Goodbye Palma

Well first off with the sad news......

I am leaving Palma. I received a call from President Dayton telling me that I would leave Palma. I was really sad. I did not want to leave Palma. I love Palma. But I left all I could there. Im gonna miss Elder Bradshaw and all the members in Palma. But there is slightly exciting news!

The exciting news is that when president called me on Saturday he asked me if I would be his assistant. I was excited but very overwhelmed haha. An assistant to the mission president does a lot of work and has a lot of responsibility. But I accepted and packed my bags and left to Barcelona the next day. 

Wow this has been a crazy week. With the new calling I was really humbled and we have had a lot of work. I am not going to lie it has been a week much different than any other week in my life. I have had more work and have had so little time working in the actual streets. But I have adjusted well. I know what I am doing is for the benefit of the mission as a whole and I know that many lives will be blessed because of the work Elder Duersch and I put in here in Barcelona. I got to Barç Sunday night and have been working in the office until 11pm every night this week. This week was a crazy week. 

But as assistant I have new responsibilities . We are going to be traveling with President Dayton to all the zone conferences this transfer. We work a lot on end of the year numbers and we will be working a lot to help the mission change with the new technology we all just got. It’s a lot on my plate but I’m really excited! 

The miracle that I would say I saw from this week was the opportunity that I had to see the change in the Baleares Islands. When I got there the excitement and energy for missionary work was low in the missionaries and the members. But after 3 months of vigorous work we saw the change we have wanted to see. The missionaries are excited and the members are as well. Palma 1 and 2 have baptized multiple times in November and will both baptize in December. It was a true pleasure to work in the islands. I loved it. I loved every second of it. I am so excited to see what awaits me here in Barcelona. 

Elder Duersch and I are so excited to work together. He is amazing. The most amazing thing I have noted about Elder Duersch is that he is able to see all the work we have to do and not get stressed out. He conquers every task with a smile on his face. He is always trying to have fun and he is always wanting to be the best representative of Jesus Christ. 

I am really excited to be in Barcelona working as assistant to the mission president. Elder Duersch and I want the mission to focus more on people and less on just meeting goals. We want to see a true change in El Faro missionaries. I love the mission.

Have a great day,
Elder Bristol

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The Baptized Dutch

Well hello one and all,

We had a wonderful week here. Honestly I can say that this has been the most memorable week of my mission so far. It may have not been the most fun but it truly will be one of the most memorable. It was capped off by our great friend Abraham entering into the waters of baptism. He was confirmed on Sunday and extended a calling and given the priesthood! What an amazing day! 

Abraham is the most impressive man I have met while here in Mallorca. He was very dedicated about finding an answer and he even fasted to find an answer. He fasted and received an answer that he needed to be baptized. The week leading up to his baptism was not the easiest for him. He got his car broken into and a window broken on his car. But he told us that whenever he is with us he feels an unmatchable peace. He loves the members even more. It’s amazing. He cannot even speak Spanish but they all have loved him and he has loved them! The baptismal service was amazing. The talks were given in English and translated into Spanish by me. Then Hermana Cummings, elder Bradshaw and I did a musical number that Abraham requested. Then Abraham was baptized. Elder Bradshaw baptized him with power and authority. Then after the baptism Abraham bore his testimony. It is one of the most amazing testimonies you will ever hear. I am actually going to attach it right here: 

“-Dear brothers and sisters,

“Thank you that you’re here today to witness my baptism. It means a lot to me. I would love to tell you why I know that this church I the right one for me. 

“Around a year ago, I wanted to read about every religion so that I could make the right decision about what religion to choose, or to choose no religion. But since I came to know the elders and since I joined the meetings on Sunday, and met all the good people at this church, my perception changed. I now follow my feeling. This church feels so good. Every time I walk out of this building, I feel great and happy. And I believe that that is what god wants me to be. 

“Around 10 days ago, the father of Elena asked elder Bristol and Bradshaw to bless him. I was blessed to see how this went. I saw this man crying tears of joy after the blessing. I really thought; how is that possible, can god be so great that a man cries tears after getting blessed? 
“-I couldn’t believe it. So I had to do something about it. That’s why I immediately asked if they could also bless me. I was curious what would happen. The dear elders said yes. So they put their hands on my head. I fully surrendered to the Lord. And what happened was so beautiful. I felt what they announced, that god spoke through them. God told me that my parents are okay, and that they love me whatever I do. And that I am doing so good, and that I made very much progress the last months. And that if I would go on like this, I will look back on my life when I’m 80, and be satisfied without regrets. I cried tears of joy from the first moment elder Bristol started to bless me. It has been a long time since I cried. God touched my heart. 

“This was one great experience. But off course, I had to be sure about my feeling. I had to know if it was the right thing to do for me to get baptized. The elders told me that I Have to ask god if I want to know something, in the form of a yes/no question. And that questions get answered faster if you don’t eat/drink for 24 hours. So I fasted. And I received an answer on my question the same evening. I’m dedicated for answers. God knows that. Off course, I finished my fast and didn’t stop after I got my answer

“I believe that the members of this church take their religion seriously, and I like the healthy lifestyle from the words of wisdom very much. I’m happy that I found a place with people who live this certain lifestyle. I don’t yet believe everything that I discussed with the elders, but I read the Book of Mormon every day. And I’m grateful for all the beautiful friends and family around me. 

“The last four years, I’ve had a hard time with my religion. It was not fun, and I went through a deep valley. But that time is over now. I’m baptized, and I will do the work that God loves to see. If god likes it, I know that I will like it too. Because he knows my deepest desires. And my deepest desires are in alignment with his will. 

“I want to give a special thanks to dear elder Bristol and Bradshaw, and to my friend Hicham. Thank you for the time you spent on me. Thank you for everything that I learned from you. And thank you for your unconditional, heavenly love. Bless you in the name of our Lord. And I know that we’ll be friends forever. Thank you that you brought me peace of mind. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for your time. And I hope you liked this testimony.”

As you can tell. Abraham is a very spiritually mature person. I love him and we will be eternal friends. 

I love elder Bradshaw. He is a great friend and a great companion. I believe I will be eternal friends with him as well. He is amazing because he cares about his sheep. He will do anything to help other missionaries or the people we are teaching. I love him. 

Other things that happened this week is that the sister missionaries had an emergency in their apartment at 11pm Thursday night. President Dayton told us to go help them. We ran over there (literally). We had to help them until like 12:30 and then we ran home. We got to sleep around 1am. And then we woke up at 5am to go to Barcelona for residency. So it was a crazy week. We were fairly tired but it was quite a week.  

This has been one of the most amazing weeks ever. I love the mission and I love being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

With love for this work,
Elder Bristol