Transfers, Kickboxing, and Castles

Tuesday the missionaries traveled for transfers in the Spain Malaga Mission. It has led to some reflection on my part of comings and goings, people staying, and people moving on. This last transfer Elder Flint left the office and Elder Buckway joined us. It’s always a bit sad when friends move on, but I have really enjoyed getting to know Elder Buckway better and it will be sad when he leaves, too. In the next month or so my good friends the Castillos, who have been in the office with me since I came and are great people, will say goodbye as they leave Fuengirola for Malaga, about half an hour or so away. I’ll still see them occasionally, but it just won’t be the same. They’ll have others to engage with, and we will be getting a new office couple to do much of what they have been doing here.

Again, I know I will gain new friends and I celebrate that….  but still. And I miss my friends back in Oregon, too. We are all growing - developing new skills, talents, and character attributes, and goings… and staying too… helps us in becoming the people that God wants us to be. I think in the hereafter we will all rejoice with the good friends that we have had throughout our lives, which means that we never really lose anyone. And I thank God for Skype every week so I can keep up with how my grandkids are doing! (They grow so fast!) :)

Anyway, on to my news.  My nemesis the stairs has had a partial victory. My hips haven’t been doing all that well, and I was finally like, “Duh!  What did you think would happen with pounding down all those stairs???” Besides, I don’t LIKE them!  So I decided to do kickboxing in the morning (until the downstairs neighbor lets me know it wasn’t a good idea after all) MWF and minor muscles and some stairs (just not so many… at least that’s the plan unless the joints don’t improve) Tu and Thur. I know.. fascinating. But I DID improve enough to be able to walk to the local castle and climb up its hill. They don’t let us turistas within the walls, but the views are fabulous. 
The place with the swimming pool you can see is apparently the place the King stays when he comes to visit. Very beautiful. And pondering God’s great creations gives peace to my soul. It was a great P-day.

They don't let people go inside the
castle, but I shoved my camera inside
the crack hewn out of the stone for
the door hinges and got a peak :)

We got a new software program for the referral system, and with it a bunch of (really) old referrals that hadn’t been sent out showed up. That kind of made me feel bad, but we can only do the best we can do. I have helped bring greater enthusiasm for getting referrals to the missionaries, so I guess it evens out. And I love talking to the missionaries. They are awesome young people - this church attracts the cream of the crop, and brings out the best in them.  I feel really blessed to be part of this great work and this great mission!

Bonus picture - Fuen Fun!