Bon Nadal! (Catalán for Merry Christmas) Guess what! It's almost Christmas! Can you believe it?? Super weird!
Let's organize this weeks email into sections, shall we?
Kofi: We received a reference from Elders in Sabadell about a man from Ghana named Kofi. We visited him this last week and he is amazing! He grew up Jehova's Witness but hasn't practiced for many years yet he still loves learning more about Jesus and is very Christian. He taught him about the Book of Mormon and he accepted a baptismal date for the 4th of January. He came to church this last Sunday and since we got there a little early he helped set up chairs for priesthood. Everyone was very sweet and welcoming to him and he loved it. He's coming with us to eat dinner with a member tonight and we are going to try to keep up contact everyday. He is so great and I am SOOO excited about him.
Zone Conference: You are probably getting tired of me saying this all of the time but I love getting to hear from President and Hermana Pace. We had Zone Conference this last week and it was exactly what I needed as always. We had to get up pretty early because we had to be at the church at 8 for my leadership meeting (my sweet companion sewed buttons on my jacket while I was in the meeting, I love her. She is one of the most service oriented people I know) but it was an incredible meeting. We talked about the parable of the talents and how we are given responsibilities according to our capacity and that God gives us what we know we can handle and that the difference in our reward comes from our effort not in specific numbers. It was really powerful.There is a talk by President Holland that I love where he talks about how just like a runner should collapse at the finish line because he gave it his all, as missionaries we have to give this mission our all and not be satisfied with mediocrity. Oh and side note: Hermana Durham and I got put in charge of dessert for Zone Conference, we made 130 cookies! We also got to sing Silent Night it was fun.
Intercambio in Badalona: Because it was a combined zone conference with the Badalona zone, I went straight from our chapel to Badalona with Hermanas Boyer and Tyler. It was such a great intercambio. The area was just opened last transfer and they are working so hard and seeing miracles. We didn't have any teaching visits unfortunately but we were able to serve the members and we contacted a lot. It was a lot of fun and they could not be sweeter girls. Oh and we ate with a member. So delicious but I think I gained ten pounds just looking at the food. Salad, Empanadas, Crepes (with sweet and condensed milk, totally made me miss my dad and his fudge), and hot chocolate. So good.
Christmas Dinner: I went straight from Badalona back to the capilla the next day for our Christmas dinner. I arrived in time to help them decorate and then people started coming. The familia Lopes came and we were able to introduce Zuleide and Vando to a man from Brazil and then Maria Laura to the Young Womens. After a few minutes of running around greeting people I turned around and had the best feeling come over me as I saw Pedro and Lorena running around with other primary kids, Maria Laura and laughing with the Young Womens, Vando in deep conversation with the Brazilian member, and Zuleide chatting with a member who leaves near their house. It was truly a missionary's dream. We spent most of the night dishing up food in the kitchen as the young women served it (Maria Laura included) and then we sang a couple of christmas carols with the elders, and chatted with people. It was a great night.
Lots of service: We were able to help two people move this week. One we just happened to be passing by her house at the exact right time and she was so relieved when we offered to help (Cynthia) and the other was Croni and her family. We were able to get the Elders to come with us and they were so grateful because it was a lot of stuff! I LOVE helping people move. It's the best seeing the relief that comes over their face when you show up at their door.
Member Present Sunday: Yesterday worked out so differently than we had expected. We had a lot of members ask us to come over to do various things for them and without them even planning friends showed up who we were able to teach. It was nothing short of a miracle! We met some wonderful people and were able to get a lot of great references (most of them aren't in our area but as long as more and more people are learning about the gospel that's what's important) it was a great day.
Ice Skating: Today we got to go ice skating!!! So much fun! I have missed it a ton and even though we were on hockey skates we all had a blast. Now to get skiing approved... ;)
Bon Nadal a tots i Prospero Año Nuevo (I ran out of Catalán half way through that sentence but I'm going to email before New Years anyway so I'll figure it out)
I love you all! Happy Birthday Brad and Mallory! I hope you are having a great holiday season and thanks to everyone for their Christmas cards! It's so fun to see how everyone is doing and changing.
Hermana Tuttle
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