Transfers!

Hey everyone!

Hope everyones week went well! Sounds like it was a good one! The snow storm looks like it was super legit! It would decided to snow a ton while I am gone! The past two years we got absolutely nothing!!! LAME! haha Its all good though! I loved all the photos! Someone go tear the slopes up for me!!

So transfers were this week! Pretty crazy that I have been in Tarragona for a full transfer now! Time just flies, and at the same time it doesnt... haha As mom pointed out, this past week I hit six months! Pretty wierd to think about! It doesnt feel like it it has been six months at all. It feels like last month I was just entering the MTC in Provo! It kinda freaks me out! Then at the same time a year and a half still feels like forever! haha I love it though! So with transfers came a couple suprises... Would you believe me if I told you I got transfered!!! Well, dont believe me! I am still here in Tarragona! Elder Wiscombe and I are still companions and will work together this transfer! This is good and bad. Now we are both nervous that one of us is going to be transfered a week before Christmas, which would be terrible, but I guess we will see! Elder Frenzel, one of the Texas elders, was transfered and Elder Magallanes is now here with us in Tarragona. Remember him? He was my native companion in the CCM. We will see how it goes! I am glad there is a native here that can help me out on my spanish. I cant believe I am saying this, but I actually really miss living in Vitoria with three native speakers! It was SUPER dificult at the time, but I learned so much and it was so much fun! Hopefully he will bring something new to the table!

So as far as this week goes, Elder Wiscombe and I hit it hard! We spent one full day in every pueblo that we have searching for members, menos activos, old investigators, and futures. It wasnt a very successful week as far as numbers go, but it was good because now I know exactly who we can visit, and pass by, and where the most productive areas are to work. And, in the proccess, we saw miracles!

I dont know if I have talked about Carmen much... She was a reference from a member that owns a tiny little store here in Tarragona. We always try and pass by, but either she is super busy working or her husband was there and didnt want to talk to us. So this week we passed by to talk to her and she wasnt there, only her husband was there. My first reaction was to act like I wanted to buy something and then just get the heck out of there! haha But it was incredible, the spirit hit me HARD and promted me to talk to him and set him straight! haha So we started talking about what we had, the message we share, why I am here, all the above! He fired questions and I fired right back! Sometimes I didnt even know what I was doing but I was just throwing down doctrine and speaking truth! It was awesome! From what I could tell, he just didnt know who we were. He was scared of something new! He had heard all these things, things that obviously arent true, and when I set him straight, he was glad we were there. At the end of the lesson I bore my testimony about how I am super far away, I cant speak spanish perfectly, I miss my friend, family, and many other things, but that I left all of those things at home, to share the message I had with the people here in Spain. I left it all because the message i have changed my life and has brought me more happiness than anything elses in this world! I honestly bore probably the strongest testimony in my life, and by the end of the night. His whole self changed. He admitted to us how he wanted this peace and happiness in his life, and how he truly respected us for being 19 years old, sharing a message about Jesus Christ, while every other 19 year old is out on the street doing drugs and partying there life away. He went from not wanting us there at all, to inviting us back whenever we could! I am suiper excited to start teaching this small family! Please pray for them! Jose and Carmen!

This week we also found the most amazing family who have been less active for some time. Both the mom and the dad are returned missionaries, and they have two little kids! The whole time we were over there, I could stop playing with the little boy. He is like 3 years old and just reminded me of all my little cousins! I couldnt help it! haha I miss all those little guys so much! Anyway, it was a super wierd lesson! They kept talking about their missions and how great they were and the experiences they had and this and that! At the end of the lesson I was so confused on why this family is inactive! They are so great! So I am excited to start working with them as well. There is no doubt in my mind we can get them back to church! I really dont have an option! The thought of letting those kids grow up outside of the gospel kills me! I have learned a lot on my mission, but my eyes have really been opened on how nasty this world is! Maybe it is because I grew up in the church or maybe in Utah, I was a little shielded, but it is terrible! I hate leaving piso every friday night and seeing teenagers with huge bottles of alcohol in there hands while smoking! It kills me! I swear yesterday we passed like a 13 year old boy smoking a cigarette! I cant even express how greatful I am for the way I grew up, the teachings I learned, and the friends I had. I think it is sad that kids have to find fun in things like that....

So anyway... That is about how the week went! Nothing else to really report. We continue to work hard and to do our best to find those who are prepared to hear the true gospel of Jesus Christ! Some days are rough, but I love it!

Love you guys all a ton!

Elder Carrigan