The Best Christmas Gift 🎁

 Hey everybody how are you?! Merry late Christmas and happy early New Year!!!

This week was so good! On Monday during District Council, some members came to the church and gave all the missionaries stockings that had been prepared for us by the youth! It was super sweet!

On Christmas Eve we got to eat lunch with some of the members in our branch. Hermano Iglesias got us the yummiest tamales ever and made hot chocolate. Later we had dinner with our branch president and his family (the Browns). It some of the best food I've had on my mission. They're all crazy good cooks and one of their daughters wants to go into culinary arts. She'll succeed in that career field. Later that evening we got to visit our friends Yeni and Alejandro. They were doing a gift exchange with their extended family. The house was jam-packed full of people and I felt so out of place hahaha. It was so fun though! Yeni and Alejandro bought us gifts, so I got a teddy bear and a necklace.

Christmas was so good!!! We opened some gifts in the morning and called our families. The rest of the day was supposed to be a normal missionary day, and even though lots of people would be with family, we were challenged to find those who needed Christ in their lives that day. It actually ended up being a day full of miracles! We had three Book of Mormons that we decided we wanted to gift people. We used some of the bows from the gifts we received that morning and put them on the Book of Mormons. We went to some laundromats and outside in a parking lot to talk to people, and God placed friends in our path who really needed the message! The first man we gave a Book of Mormon to was named José, and as we testified of Christ and handed him the book, he thanked us for sharing the word of God with him on a hard day. He said he was from El Salvador, and he'd met missionaries there and had actually been looking for our church here in the United States! Shoutout to the missionaries serving in El Salvador, because they definitely left a good impression on José. We were able to give away all three of our Book of Mormons to people who were really interested.

Even though it's hard to be away from family during the holidays, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sure that I will never forget this Christmas. We gave the greatest gift of all to the people we talked to that day as we testified of Christ and handed them a Book of Mormon.

On Thursday, I had an exchange with Sister Farnsworth! She's the cutest human ever and we've wanted to go on an exchange for so many transfers now but never thought it would happen! We had some great lessons that day and also had bible study, which is always fun! Reading and teaching our new members stories from the Old Testament in Spanish can be a little hard, but I've definitely seen the gift of tongues in those studies! Each time I'm on exchanges I see a lot of specific miracles tailored toward the sister/hermana that I'm with. I've noticed it time and time again. Sister Farnsworth is over the YSA ward here in Simi Valley, and even though we were doing spanish work in my area that day, we were led specifically to a young-adult, english-speaking girl named Denise who was super interested in church. We left the conversation feeling so excited, and I was seriously just amazed at how the Lord set up such a perfect interaction at such a perfect time!

On Friday, I had an exchange with Hermana Santa Maria! We were in her area on bikes! It rained a tiny bit in the morning but it was honestly so fun to bike in the cold (I'm only saying that because I was wearing a coat). We a good day overall and got to teach the English Class live that night!

Elias is still amazing and doing great! He's not on baptismal date anymore (for now) but please keep praying for him!

On Saturday we had some interesting interactions to say the least. We went to a laundromat again and the first man we talked to jokingly asked us to fold his laundry because it was a woman's job and then proceeded to tell us he was a wizard. We left him with a short testimony of Christ and a card that had our information, kind of baffled and confused as we walked away haha. That night, as we were teaching English Class, a man named Eduardo showed up and told us he'd seen us in the Laundromat earlier that day and watched our conversation with the man who said he was a wizard. He said he found our card and showed up to English class that night (and church the next day)! It was a reminder for me that I always need to represent my Savior, even in confusing or rude interactions. You really never know who's watching.

Sunday was a little bit discouraging, but we worked hard and did our part to teach, find, and invite friends to church! I know sometimes we don't get to see all the results that come from our efforts, so we just have to trust in God's timing!

We talked to an older woman who was from Ukraine on Sunday as we were doing studies in the park. She didn't speak or understand a lot of English, but she did her best to share her love for the Savior with us. She had the most contagious laugh and kept laughing when she messed up her sentences in English. She gave us a hug at the end and it was such a sweet moment! Even with a communication barrier, I felt a deep love for her as we spoke. I am so grateful to know that God speaks every language, and the opportunity to be learning Spanish on my mission has truly been lifechanging. I feel it's helped me see how precious each culture and individual is in God's eyes, whether I speak their language or not.

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: 

With it being New Years (almost), I thought it would be fitting to share a quote I read about goals:)

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principle of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." 

-M. Russell Ballard

My invitation for you all is to set goals for this coming year, but don't do it alone!!! Get on your knees and pray to know what Heavenly Father wants you to learn this year. He knows you better than you know yourself, and I promise He'll be happy to help you reach your potential!

I love all of you!

-Hermana DeMordaunt