“Dia de Hispanidad”

Dia de Hispanidad
12 Oct 2022

Wendy from Columbia

Zulema from Peru

Cousins born and raised in Mallorca Spain

Herman Taylor with her flag from Paraguay

Romina de Chile y Giuseppe de Italia –
a wonderful couple

Precious Daughter of God in the town of Sineu

Doors to ancient church.

Ancient Historical building and ancient sister missionary.

Courtyard in central Sineu

Ancient Windmill

Taylors and Dyers

Rock Builders

Houses made out of rocks.

Standing in a 3,500 year-old rock building made by the Talaiot people

Hola a todos! Today, October 12th is noteworthy for two reasons: First, yesterday we hit our 6-month mark in the Mission. That means that today starts our last 12 months in Spain. Time has flown by so quickly. Second, today in Spain is Dia de Hispanidad, or Fiesta Nacional de España or National Day of Spain. This is a major holiday in Spain commemorating Spanish legacy worldwide. Our District held a major activity tonight to celebrate Spain and all Spanish speaking countries. For a District and a fairly small church building, we squeezed nearly 200 people inside and celebrated with traditional clothing, music, dance and food from over a dozen countries. The evening started with a talk on the impact of Spain on the eventual restoration of the Gospel in America, which was very interesting. Hermana Taylor contributed to the “Spanish cuisine” by sharing chocolate rice crispy treats.

On some P-days, we explore different parts of this island. There are dozens and dozens of small towns all over this island; all with their own fascinating history and culture. Seeing buildings that are centuries old doesn’t even surprise us anymore. This experience makes ancient scriptures come alive as we can actually see where people lived long ago. It’s easier to understand that characters in the scriptures were real sons and daughters of God because we can see the construction and handiwork of ancient inhabitants. The photos included this week of ancient stone buildings date back to 1,500 years B.C. It was amazing to walk around and inside incredibly built stone structures in which people lived 3,500 years ago. Crazy!

So, our appreciation for Heavenly Father’s children grows stronger and stronger – The Spanish and Hispanic history and cultures, ancient civilizations, and our friends and neighbors here on Mallorca today. Of the 200 people in our celebration tonight, 25 were “amigos” to the church, invited to attend by the young missionaries. We have met so many wonderful people in and out of the church. We try to represent the Savior adequately in all of these interactions. It is a blessing and honor to personally represent Him as a full-time missionary. Two of our Young Adults have calls to serve missions; one in Chile and one in Brazil.

So, with the theme of loving all of Heavenly Father’s children, I would like to share a few beautiful experiences we had as we explored a few small, beautiful towns in the middle of the island of Mallorca – with the Dyers the other day. Sineu and Ariany are located in the interior of the island, steeped in history.

We enjoyed three powerful interactions in our camino. The first was a brief chat with a beautiful elderly Spanish woman (photo) in Sineu. Frequently, we are touched as we see lovely elderly people enjoying the outdoors; many times walking very slowly or being aided by others. We wonder what kind of stories they could tell us. What kind of lives have they had? Shortly after I took this photo, I walked up to her and asked if I could help her down a flight of stairs. The stairway was centuries old. She was soooo sweet and said that she could manage herself. But she said I was “precioso” and would “darme besos.” She was so kind and complimentary – to a stranger she had never seen before. With many of her teeth missing, she smiled and blew me several kisses. So tender! It was a magical and yes, even a spiritual moment. “Ella es una hija preciosa de Dios!” I doubt our missionaries have ever been to her town. When will she hear the glorious news of the Gospel?

The second blessing that day: literally seconds after my dear friend made it down an uneven flight of ancient stone steps ( I’m sure she made it – maybe thousands of times before in her life), we came across a kind man slowly walking to the old iglesia y palau (church and palace) that we were looking for in Sineu. Elder Dyer asked him where the church was and he shared that he was walking there and invited us to walk with him. In this slow walk and conversation, we learned that he was a strong practicing Catholic and asked us about our church and religion – we always have our name tags on. We agreed on a common understanding and platform of Jesus Christ. He didn’t want to share too much until he was comfortable that we were serious about the Savior and were not simply tacky tourists. He was a very soft-spoken and spiritual man. He and his family have a 350 year history in this town and he lives just a few blocks from this church. He shared some insights about the history of this town. The church that we walked to with him was built in the 1300s and for several hundred years contained a cloistered nunnery or convent until about 8 years ago. This means that these nuns lived inside the convent for the rest of their lives without leaving. Incredible history of extreme dedication. Part of this complex was also for a period of time, the palace for King Jaume II, King of Aragon, who at that time, was also the king of Mallorca. Our friend was actually walking up to the church to go inside and pray as he does daily. He feels that as he prays the spirit of Christ enters him. After asking us if we were creedores en Dios y Cristo (believers in God and Christ), he shared other personal feelings and insights with us. It was a beautiful experience with another “hijo precioso de Dios.” We were able to share our knowledge and testimony of Christ with him. Mutual respect and love made this a spiritual treasure. When will he be able to hear the “rest of the story?” – the full Gospel of Jesus Christ. He acted like he had never heard of La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Dias. Missionaries again, have probably never served in this town. He is a spiritual man, acting with incredible devotion to what he has been given. We shook his hand with tender feelings and gratitude for meeting a man of God, knowing we would probably not see him again in this life.

This was turning into an amazing day!

Our third experience that day: While in Sineu, once again, seconds after leaving our friend in the church, we came across a man who was looking for the same sights that we were. We learned that he was from Zürich, Switzerland and now lives in Lake Geneva. His English was very good and we learned that he has traveled all over the world, including all the national parks in Utah. He had visited the US from Seattle to New York. He told us that his father just passed away two months ago and that he was here on Mallorca with his mother. We talked about our purpose as missionaries here and about the church. He stayed with us for about 30 minutes as we walked through this town and through ancient buildings. Hermana Taylor got his contact information so that we could follow up with him. Another son of God on his journey through this life.

These were three incredible interactions today. We feel strongly that these were not accidents or coincidences; but the Lord put these people in our path today. Hermana Taylor felt strongly that there was divine intervention in us meeting these three friends today. We are all brothers and sisters and children of a loving Heavenly Father!  Jesus Christ is the Savior of the whole world. We can all be good missionaries by simply being kind and Christlike in our interactions with all of God’s children.

We love and appreciate you!

Élder y Hermana Taylor