Elder Oliver: Months are flying by

Well, this week has been the close of another transfer here in the España Málaga Mission. Measuring time in sections of 6 weeks throws off my internal clock. Transfers fly by, which means months are flying by about 1.5 times faster. Months are blurring together. We are having an absolute blast here in Algeciras doing the work of the Lord. It is true, that sometimes, we get a little discouraged, but our little District of 4 Elders is tight. We are a little family. We do everything together. We are happy together, we are sad together, we sing together, and we burp together. Sometimes it's a little difficult to realize that my real family is so far away, when I am surrounded by some of the coolest people ever.

I apologize now for all of my neglecting to answer your questions. I usually just forget. So, here you go.

No. I have not had a single health problem since I got out here, --other than overstretching my back-- but that was the first day that I got out into the field. Feet, ankles, knees, legs, arms, stomach, everything is doing alright. My comps have gotten sick a few times since I got out here, but when they get sick, I get a headache/fever for a few hours, and then I am good. I have not lost a minute of proselyting time due to my own health problems, which is a huge blessing that I am well aware of.

That picture of me and Elder Norton was taken in Sevilla, in that really big zone conference. He was the first ''real'' missionary that I met. He was an office assistant when I arrived, and he was in charge of finding places for me and 4 other missionaries to sleep that night. He dies in 2 days. He is the best (non-native) speaker in all of the mission. He speaks extremely well, accent, rhythm, speed, everything. Many native Spanish speakers are surprised to learn that is he is American. They think he is a native, just like them! My goal, is to speak better than him, by the time I die (in mission terms). He is also an awesome missionary.

This week we had an awesome branch activity. We made a boat-load of pancakes, taught everybody how to make them, gave everybody the recipe. Yeah, all that stuff. We did all the planning. We executed it, we made them, we cleaned it up. So, for all that work, you would think that we would have gotten a really good turn out at the activity. Well, you would be right and wrong. We had almost all of the young men in the ward come, and they brought their friends, and a bunch of less actives came too. However, we had 3 active members come. That was really disappointing. We had double-checked with about 20 the day before, and they told us they would come. Then, it rained.... Grr...

We haven't been able to proselyte in Gibraltar yet, but maybe we will be able to this next week. Speaking of proselyting, we found 2 new solid investigators. One of them is really really old, but he when he found out that we were a branch of about 50, he said that we needed to become 500. I agreed with him, haha. He has very high opinions about Mormons, because P and her family have been his neighbors for years. The other is a guy from Ghana. He is just about the chillest guy I have ever met. He is on dialysis treatment right now, so he is always home during the evening, and all he wants to do is be with his family, and talk about the word of God. We speak English with him, but he speaks Spanish fluently with his kids.

Anyways, that is a lot of stuff going on on the home front. Lots of my friends waiting on mission calls, lots of my friends.

We have had some brief craziness here in Algeciras with the transfers. First, one thing, then, another! Now, we are settled, and everybody knows what's going on, who's going where. Elder Bird and I are staying together one more transfer. Elder Oldroyd is leaving, and Elder Proctor is becoming the District Leader. His new companion will be Elder Pascua. Phillipino, from Barcelona, one of the best street-contactors in the whole mission. We will learn a lot from this guy.