New Year, Same Grind

February 10, 2019

New Year, Same Grind

January 7, 2019

The Year 2019 has finally reared its might head. There's going to be a lot going in my life this year, but for now, let's just focus on what happened during the week.

Monday: It's hard to remember what we did that day since it happened back in 2018 😂😂😂 Ok, I remember now. We had a very tranquilo preparation day where we saw the world's largest indoor nativity set at the cathedral. It started with Genesis and ended with Revelations. It was impressive, complete with moving parts, depth, and mood lighting! Definitely worth the 1€ entry fee. I was also able to grab some gifts/souvenirs because el fin se acerca. In the evening we were invited to a member's home to celebrate the new year. He picked us up and we went out to his house in a little pueblo just outside of Burgos. We were there with his family, another member with her two kids, and Philippe. We had a good time. I learned how to salsa, we (they) shot off some fireworks, we played some games, ate some food, very New Year's-y. Unfortunately we had to be home before the Ecuadorians lit up their paper-filled effigy to welcome in the new year at midnight, but I was impressed with what the city of Burgos had in store for us as we counted down in our warm apartment. Once the clock struck twelve, fireworks started going off from what seemed like every plaza and park of the city. They were pretty big ones too! They went on for a solid 40 minutes and as we went to bed there were still a couple stragglers going off.

On Tuesday we got up and walked the empty streets for a couple hours, looking for people to talk to. Naturally, the very few that were out weren't too keen on talking due to the holiday recovery period. In the afternoon we bused over to Bilbao to have our exchanges with the zone leaders. I spent the evening with Elder Willden. Even in Bilbao things were pretty vacant. We talked and laughed a lot.

Wednesday: A whole lotta English. Our exchange unexpectedly came to a close when we were informed that the zone leaders needed to do their weekly planning and that our exchange was over. We bussed back to Burgos with time to eat and study a little bit before heading out. We have starting helping a teenager named Nuria with her English. Her mom works with a few members in the branch and was looking for someone who could help her daughter with English, we were mentioned, and now we're providing service a couple afternoons on a weekly basis. We pretty much help her with pronunciation and definitions as she reads assigned stories. She and her mom are both very nice! After that, we had our regular English class, then went over Lesson 3 with Philippe in the Hetzels' place. He's doing just fine, by the way. This last Saturday he went to the temple in Madrid with the Hetzels to help do baptisms for the dead (funny how Priests can do that now).

Our Thursday didn't have too much to it. We planned in the morning, helped Nuria with English, and worked. We were going to also have a visit with Joanna, but her work schedule changed. We're making some good progress in clean out the phone and Area Book.

Friday: District Meeting yet again on a day other than Tuesday. We bused over to Logroño, for a change, and had our meeting in the chapel there. After eating some lunch, we went our separate ways. In the evening we had dinner and a FHE with a member family here, and ended the day making calls and what not. Side note: Keep Rubén in your prayers, please. He's...struggling a bit at the moment.

Saturday was rough. We had pretty much no plans and everyone was on there way to buy Roscóns and make other preparations for Three Kings Day. We were out and about doing our thing for a good minute. We did have a good evening though. We randomly received a call the other day before from a man who said that he knew some of the members here and that he wanted to meet and talk. As the time for our appointment approached, we made our way toward the chapel along one of the main streets of Burgos. We happened to match up our timing perfectly so that we saw the entire Three Kings parade as we walked along. It was quite the spectacle! There was this one thing where men on pogo-stilts (yes, pogo-stilts) were bouncing around, giant clockwork animals, various large lighted kites and balloons, a Star Wars float for some reason, all good things.

We met with Rodrigo ('tis his name) and got to know him a little more, not really sure what to expect from the conversation. It took a bit, but then we finally learned that he is a member, he just lives in a pueblo and used to have a job that gave him literally no time. He has a better job now and would like to start coming back to church and practicing his English with us. One more person to work with!

Sunday: Also pretty rough. Especially with two hour church. I am a fan of the new program, though! Nobody seemed to want to have the missionaries over for a little Roscón de Reyes party time, so we walked even more vacant streets passing by different people, making calls, and being cold. Missionary work during the Holidayyys!!!

This next week should be pretty full. We'll be in Bilbao for interviews and zone conference. I'm pretty excited for everybody's schedules to normalize again so that everyone is home and available.

I hope the Kings brought you all something nice!

Elder Jensen :)

Just a few of the pictures from the nativity: