My Heart Is in Spain Today

Today my heart is in Spain. Today "my" MariCarmen, a beautiful and amazing young woman I taught on my mission, got married in the Madrid temple to a young man who, from what I can tell from correspondence with MariCarmen and pictures, is the perfect match for her. Today is one of the days that you live for as a missionary. Whether a day like today comes during your mission or many years later, it is one of those days that makes every moment of sacrifice and difficulty worth it.

MariCarmen and her (now husband!) Roger.

MariCarmen and her family were one of the greatest blessings of my mission. At the beginning of my mission, I prayed fervently that I would be able to teach an entire family and see them receive the gospel. That kind of experience isn't especially typical in Spain, but I knew it was a worthy goal, and my heart longed to "find" and teach an entire family. MariCarmen and her family were the round-about answer to that prayer. MariCarmen's entire family had been long-time members of the Church, some of the "pioneer" members in that area (Spain was not open for proseletyzing until the late 1960's because of the influence of Franco), but then her family became inactive when MariCarmen was seven years old -- the year before she was supposed to be baptized.

Ten years later, as new missionary in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, I met MariCarmen and her family. They were one of our "less-active" visits, but for more than a few sets of missionaries, Sisters had been teaching and working with MariCarmen. Visits with MariCarmen were my favorites -- every Saturday night we would meet with her. She and her family were so gracious and kind and funny. And I could tell right off that MariCarmen had a testimony. That testimony took a while to solidify -- much to the heartbreak of more than a few sister missionaries, I know -- but when she was ready to take the step forward and be baptized, I happened to be one of the lucky ones to be a witness to that great event. My companion, Hermana Olsen, and I felt so privileged to have met and "taught" MariCarmen. We prayed non-stop that MariCarmen's family would come back into activity as the result of MariCarmen's baptism and powerful spirit and testimony. It wasn't an easy process -- there was plenty of adversity and challenges, but much of MariCarmen's family -- including her father who at one time had been a Branch President -- returned to activity. The most joyous day of my mission -- my very last Sunday in the mission field, Mari Carmen and her family surprised me by traveling almost two hours to the area I was serving just outside of Sevilla, and attended church with me. It was overwhelming to take up an entire row in the chapel with them, to see her father in a white shirt and tie, and most of all, to see them, one by one, take the sacrament. It was a powerful moment to realize that that very moment was the answer to my prayer -- I had been a part of bringing a family into the church. They were just returning back after a long absence.

Me with MariCarmen, her brother Israel, and parents, Manuel & Nani, the last Sunday of my mission, when they attended church with me as a complete family.

I thought my joy was full that last Sunday of my mission. But then six months later I learned that MariCarmen and her family were to be sealed in the Madrid temple. My heart longed to be in Spain on that day, to see that beloved family dressed in white and joined together for eternity. Then, a few years later I learned that MariCarmen was going to serve a mission herself. And again my heart longed to be with her in the Madrid temple, where she would again make sacred covenants as she prepared herself for missionary service in which she would bless people of her native country in the Madrid, Spain, mission.

And again, my joy is full, and my heart longs to be in Spain. To be at that remarkably beautiful temple, to see beautiful MariCarmen dressed in white again (like she was over eight years ago when I saw her get baptized), to see her family there, joined together in celebration of covenants that will bind them together as a family now and forever.

My cup overfloweth.