Going On Exchanges (intercabios)

Hey Mom And Dad,

 

So things are going well here in Aranjuez. We have been really working a lot through the Area book and visiting less active families. We have a ton of those here! It's sad to see how many people have fallen away from the church here. I love Spain! But the culture here is so different from that of the United States. And Satan has a very strong hold on the people here. 

We are probably going to make my birthday cake for Elder Norrell's birthday. I have not made it yet. Today we went to mall called Parque Sur (South Park) in English. Haha! I bought some Spain clothes.

Well Elder Koeven and I went to a less active family (on intercambios - exchanges) last week and they were just really touched by the Spirit while we were there. It was a pretty spiritual experience all together. We also had some success in contacting which doesn't happen that often so, it was really cool.
 

Wow the dining room looks great! Like holy cow! I can't wait to see what the kitchen looks like! Sorry about the clothes, I'm a creature of habit. Haha! 

We have a lot of work cut out for us. In the next 2 weeks is all I for sure have left with Elder Norrell so we are really going to try and push it. We are really starting to get into stride though. 

 

I'm going to write a little bit about every day.  

Monday el 27 - We played soccer for P-day with a member named Manu and his 2 non-member brothers in law. It was a lot of fun. They are super good at soccer. 

Tuesday el 28 - Today was mainly a day of contacting and stuff like that. We had a lesson with a recent convert named Ginger. It was her son who I baptized. We're still working on getting the pics from then. Side note almost all the people we meet with are not from Spain! Almost all of the members here are Latinos. 

Wednesday el 29 - Today we had District meeting in Toledo, which is always really good but this week it was special. There's a guy living here who just got off his mission in Georgia like 6 months ago, and he's here doing a medical residency. His name is Zander Smith, he is super cool. He was just a really good example of taking your mission home with you and still being a good guy. But he taught a little devotional and the Spirit was really strong, it was a really fun experience. After that we went to a pueblo called Sesena. We went there to do area book work and it seemed to be pretty fruitful. We had one guy who we are hopefully meeting with tonight tell us to come back so it was pretty great. 

Elder Norrell sleeping on the bus on the way to Madrid.

"Pueblo called Sesena"

Thursday el 30 - Today we had weekly planning and it was good. After that we ate at a members store here that we call la tienda. (The store) then we went to our pueblo Valdemoro and we contacted the entire night. It was a super long day because we actually walked like the entire city and wow! That city is huge! 

Friday el 31 - Today we had intercambios once again. This time I was put with an Elder whose name is Elder Sarongo. He's from Ecuador and he doesn't speak a lick of English. I was super worried about this day. But, wow! I know a lot more Spanish than i thought! We stayed up until almost 2:30 talking to each other, all in Spanish! It's a huge blessing that I can recognize like everyday that my Spanish really is improving. It's such an amazing blessing. There's an Elder in my district whose been out for a year and he's still really struggling with the language. But the intercambio was great, I went to a city called Talevera and it was really cool. Their piso (apartment) was huge! We had a really spiritual lesson with an investigator from Romania. It was a great experience.

 

 

This is in the (huge) Talevera piso! Wow, and this shake was huge! 

 

Saturday el 1 - today was a pretty rough day. We didn't have very much success and we were both pretty beat. But we pushed through and just did what we had to. Luckily Sunday was the next day.

Sunday el 2 - Today was AWESOME! We had fast and testimony meeting. There was a sister named Rocio who bore her testimony yesterday for the first time in 9 years. She's been inactive and we've been visiting her a lot! And yesterday we saw some fruit! Wow! It was amazing! When she bore her testimony the Spirit was so strong. The room went silent and wow! It was great! Today we also knocked doors which isn't my favorite thing but it was cool. 

Anyways there is a run down of the past week. This week we have a goal to be exactly obedient to every rule and point in the white handbook. We are kinda gonna be crazy about it. Hopefully it will help us to see more fruit!
 

Dad - Papa la huancaina is the BOMB! Wow, I loved it! Lots of the members here are from the Lima area and they really are great people. 

 

Papa la huancaina

(Papa a la huancaina is a Peruvian appetizer of boiled yellow potatoes (similar to the Yukon Gold potatos) in a spicy, creamy sauce called Huancaina sauce. Although the dish's name is derived from Huancayo, a city in the Peruvian highlands, it has become a staple of every day and holiday cuisine throughout the country.)

 

Enjoy the time with Beth and Blair! Wish I could be there! 

Love you guys so much! Look for ways to serve the Lord this week, he needs all the help he can get! 

 

Love,

Elder Grayson Harris

 

Elder Harris is officially "ON THE BOARD" at the Stake Center as one of our missionaries serving in the world!

 

Sam saying 'hey' to his brother...haha