Hey guys! Merry Christmas! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! We have a special schedule today for Christmas, which includes 30 minutes for an e-mail! This is good because I've had a ton of experiences over the last few days.
First, Christmas Eve! We taught a lesson in the morning, which I have to include because it was awesome! So that morning, I was super tired for some reason. Like for the first few hours of the day, I could barely keep my eyes open. So I was a little nervous about how the lesson would go. But once we got in the door, I was suddenly awake and alert! What a blessing! Anyway, we taught our investigator about the Plan of Salvation, specifically what would happen after this life. When we got to the part about how families can be together forever, the atmosphere in the room changed. She had lost her parents when she was young, so the knowledge that she could be reunited with them was really powerful. To be honest, I can't even remember exactly what I said at that point in the lesson. It was a really neat experience! And after it was over, I went back to being really tired again, so I know I was blessed for the thirty minutes we were giving a lesson.
Second, more Christmas Eve! That night, we had a special devotional where people reenacted Christ's birth and we sang hymns together. Then we watched A Christmas Carol! I had never seen this version of the movie before- it was one from back in the day so the special effects were terrible and there were some really weird parts haha. But it still shared the great message that we can all change and become better people. Oh, plus we got to eat popcorn :)
Third, the Christmas Sacrament meeting we had this morning! It just got over, so it's fresh in my mind. Because Christmas was on a Sunday, we had a special Sacrament with the entire MTC! 2100 people! Haha it took them like 20 minutes just to pass the sacrament to everyone. Oh and the speakers after were Sister Bednar and Elder Bednar... no big deal haha. And Elder Bednar gave the best talk I've ever heard in my life. That's not even hyperbole- it was that good! He talked about putting off the natural man, becoming converted, and having Christ-like charity. I can't really do it justice because it was so fantastic. To give you an idea, he coaxed a few tears out of me at one point. And you know I don't cry easily haha.
Ok, now just a few random fun facts from the last few days:
1. There was no hot water this morning for my shower! So my first Christmas present was taking the coldest shower ever! I think if it would have been any colder, it would have been ice. I couldn't feel my hands after a few minutes and I was shaking like crazy. But I guess it's just preparing me for Honduras- I've heard there's no hot water in a bunch of the places there.
2. We had a district sleepover last night! Well... more like a half district sleepover because we all still wanted to sleep on beds. But we stayed up til 12:30, telling stories from our lives and just having some great district bonding time. It was great, but I wasn't too stoked about my alarm clock going off 6 hours later :(
3. We've kinda slowed down on the Spanish the last few days. Probably not the best idea, but it's tougher to speak Spanish on P-days and holidays. It's like your own Christmas present to yourself to not go through that frustration lol. But we'll be back at it tomorrow!
Well that's all the time I have. Hope everyone is having a great Christmas! Make sure you remember the true meaning of Christmas- it's not all the presents and decorations, but the birth of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I know I've struggled to remember that in the past. It's a lot easier in the MTC though haha. I'll leave you with a few quotes from Elder Bednar's talk: "Character refers to moral qualities strongly developed, strikingly displayed, and consistently lived... The character of Christ turns outward in love, service, and compassion."
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