Letter form 7/28/2014

Hey Dad,

Well I bet it was peaceful at home with most of your kids gone. I guess we will see how the Seahawks do here in the next season coming up. 

It is super awesome to here about the progress of some of the people with the mission stuff. 

Well as far as the Spanish goes it is easier for me to write it and read and understand than to speak. When I have to speak sometimes I can´t think of words or my pronunciation sucks but I will work.  I have talked in sacrament like so many times now and I can say it never gets easier to speak when you feel like you are under pressure especially last minute. 

Okay, I have a few stories lets see. Well this last week we have seen so many miracles that it has been awesome. The sisters had a baptism on Thursday of and old guy whose wife has been a member for the last 30 years and he finally got baptized after starting the lessons 2 months ago and he was confirmed and got the priesthood in the same day on Sunday. They now have the goal of gong to the temple to be sealed  in a year to the day he was baptized. We have been working with a menos activo family.  Well the dad is inactive but the rest of the family comes but they have a lot of problems. Well in the last two transfers I have started to see them more and more. When we passed by members randomly they would be there and we had the opportunity to share messages with them because we were not allowed to go to there house. They wouldn't let us in and then Saturday before the baptism we were walking down their street and he was out working on his car and invited us in to drink some juice. We where only there for twenty minutes but he told us he would come to church the next day. So we go to church and he showed up with his whole family min before church starts. Their kids had just gotten back from efy which is really different here in Spain. Anyways his 18 year old son was chosen to bear his testimony about efy and he got up and talked about his dad coming to church and started crying and it was just really awesome. I love to see the progress of people whether they are members menos activos or investigators. 

Love Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter to Mom

Hey, 

 

ha-ha who would have thought that you would miss us all being gone. Funny stuff. You will have to get used to it cause before you know it we will all be gone. But you can call us whenever you want I guess..... if I ever have a phone? It sounds like Kenzie is going to have fun on the mini mission thing. I don´t remember how they work it there but they do it here too. What happens is some of the areas get one or two kids for a whole week and it has been happening since the beginning of this transfer. We didn´t get mini missionary's out here where we are at. 

Well I have thought about it and I would really love to have you guys to pick me up but I think I just want to get on a plane and go home after my mission. Like I don´t know but I think I want to go home when it over. Spain is cool but I'm am definitely going to be ready to be home and be in the good old United States. So I don´t think I want you guys to come. It would be fun but I miss The U.S.

Yeah getting attached to elders haha. Think about us as elders. I didn´t really have any people I was attached to in my first area but when I left Santander there were family's that it just killed me to leave. I am going to have to write them some letters. 

 

love you guys

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 7/21/2014

Hey,

Well you can tell Bria that I love her too and that she is the best! Wow I bet everything that Cole did this past week just beat him and he sounds dead but I bet he had a lot of fun. And you guys went on a hike. Speaking of hiking I went on a hike early today and it was freaking awesome it is a good thing the stream wasn't very big because boy tenia ganas pare nadar como nunca.

Well dad you still have a year till you lose us both to college and then the rest of life, but don´t let McKenzie grow up. I don´t know how I feel about going and starting college with her. 

Wow I can´t believe it Texas! That is so freaking awesome. I am so stoked for him the mission really is great and the experiences are unforgettable. No puedo mentir por que la barbacoa que va a comer, Keaton me suena genial y la verdad es que estoy un poco envidioso. pero enserio yo quiro barbacoa bueno, de los estados unidos. 

Espero que algunas más de mis amigos ahí en casa están haciendo todo lo que pueden hacer para ir a la misión porque la misión es una maravilla. Sí ay algo que puedo hacer por algien diga me. Para la obra es necesario que todos que pueden salgan a la misión. Y una cosa es que aprendimos muchísimas cosas aquí. Cosas para la vida tan numeroso que vale la pena. Estoy seguro que coundo algiun se va a case de aquí y sí han servido a todo de su potencial que el converso mas fuerte en la iglesia es ellos mismos. Todavía sé que es algo que me falta pero hasta ahora soy el mejor y más fuerte converso de mis conversos y son pocos. Pero algo you aprendí es que no importa cuantos te bautizas, si tu eres mejor después la misión. la última cosa es que   LA MISIÓN VALE LA PENA! 

Sé que mi salvador vivió y que vive, también sé que gracias a él todos van a ser resucitados y que por medio de él todos de nosotros podemos vivir con nuestro padre celestial y con nuestras familias. sé que mediante de ningún otro hombre podemos ser salvados. sé que milagros vienen por el nombre del Señor porque lo he visto varias veces. No todos son míos pero lo he visto. sé que cuando estemos con cristo todo es posible todo. 

Gracias por ser mi padre tu eres el mejor que ay y siempre ha estado ahí para mi. Gracias por todo.

 

te amo

Elder Blake Billingsley     

Letter to Mom
Hey Mom,

One thing I have learned on my mission is..well I have learned a lot in the short  months I have been here but communication and organization and planning. I don´t think there is a better organization other than the military that does it all those missionaries. Heck right now there are 18 and 19 year old office elders who basically take care of transportation for president and the ayudantes and for the rest of us  200 and 50 some odd missionaries who are always traveling not just during transfers, and they take care of all are legal paperwork. Then you have the rest of us constantly in communication for different things that happen on a regular bases and things that could be hard are communicated and planned quickly and then taken care of efficiently. I wish some of the people in this world would just learn that stuff. 

It has been pretty hot here recently to super hot and humid so luckily we have an air conditioner in our bedroom. Catarroja is going good. We had a really tuff week one of my toughest and most humbling weeks yet. I have never had so many people cancel on me, members included and lot´s more experiences that are just humbling too. 

Wow summer is basically half over that is crazy and I have a transfer coming up here on the 5th of August. I will probably stay here for at least another transfer or more. Hope everyone enjoys the summer while it lasts because it is the last year of high school for my little sister. 

Wow! That is so awesome TEXAS! Everything is bigger in Texas. And he reports in October that is great it gives him a little more time to keep working and get a little more cash under the belt. Hey someone needs to get me his email or give him mine so we can write cause I haven´t heard from him or them yet. I mean they don´t have to, but to at least talk to my cousin. The mission is freaking awesome. Hopefully some of those guys at home finish stuff up and get out too.

Well today we woke up super early and went by train for an  hour to the most south part of the mission to hook up with the elders in Gandia and we went hiking with one of the stake presidency members. It was awesome. This guy knows so much about the outdoors and it was all in Spanish so it blew my mind that I understood it all. I will send pictures next week. It was awesome, we found a little stream and put are feet in it, it is a good thing it was not even close enough to being big to swim cause we all had the itch to jump in some water and swim. 

Well I love you.

Your favorite child

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 7/14/2014

Around here it isn´t too bad with the running of the bulls. We don´t here much because it mainly happens up in Pamplona which I was closer to in Santander. But I guess they will be having bull fights start up here basically all over Spain. We get to go to one during our mission and the elders are taken out of Pamplona for the week while the running of the bulls goes on even though it doesn´t last long they don´t want anything happening. 

Guess you guys better get used to the house being more quite than usual. Tell Cole it is ok I pray every night in thanks that I don´t share a room with him anymore. Just kidding I would much rather share a room with him than my companions. They tend to stink a little bit! Wow I don´t think it has gotten that hot here yet but the humidity kills me. 

Right now the teaching is going better. We just started teaching a lady named Zoila who is from Bolivia and is a golden investigator. She has family that lives in Houston and they are all members. They told her basically to look at the church. So we met with here twice last week and she came to church. She is really awesome and I just think basically she will do what she needs to do to find out eveything for herself.  Other than that we are trying to help a few people get ready for baptism. Sometimes they just have different ideas and look at things differently. I guess they kinda still have to have a change of heart before they really understand everything. 

well still loveing it out here love you

Elder Blake Billingsley

Oops, fell asleep!!!

Oops, we fell asleep after being fed at a members house and they took a picture to prove it!  Good thing the are cool! Hard work makes you tired!

Letter form 7/7/2014

Hey Dad, 

Wow crazy things that happen at work I guess. We really don´t here about any of that stuff here in Spain but they do have a lot of riots we just don´t here about anything because we can´t watch the news. 

I can´t believe I just passed the fourth outside the United States. Well truth be told we all got together and pitched in like 30 euros each so maybe you should tell mom I took 30 euros off my card and we got some members to buy fire works and light them off. Of course we used it as an activity to get some menos activos out of there houses and over to the church. It wasn´t specatacular but it was fun to just sit there and talk with people and watch lights. 

 

It is true though I always feel like I have a long ways to go. I will always try to perfect myself at the things I do which I guess is why we are here right, to learn and grow and become perfect. Well still trying to get some baptismal feachas here in catarroja but we will see how it all goes the next couple of weeks. 

Love you,

Elder Blake Billingsley

 

Letter to Mom
Hey  Mom,

Wow long drive. Sounds like fun though at least for the girls. 

We are starting to teach more lessons. We are planning an three lessons a day with two member present lessons. Those are the most important ones because we have members there to testify as well and hopefully we are teaching there friends. Things are improving slowly but I have noticed that the more optomistic we are the better things get. But still with a low progression. I think my favortie part of the week would be those days where we are literally running through the streets of Spain to make it to another visit and it is just one of those days where you can feel the spirit in every visit you have and everything is just clicking. That doesn´t happen everyday but probably at least once a week. Those days where you and your companion are just clicking and everythng is just rolling. You do have to work for those days but they do happen and aside from that my favorite day is Sunday. I think even though we are just dead cause that is the end of the week and sometimes in the evening we don´t have anywhere to go but they are just good days. 

So I have been thinking about the end of my mission to. I don´t know what I would like. Do I wan´t you guys to come pick me up or do I want to just get on the plane and fly home. Like it would be really cool for you guys to come here but I don´t know. Why don´t you and dad tell me what you think and I will do some thinking this week and tell you next week.

 

well love you

Your favorite Elder

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 6/30/2014 and Pictures

Hey dad,

Well working hard here and starting to work harder cause I think just about all of our investigators have fallen of the face of the earth but it is what it is. But it is fun. I still sweat a ton and even more with the humidity here.

So we went to this museum and it had all these paintings from Spanish painters which they weren´t my favorites but there were some cool ones of Christ. Last p day we went to an old castle. It was huge! It was really cool to look at the architecture of it and the art work around it. Old Spanish castles are so cool. I have some pictures of it to send. It was like 45 min in train from Catarroja and then we had to hike another 45 min to get to the entrance cause it sits on the tope of a mountain.

Well I love hearing about American football especially with the mundial going on it is all I hear about from the members. They keep telling me about how the US lost but I just shove it back at them with the fact that Spain was the first team eliminated. I actually kind of like the soccer stuff but still not that much. Good thing I have a great relationship with the members at least I think I do. But they really should pay Russell Wilson a little bit more and I don´t know what they are going to do for Marshawn Lynch. 

It is really weird that you run into all my friends and of all the places at work. Well not much really going on today but I thin we are going to go to Valencia and go bowling with some of the missionary's in Valencia.  I am learning a lot in my studies right now. I have been reading the general conference talks every morning and wow it is so cool to find things I didn't notice before that stand out to me now. Some of my favorite ones were from the priesthood session and they were really good. I think I am learning a lot about service and what it really means to be a priesthood holder and have faith and follow Christ.

There was something I found on lds.org that was written by Joseph Smith and it talked about faith. it said the something along the lines of the fact that not a single person has real faith until they are willing to give everything they have, every world possession even their family even their life for God. I think it is super powerful. and when you think about it, it is super true.

te amo

Elder Blake Billingsley

 

Letter to Mom

Hey Mommy,

Yep the running is going good but last night we were a little late coming home from a members house so we had to run home to make it on time and my companion had to call in the numbers at the same time so as we are running home we were talking to the zone leaders about our numbers and I don´t know what happened but my hip is popping. I don´t think it is a good idea to go from sitting down on your butt for an hour to a full on sprint to get home at 10 well I am ok just a little sore. 

Yep I got the smaller package too. Thank you so much.

Yep the empanadas were from Santander with and Argentino family and boy were they good. I think I remember how to make them. I think I have learned to make food from just about every South American country and Spain. So I will have to try it all out on you guys when I get home. 

Wow! Sounds like youth conference they had was awesome. I remember how fun those were. I think the dance festival was probably one of the coolest ones and trek of course. The missionaries don´t really participate in stuff like that here because the church is so small and young still that they have nation wide activities and so it is super difficult and the missionary side of everything is kind of left out of that stuff. One thing I have learned about Spain is that it is a party place. It is all about the party. 

Well it is still hot here and still sweating a ton. Just about all of our investigators have fallen of the face of the earth with summer vacations but I have a feeling this transfer is going to be good. I am here with a great group of missionaries. We are having tons of fun. It is always difficult but I love it. 

te quiro

Elder Blake Billingsley

                                     A cool fountain.

                                            The valley of Xativa.

                                    Old Spanish building.

                               Castle entrance-newer than the rest of the castle.

                               Old painted room of the history of a prince/knight.

                               A Harley in Catarroja!

Letter from 6/24/2014

Hey! 

Well transfer week again but nothing changed in Catarroja. It has been freaking hot here though. 

 

Sounds like everything is going good and you will all be busy this summer. The summer is going to go by supper fast and at that point I will have been gone for a year. I think that that is crazy. Yum chocolate carrot cake with lots and lots of frosting! Well hopefully it was ok. 

I have been able to catch parts of games when we go over to peoples houses. It is actually hard to plan anything with fifa going on but it got a bit easier when Spain went out at the beginning. que suerte! But they still watch the fifa cup. 

Well I will send some pictures I don´t know if I told you but I broke my toilet seat a few weeks ago when I sat on it. Cheap European stuff! My butt hurt so bad.

te amo

Elder Billingsley

Letter to Mom

Hey 

Sounds like you killed it on the race. I think I want to get into some of those races when I get home they sound super fun. Of course I hope I get into shape again.

Wow I really can´t believe school is out already I swear I left yesterday which happens to be the day before school started. Wow. 

Well nothing here in Catarroja has changed with the transfer. I am with my companion for at least one more transfer and we hope we can build up the area. 

The craziest thing is I never gave blessings before the mission. Now I think we give them like once a week. I don´t know if I can do them in English. 

But the part I have really learned is just service service service it´s what the priesthood is. The biggest part of the gospel is love. 

Well love you!

te amo

Elder Blake Billingsley

Pictures!

                                          Helping make empanadas while still in Santander

                                         Yikes!

                                         Aquarium in Valencia

                                          Huge paella dish for zone conference

Letter from 6/16/2014

Well I totally forgot that it was Fathers Day till the Elders Quorum President leaned over to me in consejo de barrio yesterday and said isn´t it fathers day in the states today. I was like oh no I forgot. He goes that´s what I'm here for. So HAPPY FATHER´S DAY! Yeah I have seen a few minutes of some games it is impossible not to here and we were expecting when Spain would win that the streets would go nuts as we were strying to sleep but it was completley silent so we figured that they lost. We actually were able to sleep. The other thing that is hard right now is getting people to visit with in the evenings right when the games start at about 8 or 9. 

Yep zone confernce was the best one so far. We had a guy in the stake make us a big old pallea and it was so good I didn´t know I like liver so much but it was super good with all the meet in it. Pallea orginated here in Valencia so if you ask them about it they get really prideful. I love pallea so freaking much. In the past week eating with members we have eaten pallea like 4 times. Oh it is so good. Squeeze a little lemon on it and use your bread to scoop it on the fork and don´t be afraind to use your hands if you have seafood pallea with all the gambas. 

Holy cow Bria turns three I need to send her a drawing or a letter or something. I knew but I forgot that one too. Wow, I'm terrible. I forget everything. 

It is super weird to here about all the people I knew going to high school. But it is kinda cool to here what´s up with them and what they are doing.  You guys just run into people everywhere. Well the work here is going we tend to have fairly busy days which are good. We set another fecha. the first one we had with a guy and his wife but they have just dropped of the face of the earth and we cant get a hold of them. We passy by we call but nothing. So they are gone I guess. Well 1 more week in the transfer and then we shall see who my new companion is if I get one. Well hope everyone is dong well and it sounds like you are all busy.

te amo

Elder Blake Billingsley

 

 

Letter from 6/9/2014

querido padre.......

woops casi empece a orar. jaja. bueno ¿que tal todo? me sueno como cada uno de mis hermanos están listo parra terminar escuela y descansar un poco de sus estudios y todo. pero están tan ocupados con todos de los deportes y todo. me acuerdo jugando fútbol americano todo el tiempo y yo casi nunca tenia tiempo para hacer otras cosas. pero sabemos que era me cosa favorito y no quería hacer nada más. No lo creo. Mi hermana va tomar el examen( ACT) para ir a la universidad. !No puede ser! 

espero que Bren pude sentir mejor in la semana que viene y que puede mostrar a los entendedores que ella is la leche. !Wow! Cole es una machina y nadie tiene la habilidad para detenerlo. !es una bestia! noooooo yo completamente olvide el cumple ano de mama. tengo que escribir algo muy buena ye enviar lo rápido.  

Well hopefully the spanish isn´t too bad and that you understand it. I think that there might be one or two Spanish things in there that you might not get cause they don´t make sense in any other spanish speaking country. Not gunna lie I really miss football but I can´t believe that it is already that time of year for the spring traing and all that. I really wish I could play a little bit.

So today we had a water ballon fight cause it is getting freaking hot. We step out of the shower and looks like we haven´t dried off after we have. They tell me that is just going to get worse all the way up till October. oh no! Wow Keaton graduated. Have you guys heard anything about mission stuff for him or anyone else that I might know yet. Last week for preperation day we went to Valencia to an aquariam so that was kind of cool and this Wednesday we have a zone confernce and all that good stuff that comes towards the end of a transfer. Yep just two more weeks till the end of this transfer. My companion keeps telling me that he is leaving and that I will be the new district leader but I definitely don´t hink that is happening yet. Not for a while I hope. I still have to work on the Spanish and other parts of being a missionary. 

We are trying to start some things up here in Catorroja because they just have a hard time with the missionary work. There are some great members here that work there butts off for us but then there are others that just don´t do anything and it is frustrating but we are stating some things with individual family's and then we are going to have an activity called the viaje por la vidsa de cristo. seria genial.

bueno te quiero

Elder Blake Billingsley   

 

Letter to Mom

     

 Hey mom,

Well yeah we try to be busy here. This past week however things have kinda slowed down so we are really trying to find more people to teach and work with the members more. We have been hearing a lot about how the missionary´s are working more with members in the states and that in some missions they don´t do contacting anymore. They are really pushing us hard to work with the members. So we are trying to put on an activity here called viaje por la vida de cristo ( journey through the life of Christ). It is kinda difficut to do because it is just us missionary´s here working on it. It is super hard to get the ward to acccomadate missionary work here. It is kind of a disfuntional area but we are working really hard to get the leaders in this ward in the game. We are also trying to implement a plan here with the ward doing family home evening with each family and setting up a family mission plan. We have been brain storming this plan all weekend. We have named El Bebé. It is our baby. Just trying to get the members here to give us referneces and help them out to be missionary's to there friends. 

Well we have been working with a few investigators that we have and they are slowly progressing but need to keep some comittments that we have been making with them. we have some good investigators and are hoping to see some baptism soon. I have now been here in Catarroja for 4 weeks wow. Time fly´s. and the transfer is in 2 more weeks. 

Well the running is getting a lot easier it is just so humid here so it gets hard to breath sometimes. And then when we step out of the shower and dry off it looks like we haven´t dried off because of the humidity. The members tell us that it isn´t even that bad yet and that it will be 100 times worse in a month or so for up until October. Well wish me luck with my sweating problems.  I really can´t believe that school is about over. I swear it just started and I just left on my mission. Oh yeah I did 9 months ago. I bet Kenzie is glad to not get up for seminary and get some extra sleep. I wish I could get some extra sleep. I guess I have today to get a little nap in. Don´t know if I can cause it is so hot. It actually has been getting really hard to sleep with the heat and humidity but I kind of enjoy it. It´s weird it makes me feel like I have been working. 

Oh yeah happy birthday! I think your birthday is soon but I don´t remember what day. I am such a horrible son. Love you.

Love 

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 6/2/2014

Hey,

Ha ha, yeah, I´m everyone's favorite elder! The running in the morning sucks. I think the sisters kick our butts every morning and the Spanish was difficult. Wow! Everyone is getting so big so fast. I can´t believe everything they are doing. You guys are all so busy. 

Of course Cole wants more money. "It´s all about the money, money, money" I think I miss music so much. All of us here in the mission miss it. If someone says some kind of line that has a music reference it gets sung.

Well the big brat Bria sounds like a handful. How can she have an imaginary boyfriend? She isn´t even supposed to know what boys are yet. I'm sorry dad I think you are screwed with her when she gets older. Better start collecting lots of guns, locks, balls, chains and a whole lot of barbed wire. The house is gong to have to be a prison. ha ha

I think that just made my week hearing about the bad word in elders quorum. Don´t feel too bad I have heard so many members here swear. But here in Spain swearing is not fuerte at all. Well, certain words yes but there are a lot of common words that you would not say in English in a big group. 

We just set a baptismal fecha for the 21st and they are super good. Their names are Moises and Veronica and they just have tons of questions and super strong faith. I don´t know here in Catarroja  it is kind of dead but we are still super busy and working hard to get the ward here to work with us. we as missionaries are doing an activity for missionary work called viaje por la vida de cristo. it should be super good in other areas they have had baptisms from it. 

Well everything here is good and I'm still sweating and hot all the time and busy, but I love it. 

Love

Elder Blake Billingsley

 

Letter to Mom

 

Sounds like everyone is super busy and doing well. Lucky school is almost out. Just till the end of the month. Wow, I left the day before school started. That is so crazy!

The investiagoters that we just set the date with to be baptized had questions about the priesthood. So we explained a little bit about that scripture and then after they said well, we want to be baptized by the highest authority in your church. And then we were able to explain that we hold the same authority of priesthood that Jesus Christ and the apostles had. When I think about that myself it is crazy to think about the things that can actually happen if people have faith in Christ. The miracles that we can see are super awesome. 

Love you,

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 5/26/2014

Hey Dad,

Well things are going good here in Catarroja I'm just sweating like crazy though. Of course you do all the work and Cole get´s the money that how he works. I can honestly say I miss doing yard work though. 

Funny story. so the sisters here in Catarroja in the same week had a shower break and locked there keys in there piso so we had to fix there shower and unplug the drain. Ugh gross. Good thing I grew up with sisters with long hair and know how to do that. And the plumbing here in Spain sucks by the way. And then we had to unlock there door to there piso with a pop can. Good thing my comp is Mexican and has skills. 

Hope the Seahawks do good again this year. 

Well not much happening just teaching a lot and getting to know the knew area I have already been here for two weeks crazy. 

Well I am limited on time today cause we have to get some stuff done but hope everything is going good. 

Love you

 

Blake Billingsley

Letter to Mom

Wow I can´t believe school is almost out for you guys there. Well I have actully been here for two weeks. Thank you for sending all that stuff by the way. She is not old enough to go to prom. That is so weird and next year she will be a senior. no puede ser. Hopefully school comes to an end fast. I have almost been out 9 months. Time is flying by so fast. Sorry I don´t have a ton of time today. Still trying to get the new area down and trying to work with an new companion. The sister missionary's here have talked us into running theree times a week with them and into doing and English fast starting tonight and not ending till next Monday. I hope I can do it. 

Love,

 

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter from 5/19/2014

Hey Dad,

Yeah it was such a long trip down here and I could feel it slowly getting hotter on the train. But it was probably one of the funnest trips ever. Just freaking traveling Spain.

 

It sounds like you guys are still busy as usual and will not have a break this summer.

So we are just a little bit south of Valencia. And we actually have a stand alone chapel out here and only one ward that attends it and it is three stories tall. We cover Catarroja which isn´t huge and then all the pueblos that are out here. We have it all split off with the set of hermannas out here and every week we go to Valencia for one of our meetings- district meeting, zone meeting or conferences. Valencia is the biggest zone in the mission too. It is pretty hot here and I don´t think I have stopped sweating. Wow and I had to stand up and talk for like 5 min in sacrament meeting this week in a new ward. Back to back weeks in church in Spanish. It kills me. I guess I can speak fairly well but I have super high expectations so I still have lot of work to do. I figured out why you couldn´t understand me the other day when I was trying to tell you the joke in Spanish. It´s because the vocabulary in it is Spain Spanish vocabulary so unless you know the words it doesn´t make sense. 

My companion is great so far. His name is Elder Barreda. He was born in the states but is basically Mexican I guess. So he grew up speaking Spanish cause he lived in Mexico for a while. He is a actually a really great teacher. We have a ton of investigators here which I have never had in my mission and am super excited to work here. Can´t wait  and we have some people who are progressing towards baptism. So, it should be pretty good down here. The ward is decent. In the last week I have learned that the people down here are a lot more laid back and chilled out. So l love it. 

Love you all,

Elder Blake Billingsley

Letter fom 5/13/2014

Well my companion is good so far here. I have only been with him for a few hours. I think I just had the longest train ride ever. About 7 and a half hours to Barcelona and three to Valencia and then 20 min in bus to my area. Wow it is so freaking hot here and humid. Well we will see how things go here. The traveling was just a party the whole way with all the other missionaries and we were in Barcelona for like 3 hours. It was so crazy. Just haning out and talking about family and areas we have served and I think we talked about just about everything you can think of and I'm down here in the same zone as Elder Schoen we met up in Barcelona. So that train down here was pretty good. 

Well sounded like every one is busy and doing good. 

Love you all.