We met at the train station and took the train to Madrid, minus a slight detour where we forgot to get off the train and had to get off, get on the train going the other way, and then get off at the correct location. We then took the Metro to the Pavones station, came out of the metro and walked down the street, turned the corner, and this is what we saw:
It is even more beautiful in real life than it is in pictures. I felt like crying just looking at it. I think the temple plaza is the cleanest place in Madrid, even though Madrid is a pretty clean city, at least, as far as I have seen.
We then went into the CCM - (MTC) and took a brief tour. The president, President Earl, told us the CCM takes all the missionaries going to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, aaaannnd... somewhere else, all go through the CCM. They usually have between 12 and 20 elders and sisters there at the same time. The Russian missionaries also come down and stay there every so often while they get their Visas renewed.
The CCM is housed in an apartment building, which also contains apartments for members who travel to the temple. It takes up several floors, includes classrooms, bedrooms (which we didn't see... haha), a cafeteria, and an absolutely beautiful view of the temple:
After the tour, we watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. In Spanish. I understood most of it, and it was really amazing. Then we were able to go practice with the missionaries! We split into groups of 2-4, and the missionaries practiced giving us discussions. It was amazing. The elder and sister who were teaching my group had only been in the CCM for one day. The elder was from Barcelona, and the sister was from Manti.
I was really touched by this sister, though she struggled a lot with expressing herself in Spanish, she bore a very simple and sincere testimony of how the Gospel blesses her life, and even though it was just a practice session, it brought tears to my eyes. I don't know her or her story, but I know she loves the gospel, and I am so excited for the lives she's going to touch. I love missionary work. It's the work of God, and it is so amazing. I'm so proud of all my missionary friends! :)
That's awesome! That's such a beautiful temple!
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