Well, compared to that bit of news, everything else seems insignificant. I'm glad to hear about Lauren and David, as well as Matthew and Theresa. Sounds like everyone's deciding to get married all of a sudden. Not that it's a bad thing. I do thank everyone for waiting until I could get back to get married though. :) You're all the best!Work here in Villalba is good. We had just begun morning studies this last
Monday when suddenly the lights went out. Apparently there was a problem with our bills and the power company pulled the plug on us. Moving quickly, we washed the remaining dishes with the remaining hot water (or water heater is electric) and sealed the fridge and freezer. A quick distress call was made to our financial secretary.An hour or so later, we got a call telling us some even more shocking news: we were to receive a new elder in Villalba named Elder Barlow, and Elder Thurston and I would both be training him in a trio.
Then, yesterday (Tuesday) we had our best Tuesday yet in Villalba, welcoming Elder Barlow and then teaching 5 lessons, 4 of them to investigators with members present. We found two new families and things were just going great.
And now this news about Emily's engagement... wow. Lots of new stuff going on. Better than things being boring, I guess! :) Oh, and by the way, our power came back on at the same time Tuesday morning. All went well.
A bit of a rundown on Elder Thurston, since you asked. He's a tall guy, a great missionary and, from what I hear, a good shot. He's from Logan, Utah, from a family of 7, and loves outdoors activities: camping, hunting, etc. He's also a champion shotgun shooter, and has made it to nationals before. We get along great, making jokes and working hard.A random talent I've discovered on the mission: I can do a pretty good impersonation of the lead singer in Nickelback. Remember Dad, the gritty voice on the "cornflakes" song? Well, I've perfected it (more or less). It just so turns out that Elder Barlow's favorite band was Nickelback before the mission, so we've been having some fun times with that.
A bit more detail on our investigators. We found a brand new family from Colombia, Bogota. They're a young-ish couple, both baptized, and they have three daughters (13, 12, 9) who haven't been baptized. His name is Alvaro Jon, and his mother's name is Ana Julia Castro Cubillos. Do you know her, Dad? He said she lived in Bogota at about the same time you were living there, and that she always had the missionaries over. Anyways, they're all really good because apparently they still have Family Night frequently and have good testimonies. It's crazy, the Lord has prepared them to receive the gospel at this time. Besides that, all is well. We continue to work hard, contacting, teaching and finding. We've been experiencing a surge in work this past week. Things are definitely looking up.
Well, thanks so much, everyone, for your love and support! I realized the other day that I owe everything to God, and to all of you, the people who I knew who made me who I am. Thanks for the ways you continue to positively influence my life.
Till next time,
-Elder Knorr
P.S. I've been thinking a bit about souvenirs. There are quite a few things here in Spain that you can't get anywhere else, and I guess you could say I'm taking requests. If anyone wants anything in particular, it would be much easier and less time-consuming for me to get a list of things than to have to shop and stuff. So, if anyone thinks that a fan or some castanets would be the whiz-fizz, just let me know. Oh, and Jonathan, I plan on bringing back several kinds of Spanish food. I already have a mental list, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to try again, let me know soon. Just so you're aware, this includes chuces, turron, chocolate muesli, and various other items.
