DÍA DE LOS REYES!!!

What a week!!  First of all my sister is married!!!  I would like to just declare this to the world.

So we had a fun New Year's Eve party with some members and member references!! Woohoo... nothing better than that.  Hey remember on Christmas when I told you I hadn´t really eaten anything Spanish.... well this was a very Spanish, fancy, traditional New Year's Eve dinner... complete with whole shrimp (heads and all... the members had to teach me how to eat it), fried octupus, turron... and much much more! :) haha  So we ended up having the opportunity to eat the 12 grapes at ´midnight´ except they made an exception for us and we celebrated at 9:30 right before we left for our piso... They played the midnight chimes and we stuck a grape in our mouths and made a wish for every chime of the clock... :) My year is going to be 12 wishes better!! :) haha I also felt quite ridiculous with a mouth full of grapes.  Come to find out you are supposed to be eating them as you go... haha they didn´t tell me this until I was on my 6th grape... hahaha soooo fun.  Definitely implementing this tradition.

I´d be ok without all the cannons that go off throughout the entire night... the grand finale was at like 6 am.... hahaha  We were both a little tired the next day.. :)

So let us see... "A" is sooooo sooo sooo awesome!!! We met with him again this week! At the end of the lesson he thanks us for the lesson (also... we were explaining something and he made a reference to the celestial kingdom... and remembered what it was called... ummm that never happens... he really is thinking about what we are teaching him throughout the week and it is great!)  Anywho... he thanked us for the lesson and then tells us that he feels something different from us... from the Bishop and the members... he was just like ´I don´t really know how to describe it but there is something different and I really like it´  Well thank you, we really like you too!!!!!  Oh man I'm so excited for him!!!!!!! :)

We also had another meeting with "Y"! She is soooo cool too!!!! She has a million questions and we´re trying to explain with the spirit and let her know that prayer is her first source of answers.:) She has incredible faith in God and it really is amazing to hear her story and why she has such a testimony. She was explaining to us all the things she has read and how she wants to understand everything and why she hasn´t felt an answer yet... I asked her if she has prayed about it... and she was kind of surprised by this...(well she hadn't)... we promised her that she would get her answer but only if she asks God for it.  Many times God is willing to give us everything we want and need... we just need the faith and the desire to ask him for it.

Well so whenever a member bears a testimony or gives a talk I always write them a note... so I was giving a man his note on Sunday and he stopped me and thanked me for the note I gave him last time. He told me that he was having a hard time that week and my little note made him feel like God was really aware of him. :)  There really is no better feeling that knowing you were in the right spot at the right time doing what God wanted you to do.  Every person has the ability to make a difference and God is there prompting us along.  There is a talk by Elder Bednar about how many times you don´t know (and don´t have to know) if you are following the spirit.  You just have to be doing the best you can do... be a good person and keep the commandments and you will be acting under the influence of the spirit.  You may not know it but God knows what He needs you to do, and if you are focused on him, you can become a more effective servant of him.

Anywho...I love you all!!! Have a fantastic week!Also HAPPY DÍA DE LOS REYES!!!! This is a Spanish holiday where the three Wise men bring gifts to all the children. (aka a second Christmas) so everything is closed right now! There is also a super legit parade that takes place throughout all of Las Palmas... the three kings arrive in ship to Puerto (one side of Las Palmas) and parade through the city on camel.... this is bigger than Santa and his reindeer for the Spanish people!!!!! EVERYONE was at this parade... and lucky us it ran past our street!!  So we got a little glipse of the Reyes magic! :)

Much love...Hna Fowers

       

Celebrating her Sister's wedding in the Canary Islands