tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72474111450343760412024-03-04T23:09:24.605-05:00love, hermana mundenSpending September 2012 to February 2014 as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Spain Madrid Mission.
This blog is a collection of emails from Hermana Munden to her family in Kentucky.Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-14039084924511018422014-03-27T23:43:00.000-04:002014-03-27T23:43:05.736-04:00ClosureI'm sort of big on tying up loose ends, I always have been. I don't like when things feel incomplete, so I figured it was time to wrap things up on this blog. After all, I've been home from my mission for six months now. The last time I posted over here I was under the impression that I would soon be headed back to finish my mission in Madrid. But after six weeks of visits with specialists, and a long wait to hear back from the church's missionary department in Salt Lake, I was told I wouldn't be going back to Spain and that it was time to move on with my life.<br />
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Oh boy, that was the hardest news I've ever received. There were several nights that I woke from restless sleep in tears because I was so upset about not being able to finish my mission. I felt heartbroken, angry, sad, worthless and alone. It took me a long time to understand that my mission was over, and that it was part of the plan Heavenly Father had in store for me. Coming home five months early because I was sick was undoubtedly one of the biggest trials I've experienced. But here I am, six months down the road, and I'm finally happy.<br />
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I've recognized the many ways in which coming home has turned into a blessing, I've been able to continue sharing the gospel (in a very big way), and I've finally felt the peace that comes from knowing that Heavenly Father takes care of His children. And that, my friends, has been one of the greatest blessings of all...Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-980770609358735502013-10-22T16:10:00.002-04:002013-10-22T16:10:48.340-04:00Tender mercies (part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.lds.org/church/leader/david-a-bednar">Elder David A. Bednar</a> once <a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/the-tender-mercies-of-the-lord?lang=eng">taught us</a> that, "...the tender mercies of the Lord are real and they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence... [they] are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ."</div>
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In the last 5 weeks I've learned that to be completely true. Being home has undoubtedly been one of the toughest trials I've passed through. But at the same time, I've experienced the very personal and individualized tender mercies that Elder Bednar speaks of. And that has made the experience a little less painful. </div>
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My little brother reported to the MTC on September 17th. He and my parents flew out to Utah to drop him off on the 15th, <i>the very day after</i> I got home. If I hadn't come back when I did, it would have been three years (almost to the day) since I saw him last. That kid means the world to me, and to be able to unexpectedly see him, even for just a few hours, was easy for me to recognize as a loving tender mercy from the Lord.</div>
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My favorite part about seeing him were the moments we spent in our stake president's office. Conner was set apart before I was released, and for just a little bit, we were both missionaries. There was an undeniable spirit in the room -- it was powerful, and bittersweet. </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I'm so grateful for the time I was able to spend with my now missionary brother. And I'm grateful that the Lord knows me so perfectly to know that that was </span><i style="text-align: justify;">exactly</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> what I needed upon coming home. </span>Tender mercies are real, peeps. I can't wait to tell you more.</div>
Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-68032381675824557962013-10-06T11:55:00.000-04:002013-10-06T11:55:08.328-04:00Happy year mark to me... not<div style="text-align: justify;">
President Jackson picked me up early - 6am or so - and drove me to the airport in Barajas. After unloading my luggage from the mission van, he walked me inside and sat me down by the check-in counter. </div>
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"Alright Hermana, thanks for everything. We love you and we'll miss you. Get better okay?"</div>
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And just like that, he was gone. I looked around and found myself all alone, for the first time in over a year. Up until then I had been okay. But sitting there alone in the airport, everything became so real.</div>
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<i>I was going home.</i></div>
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The tears came suddenly and wouldn't stop. For a second I was glad I was alone because that way I could cry silently by myself. Nobody would understand anyways. </div>
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I made it through security and to the gate relatively composed. But after boarding the plane, the tears returned. I had a long 12 hours to reflect over the last year of my life - the best year of my life. Most people have time to mentally and emotionally prepare for their return home. But I got ripped out of the best thing that had ever happened to me and was about to be shoved back into reality, with only a few days notice. </div>
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When the plane arrived in Louisville, I hesitated getting off and I took my time walking towards baggage claim because I knew the moment I saw my family, it would officially be over. It would mean I was home. </div>
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The second I saw my mom's face I just started crying again. She hugged me tight and the first thing out of my mouth, and a complete surprise to me, was, "I love you, but I really don't want to be here." It was true though. My mission wasn't supposed to be over so quickly and the only place I wanted to be was Madrid.</div>
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That night, September 14th, I was released as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was asked to take off my badge...</div>
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I am home on a medical release. I have had seven internal infections in the last five months and it has become a cause of concern for my mission president as well as the European area medical authority, so they sent me back here. In the last three weeks that I've been home, I've seen doctors and specialists, had scans run and tests done, and am now hopefully on my way to a speedy recovery. </div>
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Though I'd rather not be here, I'm trying to look for the good in my situation, and be grateful for the tender mercies the Lord has given me.</div>
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<b>"If the bitter cup doesn't pass, drink it."</b> - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland</div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-40059380144544689152013-09-10T11:58:00.002-04:002013-09-10T11:58:24.464-04:00Demoted<div>
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Heyyyyyyy,<o:p></o:p></div>
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You're going to have to forgive me for my negativity. This
week has been one of the hardest my whole mission. I don't like my area. It's
huge (we cover up by the airport in Barajas area, over to Plaza de Castilla,
down to Gregorio Mara<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">ñón, over to Canillejas and everything in between) and
there's not very many Latins.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>Spaniards,<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>just aren't very open and they never give us their numbers.
We live in Mar de Cristal and it takes a million hours to get anywhere so we
spend half our day in the metro. It's really really exhausting. I feel like
crying every night when I get home, but I just don't have any energy left. It's
so hard to be here. I feel discouraged and disappointed and I'm not happy. I
wake up every morning looking forward to 10:00 when I can go home and sleep. I
realize it's only been a week, but it's been the longest, most draining week
ever and I don't think I'll survive another 5 weeks like this, but we'll
see.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On a
happy note, I really like Hermana Manner. Misery loves company, right? Neither
of want to be here and we feel like we've been demoted to B4. Things were
happening in our last areas - we left baptisms, families, improving wards, and
companions who we felt like needed us. But all the time we're spending in the
metro has let us get to know eachother and that's cool. She turned 20 Tuesday,
but she's so mature and seems to have life figured out. I like her a lot and
it's making being here a little bit easier. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today when I got to
emails I had this little gem from Hermana Marshall waiting for me. We only spent
48 hours together in an intercambio, but I love her a lot and she always says
just the right thing at just the right time. She went home in April and I miss
her, but THIS is exactly what I needed...</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">''The plan is so real
and so simple. We are Children of GOD, blinded by the darkness of a fallen world
and often forget it. Satan does ALL he can to tell us we suck, we are lost, we
don't matter or even that God isn't there and doesn't care. BUT God and His
mighty power, grace, mercy and all knowing wisdom does all He can to bring us
back to Him. You are part of that MIGHTY force, cause you are connected to the
powers of Heaven more than you could ever believe. God has been preparing hearts
and the perfect timing, so that his children you come in contact with this week
will feel his love and have a greater understanding of their Father in Heaven.
CALL DOWN THE POWERS OF HEAVEN IN ALL YOU DO. Do all you do with greater purpose
because there is not a second of your day that the Lord is not aware of. Walk
every step with a deeper understanding of the great plan of the universe. Be
better than you have been, pray harder than you have prayed that you will be
able to have clear eyes and an open heart to where the Lord is guiding
you!!''</span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I know my negativity and
feelings of discouragment, doubt, and disappointment come from Satan. I know
that he wants me to give up and that he wants me to fail. I know that it would
be easy for me to give into those thoughts and to just lay down and quit, but I
also know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and that He put me here for a
reason. I know that there are people here in B4 (though they seem to be hiding)
that God has prepared, that are ready to hear the gospel and my testimony and
that they need me. So even though it's hard, I'll keep
going.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I'll leave you with one
last quote, this one from Brigham Young... ''<i>All intelligent beings who are
crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives must pass through
every ordeal appointed for intelligent beings to pass through to gain their
glory and exaltation. Every calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be
suffered to prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. Every trial and
experience you have passed through is necessary for your
salvation.''</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I love you so so much.
With the week I've had, the news about Charlie, and Conner leaving next week, I
really just want to be with my family. I hope you know how much you guys mean to
me and that without you, none of this would mean very much. I'm grateful for the
plan that our loving Heavenly Father prepared for us so that we never have to
doubt that forever together is possible.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Love,</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hermana
Munden</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-84417041670404469562013-09-02T21:05:00.001-04:002013-09-09T12:00:15.379-04:00Have I mentioned I hate transfers?<div class="MsoNormal">
Hey peeps,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, this morning I said goodbye to Pavones. I was so sure
that Hermana Heims and I would be staying together in Pavones for another
transfer, but Heavenly Father had something else in mind. Hermana Heims went to
Cuatro Caminos with Hermana Caballero and I'm in B4 with Hermana Manner. I don't
even really know where this area is. <span style="color: #1f497d;">C</span>lose
to the airport I think. Remember how I was super depressed when I had to leave
Leganés and come to Pavones? Well I was finally happy there and now I'm majorly
bummed to leave. I love Hermana Heims a ton and we did so well together. Oh
wellllll. Hermana Manner is from Idaho and has been out 5 months. She visa<span style="color: #1f497d;">-</span>waited in Provo for a little bit too, so that's
one thing we have in common. We're opening this area for hermanas so we're
starting from nothing. It's gonna be a lot of work, but that's what I'm here for
right?<o:p></o:p><br />
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This last week was pretty awesome actually. Fátima and Luna
just make me so happy. They were our little miracle this transfer and I'm so
grateful for all the moments I've had with them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">me with my sweet Fátima and Luna</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Fátima is opening up and she's
excited for her baptism. We have really spiritual lessons with her and she's
just so so ready! And little Luna... She loves her version of the Book of Mormon
and she loves praying. She looks up to Fátima so much and she learns so quickly!
I'm gonna miss them a ton.<br />
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Wednesday morning was the temple and it was so wonderful.
<span style="color: #1f497d;">I</span>t was a really good session and I liked
seeing the whole zone before I had to leave. Hermana Stepp has the pictures on
her camera, so I'll probably get those to you next week. Also on Wednesday I
FINALLY got my package. Thanks for that. It's been super
wonderful.</div>
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Thursday we taught Belén the plan of salvation. I love her so
much. She's finally warming up to us and I like being able to have more of a
relationship with her. When we got to the Atonment I asked if she knew that
Jesus Christ suffered for her. She said, ''Well yeah, I mean He suffered for
everyone right?'' And I said, ''But do you know that He suffered for you
specifically? Like do you know that if you were the only person on the planet He
still would have done it for only you?'' She thought about it for a second and
said, ''If that's true, that's really really cool.'' I love telling her how much
she's loved and how much she matters to God.<o:p></o:p><br />
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After Belén we went to the church for correlation and Noche
de Hogar. The <span style="color: #1f497d;">man</span> who was in charge of it
didn't show up (things like that just don't happen in the States) so they asked
us to do it. We thought really hard for like 1 minute and decided to talk about
the hymns. We read part of the First Presidency's prologue and talked about the
importance of good music. Then we divided the room into 5 groups and had them
each pick a hymn and when it got to them they had to tell us which verse they
liked best, the message it taught, and then we sang that verse. It was really
cool. It made me think more about the words I was singing and I really felt the
Spirit. If no one else liked it, I sure did!</div>
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Friday was Mom's birthday! Don't think I forgot! I wrote it
in my planner and everything, so I hope you had a really good birthday! Friday
wasn't very productive cause a lot of people failed us, but the best part of it
all was the JAS dance.<br />
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Jaime, Fátima, Lucero, Renzo and María came! Everyone but
María was being super lame and nobody would go dance, but eventually I got
Fátima and Arturo dancing together and then by the end of the night she even
asked Eduardo (my recent convert Eduardo) to dance! JAS dances here are nothing
like they are in the states - they're so much better! They play songs that are
on the radio, but most of the music is like salsa and meregue and bachata, and
all the Latins get up and move. They're so dang good.<br />
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Saturday after English class we had our meal. Not very many
people showed up, which surprised me, but it was okay because we had the perfect
amount of food. The 4 of us made spaghetti and it was bomb. Elder Cataldi (the
Italian) came and he gave it a 7 out of 10. And hey, from an Italian, that's
pretty impressive. Anyhow, it was really fun. Later that night we watched the
''The Work of Salvation'' broadcast with the ward. We announced it at church the
week before and even divided the list of members between the 6 of us so they
could each get a personal invitation, but only 25 people came. Our ward has 250
members. It was a little disappointing. But all the leaders chastized everyone
on Sunday about not coming, so it was okay. Haha and they're gonna show it again
this coming Sunday.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Church was SO GOOD! We had 6 people there! That's more than
I've ever had come while I've been here. We had Jaime, Fátima, Luna, Lucero,
Renzo and Nicolás. Jack taught Gospel Principles and it was awesome. Jack is
British, but he's lived here since he was 7 so if you close your eyes and listen
to him he sounds like someone straight from Andalucía. But then when he speaks
English, it's super beautiful too. Haha anyhow, his class was awesome. He served
here (in B6 actually) a couple of years ago and the way he connects with the
people is really incredible. I wanna be more like that. He talked about
missionary work and it was good for our investigators to see what we're doing
and why we're doing it. Then in sacrament meeting I bore my testimony because,
well, I was leaving and I wanted to say goodbye. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It was hard being in B6 - mostly because of the ward. But now
that I'm gone I really miss it. I miss my companion and Hermana Smith, I miss
the really awesome families that fed us and invited us into their homes, and
mostly I miss the people we taught. It breaks my little heart that I won't be
able to be at Fátima's baptism. She was so sad yesterday. I told her a million
times that the message is the same, even though the messengers are different.
That didn't really help though. I love her a lot and I hope the elders take good
care of her and her family. I hate saying goodbye.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Us with Belén<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I'm trying to be positive about this new transfer, but it's a
little tough. I don't know anyone or anything. I feel way out of my comfort zone
and like it's going to be hard to gain the trust of the members. But maybe
there's a lot of things I need to learn and this is the only place that I can do
that right now. </div>
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I hope you guys all have a good week! I miss you. But I'll be
seeing you really soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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P.S. My new address is:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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C/ Macuaje 9, Bº Izquierda<o:p></o:p></div>
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28033 Madrid<o:p></o:p></div>
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España<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-53000459827927749602013-08-26T23:00:00.000-04:002013-09-02T23:00:18.621-04:00 ''Be ready always...'' (1 Peter 3:15)<div>
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Hola Familiaaaa!<o:p></o:p></div>
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What's weird is that this is the last week of the transfer.
The time seriously goes by way too fast. I can't decide what my predictions
are... I think I might leave because I've been here three transfers, but I also
think I might stay because I'm training Heimsy. So I really have no idea, but
I'll find out Saturday!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last Monday after Toledo we taught Maribel and Fátima the
plan of salvation and it couldn't have gone any better. At one point we were
talking about earthy life and how it's full of challenges and trials, but that
everything that we go through is for our benefit and it helps us learn and gives
us an opportunity to become a little more like our Savior. Anyhow, so Maribel
goes, ''Yeah, exactly. That's why I always tell Fátima about the contract.''
Obviously I was like, ''What contract is that?'' and she goes, ''The contract
that we signed with God up there before we lived here. You know, saying we
agreed to His plan and that we'd come back to Him.'' HOLD THE PHONE. What person
who isn't a member and who is learning the plan of salvation for the first time
says that type of thing !? Maribel, that's who. She's so dang on the ball, it
kiiiills me! I love Maribel. Then after the lesson we went with Fátima to the
JAS Noche de Hogar. It was waaaay good. This kid Ricardo who just reported to
the MTC this last Wednesday gave the message. He showed us this video (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSwCOs-uXzU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSwCOs-uXzU</a>) and we talked
about the Atonement. It was really powerful and Fátima really enjoyed
it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday we were at the hospital from 10am to 5pm. As you can
imagine it was the best day of my life. First was the majorly awkward ultrasound
of my bladder with the old Spanish d<span style="color: #1f497d;">octor</span>.
Then blood tests to see if I'm still anemic. Then Dr. Mohamed Mohamed from
Palestine analyzed all that junk (ultrasound, blood test, two urine analysises)
and this is what he told me. My ultrasound showed nothing anatomically wrong
with me and the blood test showed that my iron was normal so the anemia is gone.
When he looked at the UA's though, he said each one tested positive for a
different infection, instead of the same one coming back. He said that was
curious so here's what's up. I'm on two antibiotics for a week and then
cranberry pills for a month. On the 3rd I'm going back for another UA and then
hopefully the problem will be solved.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our district meetings this transfer have been super good and
I've been learning a lot. I don't remember who said it or where they got it or
anything (not helpful, sorry), but they said everyday we should ask ourselves,
''Have I increased in faith, virtue, knowledge, godliness, and love?''
Interesting. Hopefully our answer is yes. That night we taught just Fátima
because Maribel was working and Luna was in Perú, but the lesson was awesome. We
taught the second half of the plan of salvation and she picked everything up
super quick. We also invited her to be baptized September 14th and she said yes!
That's two days after my year mark. Happy year to me, hopefully I'm still here
for it! She's really excited and we're excited for her!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday we had a lesson with this reference named Paula.
She's from Colombia, here with her husband, and super wonderful. She had all
sorts of questions and my favorite was, ''So how do I become a member?'' She's
from heaven. After the lesson she stayed for the Relief Society activity which
was María Elena teaching us how to make arepas. Then we headed to Sol to meet up
with the Hermana Leader Trainers for intercambios. I stayed in our area with
Hermana Caballero and Hermana Heims went to Vallecas with Hermana
Olsen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The intercambio was good. I'm always nervous about them cause
I'm not a fan, but it was good! Hermana Caballero is Spanish and has been out 9
months. I love Hermana Caballero, but I was happy to have Heimsy back Friday
night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting they announced that Elder
Ballard would be in Spain next month! Someone get more info on that for me! I
wanna know where he's gonna be and if I get to see him :) Also came the
announcement that starting the 15th our meeting schedule changes from 10am
church to 3pm church. Who wants to be at church from 3-6? Not this guy. This
good news is though that none of our investigators will be able to say it's too
early! Last night we had a really spiritual temple tour with Jaime. He's opening
up and we're making him think. I like it a lot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, that's all I got. This week is temple week! And our
ward is FINALLY watching ''The Work of Salvation'' broadcast. I hope it gets our
members pumped about missionary work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don't know if anyone besides you guys reads these emails
anymore, but for those of you who do, send me your missionary experiences! I've
gotten a couple lately and it makes me really happy to see what's going on in
other parts of the Lord's vineyward. Be ready always to tell people why you are
the way you are; why you're happy, how you've found peace, why life matters.
There's people out there waiting to hear :)<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-78097485104138324042013-08-19T22:26:00.001-04:002013-08-26T07:11:25.853-04:00The end is near... work harder<div>
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Hi there ;)<o:p></o:p></div>
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How weird is it that 6 months from yesterday I'll be home? I really don't want it to end! However, knowing that my time is almost up, I only have 4 transfers left, motivates me to work harder and be better. My companion also helps me with that too. She is so good - obedient, always positive, diligent, patient, easy going, super kind, and she likes to work hard. I seriously feel like she's training me. She's got some baby magic or something.</div>
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Anyhow, so one of the few highlights from this week was the lesson with Maribel, Fátima, and this time Luna too! We taught them the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and they understood everything pretty quickly. At the end we talked a lot about prayer and how it's the way that God has given us to know truth.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>We talked about how the Holy Ghost works and how God answers our prayers through Him. We also bore testimony that along with prayer, an answer would come through continuing to meet with us, reading the Book of Mormon, and attending church.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>Luna was all giggly and shy and I asked if she had any questions. She thought for a minute and then said, ''Just one. Hermana Munden... did God answer you?'' I teared up a little bit and told her that He had answered me, over and over again. I told her that I was baptized when I was about her age and that even though I didn't know everything, I knew that I wanted to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized and that's what God wanted me to do too. I love their little family so much and I can't wait to watch them progress.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Thursday we were chilling on Temple grounds waiting for a lesson and met some Americans who were visiting Spain. They were cool because a) the son served in Thailand and b) they knew April McMurray! That night we had Noche de Hogar with the ward and for the first time in weeks it was actually fun! The elders were in charge and we read Alma 47:2-19 and acted it out. People got super into it and it was good change. <o:p></o:p></div>
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there's this store here called Taste of America and it has everything good and holy<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday night we had a lesson with Belén, Karolina Herrerra's friend. She was super shy, but really nice. She said she likes coming to YW's because she learns how to be closer to God. Karolina was really helpful in the lesson - she bore powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it helps us when making decisions and fighting temptation that's all around the youth these days. She also said the cutest prayer at the end asking that Belén will read the Book of Mormon and know that it's true. We have another lesson this week and I'm pumped. She's 14 and in 5 years she's gonna be my little missionary.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So that night we invited Fátima to the JAS activity and she came! Afterward we went outside and looked at the temple. She asked what the gold statue was on top and I said, ''That's Angel Moroni. He's the prophet from the Book of Mormon who-'' and then she cut me off and said, ''who buried the gold plates in the Hill Cumorah right?'' She's so dang good! She's been reading the Book of Mormon! I love Fátima!<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Sunday we were supposed to have like 8 people at church, but only Oscar and Fátima showed up. Actually, we got a text from this lady Veronica saying she was coming with her 2 sons, their girlfriends, and her father-in-law, but she never showed up. I think she may have gone to the wrong church. Awkward... But yeah, so we waited outside for Oscar and as we started to walk in with him he goes, ''Girls, I know where my class is. I can go alone.'' Aw he's so cute. Haha he took care of himself all day yesterday! He didn't even sit by us in Sunday School or Sacrament Meeting because he wanted to sit by his friends Gregorio and Inussa. Oscar is the man, and I'm glad he doesn't need us so much anymore, that's a good sign. We were way happy that Fátima came! She was a little late and we missed half of Relief Society, but that's okay! Maribel didn't come because she had to help Luna get ready for her vacation with her cousins, but Fátima was awesome. She loved all three hours and met lots of the JAS. We're having a lesson with her and Maribel tonight and then taking her to the JAS Noche de Hogar. She's so wonderful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, that's about it. 14 of our 20 lessons this week failed us, and contacting <span style="color: #1f497d;">was hard</span> because a) everyone is on vacation, and b) Thursday was <span style="color: #1f497d;">a </span>Catholic holiday so literally nobody was in the streets. It was a rough week in that aspect, but this one will be better for sure. Tomorrow we'll be spending most of the day in Mirasierra at the hospital so I can get bloodwork done and an ultrasound to figure out why I've had so many problems the last 5 months. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm happy! And I'm happy life is good back home. I'm so bummed I won't be there on Friday to go through the temple with Conner, but I have it written in my planner and I'll be thinking about him allllllll day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-25795902036233011342013-08-12T22:30:00.000-04:002013-08-13T21:35:08.319-04:00ELEVEN months and the loves of my life <div>
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Hola familia :)<o:p></o:p></div>
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First of all, today is my cumplemes and I've officially been
out 11 months. That blows my mind. It feels like just yesterday that I was a
little baby at the MTC! This has been the most fantastic 11 months - I'm a happy
camper. And to top it all off I got the best news ever when I got on my email.
Cha told me that our Connor from BYU who got baptized in March baptized his
whole family on July 13th! It was January when Cha and I sent the missionaries
to them, and 6 months later the whole family is baptized! I'm beyond excited.
And how cool that Connor was the one who got to baptize them. I can't wait until
next summer when I can go to the temple with them and see them sealed as a
family for eternity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This week was so good, last Monday especially. We went to Sol
and did some shopping and ate at Subway (which by the way, is so good here...
probably because of the bread) and then came home and napped. We went to the JAS
center for a little bit and helped Hermana Sullivan set up for their Noche de
Hogar, and then later we went to our lesson in San Cipriano with Maribel and
Fátima. They were a reference from Elder Pizarro and Elder Castaldi, so we
didn't know a whole lot about them, but we fell in love so quickly. We buzzed
the front gate and they let us in. When we walked through we saw three little
girls and a tiny white cat hanging out of the window and we hoped so badly it
was them. We knocked on the door and 9 yearold Luna answered the door with Nala
the kitty in her arms. Then 19 yearold Fátima walks in with her and Luna's mom
Maribel. I fell in instalove with Maribel. There was no awkward introductions or
''what are you doing here'' conversations. She sat down and expressed the most
sincerest gratitude that we had come. They said they had been waiting for us and
they were so happy God had sent us to them.<span style="color: #1f497d;">
</span>She had been searching for the truth and she knew that when she found it
she'd be able to feel it. She expressed her excitement to learn the teachings of
Jesus Christ and how to follow Him. She went on and on and every word that came
out of her mouth was pure gold. Hermana Heims and I sat there with probably the
dumbest smiley looks on our faces, mumbling under our breath how awesome she
was. We talked about the Book of Mormon and when I handed Maribel her copy she
looked at it, smiled, and then hugged it to her chest, not letting go the rest
of the evening. She promised to read it and to pray to know it was true. Then we
talked about prayer and how when we pray we're having a conversation with our
Heavenly Father. She said that sometimes she calls Him Padre Azul because He's
our Father and the heavens are blue. Haha it was super cute. She said she was
grateful for everything she has because it all comes from Him - even the stars,
and she and Luna sing ''Happy Birthday'' to the stars every day. I mean really,
I couldn't make this stuff up. I'd be here all day if I told you how wonderful
she is and how incredible that first visit with them was. After we said our
goodbyes and they closed the door, Hermana Heims hugged and then prayed,
thanking Heavenly Father for answering our fast and prayers and allowing us to
be blessed with such a beautiful family to teach. I love
them!<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Tuesday we contacted a lady who we were sitting with at
the bus stop. We gave her a Book of Mormon and then when we got on the bus, we
saw her reading it from the beginning, like legitimately sitting their reading
it. She doesn't live in our area, but the missionaries who get to teach her and
her family are super lucky. We had to buy a few things from the grocery store to
make dinner for a family in the ward and Elder Riggs (a senior missionary) who
was behind us bought our stuff! What a guy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Wednesday this sweet Peruvian lady Virginia invited us
over for papa ala huancaina (I've probably eaten it 20 times but it's the best
and I plan on eating it every day when I get home) and told us these awesome
stories about her conversion. Then that evening we made sloppy joe's for the
Herrerra family and took it over to them. The dad is the YM President and
they've got 5 flipping awesome kids. They're one of my favorite families in the
ward. We had a good evening with them and then the 14 year old daughter Karolina
told us her friend wants to get baptized, so we're going to meet with her this
week! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday morning we dropped Oscar off at the employment center.
Elder Riggs took good care of him and Oscar called us afterwards and he seemed
really happy! Friday night we went to Michael's baptism and we took Daniel.
Afterwards I asked what he thought and he just said, ''Beautiful.'' We're seeing
him tonight and we're going to invite him to be baptized!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday was awesome. And Maribel came to church! She showed
up early and paid attention the whole time. During Relief Society she just kept
turning to me and smiling. She was so happy there! During the lesson this woman
had shared an experience about her son and was crying and afterwards Maribel
went up to her and hugged her and said she'd be praying for her. She's so
golden. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER TONIGHT! I still feel like I'm dreaming with how
wonderful she is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ahhhh I have more to say but I gotta go! Just know that I'm
happy. Baby Heims is the biggest blessing and we're being blessed here in
Pavones. God loves His children and we're seeing every single day that He's
preparing the hearts of the people here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-90239166734945683962013-08-09T21:53:00.002-04:002013-08-09T21:53:24.029-04:00Trainer letter3 August 2013<br /><br /><br />Dear Family ,<br /><br /><br />This letter is
to inform you that your daughter, Sister Jordan Paige Munden, has been called to
be a trainer. She has demonstrated her ability as an effective,
obedient missionary. As a trainer, Sister Munden will be responsible for
teaching and training a new missionary. This is a 12 week program, which
includes an additional hour of daily study, including language study. Both
your daughter and the missionary she is training will be responsible to report
their weekly progress to the President. Only the best and most dedicated
missionaries are called as trainers. She will serve as a role model for her new
companion, and will hold a special place in the heart and memory of that
companion.<br /><br /><br />Thank you for
sharing your daughter with us. Sister Jackson and I love her and pray for her
continued success in this important
calling.<br /><br /><br />Our best wishes to
you,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />President
Scott T. Jackson<br /><br /><br />Spain Madrid
MissionPaige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-45235681891522551662013-08-06T09:06:00.001-04:002013-08-06T09:06:53.211-04:00Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1375793769704_4332" style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">
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Hi Family!</div>
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It's been an awesome week. On Monday I got an email saying the office elders wanted us to find a new piso. So we spent a good chunk of Tuesday afternoon piso shopping and the second one we looked at is the winner. I'm sooo excited to move - even though I hate moving. But this is gonna be a good move - six of us in such small living quarters is really hard sometimes. It's small, but it's clean and new and it'll be awesome.</div>
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We had a really good lesson with our new Portuguese investigator Daniel. I don't know if I mentioned him last week, but he was a reference from the MTC. We talked about the Book of Mormon and why it's important to pray to know that it's true. Last time we met he wouldn't pray in front of us because he was embarrassed, but this time he did it no problem, and it was such a sincere prayer. He wants to read the Book of Mormon because he knows it'll bring him peace and help him become a better person.</div>
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Elder Ward came to our Zone Training Meeting this week and he looked a million times better! He's so dang positive and super funny, I can't even handle it. He got up to tell us a little about his experience and said, ''This last week I've been interviewed by 12 major news networks - it's been a real train wreck.'' He's so happy to be alive and he's wonderful. In our meeting we talked a lot about families and how as a mission we're gonna put a bigger focus on families. We've been asked to pray to find families and to contact those families we do see. Ever since ZTM, Hermana Heims and I have been praying for families and sure enough we've been running into them. Actually, every family we've contacted has given us their number and it's been really awesome.</div>
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Thursday evening was really...interesting. First we got a call from this less active guy named Victor asking us if we had time to meet with him. We were at the church about to have correlation, so we couldn't see him then, but we invited him to Noche de Hogar and he said he would come. Noche de Hogar was good. The JAS were in charge and they talked about the blessings of living the gospel. We were about to sing the closing hymn when Claudia leaned over and asked if she could say something. I stopped Elder Valenzuela from announcing the closing hymn and we gave Claudia time to talk. She put everything out in the open. She told us all how she felt - that she thought God had abandoned her, that she was miserable and suicidal and that she couldn't find peace. At first I felt kind of embarrassed that she was telling the whole world something that seemed to me to be really personal and private. But then as she continued to share I realized that this woman was desperate for help. After she was done speaking, Oscar chimed in and said, ''That's what we're here for. We don't just come to church to hear the word of God, but to help those who need us - to lend a hand, to mourn with those that mourn and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort.'' He said, ''Don't feel alone Claudia. Your Heavenly Father loves you and so do we. He's with you, and we are too.'' Then this guy José talked about how he'd felt that way too before, but he found consolation in the scriptures. He encouraged her to plead for help when she prayed and to look for God's voice in the scriptures. He shared the scripture that helped him when he was at his lowest point and told her that she'd find one that would lift her. That Noche de Hogar turned into one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on my mission. Almost all of us were in tears and the Spirit was so strong. I knew that God loved Claudia and that He was aware of her. I knew He wanted her to be happy and that He had inspired her to call us.</div>
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The next morning in companionship study we prepared our lesson for Claudia. We found as many scriptures as we could about love, peace, comfort, and support. We wrote them on paper hearts and stuck then in a jar with chocolate. We took our jar of paper hearts and met up with Claudia in a park near her piso and read them with her. It was really awesome. When we got to Alma 31:31 she started to cry. <em>''O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me.''</em>She looked up at me and said that that scripture was the one José had been talking about last night, and that it had touched her heart. I was happy we could help her and that she was able to find the scripture she needed.</div>
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That night we had a Noche de Hogar with the López family - a Spanish couple who are here as missionaries working in the temple. None of our investigators or less actives could come, so we brought Juan Luís - the other hermanas' recent convert. Since he's going to hit his year mark this month and he's preparing to receive his endowment, we figured it'd be a good idea to talk about the temple. We found a copy of the dedicatory prayer of the Madrid temple and read it together. I feel like the Madrid temple is <em>my</em> temple: 1) I'm serving here... duh. 2) I turned 8 on March 19,1999, I was baptized on the 20th, and I was confirmed on the 21st. The dedication services for this temple took place on those three days. Anyhow, the dedicatory prayer is beautiful and reading together with the López's really invited the Spirit and it made for a wonderful Noche de Hogar. Then she made us some bomb homemade pizza and fried ham stuff. Haha it was really good.</div>
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I'm really grateful for my companion. Hermana Heims is so wonderful and I try my hardest every day to make sure she knows how much I appreciate her. She's such a good missionary and she only has 2 weeks under her belt. She has taught me so much with her awesome example of obedience, diligence, and the desire to be here. When I don't feel like contacting she tells me, ''We have nothing to lose, and they have everything to gain.'' She's struggling a lot with Spanish right now and I wish there was more I could do to help her. She's incredible though and I hope we're together for a long time.</div>
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I love you guys! I can't believe how fast time is going. I never want this to end.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Hermana Munden</div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-5813388753632879982013-07-29T10:07:00.001-04:002013-07-31T08:17:21.785-04:00Train Wrecks and Miracles<div>
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Hi Family,<o:p></o:p></div>
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This week was insane - so much happened. I'll get to all that
eventually, but right now I want to talk about Elder Ward. I'm copying and
pasting what was said in our weekly bulletin because it says it better than I
would... <o:p></o:p></div>
<em>''In our mission this week, we have truly seen the hand of God,
protecting one of our missionaries. </em><o:p></o:p><br />
<em>You have all heard about the horrible train wreck in Galicia on
Wednesday, and that one of our new missionaries, who arrived in our mission on
Tuesday, was involved. Elder Ward was on the train to A Coruña, final
destination El Ferrol, when, just as it approached Santiago de Compostela, the
entire train derailed. He was unconscious for a short period of time, then was
helped from the train. </em><o:p></o:p><br />
<em>One third of the passengers on the train were killed, and the rest were
injured, most of them very seriously. Elder Ward was taken to A Coruña by
ambulance. After a long 24 hours in the hospital, he was released late Thursday
night. We brought him back to Madrid, where he will receive more medical
attention, and recuperate. </em><o:p></o:p><br />
<em>We feel so blessed that he has been protected and will be able to recover
fully. His injuries were less severe than almost everyone else on the train.
</em><o:p></o:p><br />
<em>Our hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved
ones in the accident. Many do not have a knowledge of the plan of salvation.
Imagine not knowing that you would see your loved one again! They are thirsting
for the light and knowledge that we can bring them. </em><o:p></o:p><br />
<em>Thank you all for your faith and prayers on behalf of Elder Ward. He
expresses his gratitude to each of you and to many, many others who were praying
for him to be all right. He even received a call from President Uchtdorf to wish
him well and thank him for his service. Elder Ward was faced with an onslaught
of reporters from all over the globe over the 48 hours that followed the
accident. He has been a true ambassador for the Church and represented you and
all missionaries as a witness for Jesus Christ.'' </em><o:p></o:p><br />
I'm so grateful Elder Ward is alive and recovering. Wednesday night we heard
about the wreck and that Elder Ward was on the train. We had no idea whether he
was dead or alive until Thursday morning when we got a text from the AP's saying
his situation was very serious and that he was unstable. They asked us to pray
for Elder Ward, his family, and President and Hermana Jackson as they were in
charge of making important medical decisions for him. We knelt down right then
and offered a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father that Elder Ward was alive
and we asked that if it be His will, he could make a full recovery.
<o:p></o:p><br />
The following morning we got another text saying that our prayers had been
heard and had helped immensley. Elder Ward was discharged and the doctors said
he would make a full recovery. At that moment I was reminded of the power of
prayer. We're almost 200 missionaries here in Madrid and it was incredible to
know that we were all praying so hard for the same thing. I know that God hears
and answers our prayers. It's an incredible thing Elder Ward has gone through,
but he has been so positive the whole time. Everyone in Spain has heard about it
and I'm grateful for his example.<o:p></o:p><br />
On Monday night I felt like I needed to call Oscar and even though I was
nervous, I followed the prompting from the Spirit. I was glad I did because he
answered and we had an awesome lesson with him! Long story short, he's working
now to get his life on track so that he can continue to work towards baptism. I
can't say enough about how incredible Oscar is. I'm really proud of him for
making the necessary arrangements to follow the commandments of
God.<o:p></o:p><br />
Tuesday I met my baby! Her name is Hermana Heims and she is incredible. I
feel like she's training me! Haha she's from Reno, she's 21, and she's wonderful.
We've worked really hard this week and had some pretty neat spiritual
experiences contacting...<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDxwi44JId_Hj5T7C52phfFbXPh459ixlNjCYOkmUpYSOYzzuG7C0IfwC3MdSpJ4Kb7zLsjuB2vZhI6AcpaOg3G6ZCg00iAvXZgFKYQW2N1qcGA5Q58YwZPUYFkj-incktiyTgT4_KrE/s1600/CIMG0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDxwi44JId_Hj5T7C52phfFbXPh459ixlNjCYOkmUpYSOYzzuG7C0IfwC3MdSpJ4Kb7zLsjuB2vZhI6AcpaOg3G6ZCg00iAvXZgFKYQW2N1qcGA5Q58YwZPUYFkj-incktiyTgT4_KrE/s400/CIMG0021.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hermanas: Stepp, Smith, Shill, Hansen, Me, Heims, and Gabriella in front</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We testified to José Antonio about the plan of
salvation, to Teresa about the power of faith and prayer, and to Angela about
living prophets that lead and guide us. Sometimes I forget about how much I love
contacting and all the neat people I meet doing it!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Saturday morning we were waiting for a lesson and then all of a sudden I saw
Kassi Reid! She's in the MTC right now headed to the Barcelona Mission! Super
nuts.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UycxrxZV0Kg/UfZ5kLrlv9I/AAAAAAAACGc/e8lr24p1wlQ/s1600/RSCN8286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UycxrxZV0Kg/UfZ5kLrlv9I/AAAAAAAACGc/e8lr24p1wlQ/s400/RSCN8286.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KASSI REID IS HERE! She's going to Barcelona. How craaaazy.<br />
Kassi was in our Ward when we lived in Overland Park, Kansas in 2002 – 2006.</td></tr>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
Basically I still love being a missionary. I love it more every single day. I
never want this experience to end and I'm sad it goes by faster and faster. I
know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church and that
this work is the most important thing we will ever do. Pray for missionary
opportunities. Please pray for them! I know that if you do so, and you act on
promptings you receive, Heavenly Father will put people in your path that are
ready and receptive. It happens for me every single day and it's the thing that
makes me happiest in this world.<o:p></o:p><br />
I love my Savior and I love all of you.<o:p></o:p><br />
Love,<o:p></o:p><br />
Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-79827008311520724322013-07-23T22:12:00.002-04:002013-07-29T10:28:06.512-04:00I'M GONNA BE A MOM<div>
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Hiiiiiiiiii!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ever since things with Oscar I've been really down. I haven't
been excited about anything and it's been hard to work. I didn't think it would
affect me so much, but it has. Elder Pizarro suggested I read the page in Preach
My Gospel that we read every week during weekly planning about what it is to be
a successful missionary. There's a part that's really helped me: <em>''Remember
that people have agency to choose whether to accept your message. Your
responsibility is to teach clearly and powerfully so they can make a correct
choice. Some may not accept your message even when they have received a
spiritual witness that it is true. You will be saddened because you love them
and desire their salvation. You should not, however, become discouraged;
discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your
effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken, and you will have greater
difficulty following the Spirit.</em>'' I let that happen a little bit this
week, but I'm coming out of my rut and I'm okay.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This last transfer was the fastest of my mission - it flew by
so quickly. We received our calls on Saturday night and here's what's
happening... Hermana Hansen is going to open A Coruña and will be training
(again)! Hermana Smith and Hermana Stepp will be together, and I'm staying in
Pavones and training. I'm not super pumped about staying in Pavones, after this
transfer I'll have been here for four and a half months, but I'm a little bit
excited to train. I'm a little nervous too though, I hope I raise her right
:)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sorry this is so short, it was just a really lame week. Today
we're helping Hermana Hansen pack, cleaning the piso, and I'm getting things
ready for my baby. We're going to the trainers' meeting tomorrow at 4 and then
it's time to improve the area. I'm still happy. I love being a
missionary!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-30970599669993901212013-07-15T22:10:00.000-04:002013-07-23T22:10:54.694-04:00Oscar <div>
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Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii <o:p></o:p></div>
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It's been a rough week. Well, just a rough couple of days I
guess. This week has pretty much been all about Oscar. After our miracle with
him last week things have just seemed to get better. Wednesday we had an intense
lesson with him. We planned our lesson in the morning and felt prepared to
invite him to be baptized the following weekend. The lesson went super well. We
talked about faith to work miracles and faith to be healed and repentance and
then when we got to baptism I asked him to be baptized on the 20th of this
month. He laughed. Haha I think just because he was surprised or nervous or who
knows why. But he said he didn't think he would be ready. Also because he wanted
his friend to be there to support him and she wouldn't be back in town until
August 2nd. So then I pushed it back and said, ''Okay then, the 3rd!'' He agreed
to the 3rd. Then we talked about the Holy Ghost and how one of His most
important roles is to comfort us. Knowing that Oscar likes the tranquility and
peace he feels at church, I figured the idea of having that with him
<i>always</i> would be important to him. And it was. By the end of the lesson he
said, ''What day did you want me to be baptized?'' I said the 20th. He said,
''Alright, the 20th it is.'' The Spirit was strong and we all knew he would be
ready for that day. And even better, he was so excited. He felt good about the
decision he made and he was ready to do whatever necessary, to be prepared for
that day. It was a miracle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Friday we taught him the word of wisdom. We knew we were
going to need another miracle because even though Oscar wanted to quit smoking
on his own, we knew it'd be hard and that he'd need a lot of support. We knew
that the hardest for him to quit would be cigarrettes, so we agreed to give up
something ourselves; I would stop cracking my knuckles and Hermana Stepp would
stop apologizing every 5 seconds. Haha it sounded good to him, and he committed
to living the word of wisdom. Another miracle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday we called President Jackson to be sure Oscar would
be able to get baptized because he has a complicated <span style="color: #1f497d;">personal </span>situation. It's really difficult. So we
asked President if there was any way he could be baptized Saturday and he said
only <span style="color: #1f497d;">under very specific circumstances. </span>We
needed some divine intervention<span style="color: #1f497d;">, so w</span>e
fasted Saturday and Sunday to be able to know what to tell Oscar and that some
how, some way, he could still be baptized the 20th. Church was awesome. The
classes and talks were perfect for him - even the hymns seemed to be handpicked.
After sacrament meeting Oscar went up to Marcos (the secretary and one of his
friends at church) and asked him if he would baptize him. Marcos was super
honored and of course said yes. They hugged and it was really really
sweet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Last night we had the make-it-or-break-it-lesson. I was super
nervous all day. When we broke the news to him that he couldn't be baptized on
Saturday, he didn't take it very well. At all. He said we'd embarrassed him and
tricked him and he didn't think what he was doing was wrong. He said if he
couldn't get baptized Saturday, he would never get baptized. I started to get
really emotional in the lesson and it was hard to stay in there with him. I've
put so much time and energy into this man and I love him so much. I know he
knows this church is true and he's changed a ton in the last couple months
because of it, so it's hard for me to see him give up. I want him to be happy
and to receive all the blessings of the gospel, and even though that's not
possible right this second, it doesn't mean it's not worth waiting for. I
expressed to him my desire for him to stick to what he knows is true and to
continue coming to church and meeting with us because we are willing to do all
we can to help him get things in order. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I don't understand what happened. Especially because I prayed
and fasted more intensly than I ever have in my life that things would turn out
well and that he would be accepting and understanding. And in the end, we've
lost him. It was such a hard night and I was really upset. But I've tried to
remind myself that if it had been the Lord's will, things would have turned out
differently. I guess it's not Oscar's time right now and I'm having a hard time
accepting that and not blaming myself. He was my miracle this transfer and he
was scheduled to get baptized Saturday, but now he won't even answer our
phonecalls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It's been super hard, but I know God loves him and hasn't
forgotten about him. And neither will I. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-66379377974780846192013-07-08T23:29:00.001-04:002013-07-08T23:29:46.688-04:00''...and they were few.''<div>
Hi people :)</div>
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This week literally flew by. Seriously, it went so fast.</div>
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Monday: I fell and basically killed myself. I think I've gotten even
clumsier these days, which I didn't know was possible. Anyhow, so I was getting
on the bus and had a bunch of stuff in my hands and was distracted by a number
of other things and well, I missed the step. It was suuuuper embarrassing. So I
fell and cut up my left leg pretty bad. Basically it felt like someone took a
hammer to my shin and blood was running down my leg. We went home and cleaned it
up and went back out to work. From right below my knee to right about my ankle
is all bruises and it's all swollen and it looks pretty awesome. It's a week
later and now the bruises are finally starting to turn yellow, but I think the
cut is infected though so that sucks. I've developed a little bit of a limp, but
all is well.</div>
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Tuesday: We spent mediodia at my favorite Bolivian restaurant to celebrate
Eduardo's (my recent convert from Leganes) birthday and it was really fun seeing
him. We've decided to start singing with the Sullivans in the park every Tuesday
evening and it's been awesome. This particular Tuesday I had two really
spiritual experiences. The first was with this couple from Boston. I was excited
because they were American and I could talk to them in English. They hadn't
heard a whole lot about that church and asked for the basics. When I got to the
Joseph Smith story I felt the Spirit so strong, like soooo strong. I almost
started to cry as I testified of the boy prophet when the man stopped me. He
said, ''Sister Munden, thank you for telling us about your church. I think this
is the longest I've ever listened to someone talk about Mormons. But don't go
on. I've already zoned out and I don't want to hear anything more. Please
stop.'' And then just like that they walked away. For some reason I was so hurt.
I've gotten so used to rejection that normally it doesn't hurt anymore, but this
time it stung. I was confused as to why I had been prompted to talk to that
couple. I was stunned that even though I was feeling the Spirit so intensly,
they weren't. And I was sad that they'd asked me to stop. I returned to the
group and i got choked up as I sang, but then a few minutes later I felt a
similar prompting, and had another experience.</div>
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His name wa José Antonio and he was Spanish. I sat next to him and
explained why we were singing in the park and what we're doing here as
missionaries. I said he believed in God and I asked him how he'd seen the
presence of God in his life. He counted to me an experience (is that how you say
it?) he'd had when his wife was dying in the same hopsital his mother had passed
away in. He had to leave her for the night and he said he was suffering on his
walk home alone. He wasn't sure she was going to make it and he was really low,
when all of a sudden he felt someone walking with him. He looked around and
nobody was there, but he knew that God was with him. He knew he had a Father in
Heaven who loved him and his wife and that, no matter what happened, everything
would be okay. We both had tears in our eyes and I knew that this man knew God.
I testified of the plan of salvation and then it was time to go. Unfortunately,
José Antonio doesn't live in our area, but I passed his number along to the
missionaries who work near where he lives.</div>
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Wednesday: One year since I went to the temple! It was actually a super
lame day and not a thing stands out as cool. Haha except we ate with the
bishop's wife and she made us some bomb Peruvian food.</div>
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Thursday: We had Zone Conference and it was super good. President and
Hermana Jackson were wearing red white and blue and we started the conference by
singing the national anthem. It was an awesome conference. We read parts of
Jacob 5 and President talked about the allegory of the olive tree and how we're
the people talked about when the Lord goes to nourish his vineyard for ''the
last time.'' At the end of verse 70 it says the laborers were few and then I
love what it says in verses 71 and 72. We are laboring with the Lord and we have
finding joy in the fruit. This is His work and it is a joyous work. We talked
even more about miracles and then we had our own little miracle on
Friday...</div>
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Friday: We had the best lesson ever with Oscar. This man is seriously
incredible and things just keep getting better and better with him. The one
thing we have been nervous about though is that he smokes a lot. We've been
really anxious about bringing up the Word of Wisdom and aren't sure how he'll
react to it. So in weekly planning we asked Heavenly Father help us find a way
to help Oscar with his addiction. And then the answer to our prayer came in our
lesson that night. We just got done teaching him the plan of salvation and he
was about to say the prayer when he pulled out his pack of cigarettes and set
them on the table in front of him and goes, ''You'll see in a second why I took
these out.'' Then he says the most sincere prayer. He expressed gratitude for us
and for the change that is taking place in him. Then he told Heavenly Father he
wants to quit smoking and asked for help to ''get rid of this vice.'' I was
shocked! And so grateful at the same time! We didn't have to bring up the
smoking issue, he did it on his own! We told him about this cool 15 step quit
smoking program we have and told him we'd bring it to him on Sunday. He also
asked me if, when they day comes, I would baptize him and even thought I
explained that I couldn't, it was super sweet!</div>
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Saturday: We went to Hermana Hansen and Hermana Smith's baptism and then we
had English class. It was show and tell! People brought the most random things,
but it was super fun. When it was my turn I talked about my tag and why it was
special to me. Then afterwards we invited two people to a baptism we were going
to that night. Jaime's baptism! I'm sure you remember Jaime. I taught him with
Hermana Olsen and then we found out he didn't live in our area. Well, he got
baptized! He was so cute and I was glad I got to go.</div>
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Madrid is on fire. It was 41º the other day and I think that's something
like 106º. We're dying - especially because we don't have air conditioning. We
just have a bunch of fans and turn all the lights off. We go to bed sweating, we
wake up sweating, and we're basically just gross all the time. Haha it's super
fun. But life is good. Transfers are in two weeks and I'm really hoping I get to
go to the north.</div>
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I hope everything is good back home! I can't WAIT to hear when Conner is
going so I hope he gets his call reeeeaal quick. I love you!!!!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Hermana Munden</div>
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P.S. I have pictures, but I forgot my cord. Next week!</div>
Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-90525176902767882802013-07-01T17:02:00.000-04:002013-07-05T12:18:55.488-04:00I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it,... <div>
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Hi Family!<o:p></o:p></div>
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This week went by super fast. It was good though. Well, for
the most part. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had a really spiritual experience at our Zone training
Meeting. At the end, the Zone Leaders talked about how as missionaries we're
trying our best to help Heavenly Father's children make it back to him, and
how sweet that reunion will be for each of us. We watched this video of military
moms and dads suprising their kids and at first I didn't understand what it had
to do with anything, but then I realized that we're going to be even happier
than that when we see our Heavenly Father again. I read a talk this week from
the last General Conference and someone quoted President Benson when he
said, ''Nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the
other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face
is to us.'' I just get chills reading that! I can't wait to get to that day and
I like helping others get there too. After the video was over there wasn't a dry
eye in the room. We quietly went outside and sang ''The Spirit of God'' as we
faced the temple. It was really powerful.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Oscar is quickly becoming my favorite investigator. He
say<span style="color: #1f497d;">s</span> that he feels more calm and at peace
since he's started coming to church and meeting with us. He feels a change in
him and he said other people have noticed it too. I love hearing people bear
their new testimonies. Oscar came to Inussa's baptism and to the talent show we
had this weekend!</div>
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Inussa's baptism was awesome - and he looked so good in
white! The Elders' Quorum President came up to Oscar and said, ''That's gonna be
you one day - future member right here!''<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZB1Ehrgzjo2KZ4Whp02nR-IeBo_lExm6lRp8I2oN1iQ8KhpK4i3SaJC5Ch8KXvxgyx7uTC3DSBi4WiDAqaeYS8HJfzRloUcAHCW3mszp9W-Exv-7C8m-1gSnnyisoAV6wNU0LavsHVo/s1600/IMG_0036%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ZB1Ehrgzjo2KZ4Whp02nR-IeBo_lExm6lRp8I2oN1iQ8KhpK4i3SaJC5Ch8KXvxgyx7uTC3DSBi4WiDAqaeYS8HJfzRloUcAHCW3mszp9W-Exv-7C8m-1gSnnyisoAV6wNU0LavsHVo/s400/IMG_0036%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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He just smiled and said, ''Yep, that's
why I come. I wanna live better. If I didn't I wouldn't keep coming.'' Ahhhh I
love him! During the service the four of us hermanas sang ''Lord, I Would Follow
Thee'' and it was really cool. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday was the talent show! We had planned to dance the
Macarena the 6 of us missionaries, but Elder Castaldi got all embarrassed and
weird like half an hour before the show, so we had to come up with something
else. </div>
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The only talent the 4 of us have that's worth sharing is our voices. Haha
so Hermana Hansen and I thought of something reeeeaaal cool. We had them turn
all the lights off and from backstage with microphones we sang ''Acompañame''
which in English is ''Abide With Me.'' It was really awesome because the Spanish
lyrics are better and part says ''Todo es oscuro y temor me da'' which means
everything is dark and it makes me afraid so it was cool that we were singing in
the dark. I don't know man, maybe you just had to be there. Anyhow. Well then
after like half an hour Inussa wanted to do something with us, so he, Juan Luís,
and Adelson danced the Macarena with us. Haha it was pretty
funny.<br />
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Then Sunday I gave my talk. It was pretty good I suppose. I
would send it to you, but you probably wouldn't understand it :) I told a story
about you Mom! Don't worry, it was a good one. The lady who was supposed to feed
us completely forgot about us, so that was awkward. Aaaand that's about it. It
was a hard week because of a lot of different stuff, but there's no time for
negativity today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope you all have a happy 4th of July! We taught our
English class the national anthem and they liked it. It's just a normal day for
us, but I plan on wearing red, white, and blue. AMURICUH.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-14989537179529932092013-06-24T13:52:00.002-04:002013-06-24T13:52:52.512-04:00I may not make it til morning it's so flipping hot.<div>
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Saludos de España!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Things that made me happy this week...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Talking
to Sister Cha who's home from her mission now. All my trainers are home now and
it's cool to be able to talk to them. I can't believe that's going to be in 7
and a half months. Ew.<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Receiving
39 referrals. Most of them came from the old area books. There are teaching
records of people who were taught anywhere between 1 to 6 years ago. We went
through them, called some people up, and we have plans to meet with them this
week. Who knows, maybe now is their time!<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">The
talk the AP's gave at our district meeting about faith, power, and miracles.
They talked about how God has the power to make absolutely anything happen. We
just have to have faith and show Him we believe miracles can happen, and then be
the means by which those miracles are brought to pass. Our mission goal is 1000
baptisms this year and we're only at 174, which means it'll take a miracle to
reach that goal. But it can happen because the Lord is on our side and He is a
God of miracles.<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Gusto
came to the baptism we invited him to. It was Hermana Rica's very first baptism
and she was super nervous but everything turned out perfectly. The kid's name
was Noslen and he brought his parents who aren't members. It was really
cool.<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">Remembering
it was Mom & Tom's anniversary on Friday and thinking about Hawaii all day.
Happy Anniversary by the way! So weird that I was 11 when we went to Hawaii the
first time, and here we are 11 years later.<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">MARCO
calling US and asking to meet, which never happens. We read the Book of Mormon
together and afterwards I asked him to come to church. He said no, that he
couldn't because he would be at a friends house. I said some things that made
him think about his priorities and he agreed to come. Then he came and stayed
all three hours!<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">The
sweet ladies who fed us lunch after church - one of them turned to me and goes,
''You know, I used to think you were stuck up. But you're actually really
nice!'' ...that always happens to me<o:p></o:p>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">I
SAW RAFA AT THE TEMPLE! It's been a whole month or so since I'd seen that dude.
But we had a little heart to heart while we watched the MTC missionaries sing
and I told him he was gonna serve a mission one day and when he does, he's be up
there singing with them. He said he'll go to the New York Manhattan Mission :)
He's also coming to Inussa's baptism on Friday! <o:p></o:p></li>
</li>
</li>
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It was a good week, but I'm hoping this one will be even
better. On Wednesday evening we're going to sing in the park with the Sullivans.
They are one of the senior couples I flew out here with - he's in the MTC
presidency and they work with the JAS (YSA). Anyhow, so they were in the MOTAB
for like 15 years and obviously they have beauuuutiful voices, so I'm excited to
sing with them. On Friday is Inussa's baptism. He's the other hermanas'
investigator, but we see him all the time too and I love that man. I'm so happy
he's getting baptized! Then Saturday is the ward talent show that the YM and YW
are in charge of and they've asked us to do something. We'll see how that
goes... <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then Sunday is our ward's Missionary Sunday. The original
plan was for Elder Pizarro, me, and two ward missionaries to speak and then have
a musical number by us and the Primary, but President Jackson just sent us an
email saying we're going to watch the worldwide missionary broadcast in our
wards this Sunday, so I'm not sure what on earth is going on. Haha if I do have
to speak though, I'm going to be super nervous. I can talk forever in English,
but 10 minutes in Spanish in front of 200 people is going to seem like an
eternity. But speaking of the missionary broadcast, I'm super pumped to watch
it. No one tells us anything, so we didn't hear about it til last night when
Hermana Sullivan mentioned it. But it sounds really cool. It's incredible how
the Lord is hastening His work with more missions, more missionaries, and all
these new missionary tools. We're turning into an unstoppable force, and that's
just as it should be. I can't wait for Conner to get his call! You must email me
immediately okay? I secretly hope he gets sent to the Spain Madrid Mission -
that'd be neat. It's an exciting time to be a missionary and I'm happy to get to
share this experience with him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, I love you all. So so much. Don't forget that
:)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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''And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will
be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people,
that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of
my Father. Amen.'' (D&C 15:6)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can't wait to rest with all my Provo and Spain people ''in
the kingdom of my Father'' :)<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: 7pt;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-63170866794671709752013-06-17T13:51:00.000-04:002013-06-24T13:51:51.402-04:009 months down, only 8 to go... me encanta ser misionera<div>
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Hi Family!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am so glad this week is over<span style="color: #1f497d;">,
</span>not because it was particularly bad or anything, but because the first
week of every transfer is always awkward, stressful, and challenging. Monday was
busy with cleaning, organizing, rearranging, and helping Hermana Stepp get
settled in. We had to say goodbye to Hermana Burgos, who got transfered to
Oviedo in the north, and that was really sad. She's incredible and was there for
me last transfer when I needed cheering up.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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Hermana Stepp is very sweet<span style="color: #1f497d;">.
</span>Every morning she makes my bed for me while I'm in the bathroom brushing
my teeth, and on days when I don't have time, she surprises me with an omlet.
We've been out the exact same time, except I have more time in the field. She
visawaited in the Idaho Pocatello Mission until she came here in March which is
cool because she knows some of the elders from my MTC
district! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The highlights from Tuesday are seeing Mari and José, two new
investigators, and Hermana Stepp finding me. While we were sitting on the temple
steps waiting for an appointment to show up, someone came up from behind me and
covered my eyes. I turned around and it was Mari from Leganés! I was so happy to
see her and she said Evelyn talks about me all the time. Mari has a calling and
José had just had his interview to receive the Melchizedec (not sure if that's
how you spell it, I've been spelling it in Spanish for awhile...) priesthood.
It's so awesome to hear how well their family is progressing. Later that evening
we had a lesson with Marco and Iván. I had called Marco's home phone to remind
him about the lesson, but Iván answered so I just invited him to come as well!
They both showed up and we had a really good lesson. <span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At some point during the day we were contacting in the metro.
We were in the same metro car, but in different spots so that we could be more
efficient contacting, but I told Hermana Stepp that we were going to get off in
Estrella. Well the Estrella stop came up and I got off, but I noticed as I was
walking out, that she wasn't getting off too. I watched the metro go by and
didn't see her anywhere! I've made it 9 months without being separated from my
companion so I was a little nervous. I went up the stairs and out of the metro
station and just hoped and prayed that she'd somehow find me. Not even ten
minutes later I saw her coming out of the station. The Spirit had led her back
to me :)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday I hit 9 months! It should be my halfway mark, but
since I'm only serving 17 months and 1 week, my halfway mark was last month. I
come home 8 months from tomorrow. During personal study, Hermana Hansen and
Hermana Smith came in with French toast and sang ''Feliz Cumplemes'' to us.
They're pretty dang cute. The rest of the day was good. We had a lesson with
Oscar and then did some contacting in the park. My favorite African David bought
us some strawberry popsicles for our cumplemes and then we ended the night at
the chapel for an activity.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday I woke up sick (I've never been as sick as I have
these last 9 months I've been on my mission), but Hermana Smith drugged me up
and took care of me. After studies, weekly planning, and mediodia, we had a
lesson with Hortensia. And it went greeeeaaaaat because she told us that things
with her daughter are improving! She said her daughter bought her a pair of
shoes, wrote her a sweet poem, and has been helping out around the house. It's
amazing what multiple people praying for one purpose can do. After Hortensia, we
had a lesson with Marco and then he ended up coming to Noche de Hogar. Hermana
Stepp gave the spiritual thought, and then we taught them all how to play
hangman. It was pretty fun. After the Noche de Hogar, Elder Pizarro and Elder
Castaldi gave me a blessing. I'm so grateful to be serve with elders who are
worthy of and honor their priesthood.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday morning we had a lesson with Eloy.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>We stressed the importance of faith as a
principle of action and that faith leads us to make changes, sacrifices, and
goals that bring us closer to God. We recommitted him to being baptized on July
6th and he knows that if he wants to make that happen, he needs to start making
church on Sundays a priority. That afternoon we had a lesson with Antony. He's
20, so we brought along Arturo and Bianca who are his age and who knew him
before when the elders were teaching him. We were going to watch a movie, but
his laptop wouldn't accept the DVD, so we each shared with him our favorite
scripture and testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. The other
appointments we had that day failed us, but at 8 we went to meet this girl
Raysa. Her dad had been taught by the elders like 6 months ago, but she'd never
listened very much. It was awesome meeting her and we're seeing her again on
Tuesday. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday morning we had English class. We taught them some
tongue twisters. My favorite was when we did ''fuzzy wuzzy was a bear, fuzzy
wuzzy had no hair, fuzzy wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy was he'' because this guy
Carlos turned it into a rap and it was hilaaaarious. Then I picked up my package
from the B8 hermanas! I love mail sooooooo much. And I just considered that my 9
month package. It was a very nice surprise. Thank you! We got a call from Sergio
and he goes, ''Hey hermanas, what time is your lesson with Eliesque?'' I told
him it was at 5 and he said, ''Okay, I'll meet you at the church at 5 then. See
you later!'' Sergio is the man. I told him a week ago that we had a lesson with
this dude, and then he just called and said he wanted to come! I love that guy.
Eliesque ended up failing us, but it was super nice of Sergio to offer to
come!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday was good. Oscar and Eloy both came to church! The
ward has been 150% better about talking to our investigators when we bring them
to church and I'm really happy about it. I took a bomb nap during mediodia and
then we had a lesson with Vic. We taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ and then
she brought up baptism.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>I told her that her
Heavenly Father has a ton of blessings prepared for her, and a lot of those will
only come from being baptized in the true church of Jesus Christ. We invited her
to pray about it because really it's between her and God and we don't want to
make her do anything. Hermana Stepp made a good point that it's our
responsibility as missionaries to make sure she knows the truth and help her
understand it and that the way she'll know what's the right thing for her to do
is to pray. We only see her once a week so I'm hoping after a week of praying
about it, she'll feel more sure of what she needs to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
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I'm happy. I love being a missionary. I like it so much. It
is the hardest thing I've ever done and I've felt
frustrated/discouraged/sad/angry/homesick and like I wanted to give up and
times, but I wouldn't trade the last 9 months for anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-44378386481724994182013-06-11T19:18:00.001-04:002013-06-24T09:16:22.015-04:00''Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven''<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi Family!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<br />
Today is transfer day! I'm staying in Pavones and Hermana Olsen is going to Vallecas, so I'm with Hermana Stepp.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week was GOOD. On Monday we had the activity at the mission home. All the missionaries serving around Madrid came to the mission home and we played tennis, ping pong, basketball, soccer, volleyball, the piano and guitar, and then ate pulled pork sandwiches. It was really awesome. Then that night Dr. Borras called me because I'd been experiencing the same pain as I was a few months ago and he had a new antibiotic for me to try. So we spent the rest of Monday going to his office to pick up the prescription and then picking up the medicine from a pharmacy. After all that hassle, we started calling old investigators from the phone to try and set appointments up with them and we got to talk to five!</div>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4P5-M7K6Ck/Ub5HRgPlmXI/AAAAAAAACDQ/HNAom2Oj-ro/s1600/CIMG0001%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4P5-M7K6Ck/Ub5HRgPlmXI/AAAAAAAACDQ/HNAom2Oj-ro/s640/CIMG0001%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
This is our piso: Hermanas Rica, Burgos, me, Olsen, Smith (and Hansen is taking the picture)</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday morning we had a lesson with Eloy. We spent the whole time talking about church - why it's important, what we do, and how it will help prepare him to get baptized. Then we set his baptism for June 29th.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>He is really very sweet and super sincere. He wants to learn and soaks everything up like a sponge. After that we had a lesson with this new guy named Oscar. He's Peruvian and in his late 40's. He was a reference from the MTC missionaries and this was our first time meeting him. He seemed super sad and lonely. He said he only had like 4 friends and not even his family talks to him. We shared a scripture with him and talked a little bit about our purpose as missionaries. He didn't seem extremely interested, but he committed to coming to church and set up an appointment with us for tomorrow!<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday night we had a lesson with Gusto (who just barely told us his name is actually Justo after we've been saying it wrong for a month). He hasn't been reading the Book of Mormon, so we thought we'd read it with him. We picked 1 Nephi 3 when Nephi and his brothers go get the brass plates from wicked Laban. Hermana Olsen and I read in English while Ryan (the 18 yearold son of the Filipino family) read in Tagalog and explained parts to Gusto that he didn't understand. He thought the story was really cool and told us he would read the next chapter on his own to find out what happens. Ryan was really cute and gave him a magnifying glass because it's hard for Gusto to see the words sometimes.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ggyVanlYnE4/UbezL7qxq-I/AAAAAAAACC4/CGIbwXGmvKE/s1600/DSC04952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ggyVanlYnE4/UbezL7qxq-I/AAAAAAAACC4/CGIbwXGmvKE/s640/DSC04952.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is me and Gusto, our Filipino investigator. He is hands down the funniest man I've ever met. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After that, we headed back to Pavones to have a lesson with David, a recent convert. Well, this night, we found him sitting with his friend Juan Luis when we showed up. David and Juan Luis are both Spanish, both recent converts, and like best friends. So basically they're the cutest things ever. And David invited Juan Luis to come to the lesson with us. We were SO glad he did, because David was friendly, talkative, sweet, and the nicest we'd ever seen him! We talked about Christ and how their relationships with Him have changed since being a member of the church. David was actually a Jehovah's Witness before we was baptized, so he told us how his whole idea of who Jesus Christ is and his role in our lives has changed since joining the church. It was really neat. He'll hit his 1 year mark on June 30th, he's getting endowded July 2nd, and he and his girlfriend are getting sealed July 11th. So exciting!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7IhzBQJOZo/Ub5HbnWMxsI/AAAAAAAACDg/d5bjz4CSuEw/s1600/DSCN8206%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r7IhzBQJOZo/Ub5HbnWMxsI/AAAAAAAACDg/d5bjz4CSuEw/s640/DSCN8206%255B1%255D.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our friend from the park, David</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Wednesday morning was the temple. I love to seeeeeee the teeeemple. For real though. Best day of the whole transfer. We took pictures outside and it was the last time I'll see Elder Gonzalez because he goes home tomorrow! I hate when people leave. It's so sad. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjo5K_jB_lqJughtgCqElNBEsh4_u7AK9T7f5tH1x34EtheCz3M-c7XLo1O_2lUFy2OqwPp6c8vCwFnQ5M9sE30S8Qxl4s5kFu9DE_PVAgP-59gFgn42PmAv4VMxKd8-IlE5xAqk1wK0/s1600/CIMG0023%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJjo5K_jB_lqJughtgCqElNBEsh4_u7AK9T7f5tH1x34EtheCz3M-c7XLo1O_2lUFy2OqwPp6c8vCwFnQ5M9sE30S8Qxl4s5kFu9DE_PVAgP-59gFgn42PmAv4VMxKd8-IlE5xAqk1wK0/s640/CIMG0023%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Last night at the temple</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkAtm43H8mxO0ltzFVSgCIZInSNv15mHlz6z9EOzaxfdvYqvyw1E8OdJwf_EY-J63QC5QVGMujMorS1p7QJ1c61mUcOSYpUxpCEQ14J9Rxi34mM-8nuE6c3rj6pClytVylEPqAWiXJIM/s1600/CIMG0027%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkAtm43H8mxO0ltzFVSgCIZInSNv15mHlz6z9EOzaxfdvYqvyw1E8OdJwf_EY-J63QC5QVGMujMorS1p7QJ1c61mUcOSYpUxpCEQ14J9Rxi34mM-8nuE6c3rj6pClytVylEPqAWiXJIM/s640/CIMG0027%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The MTC missionaries sing on the temple steps every Sunday afternoon</td></tr>
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The biggest part of the day I guess was our lesson with Rafa. We taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ and then I asked him if he knew the church was true. He said he did because something had told him it was true. I asked what that something was and he said he thought it was the Holy Ghost. Ahhh so proud of him! I love when I get to see the lightbulb go on and investigators begin to understand the Holy Ghost. I invited him to be baptized on June 29th and he said yes! I loooooove Rafa. After the lesson we went outisde and I saw Renato on the phone. He waved at us and said he was talking to his dad who was in Brazil. Renato has been teaching me Portugues so I asked if I could talk to his dad. I told him, ''Hi I'm Brazilian and I speak Portuguese. Today is a nice day and I'm a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.'' He laughed and laughed and said something in Portuguese that I did not understand one bit. Haha it was awesome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday Eloy showed up at Noche de Hogar. This guy Sergio was super cute with him. He gave him a tour of the church and then took him outside to look at the temple. He had him read the front and goes, ''That says 'the house of the Lord, which Eloy will soon enter'''. I love Sergio.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday morning we went BACK to Aluche to get my residency card. The line was like an hour and a half long, but we got it! I'm officially a resident of Spain. I feel super official. After that we came home and made lunch for the elders. We feel bad because every Sunday we pass around a meal calendar and no one ever signs up to feed them. So last Sunday I signed us up. We made pizza and they brought ice cream AND did the dishes. Their mothers taught them right. Friday night was kind of hectic because we had our dinner for the ward. Our ward mission leader, the ward missionaries, and the six of us made food from our different countries and fed the ward. Soo many people came. We had 12 nonmembers, 15 less actives, and 50 or something members. Hermana Olsen and I made sloppy joe's, the most American thing we could think of. We almost ran out of food, but everyone who came got to eat. None of us got anything, but that was okay. Haha Rafa and Marcos showed up! I was really glad they came. I was especially proud of Rafa because his phone is broken so I couldn't even text him to remind him. He just came all on his own!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Us Barrios 6 missionaries after our Cena Cultural Misional</div>
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Saturday morning we had a million people in our English class and it was really fun. Afterwards we had a lesson with Oscar and this time he was way more open and even accepted an invitation to be baptized when he knows the church is true. He's gonna start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and he came to Stake Conference on Sunday!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Sunday was awesome. Stake Conference was really good. The Stake YM President gave a talk on the worth of every soul and at the end he said, ''If any one of you here thinks you're not important, you're wrong. God loves you and you matter to Him.'' It was really powerful and I was glad Oscar heard that. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It's so true. We all matter. Everyone is a son or daughter of God and He loves us beyond comprehension. I love my knowledge of that. It keeps me going when life seems impossible. I love you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p><br />
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P.S. I hit 9 months on Wednesday. What the heck...Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-26716453025087833792013-06-09T23:31:00.002-04:002013-06-24T09:16:58.974-04:00HAPPY JUNE :)<div>
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Hellllooooooo<o:p></o:p></div>
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We've spent like all day today at the mission home with all the missionaries serving around Madrid, so I'm beat. It was super fun and I got to see people I haven't seen in awhile and I said bye to Elder Gonzalez and Elder Forrest who are leaving next Monday. Speaking of next Monday, this is the last week of the transfer! It blows my mind how fast time flies in the mission. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This week went by pretty quick. I don't have a ton of time, but I'll give you the jist...<o:p></o:p></div>
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Monday: Pday in the park. We went shopping with David from Africa and I bought two scarves. Both of our lessons failed us, so we contacted in the metro all night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday: Hermana Olsen spent the day at the Mission Home for a leadership training meeting, so I was with Hermana Seastrand all day. She's so awesome. Later that night we had a lesson with Gusto and he said he's not ready to get baptized because he's nervous people will make fun of him and judge him. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday: That morning we had Zone Training Meeting and it was really long, but so good. And some guy from Barrio 5 arranged for all the missionaries in Madrid to have A&W rootbeer. I hate rootbeer but it was still sweet, and super American. After ZTM we were supposed to have four lessons back to back, but three failed us, so we went contacting. At 8 we had a lesson with David. As I saw him walking up the steps, I turned to Armine (an RM sister from our ward) and asked if she wanted to come read the Book of Mormon with us. Of course she said yes. So we grabbed her and headed off to our lesson. We read Jacob 4 and talked about prophets. We talked about our living prophet and invited David to pray about Thomas S. Monson. Afterwards, we invited him to church on Sunday, but he reminded us he'd be in Toledo. Armine saved the day and invited him to church in Toledo. I wrote down the information and let him know I'd call the elders and let them know he's coming... He ended up not going. This guy Renato taught me some Portugues and we saw Paul from Leganés.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday: I didn't hate weekly planning for the first time ever. We had an awesome plan of salvation lesson with Rafa and this cool guy Sergio came. And then Rafa stayed for Noche de Hogar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don't remember what happened Friday, Saturday, or Sunday because I don't have my planner and I'm not caught up in my journal. I'm especially bad this week on details and miracles and everything else. But I'm happy. Life is still good. I'll be better next week I swear.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh wait! Saturday was Paola and Jéssica's baptism. I'm super bummed I wasn't there, but Hermana Blodgett told me all about it and apparently it was really awesome. I called Hermana Blodgett and got to talk to them like an hour before the baptism and they sounded so happy. Paola cried and told me not to forget her. But there's no way. I love them so much.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I love you! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Love, (so much love)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<br />
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P.S. Happy Graduation, Conner and Hadley! I took a moment of silence for you guys on Saturday and I have your senior pictures in my planner. Haha I can't believe my babies are all grown up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-16710906919839961002013-05-28T16:29:00.000-04:002013-05-30T16:30:40.190-04:00''Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with thee forever and ever.'' D&C 122:9<div>
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Hi Family!<o:p></o:p></div>
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So what's really weird is that on
Friday I hit my halfway mark in the mission. And as of Saturday, I've been in
the Spain Madrid Mission longer than I was in the Utah Provo Mission. Time has
seriously flown. I can't even believe I'm on the downhill. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This week was good - pretty
typical. Tuesday we had a lesson with a lady we were hoping to make a new
investigator. Well, she told me she lived in Vicálvaro, but once we got there,
we could not find her house to save our lives. We asked this older gentleman if
he knew of the address and he said we needed to hop on bus 100 and that the bus
driver would tell us when to get off. So we did just that. But the bus driver
didn't tell us to get of til the very end of the line, so we ended up having to
walk an extra ten minutes. We got so frustrated with finding the dang address,
we almost just gave up and called to reschedule. But then we found it! And it's
a good thing we did. After a few minutes of getting to know her we found out she
was actually a member. She got baptized in Paraguay, but hadn't been to church
since she moved to Spain. I shared a scripture with her and afterwards I asked
what it meant to her. She got emotional and said it was just what she needed.
She said she suffers from severe depression, that she'd really been struggling
that particular morning, and that my scripture may have saved her life. I'm glad
we didn't give up on finding her, and I'm grateful that the Holy Ghost told me
what this sweet woman needed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Later that day I got a call from
Elder Pizarro and he goes, ''Hermana Munden, what does ah-way-sew-may mean?''
Obviously very confused, I asked him what the heck he was talking about, but he
just repeated the word. Then he said that on his to do list in his planner it
said ''tell Hermana Munden she's awesome'' and he didn't know what awesome
meant. Hahahahahhahaha it was so hilarious. I'd forgotten I wrote that. He's
picked up a lot of English from serving around American missionaries and I
figured he knew what awesome was, but I guess not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday was the best day ever.
I was anxious all morning because on Tuesday Elder Forrest told me that Yo had
gotten to Spain and that she was in my district! I got ready super fast and
after studies we went down to wait for the rest of the district to show up. And
THEN I saw Hermana Scheu! It was the best thing ever. It's probably a good thing
we're not companions right now because instead of working, we'd probably just
talk about our Ecuador babies all day. Haha I love her so much and I'm very
happy she's in my district.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That afternoon we had a lesson
with Jaime. We taught him the plan of salvation and took a good 2 hours because
the man talks so much. He's really sweet though. And when it felt right, I asked
him to be baptized on June 7th and he said yes! He's so excited and we're really
happy for him. He's a good man and he's going to be such a faithful and strong
member of the church.<br />
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Thursday we had a lesson with Rafa. He showed up 20
minutes late so we didn't have time to teach our planned lesson before we had to
be at correlation. I wasn't really sure what to each so I asked him how his
reading was going. He grabbed the book and started flipping through. He stopped
at the introduction page and said, ''Well, I've read this... Uh, I've looked at
the pictures...'' Hahaha what a punk. And then he said he read the scripture we
gave him. I had no idea what he was talking about, but then he flipped to
Helaman 5:12 and I remembered I'd texted that to him the other day. So we talked
about the wise man and the foolish man and how Christ is the rock upon which we
should build our lives. It was really good. He's a punk, like any 17 year-old
kid would be, but he surprises me a lot and he's awesome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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K so I have to talk about Gusto,
our Filipino investigator. Oh my gosh I love this man so much. He's so so so
funny. And he always shows up early to lessons. By early I mean like two hours
early. So on the way to the Filipino family's house he said he'd been riding the
metro back and forth to kill time. Haha who does that? The man kills me. And
then ten minutes later, out of nowhere he just says, ''Jesus was born in
Bethlehem.'' I love Gusto. Anyhow, we had two really good lessons with him this
week. I'm so happy there is a Filipino family in our ward who opens their home
to us and helps us teach Gusto because it's really hard on our own because of
the language barrier. But I love teaching him and I love the family who helps
us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After our lesson with Jaime
earlier in the week we found out that he actually doesn't live in our area,
which obviously was hard because it meant we'd have to give him to other
missionaries. So on Friday we had a lesson with us, him, and the other hermanas
who will teach him from now on. We taught the lesson on the gospel of Jesus
Christ and it went well, except when Hermana Stepp said the Holy Ghost is like
yogurt and discotecas are like jalapeños............. Nobody really understood
where she was trying to go with that. Poor thing. Overall it was a really good
lesson and it provided a smooth transition from us to them. Jaime is in really
good hands.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This week a lot of
spanish-speaking missionaries and people on the street have told me how good my
Spanish is, or that it's improved a lot. I just remember back to the MTC when I
felt like I was struggling a ton with teaching in Spanish, and I'm so happy I've
gotten to a point where I feel so comfortable with the language. I'm blessed
that I don't struggle with what to say aanymore and that my accent doesn't
immediately identify me as an American. It makes everything so much
easier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, I have to go. I'll finish this week next week. Haha I
wanna go home and take a nap before pday is over. I love youuuuu!
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Love,<br />
Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-59638996385573949282013-05-21T10:59:00.001-04:002013-06-03T12:33:57.748-04:00Highlights from week 3 of transfer 6 (a.k.a. lamest subject line ever)<div>
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Hi Family!<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was soo good to talk to you yesterday! And to see your faces. I miss you guys. This week was better than last, so that's something to be happy about. I don't have a ton of time today, so here are the highlights of my week...<o:p></o:p><br />
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cutie girl from the ward with all our chapas on</div>
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After we watched the Joseph Smith movie with Rafa on Monday we asked what he thought. He said, ''Well I guess his life was kind of like Jesus' right? I mean, the people didn't believe Joseph was a prophet and that he saw God so they killed him. The people in Jesus' time didn't believe He was who He said He was, so they cruicified Him.'' Duuuuuuuuude this kid is so great. He's super quite, but then when he does say stuff, pure gold comes out!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday morning in our lesson with Eloy (it's been a whole transfer since he'd had time to meet with missionaries) he wanted to talk about baptism. We put him on date for June 8th and he said he's excited. That day I also got a call from the hermanas in Alcalá. Hermana Judy told me she was with someone who wanted to talk to me. It was Soto (my companion in Provo) who told me that she's in our mission now and I get to see her in two weeks at the temple!<o:p></o:p></div>
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On Thursday Rafa came to Family Home Evening at the church and this time a ton of youth come up to him and introduced themselves and invited him to the dance this weekend. He participated in the games and had a good time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday morning Elder Pizarro got sealed to his family in the Madrid temple. It was really cute to see him reunited with his parents and two little siblings after not seeing them for 11 months. That day we also had a lesson with our Spanish David after we thought he'd disappeared. He said a really awesome prayer after a really awesome lesson.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday was Elder Pizarro's birthday and I got our whole English class to sing to him. Haha it was fantastic. Then later we had ice cream cake with some other missionaries. That afternoon we found a random library in the park and it's our new email and lesson spot. There's floor to ceiling windows all around it so it's the best view of the park.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yesterday two investigators came to church - Jaime and Gusto. Gusto is from the Philippines and doesn't speak English or Spanish very well. I tried to translate for him during sunday school, but after awhile he just turned to me, started laughing hysterically and said, ''I don't understand anything!'' It was hilarious. Lucky for us though, after church we found a complete Filipino family for him and we're having our lesson tomorrow night at their house. After church I called President to ask him a couple questions and he told me that YO SCHEU IS COMING TOMORROW! Hooraaaaay I'll be ruinited with my Ecuador homegirl so so soon. Also my camera magically started working, so pictures will forever be a part of my emails from now on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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us last night drinking alcohol free champagne to celebrate hermana olsen's sister's wedding</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hadley and Olsen's brother in love on our fridge</td></tr>
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And then obviously I ended my night talking to you people. I love you guys! Sorry your Mother's Day call was a week late, but I'm glad we got it to happen! I love you Mama.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My official halfway point is Friday and it's freaking me out. I never wanna leave :(<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p>Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-73771926776935169692013-05-13T22:13:00.002-04:002013-05-13T22:13:05.242-04:00The hardest thing about being a missionary...<div>
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This week was really hard.
There's a complete 180º difference between the work here in Pavones and the work
in Leganés. In Leganés we had a teaching pool of about 20 people and hardly
enough time to see them all in a week. The ward, though small, was supportive,
loving, and really helpful in coming with us to teach investigators and
welcoming us into their homes for meals or to share a message. When we brought
new people to church, the bishop and at least five other people were quick to
greet them and help them feel comfortable. Here I haven't experienced any of
that. It's really difficult to do our part as missionaries when the members
don't do their part to help us, and it's gotten us really disco<span style="color: #1f497d;">u</span>raged lately.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But in my 8 months (as of
yesterday) I've figured out what the absolute hardest thing for me is about
being a missionary: when people reject the message we have.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span> It's sad because they don't know what they're
walking away from, and I do. They're my brothers and sisters and they don't even
know the happiness and blessings they choose to miss out on. But what hurts the
absolute most is when they've received a testimony, when they've prayed and felt
their Heavenly Father's love for them, when they've seen the blessings that come
from keeping the commandments, when they've read the Book of Mormon and start to
know it's true, when they've come to church and built friendships with the
members, and then they give up. That's what kills me. It literally makes me hurt
for them. Most of the tears I've cried since being a missionary have come from
just that - people giving up on their investigation process. It's especially
difficult because there's only so much I can do. I've taught them what needs to
be taught, I've fasted and prayed for and with them, I've testified of truth and
promised blessings, and I've helped create an environment where they can feel
the Spirit and know the things I tell them are true. I've gained such a strong
testimony that the Lord is in charge. People have their agency and can choose to
accept or reject our message, but they are always in the Lord's hands. He knows
them and loves them even more than I do and He knows what they need and when it
will be their time. It's just really hard sometimes. Really, really
hard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We did have a miracle this week
though. We've been teaching this kid <span style="color: #1f497d;">w</span>h<span style="color: #1f497d;">o</span>'s 17, Bolivian, and really cool. So Saturday
night we taught him about the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ and we
brought this girl Natalie who's 19 and just got baptized 2 years ago. During
most of the lesson he was looking down at the ground and not paying a whole lot
of attention. Towards the end when we started talking about Joseph Smith and his
role in restoring Christ's church, the Spirit was definitely present. I told him
Joseph Smith's experience during the First Vision and he looked at me the whole
time and then Natalie bore her testimony on what a blessing it is to have the
true church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today. It was really powerful and I
know Rafa felt the Spirit. I asked him afterwards if he believed that the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could be Christ's true church and he said
he believed it could, but that he wanted to ask God. Then we invited him to
church the following morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next morning (yesterday) I
called Rafa at 9 to make sure he was up and still going to come. At 11:35
Hermana Olsen and I went outside to wait for him. I called him and heard that he
was on the bus and he said he was almost there. I literally squealed with
excitement. I was so proud! He's making progress! We sat together in sacrament
meeting and it was awesome. He asked questions, listened to the talks, and I
even noticed him singing along during the last two hymns. It was so good to have
him there. And he's coming to our movie night tonight! We're watching the long
Joseph Smith movie and I'm really excited.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So that's all that's really been
on my mind lately.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>My membership in the only
true church of Jesus Christ has made me who I am. A lot of people say ''I don't
even know where I'd be without the gospel.'' I know exactly where, and
<i>who</i> I'd be without the gospel of Jesus Christ and I never want to have to
experience that. Every good thing I have in my life comes from God. Because I'm
a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I know who I am and
more importantly, who I can become. This gospel is a gospel of change and
because of my faith in and testimony of Jesus Christ I can improve myself every
day. I'm so grateful for the life I've been given and for the direction and
purpose it has because of my knowledge of the truth. That knowledge and the
blessings that come from accepting the message and participating in the saving
ordinances found <i>only</i> in this church are available to EVERYONE. It's just
a matter of whether or not they choose to accept it. It's my constant hope,
prayer, and deep desire that they do whether through my efforts or those of
others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thank you all for your good
examples and service to the missionaries. We full-time missionaries are so very
dependent on your prayers, testimonies and support.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<br />Hermana Munden <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-91970557405706574102013-05-06T22:10:00.000-04:002013-05-19T20:12:10.337-04:002 Nephi 5:27<div>
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This week felt like a year. But
that's how the first week of transfers always are. I'm still not in love with my
new area, but it's growing on me. Something I really do like about Pavones
though is that we get to teach lessons on temple grounds. The people in Pavones,
even though most of them haven't heard of the church, recognize and are really
proud of the temple. It's so beauuuutiful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last Tuesday all the new baby
missionaries came! There were 27 that showed up to our mission - 11 hermanas and
16 elders. They all look so dang young. But then again, the hermanas are 19
instead of 21. We ended the night ringing timbres (knocking doors) in a piso
close to ours. We stopped at this lady's door and after we told her who we are
and what we do she said, ''You know what, I have my religion and you have yours
and I respect what you're doing, but I'm really not interested.'' I was ready to
leave, and I had actually turned around and started walking the other way, when
Hermana Olsen asked if she had any family or friends that could use the message
that we have to share. She paused for a minute and then mentioned that her
daughters both could use a little help. We talked about how the youth today as a
whole doesn't have any morals and they've forgotten God. I explained that that's
why I'm out here doing what I'm doing. I told her that my beliefs and the way I
live according to my beliefs has changed me for the better and I want others to
experience the same change and happiness. Then she said, ''And how exactly have
you changed?' I was really taken aback by that question. For a second I didn't
know how to answer. I told her that knowing God lives, love me, and has a plan
for me gives my life purpose. I told her I know that the things I do in this
life matter to God and that in the hard times when I feel alone, I take comfort
in the scriptures and in knowing that God is walking alongside me every step of
the way. After about 5 seconds of comfortable silence, she said with tears in
her eyes, ''Thank you for your beautiful thoughts. I appreciate you for doing
what you do and I'll think about having my girls call you.'' Our interaction
with that lady went from kind of negative and disappointing to a really
spiritual experience for me, and I think for her too. I'm grateful that Hermana
Olsen followed the prompting to ask her for a reference.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wednesday we did a lot of
contacting in the metro. There were previously just two hermanas in our area so
they had to split the area and we're basically starting from zero which is super
hard. But contacting on Wednesday was really productive. I was sitting across
from this 20 something year<span style="color: #1f497d;">-</span>old guy when I
noticed he kept looking at my tag. He eventually leaned over and said, ''So are
you a Jehova's Witness or an Evangelist?'' I told him I was actually Mormon
which led him to ask what made our religion different and what some of our basic
beliefs are. We talked about everything from the Book of Mormon to the Word of
Wisdom to modern-day prophets to the Godhead to the Law of Chastity to
everything. It was really awesome. I got his name and number and he said he'd
love to learn more. It was super cool. <br />
<br />
We ended the day singing in
Retiro Park with Hermanas Hansen and Smith. It was a really incredible
experience. There were a ton of people in the park and we were very much in the
world. But as soon as we started bearing our testimonies in song, we created a
heavenly atmosphere. Some people seemed drawn to us - little kids especially.
The Spirit was so strong and during a couple songs I was almost brought to
tears. There was something so incredible about singing about the gospel truths
we normally share in word. I gained a testimony of the power of uplifting music
that day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday made one year since
receiving my call. I can't believe it's been that long! To celebrate we went to
Domino's with the other Barrio 6 missionaries and Olsen bought my pizza :)
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Church was really good yesterday.
<span style="color: #1f497d;"> I</span>n Sacrament Meeting the three of us that
are new to the ward shared our testimonies. It was so much easier than it was 3
months ago when I got here. And the ward is HUGE. So many eyeballs were staring
at me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had an awesome lesson with
Rafa afterwards. He's 17 and from Bolivia. He hasn't heard anything about our
church, but wants to know more. We talked to him about our purpose as
missionaries and established our expectations of eachother. He's excited to read
the Book of Mormon and at the end he said a beautiful prayer. I love hearing
people pray for the first time :) We ended the night again singing in the park.
We met this guy from London who said he previously had negative feelings about
Mormons. He told us that even though he still isn't interested in knowing more
at this point, he was moved by our singing and he now things positively about
who we are and what we stand for. It really meant a lot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn't get to even half of what
happened this week, but that's the best of what happened. Since yesterday was
cinco de mayo we had a party today in Leganés with like 15 of the hermanas. It
was suuuper fun and Hermana Phillips made the best food ever. She's half
Mexican.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Life is good. Really really good.
I hope you all have a good week!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Love,<br />
Hermana Munden<o:p></o:p></div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-44165908490897203342013-04-30T06:54:00.000-04:002013-06-03T12:35:18.495-04:00Goodbye Leganés, Hello Pavones<div class="MsoNormal">
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well today I'm majorly bummin. Transfer calls came Saturday night, and I left Leganés this morning. It's been way harder than I thought it would be. Leganés was my fourth area, so I've been transfered before, but for some reason I've been extra sad. Part of being a missionary is learning to give your heart, and all of it, to the people you serve and serve with. I truly <i>love</i> Leganés. The ward was my family, the investigators were constantly on my mind and in my prayers, and my companion became one of my biggest role models. But Rosi taught me a powerful lesson Saturday night. This work is not mine. It's not even President Jackson's. It is the work of the Lord, and everything is in his hands. I've done what I was sent to do and learned what I needed to learn in Leganés, and now I'm needed somewhere else. As hard as that is for me to accept, I'm trying to be positive.<o:p></o:p><br />
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So today is my first day in Pavones. I'll be serving in Barrio 6 and my new companion is Hermana Olsen (who I lived with for 6 weeks in Leganés and who was my companion for a week). It's rainy and cold and miserable (probably because Leganés is mourning my loss), but the view from our bedroom window is the temple, which leads me to believe everything will be okay. I hear the ward is great and we meet in the stake center which is on temple square, so I get a legit chapel with pews and carpet and everything for the next six weeks. I'm pumped about that. And there's 8 missionaries in the ward. EIGHT. That's super nuts.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Anyhow, allow me to fill in the gaps between last Monday and the night I fell into depression... My intercambio with Hermana Marshall was complete bliss. We were companions for just a night at the very beginning of last transfer when she came back from the islands and she scared the crap out of me. She goes home tomorrow, so she was super old in the mission, really beautiful, and incredibly intimidating. So since that first night six weeks ago, I've kind of avoided talking to her and being her friend because she scared me. And what a shame! I loooooove this girl! She's incredible. We spent 45 minutes on the bus back from Toledo getting to know eachother and telling stories and talking about pretty much everything. Monday night we had English classes and Noche de Hogar. Eduardo brought Evelyn so now we're up to four people. Woo-hoo!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Tuesday morning Hermana Marshall made me french toast. She's the sweetest. Then we had a lesson with Andrea. We had the lesson at Efigenia's house - she's this woman who got baptized in November, but had been going to the ward in Fuenlabrada until just a few weeks ago when she moved to Getafe. Sometimes lessons with members there is kind of awkward, but the lesson we had with Andrea and Efigenia was so good. Efigenia jumped in and shared her testimony and experiences where they fit perfectly. We taught her the Word of Wisdom and tried to base it off the scripture that says our bodies are temples because Andrea has a tongue ring and we didn't know how to go about telling her to take it out. After we talked about the Word of Wisdom and she agreed to live it, we read the section in the strength of the youth pamphlet about modesty. We asked her if she was willing to be modest in all things and take care of and protect the body Heavenly Father has given her. She said yes, but nothing about her tongue ring. When we got outside, however, she told us she was going home right then and that she was going to take it out. She said it wasn't a problem and she wouldn't even miss it. I got a little tear-eyed because I was so impressed at her willingness to obey the commandments of God, even the tiniest ones regarding piercings. Andrea is incredible and I want to be more like her.<o:p></o:p><br />
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In the renfe station on the way home from the lesson this African man stopped us. At first I was kind of annoyed because I saw that our train was coming and I didn't want to miss it, but after talking to him I knew that the Lord had put him in our path. He was so happy to see us. He got baptized 6 years ago but hadn't been to church in a very long time and wanted to come back. We gave him directions to the chapel, took down his number, and headed out. President Monson has said, ''There are no coincidences. Look always for the hand of the Lord.'' <o:p></o:p><br />
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Wednesday morning we had zone training meeting and I got Hermana Blodgett back. I was happy to see her, but so grateful for my intercambio with Hermana Marshall. At ZTM I had a good chat with President and then we had to take off because I had an appointment in Aluche to get my residency stuff going. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Thursday morning Andrea had her baptismal interview. Everything went swimmingly and on our walk back she yelled ''Goooooodbyeeee!'' in English out the window. Do you see why my heart hurts so much to leave these people? Thursday night we went to Lorena and Rubén's for dinner and she made us arepas. Nommmmm. The neighbors came over and Rubén began to explain perfectly to him who we were and what we did. I love that dude. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Like usual, we spent Friday night with Carmen and her hijas. They always cook for us, so we told them we wanted to make something American for them. We made Sloppy Joes. Haha and they loved them! We played cards had the best time. <br />
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Saturday was Andrea's baptism! She looked soo prettty. On our walk to the chapel she told us that she'd been to a lot of churches, but that she knew this one was true because of the way she feels. She now recognizes that ''feeling'' as the Spirit. There was an activity in Segovia so not many members showed up, but there were like 10 missionaries there! We took a bunch of pictures and it was a really good day. That night we went to Rosi's and ate with her and her family and while we were there we got the transfer call. Rosi and her husband both said some really nice stuff about me and reassured me that I'd be happy and well taken care of in Barrio 6. I was a child and cried. But it's okay because Rosi did too. Haha I love that woman her family so much it hurts.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea's Baptism</td></tr>
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Sunday morning was Ward Conference and Andrea's confirmation! Bishop spoke and so did our Stake President and we had 144 members there. That's the most there's been since I'd been there! In Relief Society, the Stake Relief Society Presidency asked me to share my testimony on my experience with seeing and helping people change as a missionary. I cried. Again. Afterwards I said goodbye to everyone and there were more tears. Paola cried while she was hugging me and told me not to forget about her. I'm gonna miss everyone so much. Hermana Piedade and Hermana Miron who both started their missions in Leganés also finished there, so I'm hoping I follow tradition.<o:p></o:p><br />
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I love being a missionary - the hard parts too. I've never been a fan of change, but it's part of life, and the mission. There's someone here waiting for me. And there's something I'm supposed to learn from Hermana Olsen. I take comfort in knowing that the Lord knows what's going on. I'll probably be happier next week when we talk, but right now I'm praying for positivity.<o:p></o:p><br />
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I hope everyone is happy back home! Thanks for the letter Mom! I know email is so much easier, but mail is the number one thing that cheers me up here. Haha and good job Had speaking in church. Send me a copy of your talk pretty please. And Conner, hooray for your Patriarchal blessing! I read mine at least once a week and I'm super excited for you to get yours. Tom, thanks for taking care of Josie. I miss her a lot. Haha and if you wanted to send me some more peanut butter, I'd be eternally grateful. I've run out :(<o:p></o:p><br />
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I love you allllllll!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Love,<o:p></o:p><br />
Hermana Munden <o:p></o:p><br />
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P.S. Here is my new address for the next six weeks:<o:p></o:p><br />
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Hermana Paige Munden<o:p></o:p><br />
Calle Valdebernando 10, 3C<o:p></o:p><br />
28030 Madrid<o:p></o:p><br />
España<o:p></o:p>Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7247411145034376041.post-55019004197129872102013-04-23T07:32:00.002-04:002013-04-23T07:33:32.950-04:00''Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.''<blockquote type="cite">
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Once again I'm a little short on time. We went to Toledo today and just got
back and we have to head to the church for English classes and Noche de Hogar
really soon, so sorry!</div>
This week was good. Super busy, but really
good. Tuesday was crazy. We had Andrea in the morning and taught her about the
law of tithing and the fast. She already is super excited to pay tithing and she
told us she's going to fast this week because she has a ton of tests that she
needs to do well on to graduate. I'm always so impressed when people are
immediately willing to keep the commandments even before they're baptized. Then
we went to Johanna's house. She was a lady we found while waiting for the renfe
one day. She and her husband are from Honduras and they have three kids and have
talked to missionaries before. <i>She</i> asked <i>us</i> when we could come
over, so we were especially excited for Tuesday. Well we showed up to her house
and her husband told us she got called into work last minute, so she wasn't
there. But the rest of her family was and they're really neat. Her husband said
he loves the missionaries and that we could come back any day next week (we're
seeing them tomorrow)!</div>
After that we went to our appointment with
Ascensión and her dad. This was the man I found on the bench with Hermana
Shepherd and I prayed outside of their apartment and she let me in. Remember?
Anyhow, so we go up there and she's like, ''Hang on, I'll go grab my dad.'' Her
dad walks out and he's not the guy from the bench... How embarrassing. Haha so
we explained the situation but we stayed and taught them because Ascensión had a
ton of questions. She asked about literally <i>everything</i>. It was awesome.
We left her with a Book of Mormon and pamphlets about the Restoration and the
Plan of Salvation. She said she's going to take the time to honestly read it and
that we can call her in May. I'm super excited about her. Especially because
she's Spanish. </div>
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Wednesday morning we went to the temple with
our zone. I love the Madrid temple. It's so preeeeeetty. At the distribution
center we bought hymns and children's songs on CD for Carmen and her girls and a
picture of Christ and the temple for Evelyn and her parents. We took pictures
with the other hermanas and talked to the elders for a little bit and then went
over to the San Martin family's house for chaufa. So so good. I've decided I'll
probably eat nothing but rice when I come home. It's my
fave.</div>
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Friday morning in companionship study, Hermana Blodgett and I
found our mission in the Bible. Romans
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"Whensoever I
take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>journey, and to be
brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>your company.... When
therefore, I have performed this, and I have sealed to them this <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>fruit, I will come by you
into Spain." </div>
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Pretty neat. Haha then we had a lesson with Pablo, our cute older Spaniard.
Our ward mission leader, Alejandro, came with us and it was good having us
there. Lessons with members are either really good or really awkward, but with
Alejandro it was good. He and Pablo have a lot in common so they could relate to
each other. Then we went to the renfe station in Villaverde Alto to meet a guy
we were hoping to make a new investigator, named Olmedo. He showed up and
offered to drive us to his house, but we explained that we couldn't go with him
unless another woman was in the car. So he showed us what bus to get on and said
he would meet us at the fifth stop. Well the fifth stop was this street where
all the prostitutes are and there aren't any pisos, so we figured he meant the
sixth. The sixth stop was a metro station and we waited for him there, but he
never showed. We called a couple times, but he never answered either so we gave
up. Such a bummer too! He was really sweet. He hasn't answered the phone since
that day, so I hope we haven't lost
him.</div>
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Friday night was the absolute best. We went to Fabian's house to
teach him and Nicol and to try to resolve some of the doubts he has that are
keeping him from allowing Nicol to get baptized. Well we get there and Magaly
tells us that he went to go play volleyball with his brother, so we just taught
Nicol and Magaly instead. We didn't have anything planned, but we had a couple
copies of the proclamation on the family, so we whipped that out and talked
about families. After we finished reading that, Nicol goes and grabs her Gospel
Principles book and asked us to read the section on eternal families. Haha what
a cutie. When we were getting ready to leave, Fabian and Yermo walk in! They
asked about English classes and since they can't make it on Monday nights asked
if we could teach them right then. It was everyone; Fabian, Magaly, Nicol,
Yermo, Viviana, Jonny, and then two random friends. We said we needed something
to write on so Magaly goes in the back room and returns with a blackboard! Haha
so we started teaching them simple stuff like greetings and stuff. And then
Yermo said he wanted to know how to say, ''We're going out to eat tonight.'' So
we wrote it on the board and then practiced saying it together. The last time we
said it, Fabian and Hermana Blodgett stood up and were like, ''Alright, let's
go!'' Haha it was super funny. I love their family a lot. And Magaly and Viviana
are so flipping beautiful. Those brothers got really lucky with those
two!</div>
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Saturday morning we went back and had a lesson with them on
the Plan of Salvation. They sat and listened and Fabian was especially active in
the lesson, asking a lot of questions and everything. Magaly is such a strong
member and a really good example to Fabian and Nicol. I love her. And after the
lesson she made us some <i>bomb</i> chicken and rice. They told us they're
moving back to Ecuador in September and that I'm invited to their house when I
end my mission. I absolutely plan on visiting them :)</div>
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Sunday the
weather was utterly beautiful. Eduardo wore church clothes (finally) and he
received the Priesthood! Yayyyyy! He's blessing the Sacrament next week and he's
super nervous, but he's gonna do just fine. Alina was sick so she asked Hermana
Blodgett and me to teach the gospel principles class and we did. Sometimes I
remember that I'm doing all this in another language and it's pretty cool. It'd
be a little cooler if I didn't know Spanish before, but still. Haha it's neat.
At one point in Relief Society we read Psalms 139:23-24 and I love it so much:
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>"Search me, O
God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>be any wicked way in me and
lead me in the way everlasting." </div>
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One of my new favorite scriptures. </div>
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This morning we went to Toledo with a bunch of hermanas and a couple
elders. Toledo is beauuuuutiful. Intercambios started today so I'm with Hermana
Marshall here in Leganés until Wednesday morning. She goes home in one week when
this transfer ends. I can't believe it's already been another six
weeks!</div>
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I love you allllllll!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Hermana Munden</div>
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Paige Mundenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03974473507623980089noreply@blogger.com0