29 December 2015 - Felicidad en la obra del Senor

Hola todos! I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas. We passed a rather quiet one here in Guatemala... Christmas here is a little different. The big day is actually the 24th. We spent the evening with the Bishop of our ward and his family. We had a big dinner of rice, turkey, bread, and ribs. It was absolutely delicious. And we spent timing just talking and getting to know each other a little better. And then at midnight (We had permission to be with the Bishop from 9 to 1230) everyone here goes out in the streets and sets of fireworks. It was crazy but also kinda fun... and a little scary because lots of these fireworks were being set off by little kids or teenagers... But it was so fun. And so here in Guatemala this is a typical Christmas... they have a big dinner, open presents and then set of a bunch of fireworks and dance and all types of fun things. And it was so cool to be able to experience it. And here in Guatemala the big food of Christmas is TAMALES! And boy are they delicious. Seriosuly they are probably one of my favorite foods that I have eaten in the mission. And I even learned how to make them a little bit. We passed by a members house super quick the 24th and she was making tamales ans so my companion of course was like hey you should teach my comp how to do this. So I learned how to assemble a tamale... it is not super hard but the process of making tamales takes hours. But boy are they sure delicious. But this Christmas was a little different just not getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. To often we focus to much on the presents and not on the true meaning of Christmas... Christ. And so it was so neat to be able to really be in the mission and to just be able to testify of Christ and focus more on him. But yeah that is a little about my Primera Navidad in Guatemala. And how crazy is this. This week I am going to have 4 MONTHS in the mission. Where in the world has that time gone? And the 5th of January we are going to have changes in the mission... which also means that I am going to finish my training??? AHHHH... But it will be interesting to see what happens. We do not know right now if we are going to have a change in our companionship but we think that it is fairly likely because Hermana Wong has 4 months here and I almost have 3... but we will see what happens. Also because of this I am going to write on Wednesday next week. So do not panic when you do not get a letter from me next week on Tuesday... I am fine. And I am going to try and send some pictures later... But not sure if I will be able to or not... But have an awesome week and a very Happy New Year!!! Thank you so much for all of your love and support! Les amo mucho! Hermana Stewart