Missionary fun

HOLA MI QUERIDA FAMILIA Y AMIGOS-

Well guys, it's that time again to give you a recap on all the miracles I'm seeing everyday!!!!!  I do love emailing & receiving emails and getting the chance to talk to you all once a week, but honestly, my favorite part about Mondays is being able to look back at the week and remember how wonderful God is and see all the miracles he is ALWAYS placing in our path.

So this week, we had a couple of fun activities planned ((aka the PERFECT opportunity to invite people)) on Wednesday night we had a family home evening at the church.  We try really hard to invite as many people as we can but we usually can't get anyone to come.  The family home evenings are really fun because it's put on by the young single adults in our stake.  We have a bunch and they are all SO great- so ready to come to every cita or invite people or teach with us.  Anyways, so let's backtrack a few days earlier: Every Monday night, we teach these two less actives in our ward and we take the time to serve them and eat dinner with them and everything.  Hermana villamar and I found this quality family that we were teaching Monday night, the lesson was going great and we finally committed them to start reading the Book of Mormon together.  We left the apartment and realized we were super late and had a bunch of messages from Trini ((the less active women)) saying, "don't be late because dinner is ready right now." Oops. So we are basically sprinting to get there and then all of a sudden Hermana villamar just stops and starts contacting this girl. I was like, "what is she doing we have no time????" But nope, Hermana villamar is really in tune with the spirit and felt like she needed to stop this girl.  Her name is Alexandra and she's 18.  We found out that she's a girl that we've been trying to contact for ages but didn't have the right phone number. She was super excited to see and talk to us and gave us her new number and everything ((!!!!!)) then we invited her to the family home evening and she said she would come.  So, now back to Wednesday night, we went to pick her up for the family home evening and SHE WAS THERE, all ready to go!!!!!  That never happens!!!!!  The family home evening was super great and everyone there was super nice and welcoming.  We felt the spirit, ate some food, and they all ended playing basketball together.   Alexandra is normally super busy with classes and work but we're hoping to see some progress with her.  She's so cute and fun and everyone automatically just loved her.

Saturday, we had that super cool missionary activity in Chiclana that we've been planning.  The woman in charge ((the wife of the mission president's first counselor)) split us into groups to teach.  One group was in charge of teaching a 15 minute class about eternal families, one group was in charge of teaching a 15 minute class about the restoration and the last group was in charge of making a skit or something to entertain the group and show the people what we do as missionaries. So yes, I was in the last group and needed to come up with a way to entertain the crowd for 40 MINUTES.  If any of you know me, you know I'm not too creative when it comes to things like this, nor am I very funny, nor do I really like acting. Nevertheless, we needed to come up with something fun.  Our group was Hermana villamar and I, and 4 other elders.  Unfortunately, no one really had any idea what we were doing or what we were supposed to do.  So Hermana Villamar and I basically just took matters into our own hands.  I wrote a poem that explains everything we do in a regular day as missionaries. ((I guess all those raps that my dad makes us sing every year for my mom really paid off)) I was pretty proud of it. And it actually went really well!!!!  We made everyone laugh and we also brought the spirit in at some parts.  Overall, it was super fun and we had a good time.  Not to mention, some investigators came from San Fernando that we invited!!!!!  They were so sweet to come and loved the whole thing.  I love realizing that missionary work is more than walking around and knocking on doors all day- it's really a chance to connect with the people and have fun and teach people about God’s love for them. It's a chance to be happy and show people how to find real happiness and I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have.

Okay, update on my girl Iris.  She's reading and praying every day and coming to church.  She's doing everything she's supposed to and she's SO ready to be baptized. We had a lesson with her last night and it went really well.  We basically sat down and talked about any fears that she has with baptism and straightened everything out.  We also talked about the MILLIONS of blessings that Heavenly Father is going to pour on her once she makes this step and continues to make good choices.  She's excited and nervous but so ready.  Unfortunately, some things came up the next week that will prevent her baptism so we had to move the date ): but, she'll be getting baptized the 20th of July and we all feel more sure with this date.  Please keep her in your prayers!!!

As a missionary, I constantly get asked what my favorite part of the mission is.  My favorite part, by far, is watching the change that happens in people.  I love watching someone learn about Heavenly Father, applying what He wants for them, and then making the necessary changes in their lives.  There is a REAL difference that I can notice in people.  People have a new light that starts growing in their eyes and in their faces.  It's one of my favorite things to watch.  The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.  It really is.  I would not be out here for a year and a half if it wasn't.  I would not be as happy as I am right now without it.  There is a catholic man out here that comes to church EVERY Sunday.  He just comes for sacrament meeting and then leaves.  This week, he asked if he could come with us to the next class, Gospel principles.  ((you can imagine our excitement)) He asked a lot of questions and was super attentive.  At the end of the class he said, "I've been a Catholic all my life. I have always been around Catholics.  Now, I am with you Mormons.  I feel like there is something filling up a hole inside of me that I didn't know I had.  I feel something special.  I can't really explain it, but I love it."  The spirit was so sweet and so strong as all of us watched this man with tears in our eyes.  The spirit is a real thing, it's a feeling of peace and love and joy and it's hard to explain. But it's real. Out here on the mission, we can't force anyone to listen to us or to get baptized.  All we do is invite people to try out our message and see if it makes a difference in their lives.  I promise you-it does.  The only way to find it out, is to try it!!!

Okay, love and miss you all SO much. Thanks for you love, support, friendship, and prayers. Keep working with the missionaries and keep reaching out to people that need your love!!!

Mucho amor y besitos,

Hermana Spangler

We are doing a great work and we cannot come down

TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD-

This week, we worked SO HARD, harder than I have ever worked before.  In zone meeting last week, we made goals by district to find new people.  We split up the next 3 weeks into categories: futures (people that we contact that give us their number or address), news (people we teach a lesson to and they tell us to come back and teach them again), and baptismal dates.  Our district goals were 60 futures in the first week, 30 new people the next week, and 20 baptismal dates the last week. Considering that we only get an average of about 4 futures each week, you can see how high these goals are.  This week was the week of futures.  We wanted to get 60 futures as a district so that's about 20 futures per companionship.  Satan obviously didn't want us to have success in this because this week ended up being an almost impossible week to work with finding futures.  We had intercambios this week, so that eliminated a day and a half to work in our area. The elders in our district also did too.  We also had an activity in Chiclana yesterday, eliminating another day for us all.  Not to mention that the other hermanas in our district had to stay in piso for a good 3 days because one of them broke their foot.  So basically, Thursday rolls around and we have 2 futures as a district.

So, it pretty much depended on Hermana Villamar and I the last 2 days.  We decided we were gonna work super hard and talk to EVERYONE. So we did.  We talked to so many people and knocked on so many doors and walked around for hours trying to find anyone.  The past few days have been work and work and no stopping at all. The kind of days that you just come home, plan, and crash into bed because your body won't let you do anything else.  It's been hard but it truly has been great.  Getting completely lost in this work is what we're supposed to do out here and it truly feels rewarding.  Hermana Villamar and I found 15 futures in the past 2 days, and for us, that's a HUGE success because we can never find people that want to talk to us in this area.  Our motto for this week was, "we are doing a great work, and we CANNOT come down."  When we work hard, God pours out his blessings upon us so miracles are about to come to pass here in San Fernando.

The truth is, San Fernando is a lot slower than Cartagena because the people here are a little stubborn.  We don't have anyone we are teaching right now BUT we have 15 futures now so we are going to get to work on trying to meet with these people. However, I love it here and I love being a missionary.  I'm happy all the time, despite the rejection.  At first, I used to not want to contact people because it feels kinda awkward but now I have absolutely no shame walking up to people and telling them who we are and what we're doing.  The only contacts I ever regret are the ones I don't do. If people say no, it's okay because they have their agency. If people say yes, it's GREAT because we have a beautiful message that can change their lives.  And it really does change lives, I've seen it first hand.

It's starting to get hotter here and we're slowly dying.  San Fernando summers are like Texas summers so it gets pretty hot.  I'm getting a pretty quality farmers tan and I have a tan line on my neck line from where my bag goes, it's great.  Of course, along with summer comes mosquitos :::::::) I'm being eaten alive out here but it's ok!!!!!  It's worth it for the lord!!!!!

We had intercambios this week which is always a blast.  Our sister training leaders out here live about an hour away so we have to take a train to go visit them.  Tuesday night, I was companions with Hermana Whaley-a super sweet girl from Arizona.  She was so cute and we had a lot of fun together.  I learned a ton from her about the importance of service and how to teach from the Book of Mormon.  Funny story: we went to visit this women in her home and she came to the door and started telling us about how she had just broken her arm so we said "oh hey can we help you with anything?" And she said "yes please, I want to make some gazpacho but I can't."  Let's talk about gazpacho for a second.  Gazpacho is a super popular drink out here and it's technically like a green smoothie with a couple other random things.  This is how we made it: tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, vinegar, basically a whole bottle of oil, a literal HANDFUL of salt, tomato paste and some soggy bread. Then you take all those ingredients and mix them together like a smoothie.  Hermana Whaley and I were gagging like the whole time we were making it hahahahaha AND THEN SHE MADE US DRINK IT.  I promise I felt like I had contaminated my whole body and I tasted garlic/onion/vinegar the whole day.  She gave us the recipe if anyone is interested :-) Wednesday I was companions with Hermana Silvestre-an amazing missionary from Spain.  She served in Argentina for 6 months and then broke her leg, had to go home, and then got reassigned to serve in Spain.  She has so much faith and I learned so much from her.  She's really outgoing and bubbly and loves to talk to everyone.  Needless to say, we had a great time spending those 2 days with the sister training leaders.  We all got along super well and had so much fun talking and teaching and serving the lord.  The mission really is fun.  There are times to be serious and to work but there's definitely time to have fun and enjoy everything around you.

Sorry this is probably my most unexciting email yet.  Hopefully next week I'll have some people to report on and miracles to tell.  We have miracles every day, whether they be big or small, we can find them.  Missionary work is the best :-) I know this church is true and I know it's Christ's church on the earth today.  Come see what we're all about and feel the happiness we feel.  Or come back and receive the blessings that God has waiting for you.  Heavenly Father loves us & He's truly mindful of us.  Take the time to notice His hand in your life and it'll be a rewarding experience.

I love you all,

Hermana Spangler

I wish I could make every subject line "MIRACLES"

TO MY FAVORITE PEOPLE IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD-

This week, Hermana Villamar and I worked SO hard.  We worked and walked and served and talked and also did a little bit of crying but hey it was a GREAT week.  We honestly don't have very many solid people to work with so this week we contacted literally EVERY person in sight.  Hermana Villamar took that to the extreme and started contacting people that were working, talking on the telephone, riding bikes, or even just sitting in their car with the window open.  We had so much fun laughing and talking, despite the constant rejection.  We get along super well and I just love her to death.

Our sweet friend Iris is doing great!!!  Let me tell you a little bit about her situation. She used to be atheist and had no interest whatsoever in God.  One day, her mom was having problems so they took her to the hospital and found out that she had cancer. For a long time, life was really rough for her.  She doesn't have a father so it was just her and her sister taking care of her mom, in the midst of studying and exams and working.  Well, Iris' best friend is a member in our stake named David. He was really supportive through the whole situation with Iris and her mom.  Her mom started having some really bad results and things were looking really bad.  So sweet David offered to give her a priesthood blessing.  The blessing was short but very powerful and right when he finished the mom's blood pressure went back to normal and she started to be a little better.  Iris said that she felt something in that moment that she never felt before.  She felt gods love surge through so powerfully that she couldn't deny it.  She decided to take a chance with the Mormon church and look at her now :") she has so much faith in God and is working towards her baptism date!!  It's amazing what the power of the gospel can do for us.  We had a great lesson with her this week about the privilege it is to know the restored gospel and how we can receive more blessings than we can imagine when we do our part. Heavenly Father had SO MANY blessings prepared just waiting until we do what we're supposed to ((read the scriptures, pray, go to church, serve, do missionary work)) and he will literally pour the blessings onto our heads-who doesn't want

that?!!

So, for the miracle of the week- yesterday was a loooooooong day of repeated rejection.  We probably knocked about 100 doors, talked to 300 people and only receive 1 REFERRAL ((ok welcome to the mission)) anyways, we were exhausted and it was only 7:00.  One thing I love about being here with Hermana Villamar is that we make an effort every day to point out a miracle we see.  No matter how hard or long the days are, we can ALWAYS find one.  So, we're walking and trying to find people to talk to but it was a Sunday night so there were hardly any people out.  All of a sudden these 2 guys in wheelchairs ride up to us and say, "hey, what religion are you guys from."  And we say, "the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" and one of them says, "Mormons?" And we said' "yes!!!!" ((Most people think we are Jehovah’s witnesses so we get excited when people realize who we are.))  And he said, "I know nothing about Mormons, what makes you different than other religions?"  Score.  He told us that he had a little bit of time so we found a bench and had a quality 1st lesson.  We talked about Joseph smith and the Book of Mormon and bore testimony of everything we know to be true.  The two men were Cristobal and Ismael.  Ismael didn't really talk much because of his disability and Cristobal was a pretty firm Atheist because of all the trials he's gone through in his life (a crazy car accident leading to having to be in a wheelchair).  The spirit was really sweet throughout the lesson.  They even asked them to teach them again!!!!  The situation is a little complicated because they live in a rehabilitation center and can only leave their apartment so many times per week.  But we're going to try and help them progress because everyone deserves to hear the gospel!!!!  It really just goes to show that if we work and work and work, Heavenly Father will bless us with miracles.

In other news, I have to give a talk next week in this new ward so that'll be exciting!!!!  Also, I'm still open to any ideas you guys may have for family home evenings or object lessons :))  PLUS, we are having this crazy cool activity called "meet the missionaries" and we are going to have tons of people come so that we can teach them a little bit about what we do and who we are. It should be really fun so I'm excited!!!  There will be workshops and talks and activities and skips and spiritual lessons and the whole shebang.  One part of it is a talent show and Hermana Villamar want to do something fun/funny together so if you guys have any ideas on what I can do with that I would so appreciate it!!!!

Thank you all for everything, I love you with ALL my heart.

Besitos,

Hermana Spangler

Baby Spangler

MY DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS-

Okay so where do I even start?!!!!  Let's start off by saying that leaving Cartagena was quite possibly one of the hardest things I have had to do.  The truth is one of the hardest parts about the mission in general is all the goodbyes.  Leaving every area ((well so far for me just the mtc and Cartagena)) is like leaving my own family all over again and we all know that I'm a baby when it comes to goodbyes so

I've done my fair share of crying.  Anyways, leaving Cartagena was tough but I feel so blessed to have had my time to serve there and it will forever have a special place in my heart.

Now let's get to the part where I am literally THE WORST at traveling by myself.  Add on to the fact that I'm traveling alone in a foreign country, and you may as well just send a child onto an airplane alone.  Same thing.  At first I wasn't worried at all because an elder in my district was going to the same place as me-so I knew I had someone to travel with.  But the night before I left, he told me that he was actually on a different bus so we wouldn't be together. And let me tell you, it only gets worse from there. Wednesday morning, I say goodbye to everyone and get on a bus at 10 AM to travel to Murcia.  It's only about a 45 minute bus ride so I get there safe and sound and find the other missionaries that are waiting there.  Everything is fine and dandy and I'm just chatting with one of the elders and waiting for my next bus when I realize something.  I LEFT ALL MY SUITCASES ON THE BUS.  Help.  We run back to the bus and luckily it's still there so I am able to get my things and make it to my next bus on time.  This next bus was 6 hours and thankfully I was with a couple of elders and we had a fun time talking and laughing and everything.  We get to Sevilla and meet with the other missionaries there and take a tram to the train station.  We get to the train station and it turns out I'm in a different car than the other missionaries so I'll be all alone in this 2 hour ride to San Fernando.  The train was a little scarier because it had a lot of stops and I had to pay attention to my stop specifically.  Halfway through the train ride, the elder from my old district came and sat by me so that made my feel a little better.  We got to San Fernando and I said goodbye and went to leave but by the time I got to my suitcases, the train doors closed and it started moving again.  Help.  I saw Hermana Villamar waiting for me and we made eye contact as the train kept moving and the stress was evident in both of our faces.  So yeah, missed my stop!!!!  Go me!!!!  THANKFULLY I had elder Osguthorpe and he was getting off at the next stop so I got off with him.  I had to buy another ticket and take a different train back to San Fernando and it was a mess because I got there and couldn't find anyone.  Let's not forget that by this time it's about 10:30 at night.  I'm basically torn between just sitting there and crying and walking around to find someone and ask for help.  But what's the best thing to do in times like this you ask??  Well, the answer is to PRAY.  I said a little pray in my heart that I would know where to go and that I would be able to find someone and finally, I found Hermana villamar and a couple of elders there waiting for me.

Needless to say it was a long and crazy and stressful day but I am officially here!!!! I've been here for a good 4 days but I'm already in love with everything.  Hermana villamar is my new favorite person and I LOVE her with all my heart.  I have never seen someone that is so happy to be a missionary or so excited about the gospel.  She is always singing and smiling and talking about how much she loves the mission

and it's my favorite!!!!  This is her last transfer so she's a pro missionary and she wants to work super hard to finish off strong.  I have already learned so much from her and I'm super excited to keep working with her.  She makes me want to try a little harder and be happier as a person in general.

The members here are AMAZING.  Super nice and willing and ready to work.  We've been working a lot with them on this "area card" which is a missionary work card that they have out here in Europe.  I'm a huge fan of it and I want to go to America too so that people can really get excited about missionary work. I'll attach a picture but it basically has 3 parts. 1-bring a friend 2-become spiritually and physically self reliant and 3-find an ancestor.  It's great because it allows the members to work a little bit harder and become better in the process.  I invite you guys to do the same. For the next 20 days, pray to find an opportunity to share the gospel and really look for the opportunity.  Choose a friend or a neighbor to share the gospel with.  Find something in your life that you can make better whether it be scripture study, pray, service, being kinder, or forgiving something.  Then get on your computer and do a little bit of family history work!!!!  Because that's missionary work too :)) if you're not a member of this church, go talk to someone that is or find some missionaries-I promise it'll change your life for the better.

We don't have a lot of progressing investigators out here but that'll happen SOON. One of our investigators is a 20 year old girl named Iris.  I've only met her once but I already love the heck out of her.   She reminds me a lot of my sweet friend Anais :") anyways, she's been taking the discussions for a few years but never had a baptism date or anything BUT GUESS WHAT. We had a super powerful lesson with her on

Thursday and invited her to baptized July 9 and she accepted!!!  ((Special day for me already because it happens to be my sisters birthday and the day of my best friend's wedding-so shoutout to them)) anyways we were super excited and we'll be working with her on that.

Other than that, I am just loving life and soaking up everything.  This week truly has opened my eyes to how fun a mission can be and how truly lucky I am to have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  I know without a doubt that this is the true church and I invite every one of you to find that out for yourself.  Ask Heavenly Father.  Pray about it and either renew your testimony or gain one.  It's worth

it, I promise :-)

I love you all more than I can say.  Thank you for your love and support and  examples, I couldn't do it without you!!!!!

Your favorite SPAINgler,

Hermanita Spangler