Merry Christmas

I LOVE CHRISTMAS! IT'S THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR! SO MUCH LOVE!

This week was a week of service (double thumbs up) and boy did we serve!

We went with a reference named Berenice. When we got to her house and presented ourselves we saw she needed help moving some stuff in her house. So we went to work! Moving beds and mattresses, and getting dirty and grinding! It was actually nice because no one lets us serve them unless we do it afuerzas (against their will.)  Berenice was pretty overwhelmed with a lot of stuff and the look on her face when we got done was nothing but gratitude. Aw :). Then we saw that she needed her house painted so we painted it the next day too! Gotta love it, service brings sunshine in my soul. Especially in these times!

I also love Christmas because well we as missionaries get to talk to our families:) I love my family! It was such a blessing to see all of you again and talk about how you all are doing. :) Love each an every one of you!

Christmas is also a special time because theres a ton of singing and I LOVE SINGING CHRISTMAS SONGS! We had our ward posada (which is like the ward Christmas party.) I don't have pics of that sorry.  We got to participate in the ward choir and help break piñatas, always a good time! Then on Saturday, after I got done talking to the family in Fresno, our zone went and sang Christmas songs and hymns for 2 hours in a public area! It was really awesome! When we started no one even payed attention to us but then we started jamming with the Christmas spirit and at the end there was a solid showing! We of course contacted them and invited them to hear a message from us and it was a success I would say.

And last and most important of all Christmas is a wonderful time because we remember the momentous event of our Savior Jesus Christ's birth. The king of kings, lord of lords, the literal son of God born in the flesh, and the creator of the earth and heavens was born in a most humble manner: in a manger found in the little town of Bethlehem. Born with the mission of saving all of us from both physical and spiritual death and to show us the way back home to our Heavenly Father. We are almost done with another year and 2017 is upon us and I hope that each of you can make goals this next year to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be a better person than you were the year before. I know I will! I'm going back to live with my Heavenly Father! I've made that decision! and I hope to help other come with me as well:) I love you all and I love this gospel! I know He lives and loves us! 

Cuidense!

Hey

Everyone! It's been a while. I know I'm sorry! So so sorry! I bet you all have been on the edge of your seats with anticipation every Monday. Well the wait is over. #blessed

These last few weeks have been by far the hardest of all my mission in the aspect of adversity but all has come to an end. Finally. But through it all I've learned so much and the Lord has blessed me with so many miracles. I can't even count them! For those of you who didn't know I've been without a companion for the last couple of weeks (almost all the transfer) and have been working with members or in trio with the Zone Leader's (which was cool because a year ago I was in their area and I've been working with them and seeing a bunch of old familiar faces that I love so much!) 

We've been working and baptizing like crazy! The work is progressing very well. :)  Cool experience: so a year ago when I was in the area of Ejidal (the ZL's area) I taught this lady named Raquel.  She was super nice, always accepted us well but didn't progress. Now a year later I see her just passing through the streets of Martinez. And I thought well I'm seeing her everywhere for a reason so must mean I have to go back and teach her again with the ZL's. We go contact her and now she's progressing and CHANGING. Literally illuminating with the light of Christ. She has a goal to get baptized this Sunday and what a blessing it is to see her change, repent and prepare to make covenants with God! 

An update of whats happening in the life; today is the Holy Virgin Day and every day this last week people have been lighting off a bunch of fire works that sound like canons going off. Oh and they seem to think its a brilliant idea to do it at 4 OCLOCK IN THE MORNING. You can imagine my reaction. Also I received letters from a family of converts in Tuxpan and I was so overjoyed to hear they are super strong in the gospel and already have plans to be sealed in the temple in a year!!!!!! When I read that I ran outside and screamed and jumped for joy! Such a blessing! Also I hope to see them soon because I'm getting transferred out and going back to Tuxpan! To a different ward but still very close by! 

These last couple of months I've also been teaching the López and I see that same change in their eyes and in their being as the restored gospel illuminates their life! They got baptized 2 weeks ago and are now preparing to go to the temple this week! What a blessings! (Their names are Alma, Isairy, and Areli; pics below)

Also in November we had a miracle baptism of Victor Hector. hahaha Love that guy. He's a legit cowboy! What a blessing that was after an extremely hard week.

Last but not least Don Isidro!! hahaha He's this little hilarious old man with so much faith! He had a lot of adversity from his family about getting baptized up until the very last minute. Thats when he exclaimed to his family "I'm getting baptized because I know its what God wants me to do." Talk about a spiritual experience! Then to cap it all off after the baptismal ordinance when we're still in the water, he asks me "thats all?" I said yep and then he says to me "but what about the soap?"  I was dying!!!!!!!! hahaha Such a funny dude!

When all is said and done the Lord is so loving towards his children. Inspite of many hardships in recent weeks, the Lord blessed me with a number of miracles and allowed me to baptize even without a companion by my side. It would have been so easy to feel alone and feel like I had been abandoned. But through earnest study of the Atonement and Christlike attributes, I now know how the Lord comforts us in our times of hardship. So many of my prayers have been answered by his Holy Spirit and its filled me to such a degree that I now have no more doubts. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the Church of Jesus Christ upon the face of the earth. The Book of Mormon is a marvelous blessing and book, it is without question 100% inspired for our day and the truest book on the face of the earth! Read it!! My faith grows every time I do. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, he is the great Jehovah and Messiah, foreordained to come to this world and perform the ultimate act of love, the atonement, so that salvation may be realized by OBEDIENCE to the laws and ordinances of His gospel. I ask any of you reading this, do you know these things are true just as I? Do you long for for the day to hear the voice of the Lord to say to you : "Come ye blessed, for thy works have been works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?" "Do you exercise faith in the redemption of he who created you?" Have you experienced a change of heart and the joy that comes from the holy spirit of living the gospel?" and if so "can ye feel it now?" I love you all! I love this gospel! Have a fantastic week!

Raquel gave us pancakes with ice cream. So good!!!!

A lot of people for baptized on Sunday, including Isidro.