Feliz Año Nuevo!

I know this won’t be as good as Skyping ha-ha.

OK... so this week has honestly been one of the most fun weeks of my mission so far.  Monday was pretty uneventful, but Tuesday and Wednesday were soooo awesome! Tuesday was Christmas Eve and the people here celebrate more on the night of the 24th. We ate dinner like 4 times and I was so full. Here the people stay up till midnight and light off fireworks (more like we celebrate New Year’s).   And the 25th was even better! Talking to you guys was sooooo good. I really needed that. I just feel recharged and ready to go.

Yesterday we had the Christmas Activity for the mission. It was a lot of fun. We played some games and watched the movie Arthur's Christmas. It came out when I was working at Harkins but I never saw it. It was really good. Afterward, in the spiritual part, I did a special musical number with a Hermana from Panama. We sang “Joy to the World”. I played the guitar and sang and everyone liked it and complimented me. Today is P Day and tomorrow we will have the baptism of the little old lady Bertha. 

Yeah, we are staying really busy. We have a lot of potential baptisms in January. I think we will have 3 or 4. Well I love everyone and hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas. Hope y’all have a Happy New Years as well. I’m going to have to look for some Martinellis Sparkling Cider here to celebrate with my companion.

Thanks momma! I love you so much! Can’t wait till May on Mothers Day when we can Skype again!  I love being your son! Tell Dad thanks for giving me the Hoy musical talent.    

 Feliz Año Nuevo!

Skype 2013 Christmas Day

Baptism and a New Identity

We’ve been really busy. This week we went to go visit this guy that we’ve been teaching. His name is Juan Antonio. The former elders were teaching him before I got here. He's been a pastor for 30 years. He talked with a drunken inactive member one time and decided to go to our church. He has gone around 15 times to church and has a super strong testimony. He already finished the Book of Mormon and is reading the Doctrine and Covenants. But he hasn’t been able to get baptized because according to the government, he doesn’t exist which means he can’t get married. His ''wife'' is a less active member. He has been waiting for over 3 months for his lawyer to find his information and create for him a new identity basically. Finally... his papers will be ready the 15th or the 20th so he will be getting baptized this month! We are super excited for him! 

Thank you for paying for my braces. I see so many people down here with their teeth falling out and I am just so grateful that I was born into our family! I love you guys sooooo much! OK Momma I love you lots and can’t wait to see you! But my time is up! Start learning Spanish so we can come here on vacation after I get home! Love you!

A Family that we are Teaching

Kids, Kids Everywhere!

Smiles

Me and the Kids!

Thanks for my Braces!

Mixed Blessings

Well this last week was alright! Monday I got super sick! I didn’t like it at all!  I think it was only food poisoning because it passed in one day! So Monday I slept all day with a fever. Tuesday I still felt bad, so I went to the doctor to do some exams but they didn’t come up with anything. We spent half the day in the house until we got the all clear from the mission nurse. I was glad though because I got to read a couple of the books from the missionary library. One of them is called "Our Legacy" and it’s all about the history of the church and all of the prophets. I learned a lot! It was so sad reading about all of the trials that the early saints of the church faced, but also inspiring to read about the amazing faith that they had.

I also started another book called "Our Search for Happiness"  by M Russell Ballard. It just explains a lot about the doctrine and beliefs of the church. It’s almost written for nonmembers so that they can understand more about the church. I’ve taken a break from reading "Jesus the Christ" because it’s a little harder to understand.

It actually has been pretty cold down here too. Well not cold but I had to buy a long sleeve shirt to sleep in at night! But I like it! It beats the heat for sure! I can’t believe it is already December! I’m almost a third done with my mission! Can you believe that?? I can’t!

Yeah... sorry I kind of peeked at everything in my Christmas box. I love the new ties! And as far as talking to you on Christmas day, it’s like whenever I want... I think. What hour would be the best for you guys when everyone can be in the house?  I don’t know about Facetime because not that many people have Macs here, but we can do Skype! I’ll start talking to some members to plan everything! Here's a picture of me and a cute little baby boy! I love you guys a lot! I’ll see you in a couple weeks!

Beanie Baby!