Christmas Nativities

Hey family,

How is everyone? Sorry my preparation day wasn't till today. We had a temple trip today. It was really good to get a spiritual recharge. I was getting really tired.

This week was really good. We are teaching a family, Linda and Gabriel. They are the parents of a little girl named Jackie, who is nine. She is LD (learning disabled). So they didn't think that she would be ready to be baptized so we didn't really focus on her. We talked with them a little later and they asked if she needed to be baptized. We said that she could and if she had the holy ghost that it would help her through her life. Elder Martinez shared a story about a man who received the holy ghost and walked to his seat afterward. The thing is he couldn't walk. He was in a wheel chair. He said after he received the gift he wanted to walk to his seat, so he did. He is now back in the wheel chair but he knew he could do it when he received the gift of the Holy Ghost. So she is going to be baptized on Sunday, along with Brenda who has been waiting so long to be baptized, Myra, Juan and Moises will be baptized as well. It is going to be really exciting.

Linda and Gabriel are having their wedding not this week but next week and getting baptized the next day.

Alfonso is an investigator who has golden written on his forehead. He ended up in the hospital one day from drinking and realized he needed to change. We talked to him and told him that we could help him change. He said please and we started teaching. We found out that he went to church in Mexico but was never baptized. He loves it. He loves to see us. We told him we could move his date to the 12 but he said he wanted to wait so he could be as ready as possible so we kept it on the 19th.

Nancy (recent convert) had her baby boy. We went and visited her in the hospital. It was really fun. I cant really understand her all that well but i know that she teases me a lot.

Spanish sometimes stresses me out. I don't know what to do sometimes. I panic when people talk to me, and I'm usually to scared to ask them to repeat themselves.

I'm getting really good at teaching. I have been helped out a lot by my companion and of course very blessed by my heavenly father. This work couldn't go on if he didn't help. We are nothing with out him. I realize that everyday.

Our car still doesn't work so we walk in the cold, the rain, the fog, and the occasional 70 degree weather. It is unpredictable here. i don't know if i need to wear a sweater or not i usually have to check outside.

I miss you guys a lot. especially with the Christmas season coming up. We went to a stake activity called the Nativity festival. People in the stake lent their nativities to the stake and they were set up with a note next to them, like where they came from, who made it, what it was made of. It was really cool. There were 250ish of them, they had a scavenger hunt, too. It was a lot of fun. We had investigators come, and then we were able to watch the Christmas devotional.

The Lord lives, and he loves us. All we have to do is follow him. I love you all so much. Keep praying for me I need it.

Love your brother and son