Leganés

Our not so little town, Leganés, is an area that is on one of the extended Madrid Metro lines, and although densely populated, is dotted with parks and soccer fields. It is home to an extremely diverse population. There are older native Spaniards who have been in their apartments for decades, as well as many immigrants and refugees from around the world. In 2019, a new law opened the way for many descendants of Spanish citizens to obtain citizenship in Spain, making much of this melting pot possible.

We were warmly welcomed by the members of the Leganés Ward. I quickly learned that I may have been practicing my Spanish on Duolingo for more than a year, but how much I understood varied depending on where the speaker was from. I can't do it yet, but our son Matt, who served his mission in Madrid 2008-2010, could pick out regions for sure, and often specific countries based on their accents. 

Speaking of Matt, one of our sweetest experiences so far came when we learned that one of the members of our new ward was a sister who was particularly good to our son all those years ago. She's a widow now, but at that time her husband was the bishop of the ward that Matt was serving in and they treated him like one of their own. After telling him where we were living, he told us to look for her the next Sunday at church and sent us a photo. And sure enough, immediately after Sacrament Meeting, we approached her and after seeing our nametags, the connection was made and the tears and hugs began. 

Sister Reyes is such a kind, gentle woman that we loved her from the start. She came to dinner at our apartment later in the week and we shared photos and stories until very late. Connecting with people, both old friends and new, is such a joy and is one of the reasons we hoped to be able to return to Spain.

It's a manhole cover. Each town's designs are different and I think they're charming.

A ward is a local congregation. It's a group of Church members who live within a specific geographic area, and so where we go to church is determined by where we live. A ward generally consists of a few hundred members and is presided over by a volunteer Church leader called a bishop. You might also hear the term branch. Branches are much smaller congregations in areas with fewer Church members.