Oh sweet Barcelona 1/15

Hey hey hey it has been another amazing week here in Barcelona Spain. Oh I love that name. Haha anyway I have a miracle story for you all. As you know we have been working really hard with the members here, we have also been praying in every single prayer that we can find the people of Spain who are ready to listen to this message. I'm sure you have noticed, most of the people we teach are not from here. Well, we have seen an absolute miracle this week. There is a man in our ward who got baptized over 40 years ago, he was active for a while and then went inactive for 31 years. About a year ago he started to read the Book of Mormon again and he said his testimony has just grown from there, he has been coming back to church for about a month now. We were able to meet him through our English classes that we have every week and he is a very intelligent man who knows anything and everything about the gospel. Well, this week he sent us a text and said he would love it if we met with his 84 year old mother and start teaching her about the gospel. They have been talking about the church for about a year now and he said he felt she was ready to meet us. Well, we met with her on Tuesday and it was incredible, her son was there with us bearing his powerful testimony the whole time, and this woman, Anna has all the desires to really know if this is the true church of Jesus Christ. It was such a miracle and I am so excited to continue to teach her this gospel!

This week we had our district meeting on a Monday (it gets changed every week with being in the district with the office elders) anyways, it was such a spiritually uplifting meeting and I know it was all inspired. The two topics were first, grace, and the second joyful diligence. It went along so well, because as missionaries or even just as people we tend to beat ourselves up for the things we lack and we tend to focus on what we haven't done or all the negatives of life. But that is not what grace is about, God does not ask us more than we can do, it's grace that saves us from our own persistent self criticism. As we strive to be diligent in all things, we can have joy in doing so if we continue to have faith to know that His grace is sufficient. I just want to end with a scripture that really stood out to me this week, it's:

 
D&C 123:17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
As we strive to cheerfully do all things that lie in OUR power may we have faith that His grace is sufficient.

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!!!
Hermana Bangerter 

The bunkers is one of Katies favorite things to do in Barcelona