our shoes. Not sure why, but here you go

Where I Want to Be

Although it's only been a few short days since I last sent out an update, I've got lots to say. Barrio 1 is the promised land I'm now convinced. There isn't any place I'd rather be at the moment. Song title today is by ARIZONA and it captures that perfectly. All the companionships serving here have continued to see miracles. The temperature has dropped and we've gotten a bit of snow recently, but that's fine. It's the first time I've been in snow in forever. We're getting some shopping done today. In Spain, instead of having Black Friday they have sales that start at the end of January and end of July called rebajas. The deals get better and better as the weeks go on until there's nothing left. I got a pair of pants for 10 euros last week. 

THIS WEEK, we went to Colmenar Viejo again and met with Jose. It's still not super clear if he's meeting with us because he wants to or because of his girlfriend and her family. We had a great lesson with him, but after telling us he'd come to church, he didn't show up. Didn't surprise me too much - it's pretty normal. I found out this week at apparently his girlfriend's brother used to play for Atletico Madrid's academy. We're definitely gonna have to go up and play sometime hahaha.

The biggest news, though, is with our friend Yocasta. We met with her last night and read Alma 32 in the Book of Mormon. The lesson was absolutely brilliant. We talked about baptism again and she told us it's definitely something she wants to do. We set a goal for the 17th of March, so if all goes well, it should happen then! The first time we taught her, she told us she noticed something different about us and said she wanted the same in her life. Now, after only a couple weeks she says she's happier and feels more peace. She even invited a friend from work to church the other day. Thrilling stuff.

There you have it lads. Great stuff all around. We're still spending quite a bit of time looking for new people, but I know they're out there. Can't wait to see what else awaits us here. Hope you all are doing well. ¡Qué tengáis una buena semana! 

Hasta luego,

Elder Penner 🇪🇸

Fotos:

1. Ward choir was lit

2. Cathedral near us

3. Plaza de Castilla

4. My comp has been switching the heads of various Disney figurines lately. The results have been hilarious. He's very proud of his work. 

Some more pictures:

1. Ran into Hermana Blaise - another Brentwood resident #BayArea

2. Companion at the temple last Wednesday