Specialized Training & The Alhambra

Buenas tardes!

I don't have much time to write this week so I'm just gonna attach a few pictures and call it good. :)

This week we had Specialized Training in Málaga. It was great! It is always good to have big missionary meeting...we learn so much. It was also 1€ pizza day at Telepizza, so we went and got some afterward. AND it got up to 24ºC in Málaga, which is just about the most perfect weather ever, so we stopped and ate it in the park.

Today we went to the Alhambra in Granada! It was SO awesome! And extremely cold (I'm glad I have a good coat!!). It was pretty rainy but we managed to stay relatively dry.

From the towers of the Alcazaba, there are great views of Granada.

There is lots of incredible architecture as well - both Arabic and Spanish. Here is our whole district in a huge circular plaza

And here we are again finishing up and posing in front of the entrance way (don't know what I was looking at! oops.):

Besides all of that excitement we've just been busy busy here in the office. We got 2 more missionaries this week from Chile and they missed their connection in Peru which was a fun puzzle to figure out. But they're here and have all their residency now. Just another day in the life!

We're still reading the book of Mormon as a mission. I am so grateful to have it as another testament of Jesus Christ. It is true and I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer - the only way back to the Father.

I love you!!

Elder Mockler

These two pictures are from the mission blog at http://thespainmalagamission.blogspot.com/.

Elder Mockler, Elder Berrett, Hermana Lovell, Hermana Greenwood, and Elder Spainhower enjoying the sunset in Benalmadena.

Specialized training:  Malaga and Granada zones.

Happy Valentines Day!

Hola!

So myldsmail wasn't really working yesterday so we're finishing our email up today since we have a bit of time. It might be a bit short, though! This week has been a lot slower (finally!!) which has been really nice. We've started being able to do a lot more work in our area and escape from the office more and more which has been great. Elder Berrett also practiced driving a lot and we're proud to say that after almost a year of being companions I have finally taught him to drive (the problem is the teacher, not the student. We never have time for him to practice!!).

I found out this week that Rafy went through the temple! If you don't remember, she is the lady who was baptized one of my first weeks in Algeciras. I don't know if I wrote about it but she actually stopped by the office with Mercedes a few weeks ago to say hi since they had to be here in Fuengirola for something. It is so awesome to see how much they have grown and even cooler to see them set on going to the temple and continuing in the gospel.

We got 2 new missionaries this week, which was a surprise for us considering we were only expecting 1. But, on Wednesday we got a call from a pay phone in Madrid from an Elder Rojas who was quite confused as to where he should go. At the time, Elder Berrett and I were in an appointment (in the coolest apartment ever, I might add - looking out the windows made it feel like we were on a boat...nothing but the sea!), so between us and the APs we got him on a train here. Luckily he is a smart guy and a good sport. He is from Mexico and loves it here already (as we all do) except for the lack of Mexican food - and he said that Taco Bell made him want to throw up haha. Anyway, only 2 short mornings of residency work and we'll just have 2 more this week. A nice change from 15!

This week I finished 2nd Nephi in my Book of Mormon reading. I love 2 Nephi 25:13:

"Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name."

I'm grateful to know that Jesus Christ rose on the 3rd day and because of that we will someday rise as well. I'm grateful that he heals us and for the opportunity to teach others of that great sacrifice.

Have an awesome week!

Elder Mockler

Almost to Elder Berrett's year mark...

¡Hola!

So, this week Elder Berrett will have been on his mission 1 year. Pretty crazy that we've been together so long!!

Well, another week come and gone! It has been a little less crazy, finally. We did finally have almost a whole PDay today!! We went and played soccer at the church with a bunch of members after cleaning the capilla a little bit. I noticed that I've gotten way better since I've been here. That isn't saying much, though, considering how bad I was before, haha.

This week we received 11 new missionaries! They just keep coming. We had to do all the residency madness with them, but we're getting pretty good at it so although it was the biggest group yet everything came and went without too much madness. Well, there was still plenty of madness, but everything went well and we were all way less stressed! We also sent 8 missionaries home, so we got both ends of the spectrum. It was pretty weird since I knew all of the departing missionaries really well. Lots of them were picked up by their families so we only had to take 2 on the 4am airport run which was nice.

Well, I can't think of too much more that's new around here. Life is awesome here in Spain! I hope all is well in the US, too! We are reading the Book of Mormon as a mission lately....I love it! It brings so much peace and knowledge to our lives. Read it lots this week!!

Love,

Elder Mockler

Has it really been a week?

I can't believe how fast time has gone this week! It has been another crazy one but we feel like the smoke is finally beginning to clear and that in a week or two things will be back to normal. I think I've said that a few other times around here and it hasn't ever happened, so maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up too high. But that is what makes being in the office so darn FUN!

This week Elder Teixeira (our area president and a member of the first quorum of the seventy) came to do a small mission tour. It has been awesome to have him here. On Tuesday and Wednesday we had zone leader concilio a week early so he could be at it and then we had a huge zone conference in Málaga on Thursday. Since he has a very limited schedule, we are only having 2 zone conferences instead of the normal 3, which was been quite the logistical puzzle for us here in the office. We also got the special opportunity of ordering 50 pizzas for the Málaga conference, which freaked out the Málaga Dominos pretty bad, haha. And Ï learned that bringing out pizza in a room full of hungry people brings out the worst in them and generally turns them into wild animals hahaha. In the end everything went great with the conference. He'll do another one in Alicante on Monday, so we're busy preparing everything for that. Fun stuff!

In the conference, Elder Teixeira began by speaking about repentance and gave some really interesting thoughts about it. He spoke about how repentance is the process by which we improve. Anytime we change any sort of behavior to become better, we are repenting. When we truly repent, our view of the world changes and we do things differently because we see that there is a better way to do them. When we look at it like that, repentance stops having a negative connotation - as many people feel it has - and becomes something positive and desirable. That's why we must repent of something everyday! I'm so grateful for a Gospel of progress that allows us to become better.  Whether it be in missionary work, family life, work relations, or anything else, following the Gospel of Jesus Christ and putting our will in line with God's will blesses us and makes us better.

Pray, read the scriptures, go to church, and strive to repent and live the commandments always - that is the opportunity we have. Let's do it!

I love being a missionary!

Have an awesome week! Love you so much!!!

Elder Mockler