Hermana Dayton and I have just completed the special process of interviewing every single

missionary (189 in total) in the mission for the fourth time since we arrived here in Barcelona. While it

requires a high level of energy, takes 12 days, and is hard work it is one of the greatest experiences with

which we are blessed in this special and sacred calling. I rejoice in the opportunity to sit down one on

one with the great missionaries in this mission, feeling their goodness and power, and sensing their

maturity and devotion to the missionary cause—the greatest cause on the face of the earth! I always

finish the experience inspired, my soul is lifted up and my testimony of this great work is strengthened.

As Hermana Dayton and I finished the interviews, we mused about what we had learned about the

mission and the missionaries serving therein. Allow me to share with you the Top 10 Things Learned

During the El Faro Interviews.

10. Missionary work in this mission is a joy. The overwhelming majority of our missionaries feel honored

to serve in the Spain Barcelona Mission and absolutely love preaching the gospel of Christ. A very high

per cent made the comment, “I have never been happier in my life!” It is clear they are here for all of

the right reasons.

9. We need more help from the members. During the interviews it was made clear that about 50% of

the wards and branches have embraced missionary work and make major contributions to the work by

accompanying our missionaries on lessons, NDH, ward/branch activities, etc. In the 50% of units where

there is less missionary support, the units don’t grow, they are less vibrant and energetic , and there is

much less excitement for the work in general. What a joy it will be when 100% of the units embrace

what the Prophet Joseph Smith called “the greatest responsibility we have on earth—to preach the

gospel.”

8. A dedicated ward mission leader doing his job is worth his weight in gold. It is not surprising that

there is significant variability in the quality of ward/branch mission leaders. The truly great ones are

legendary in this mission. They hold regular coordination, go on visits with the missionaries, conduct

baptismal services, provide referrals, are advocates for the missionaries, and magnify their callings. The

others talk a lot but don’t actually do much. Often times the calling is extended to men who are too

busy with work, school, or who just don’t magnify their calling. It is so critical to have a ward/branch

mission leader with the missionary fire.

7. Missionary work is not easy. Our missionaries work incredibly hard, often walking between 10 and 15

kilometers per day. From the time they first meet their investigator until they enter the waters of

baptism, they pass through so much as they battle false teachings, temptations, apathy, fired

appointments, family disapproval, unmarried couples, hours of street contacting, and people who

change their mind unpredictably. The adversary fights us at every turn but is powerless to stop this

great work.

Message From Presidente Dayton

Top Ten Things We Learned During Our El Faro Interviews

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

6. Companionships get along well in this mission. I would estimate that over 95% of the missionaries I

interviewed said they get along well with their companion. Some said that they had little in common

with their companion but had grown to love them. Where there is love and unity in a companionship,

the Spirit is present and great missionary work can take place.

5. Our missionaries are full of love. I believe that the missionaries in this mission are full of the love of the

Savior. During the interviews I loved hearing about how they love the members, the great love they

have for their investigators (truly extraordinary), and the love they have for their companion. We have

both felt of your love and support for us.

4. Our missionaries loved General Conference. There was a high level of understanding of the talks

given in General Conference—the words of living apostles and prophets. Elder Holland and President

Uchtdorf were probably the most popular talks but many other talks were quoted and inspired us to be

better disciples of Christ. Conference seems to mean more in the mission field when your whole focus is

the things of God and bringing souls to Christ.

3. El Faro missionaries love the scriptures. This was manifested in the many, many declarations of how

much our missionaries love personal study time and immersing themselves in the scriptures—both

ancient and modern. I also learned that as a mission, we need to use our time in companionship study

more effectively. We will be working on that.

2. Our missionaries have the faith to find. While there were a few who expressed discouragement in

the hardness of the work, the overwhelming majority do the work every day with powerful faith that

they will be lead to the ones the Lord has prepared for them to find. Because of that great faith, we

DO find and are led to the elect who have been prepared. Over 36% of all baptisms in this mission last

year came from contacting.

1. This mission is Christ-centered. Everything our missionaries do centers on the Savior. I wish you could

be in my position and hear the many powerful testimonies I witnessed from you great missionaries

during the interviews. There is a tenderness, sweetness and respectful love for our dear Savior which fills

my heart with joy and gratitude. Your sacrifices and those things you have given up to give your life to

the Master are truly inspiring.

I love our interview month! I love the marvelous and dedicated missionaries of El Faro. May the Lord

bless all of you to continue to find joy in the great journey of saving souls is my prayer for you every day.

Con amor eterno,

Presidente Merril T Dayton

Message From Presidente Dayton Cont.

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

Obedience vs Willfulness

Message From Hermana Dayton

17 de Abril de 2016 El Clarín de El Faro

Obedience is quickly and cheerfully carrying out the wise direction of those who are

responsible for us. In Preach My Gospel it says, "As a missionary, you are expected to

keep the commandments willingly, to obey mission rules, and to follow the counsel of

your leaders."

It goes on to read that, "you may sometimes be required to do things you do not

completely understand." I love the story that is often told of the three military men who

were standing on the deck of an airline carrier. Their commander spotted an

approaching missile and shouted, "drop." Two of the men obeyed and dropped while

the third one looked around to figure out why he was told to drop. The missile struck the

man standing and he was killed. We can learn much from this story. The one who

looked around and wanted to see why he was asked to drop wanted to decide

whether or not he should obey. The other two men obeyed and then later understood

why. The scriptures are written so every person has the opportunity to obey and then

understand in their own life why the Lord is asking them to keep the commandments

and follow by every word that proceeds from His mouth. Obedience definitely requires

an act of faith.

In Deuteronomy, Heavenly Father instructed the people to write out God's

commandments and keep them before their eyes so they would not forget them. They

even wrote the commandments on their doorposts so they would see them as they went out and came in. When we first came to the mission and learned that each day

the missionaries were asked to read three pages daily form the white missionary handbook, it reminded me of this scripture passage. I know that as we are obedient to

this, we will be reminded of those things that will bring us wisdom and protection. Elder L.

Tom Perry promises us that if we are obedient it creates a wall of protection around us. If

we have decided in advance to be strictly obedient when the temptation comes we

have already made our choice.

Message From Hermana Dayton

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

I believe that true obedience is based on Love. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my

commandments" John 14:15. When we truly love the Lord, we strive to do all that He has

asked. As we follow Him, and keep His commandments we live lives that are filled with

happiness. In Acts 5:29 it says, "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said,

We ought to obey God rather than men."

A big part of obedience is choosing to follow God.

We can apply obedience as missionaries by--

--Obeying the Missionary Handbook with exactness

--Being obedient to the things President Dayton asks

--Having a cheerful attitude when we are asked by our bishop, ward mission leader,

assistants, zone leaders, or district leaders to fulfill an assignment

--Doing what our prophet and church leaders ask us to do

--Going the extra mile when asked to fulfill an assignment

I so enjoyed visiting with each of you as we did interviews this month. I'm grateful for your insights and suggestions on how we can be a Christ Centered Mission. Many of you

mentioned the importance of Obedience so we can have the Spirit with us and radiate

Christ's love as we bring others to Him. President Dayton and I KNOW that as we are

obedient, we will increase in faith, wisdom and testimony and that the Lord will protect

us as we diligently serve Him.

Much love and gratitude for each of you--

Hermana Dayton

Christlike Attributes- Faith, Charity, Love, Virtue, Hope, and Humility, Knowledge & Wisdom, Patience, Diligence, Creativity, Enthusiasm, Generosity, Forgiveness, Dependability, Availability, Orderliness, Gratitude, Endurance, Persuasiveness, Compassion, Alertness, Character, Decisiveness, Determination, Truthfulness, Benevolence, Honor, Sincerity, Punctuality, Joyfulness, Gentleness, Self Control, Initiative, Cautiousness, Loyalty, Meekness, Sensitivity, Obedience

Bautismos/Confirmaciones/Misioneros

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

José Maria Marco Lopez Zaragoza 2B Élderes DeFendis y Clifford

Baba Builsa Abukari Lleida C Hermanas Hollenbaugh y Gutoff

Blanca Cardozo Las Arenas A Élderes Hemeyer y Morley

Kingsley Obiora Oneyesho Castellón A Élderes Tigre y Tuthill

Daniel Malau Castellón B Hermanas Fernández y Batten

America Mocada Guiterrez Catarroja A Élderes Busath y Allen

“Eran contados … y se

inscribían sus nombres”

24

ene

31

ene

7

feb

14

feb

21

feb

28

feb

6

mar

13

mar

20

mar

27

mar

3

abr

10

abr

17

abr

Bautismos 5 10 3 6 6 19 12 6 8 6 3 8 6

Confirmaciones 5 10 3 5 6 19 13 6 8 6 3 8 6

Fechas bautismales 102 87 94 110 125 97 104 99 107 115 141 137 125

Inv reunion sacramental 197 191 190 213 199 192 185 185 185 164 165 169 181

Lecciones con un

miembro675 690 633 657 687 709 693 681 682 728 589 768 693

Lecciones con un m. p. 40% 46% 41% 41% 44% 45% 43% 36% 37% 36% 36% 39% 37%

Nuevos Investigadores 588 466 518 556 534 567 544 685 681 907 613 695 718

Bautismos/Confirmaciones esta semana 6

Bautismos/Confirmaciones este mes 17

Bautismos/Confirmaciones hasta la fecha

este año118

CINCO:

CUATRO: Élderes McArthur y Brog

Hermanas Romero y IreguiÉlderes Skousen y MurleyÉlderes Carballo y Carter

TRES: Hermanas Stapley y Laine

Élderes Gonzalez y BromleyÉlderes Lake y ThompsonHermanas Steinfeldt y AguilarÉlderes Bennett y PembertonHermanas Mayes y HowellHermanas Cragun y AllenHermanas Canales y CarolloHermanas Fernández y BattenHermanas Villeta y SebastiáHermanas Rica y RoggieroÉlderes Dunn y GarcíaÉlderes Ball y Cvijanovich

Zaldy Barri Gótic

Joel Sabadell 1A

Esther, Sergi Sabadell 1B

Daisy Badalona 2A

Manuel, José Zaragoza 2C

Emily Andorra

Virginia Bilbao B

Choux, Toni Bilbao C

Ana San Sebastian A

Sam Hospitalet 1B

Antonio Cornellá B

Dani Tortosa

Maria, Milton Valencia 3A

Angela Catarroja A

Abrahm Catarroja B

Ester Vitoria B

Ana, Mauri, Belginn, Vitoria C

Silenge

Loida Logroño B

Yvon Menorca

Ionel Ibiza B

Kevin Manacor

17 de Abril de 2016

Compañerismos que lograron las pautas de excelencia:

Oremos por estos investigadores con fechas bautismales para esta semana:

El Clarín de El Faro

The Zone

Hospitalet is in the Zone!-With an average of 10.4 new investigators

per companionship this week!

Valencia is in the Zone!-With 3 BAPTISMS this week!

And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith.Doctrine & Covenants 42:14

Carlos got baptized!! Although

it was such a stressful day at the

end everything worked out.

Carlos has truly been such a

miracle. My old companion

Hermana ________ and I last

transfer fasted to find someone

who was prepared and could

be baptized. That night we

contacted Carlos & 6 weeks

later he got baptized! It was a

testimony to me that the lord

hears & answers our prayers,

that FASTING WORKS, and that

the lord is preparing his child to

accept his goal. It was a special

day for Carlos and for all of us. I

realized a year ago that same

day of Carlos's baptism I had my

very first baptism and in the

same day my companion

Hermana _________ was having

her very first baptism. Truly

nothing brings more joy than

seeing worthy converts be

baptized. I love love love this

gospel and I love baptism!

Hermana _______told me she

has never seen a more smooth

baptism, everything just seemed

to fall into perfect place. After

they came up out of the water,

they were so incredibly happy,

and they said they felt so clean,

and light! _______bore the

sweetest little testimony after

about how she feels like she has

a new family, and how much

happier she is. THE GOSPEL

CHANGES LIVES!!!!! :) :)I

absolutely love every minute on

the mission. I love Spain. I love

my companion. I love the TRUE

church of Jesus Christ of Latter

Day Saints.

Yeah Jeanette and Alejandra

were BAPTIZEDDDDD!!! The way

we found them was a miracle.

The confirmation they received

after our kneeling prayer was a

miracle. The day of their

baptism was a miracle, all the

way to their confirmation.

Many years were shed and

many smiles were shared. The

biggest miracle we saw

though had to do with the

programs. We dropped them

off the be printed and the man

told us 20 minutes. So we went

to decorate the after party for

them and president.... WE

FORGOT TO PICK UP THE

PROGRAMS! 2 hours later and

2:30 eating lunch we finally

realized we forgot them! Now

you have to remember that

this is Spain. Everything closes

at 2 for mediodia. It was 2:30!

But we RAN anyways... We get

there and IT WAS OPEN!

wanna know why? The printer

broke and had to fix ALL the

programs one by one!!!! The

baptism started at 4 so if it

would have closed we

wouldn't have had programs

for the baptism. Oh how I am

so grateful for the hand of the

Lord in ALL things!! I'm just so

grateful we could have been

part of helping be the

instrument in the Lords hands

to bring about their conversion.

This week has been great! I

got to play my guitar at the

baptism of Hugo, and it's been

the time I've felt the spirit the

strongest while I've been here.

We need more people like

Hugo in the world - ready,

willing, and able. He's going to

be a good member!

13 de abril de 2014

The Miracle of Baptism

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

Que semana tan loca hemos

tenido, pero fue increíblemente

genial! Lo más importante para

mí fue sin duda ninguna, el

bautismo de Michael. Cada

vez que le enseñábamos me

daba cuenta de lo preparado

que estaba; el señor fue el

verdadero maestro y su espíritu

preparó a Michael. Él siempre

ha sido un investigador de oro,

siempre cumplía con cada

compromiso que le hemos

invitado a hacer, y ya tenía un

testimonio de José Smith, de

Jesucristo y nuestro Padre

Celestial, de la iglesia antes de

que empezáramos a

enseñarle. Y gracias a todos sus

esfuerzos y la ayuda de nuestro

padre celestial, él se bautizó

este sábado y ha sido

confirmado ayer.

Fue increíblemente hermoso el

espíritu que se sintió, él lloro de

felicidad y su esposa también.

Y por supuesto yo también :).

This week Jose Manuel was

baptized! Hope for all the

people that have dry members

in their wards they will

eventually be baptized. He has

been meeting with missionaries

for many years and you can

find him in old ward photos.

And now they can finally give

him a calling.

Daisy is preparing to get

baptized this next week. We still

have to go over some of the

lessons but she is telling people

in the ward of her baptismal

day so I would say she is ready.

Message From Los Morejon

17 de Abril de 2016El Clarín de El Faro

The Morejon’s Invade Valencia Zone!

Elder and Hermana Morejon had a terrific visit with all

the missionaries in Valencia Zone last week. It was so

great to be received by all

the wonderful Hermanas

and Elders in their beautifully

kept pisos! We were very

impressed with the care and

effort shown in every single

apartment we visited. There

were a few little individual

things that needed an extra

lick of elbow grease, but the

vast, vast majority of all items

were checked off with the

top score of 5 stars. Thanks

for all your hard work to

make your pisos a place of

peace and refuge.

This unnamed piso is an example their impeccable work!