El Fin de Semana fue Blanco

It is the 6Th Saturday of the month and that means breakfast at the mission home for the office! Elders Ashby, Holmes and Dredge are busy cutting vegetables and pealing and chopping potatoes.

Elder Hansen is looking on while Elder Anderson is cutting the strawberries. This is the last week for Elder Anderson who is leaving for Oviedo the following Wednesday. We will miss Elder Anderson, he has done a great job in the office and his dry sense of humor has kept us all on our toes. He is a wonderful missionary who is an example to all.

We sit down to a meal of Breakfast Burritos and Breakfast squares with strawberries. This is also Elder Ashby's last breakfast in the office because he will be leaving us mid-transfer to be a trainer. Elder Woods is our new ayudante but he doesn't come in until Sunday night, so we will introduce him in the next blog. Elder Ashby has been super and as he said, "It's going to be quiet around here when I leave." He's got that one right. He has done a wonderful job and is always so willing to serve or do whatever we ask. He will be a fantastic trainer!

Breakfast squares with Choriso, a little bit different, but still very good! Thanks to the Anderson family for the recipe.

After breakfast it is off to play soccer with members in Bilbao.

We left in the afternoon to attend a double baptism in Santander. These two women, Monika with her little girl and Maria are two choice women who were getting baptized. Elders Farnsworth and Griotti are the two hard working Elders in Santander. Sister Ofelia next to Maria introduced the gospel to her hairdresser, Maria. Maria also knew Monika who had been approached about the church by some members and the missionaries. Maria invited Monika to come and listen to the missionaries. It is a great story and it was a beautiful night in Santander.

This looks like the picture we take when we receive a new missionary. Actually, this is going to be one of our missionaries in Malaga. Tamara Hildalgo lives in Gijon and Presidente and I were there to set her apart to be a missionary. She leaves this coming Wednesday to serve in the Malaga Mission. Not too many times you get the opportunity to set apart one of your missionaries. It was a wonderful day.

We were invited to have a real Chilean dinner with the Hildalgo family. It was wonderful. Tamara's oldest brother and his wife were there with their 4 children. Also her youngest brother and of course her parents.

This is little 2 week old Ricardo. He was adorable and not too phased by all the commotion.

We spent the Sunday in the branch in Aviles. Elder Southwick and Elder Barber are here with one of their investigators, Alejandro. They are also having a baptism later today along with the Oviedo Branch. It was an exciting Sunday. Elder Barber is leaving the mission this coming Thursday. A great way to end your mission don't you think. We will miss Elder Barber. He was the office finance secretary when we came and we all love him so much. Time flies for sure!

Elder Rowley and Elder Araya came over to Oviedo for the baptism. Elder Rowley was needed to play the piano and be a part of the baptism. Elder Rowley only has one transfer left. He has been such a fine missionary, we will miss him a lot. Elder Araya is one of our fantastic newer missionaries. I think in Gijon since Elder Araya came about 4 1/2 months ago they have had 4 baptisms. Way to go Elders, keep up the great work.

Here is the group of Elders and new members. The Elders of Oviedo are Elder Saune on the left and Elder Castellon in the middle. They have worked very hard in Oviedo and are excited to see Gerogio, the second on the left get baptized. Arianna is the baptism of Elders Barber and Southwick. It was a very sweet baptism with many members from both branches there. Arianna is actually moving to Oviedo so they decided to do the baptisms together so everyone could meet her in Oviedo. We drove home thrilled with the happenings of the weekend. All in all the missionaries have been doing a mighty work. We already have 39 baptisms in 2 months. The faith and the dedication of the missionaries and the members is fantastic right now. We hope that they all continue as they see the work grow in Northern Spain. It is great to be a missionary in Spain right now. To all the missionaries who are coming to any of the missions soon we want to say get ready for a wonderful experience if you are willing to work hard and trust in the Lord. It is incredible!