Curtis, Alex

Had to happen eventually right? That's right y'all I'm getting transferred. We'll talk about that later, because Talavera really wanted to send me out on a high note. Admittedly this week would look pretty slow from a scheduling perspective, but miracles never stop.  We got a call from branch President Rios on Tuesday morning telling us that Jesús had made the decision to beb baptized. Missionaries have been working with him for months and he's finally decided he's ready. For the last few months all we've been able to do is tell him he knows what he needs to and help him to learn and grow with the branch. No matter how much President Rios jokes about it, you can't just throw someone in the font. It has to come from them. On Thursday we went to the Madrid Temple with Thaigo to do baptisms for the dead and it went great. We loved every second that wasn't the 90 minute bus rides, and Thiago thought it was awesome. He takes everything new he learns about...

Had a pretty busy P-day so this will probably be a bit short. Sorry yall! The branch organized an activity where all the members brought food and music from their countries of origin, and tons of people came, including a really tough less-active family. Plus tons of great members and people we're teaching invited their friends! Jenny brought her whole family, Jesús brought his brother, who doesnt look much like him but talks exactly the same. It was awesome but packed. The Talavera Branch needs more space, so we're working on that right now. See photos. And we performed some Christian rap to represent the US. Video on the link below. We're also preparing a few recent converts for the priesthood and temple work, and are going with the mission to do baptisms with Thiago this coming Thursday! We actually started the week with a really fun exchange in Valladolid. Those Elders are a lot of fun but we also had some really cool experiences. One that I really want to share is that ...

Mercedes' baptism went though! The father of a member family who have her same problem (boundaried for Salamanca even though they live much closer to Talavera) came with her and baptized her! Her husband and parents came too, and have some interest in the gospel as well! It was a great baptism! On top of that, Armando, the first counselor in the branch presidency called us Monday night to let us know that Isaías felt ready to get baptized! He has been taught for a lot longer than I've been here but he was finally ready. The branch has been supporting him and helping him for months and it really showed when the baptism happened.  Diego is a cool Spanish guy who called the chapel phone a few weeks ago and could finally meet with us! He's met with missionaries before (like 6 years ago) but doesn't remember much but still has a huge desire to learn. We're ridiculously excited to teach him. Milena and her kids came to Isaías' baptism and loved it. They all want to ge...

No, I refuse to stop talking about how awesome the people of Talavera are. We met with Nemesio this week! Since his baptism he's been preparing to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. He got a lot of scriptures to read from the branch president and his best friend in the branch, Mauricio the legendary ward missionary. The problem is that he tries to memorize everything, like he's prepping for an exam. I guess since he's had a few interviews he's in the habit of prepping to recite what he knows, but we've got to adjust the way we teach him a bit. During a lesson with Jesús and Milena, we finally dived in and had a real discussion about baptism.  (They're not a couple jaja, Jesús is a 22 year old Cuban guy and Milena is a mother of 2 from Columbia. They just both were in the lesson because Milena lives in the branch president's home and Jesús is best friends with his daughter) They both have been taught everything, could pass a baptismal interview without question,...