Christmas
We spent Christmas Eve at Grandpa’s. We did the Mexican tradition
with the almond pudding stuff. Whoever finds the whole almond in their food
gets the money in the pot. All missionaries put a dollar in and the winner got
$10. We also did a fun version of, “On the first day of Christmas…” You had to
stand up on the parts you sing. It was so cute and fun! J Then we did our gift exchange. I just
wanted to make it fun, so I ended up stealing this super cool gold Book of
Mormon from Elder Rosales. He was ticked! Haha…I love it. Apparently it is a
collector’s item.
Later we emailed, then shopped for groceries. I set up a bank account to be able to cash the check that Gram sent me. We then made four batches of Muddy Buddies and three of No Bake Cookies. It was awesome. We then had dinner at the Aragon’s. The food was SOOOO good. Then we ate posole at the Enriquez’s.
Christmas was such an interesting day! I loved being able to talk to you all. I wish I could have told you so much more though…holy cow. There was just so much to talk about! J I can’t wait for you all to meet Ana and Soledad and other recent converts.
We woke up Christmas morning and opened our presents. Then we got ready for the day and studied. After that we headed to the Aragon’s to get things set up to skype. She is such a cute little lady. Both she and her husband were married before and have one little girl together, Mellisita. She is adorable! The lady that spoke on skype is her mother in law who I just met the night before. She is a sweet woman.
After skyping we put together all the goodies! WE HAD TONS! We headed off with the elders to sing Christmas carols for investigators. Our district was only supposed to come, but somehow the other English elders came. We had a lot of success with the singing and dropping off gifts. A lot of people made us come in and wanted to feed us, but our investigators were so funny. Remember Bobby, the guy who just speaks his mind? He is married to sweet Connie. Bobby is from the south and has some mental challenges. He is so funny. I was super mad at him though, because Connie was LOVING us singing…and then she started crying because she was so happy. He stopped us and said, “Can y’all stop? Can y’all leave?” It was SOOOO awkward. I was so mad at him too, because she was so happy to see us. Anyway, we awkwardly left and he said we could come back, referring to us sisters. We are wondering if maybe he got intimidated by all the elders. Who knows?
We went to see Kathy after that. She wasn’t there, but her boyfriend was. We asked if we could sing for him and he flat out said no…haha. Those were the two hard parts of the day. Besides that it was great! We had tons of success, found a few new people to teach, and had a lot of fun. I will say, however, that I was VERY tired at the end of the day. J
Later that night we had dinner with the Enriquez’s after stopping by cute Janet and Javier's. She also offered us food. Love her! J Carmen Enriquez made some delicious food! After that we did the gift exchange and it was so funny. Thanks to Alecsy last Christmas I had a great idea for my gift. I took one of Carmen’s old barbies and made a “Shave Me” Barbie out of it. This Barbie had black hair. I cut parts of hair off and used super glue to give her hairy legs, arms, chest and face. It was hilarious. Everyone loved it! I am so glad we spent Christmas with the people we did. They are the closest I have to family here. J
The day after Christmas I woke up sick! It was a miserable day. We
spent it inside listening to talks, sleeping etc. I pretty much slept it off
thank goodness. All of the sisters in our zone have been sick, and I am so glad
I am pretty sure I beat it- I took meds so quickly. Besides that we tried to go
see sweet Hermana Romo that night, but she didn’t answer. Elder Bradley hopped
her fence and tried knocking on her door, but she didn’t answer.
Later we emailed, then shopped for groceries. I set up a bank account to be able to cash the check that Gram sent me. We then made four batches of Muddy Buddies and three of No Bake Cookies. It was awesome. We then had dinner at the Aragon’s. The food was SOOOO good. Then we ate posole at the Enriquez’s.
Christmas was such an interesting day! I loved being able to talk to you all. I wish I could have told you so much more though…holy cow. There was just so much to talk about! J I can’t wait for you all to meet Ana and Soledad and other recent converts.
We woke up Christmas morning and opened our presents. Then we got ready for the day and studied. After that we headed to the Aragon’s to get things set up to skype. She is such a cute little lady. Both she and her husband were married before and have one little girl together, Mellisita. She is adorable! The lady that spoke on skype is her mother in law who I just met the night before. She is a sweet woman.
After skyping we put together all the goodies! WE HAD TONS! We headed off with the elders to sing Christmas carols for investigators. Our district was only supposed to come, but somehow the other English elders came. We had a lot of success with the singing and dropping off gifts. A lot of people made us come in and wanted to feed us, but our investigators were so funny. Remember Bobby, the guy who just speaks his mind? He is married to sweet Connie. Bobby is from the south and has some mental challenges. He is so funny. I was super mad at him though, because Connie was LOVING us singing…and then she started crying because she was so happy. He stopped us and said, “Can y’all stop? Can y’all leave?” It was SOOOO awkward. I was so mad at him too, because she was so happy to see us. Anyway, we awkwardly left and he said we could come back, referring to us sisters. We are wondering if maybe he got intimidated by all the elders. Who knows?
We went to see Kathy after that. She wasn’t there, but her boyfriend was. We asked if we could sing for him and he flat out said no…haha. Those were the two hard parts of the day. Besides that it was great! We had tons of success, found a few new people to teach, and had a lot of fun. I will say, however, that I was VERY tired at the end of the day. J
Later that night we had dinner with the Enriquez’s after stopping by cute Janet and Javier's. She also offered us food. Love her! J Carmen Enriquez made some delicious food! After that we did the gift exchange and it was so funny. Thanks to Alecsy last Christmas I had a great idea for my gift. I took one of Carmen’s old barbies and made a “Shave Me” Barbie out of it. This Barbie had black hair. I cut parts of hair off and used super glue to give her hairy legs, arms, chest and face. It was hilarious. Everyone loved it! I am so glad we spent Christmas with the people we did. They are the closest I have to family here. J
My cute nails!
I laughed a lot this
week…it was a really great week. One day Hermana Portillo came out with us but
no one was home. The people we tried to see were not there, but we knew why. It
was because we were supposed to see Maria Thompson. She came to church with
Hermana Barceleu that Sunday before but we had never met her before that. She
LOVED church. She said that usually she goes to churches and feels weird
things, like it doesn’t feel right. She said she didn’t feel that at all. We
invited her to be baptized and she said yes. She said that before Hermana
Barceleu had invited her to church that she had been on Mormon.org and saw some
things on TV. Hermana Barceleu only knew her for a week and invited her! How
awesome is that? Anyway, Maria doesn’t go to any church, but really likes what
she already knows about our church.
After that we had dinner at Hermana De La Pena’s house. She is so cute. She has two daughters in the ward with their own families. We love them. Her granddaughters LOVE us too…Anai was there and was waiting for us to come all day. She is 9 and I kind of want Trey to marry her, haha. She is so adorable. We had some bad red enchiladas though and I was almost throwing up and so was Hermana Fallentine. Hermano De La Pena said something funny. We were talking about Idaho and he said, “Cuentan muchas papas?” Apparently that means do you tell lots of lies, but also literally means, “Do you count a lot of potatoes?”
After dinner we got a call telling us that old Hermana Romo was waiting for all of us…to feed us. We were SOOOO FULL, and we couldn’t offend this sweet old woman. She was so happy we went. We actually tried to throw up before we went, so we had more room. We were laughing so hard, but couldn’t do it! We were scared we were going to have to eat menudo, which we didn’t. J It was a funny dinner. We then sang for her, somehow Hermana Fallentine and I got laughing as we were singing. Her house is very scary- the bathroom, walls and everything just is the perfect scary house for a movie. She is still very Catholic, and is a convert to the church. She tried to bless us as we were leaving. Her husband is dead and I am sure she is super lonely. I am really happy we stopped by, and we had put together a little gift for her. She adds “ito” to the end of all the words she says.
We did service for Hermana Harper for basically the whole afternoon the next day. We helped her clean and pack up stuff to move it to her new apartment. All six of us missionaries were there, and we literally helped her until dinner. When we unloaded the Uhaul, we had to carry the stuff up to the second floor. That was tricky and not as fun.
After that we had the most delicious dinner at the Aragon’s. Oh my goodness. We had these little taco things with the meat from her restaurant. They were delish! Hermano Aragon works for Border Patrol and it was way fun to ask him a ton of questions. It is neat to see first-hand what is happening at the border. He was telling us how new laws had changed things. Before, they used to just send people back to Mexico. Now they send them back, but actually deport them and then have documentation of it. Later, if they come back, they will be considered a criminal. They are heading to Utah tomorrow, so we gave them a couple boxes together of stuff we don’t need right now for them to drop off in Utah with Sister Fallentine’s family.
After dinner, we were able to pick up sweet Sarai and then have two quick lessons with Bobby and Connie (who told us they were coming to church. Bobby wants to apologize to the elders for making us leave the day we went caroling) and Mari (Esmerleda’s mom). That second lesson was especially strange. It was very fast. We can’t tell if Mari is serious about it all. She talks like she is, but she was taught before by missionaries and wouldn’t progress. Maybe now is her time. Let’s hope so.
I drove from dinner on, because Sister Fallentine’s back was bothering her. She got in a car wreck in high school and has had problems ever since. I feel like I am forgetting to write something……oh! During the lesson with Connie, I have no idea how this happened. We were talking about the Book of Mormon, and somehow she started talking about her wedding night. It was hilarious. Apparently, when she got married she was wondering where her bed was! Her mom didn’t fill her in on anything apparently. SO awkward! Connie is a sweet lady, but definitely can talk a lot about irrelevant stuff.
After that we had dinner at Hermana De La Pena’s house. She is so cute. She has two daughters in the ward with their own families. We love them. Her granddaughters LOVE us too…Anai was there and was waiting for us to come all day. She is 9 and I kind of want Trey to marry her, haha. She is so adorable. We had some bad red enchiladas though and I was almost throwing up and so was Hermana Fallentine. Hermano De La Pena said something funny. We were talking about Idaho and he said, “Cuentan muchas papas?” Apparently that means do you tell lots of lies, but also literally means, “Do you count a lot of potatoes?”
After dinner we got a call telling us that old Hermana Romo was waiting for all of us…to feed us. We were SOOOO FULL, and we couldn’t offend this sweet old woman. She was so happy we went. We actually tried to throw up before we went, so we had more room. We were laughing so hard, but couldn’t do it! We were scared we were going to have to eat menudo, which we didn’t. J It was a funny dinner. We then sang for her, somehow Hermana Fallentine and I got laughing as we were singing. Her house is very scary- the bathroom, walls and everything just is the perfect scary house for a movie. She is still very Catholic, and is a convert to the church. She tried to bless us as we were leaving. Her husband is dead and I am sure she is super lonely. I am really happy we stopped by, and we had put together a little gift for her. She adds “ito” to the end of all the words she says.
Isaac and Angela- our favorites!
We did service for Hermana Harper for basically the whole afternoon the next day. We helped her clean and pack up stuff to move it to her new apartment. All six of us missionaries were there, and we literally helped her until dinner. When we unloaded the Uhaul, we had to carry the stuff up to the second floor. That was tricky and not as fun.
After that we had the most delicious dinner at the Aragon’s. Oh my goodness. We had these little taco things with the meat from her restaurant. They were delish! Hermano Aragon works for Border Patrol and it was way fun to ask him a ton of questions. It is neat to see first-hand what is happening at the border. He was telling us how new laws had changed things. Before, they used to just send people back to Mexico. Now they send them back, but actually deport them and then have documentation of it. Later, if they come back, they will be considered a criminal. They are heading to Utah tomorrow, so we gave them a couple boxes together of stuff we don’t need right now for them to drop off in Utah with Sister Fallentine’s family.
After dinner, we were able to pick up sweet Sarai and then have two quick lessons with Bobby and Connie (who told us they were coming to church. Bobby wants to apologize to the elders for making us leave the day we went caroling) and Mari (Esmerleda’s mom). That second lesson was especially strange. It was very fast. We can’t tell if Mari is serious about it all. She talks like she is, but she was taught before by missionaries and wouldn’t progress. Maybe now is her time. Let’s hope so.
I drove from dinner on, because Sister Fallentine’s back was bothering her. She got in a car wreck in high school and has had problems ever since. I feel like I am forgetting to write something……oh! During the lesson with Connie, I have no idea how this happened. We were talking about the Book of Mormon, and somehow she started talking about her wedding night. It was hilarious. Apparently, when she got married she was wondering where her bed was! Her mom didn’t fill her in on anything apparently. SO awkward! Connie is a sweet lady, but definitely can talk a lot about irrelevant stuff.
Bel
and her sister Isma. They are from Argentina, and saw us on the streets one
day.
They go to the English ward and both are ex misioneras! :) Super cute!
At church this week we had three investigators there! That was a happy day. Maria, her daughter Angelica, and her husband (and their two year old). I once again had to play the piano. The guy who plays showed up late. Also we stopped by Bobby and Connie’s and they weren’t there! They are super flakey. They called us later and said that something had come up. Church was great though. Maria loves it. We had Gospel Principles after and it was a really good class. Relief Society was great as well. Hermana Arrue gave Maria a ride home after church. Oh yeah, Maria our investigator signed up to feed us this week! J
After church, Mirian came out with us. She had the cutest note ready for Loren. We ended up not finding anyone at home. L Dinner was at the Beltran’s. They are super cute. She is gorgeous! Her kids are funny too. The little boys won’t look me in the eyes. After dinner we had the best lesson ever with Maria and her daughter. We set baptismal dates with both of them for the 18th of January! We watched the Joseph Smith movie and they loved it. Maria told us about some miracles that had happened in her life. She has always believed in God, but doesn’t have a religion. When we looked up something for her on her computer, her FB page showed that she had “shared” a quote by Jeffrey R. Holland. I was freaking out! J Maria is such a special woman. She won’t get baptized on a whim. She is really going to be serious about this when she does. Oh, and she will definitely be going to the temple in a year!
Sweet Lourdes!
Monday was a great day! Hermana Fallentine woke up sick though so that stunk,
but I was able to do some studying, resting, and watched the long version of
the Joseph Smith movie. That movie is SOOO good. I had forgotten how good it
is. We usually just watch the 20 minute movie with investigators. Also, I
watched it in Spanish. It is awesome that I don’t have to think anymore when it
comes to translating stuff. I can just watch movies in Spanish. We had a great
weekly planning sesh. We set some awesome goals for the next year as well as
our monthly goals. Later we ate at the Enriquez’s for dinner and we ate my
favorite green enchiladas. I love them!
Enchiladas we made!
We were able to stop by Mirna with Carmen, but she was just leaving. Then we
had our lesson with Maria. Our lesson with Maria was incredible. She had SOOO
many questions. Her facebook page was on the Mormon page again! She asked if
she could have Harry Potter books in her house. J She had lots of little questions like that. We taught her about
the Plan of Salvation. We ended up even talking about baptism for the dead and
stuff. It was what she needed. She just wants to know everything. She loves
that we don’t mention the devil a ton. She is doing great. She had read ALL and
more that we had left her in the Book of Mormon. She is just way too solid! J I am so happy!
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