Elder Christensen and the Choir

I am so grateful this week for the wonderful missionaries who participated in our choir.  They had beautiful voices, they practiced hard, and our song came together.  We had prayed for angels to sing with us, and I believe they did.  I am also grateful for Elder Regher and his talent at the piano. This was a difficult arrangement, and we could not have done it without him.  If you would like to hear a recording of this hymn, (not sung by us) you can go here.  I think I like the words even better in Spanish.  I am very thankful for music and how it speaks to my soul.  I love testifying of Jesus Christ through music.

We had another choir practice on Monday.  It was absolutely amazing as we added dynamics into the song.  It just came alive with feeling.  At the point where we crescendoed to a fortissimo, it was absolutely amazing!  I was overcome with emotion, and some of the choir members were as well.  At that point, I knew our performance would be okay.  We had sandwiches afterwards, and yummy mint brownies.

Then I got to go play with these cute hermanas.  We went to the knew Primark store that is in downtown Madrid.  It has multiple floors and videos playing on huge screens.  They have lots of selection and great prices.

Afterwards we went to a frozen yogurt place that serves a large cup filled halfway with fresh fruit and nuts.  It was so delicious!

Then I rode the metro by myself back to Pavones, where Elder Larsen met me.  

My metro selfie!

We lead a simple lif as missionaries.  And we get very excited about simple things.  Elder Regher got a second stack of metal organizers and he was so happy!  When you work in the office, it is the simple things that matter.

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to watch a leadership training meeting for the Europe Area with the Packs.  One of the speakers shared a story that really touched me:

A young man told his father that he thought it was pointless to read the scriptures everyday because he couldn't remember what he read.  So, he had him carry water in a dirty bucket that had holes in the bottom of it.  He would go as fast as he could carrying water from the river to a barrel, but each time, only a few drops would make it to the barrel.  After many trips back and forth, he told his father that it this had been a total waste of time.  Then the father told him, "You were not doing this to carry water.  Look at the bucket."  As the boy looked down into the bucket, he could see that the bucket had been washed clean by the water that he had carried.  The father then said, "Reading scriptures is like carrying water in the bucket with a hole in it.  The water is not meant to stay in the bucket, it is meant to wash out the bucket and keep it clean.  Our daily scripture study does the same thing for us."

I love that thought!

After the meeting, I ran into Saray Caballero and Fran Marcos.  It's always fun to visit with them.

We had our special meeting on Thursday with Elder and Sister Dyches from our Area Presidency, and Elder and Sister Christensen.  Elder Christensen is a Seventy and it was a privilege to hear his message.  Before the meeting, the Dyches and the Christensens wanted to shake hands with all of us.  

He and his wife served a mission in Mexico.  He translated Hymn #114, "Come Unto Him," for a visit that President Packer made to their mission, because it was President Packer's favorite hymn. Elder Christensen was very touched by our song, and we really enjoyed singing together.  They are hoping we can have another opportunity to sing as a choir.  And I even learned a lot about directing a choir! 

I love music!

We spent the weekend at the mission home.  Caroline and I worked on her quilt some more.  We are making progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done.