ITS BEINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS IN MEXICO

^^^ PONCHE. It is a christmas drink that they make here in mexico that is SOOOOOOOOOOO delicious!!! It is like wassail or cider but with lots of fruits. It was delicious, seriously.^^^

^^^We visited the Hermana that I was telling you guys about that is pretty sick and has almost died a lot of times. We visited them and sang them Christmas hymns. They were soo happy to see us :) ^^^

 

 ^^^ We helped a family who is less active make tamales so that they could go to the hospitals and such to distribute the tamales to people who don't have anything to eat. ^^^

^^^We brought Karla with us to give service. This was one of the only pictures that she let me take with her:) She is a beautiful person in and out. ^^^

^^^ When we finished making the tamales there was quite a bit of chicken and green salsa left over so we made tortas or sandwiches with what was left over. Oh did it taste soooooooooooooooooooo good!!! ^^^

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

^^^ SUGAR CANE. It is like chewing gum or something. It tastes pretty good but after chewing on it for a while the texture grossed me out. But it makes a pretty great pictures. These boys are the greatest. Everytime we go over to visit them, they run around the house announcing loudly that the missionaries have arrived. :) They are football fanatics in every way and love candies from USA. Isaac is the oldest and has 8 years. His brother Eric is the one next to me. ^^^

^^^ WHAT WE ATE. This is some meet. I think it is cow. Not sure. But it is yummy with some yummy salsa above. Green Spaghetti too. Hermana Lara is an AMAZING cook. ^^^

^^^ Dinner selfie. I love this picture because Eric came and sat by me, stole my arm and put it tight around him. I thought he was falling or something so I asked him what happened and he said something I will never forget: Te quiero. It means I love you. I almost cried. Seriously, I am coming back to Mexico to visit this family! ^^^

^^^ MY VIEW. ^^^

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Dear Family,

Sorry if this letter is kinda short but when I was writing my letter disappeared.

Let me tell you the news about B.

She won't be getting baptized Dec 24.

She will be getting baptized the first Saturday in January!!!

Honestly, we had reached the point where we had no idea what to teach her or tell her because she has completed with everything she needs to before she gets baptized the only thing that keeps her from following through is to step away from her fear and accept the challenge.

We went to her house on Wednesday to see her and K. We didn't say anything about baptism but we talked about how through Jesus Christ we can be clean from sin. We asked her how she thought that this could be possible.  Normally people talk a lot about prayer and faith and perpously avoid saying anything about baptism, but her very first response was BAPTISM. we kept asking questions about Jesus and all and she came right out and told us, Hermanas I want to be baptized. I want to be baptized in January.

I honestly felt so peaceful that she had finally accepted to be baptized and she was doing it because she wanted to and not because we were pressuring her. She looks even happier when she listens to us and when she comes to church. I know she knows what she is doing is the right thing to do.

Her daughter B is also listening to us. She is very rebellious but Hna Plata and I know that she is going to be baptized, too. 

You have no idea how powerful this family is. They have a great potential and grand opportunities in front of them. Slowly, little by little, they are learning and seeing what we see or even better what their Heavenly Father sees in them.

Oh hey, we also had a ward activity with pinatas and tacos. We put on a talent act as missionaries and ooh I was so embarassed but all the members loved it haha

We also went to an act show thingy of members of our stake in Scrooge-s christmas. Many of the members brought their friends to the play and it was a GREAT opportunity to find new people and have ourselves a good Christmas laugh.

Whelp. I will be talking to you on Thursday.

Have yourself a merry merry Christmas.

With lots of holly and jolly and Christmas love,

Hermana Beardall

Christmas in the Pines

Dear Family,

Yesterday we had CAMBIOS. I was sooo nervous because I didn't want to change and not celebrate Christmas with the people I love here in Pinos.

Guess what? 

I am staying here in the Pines (Pinos) for Christmas!!!!!!!!

Oh hey, guess what mom? I got your package!!!! Thank you to kolob and back for everything and my compa wants me to tell you a million more thanks for her gift. She can't stop telling me that my mom is the best. Good thing I already knew that :) I will tell you more details in my package I am going to send this week.

We had our activity/comida with President Mejorada this week. It was sooo beautiful and I LOVE celebrating Christmas in the mission. We got flu shots as our first gift of christmas. We did a christmas gift exchange with the hermanas with the whole left right story thing to pass the gifts around. 

It was fun to see old companions (my trainer who goes home tomorrow- Hna Miguez!!) and elderes y hermanas from my generation!!

We have been working really hard with B so that she keeps progressing towards baptism and well you know her salvation. She accepted to be baptized on 24 of December but she got scared when we went to visit her the next day and she backed out on her goal. I know that she will get baptized but it is going to be a lot of work to help her not get scared and back out again.

Her granddaughter K is excited to leave school for vacation and start to work with us! She said she wants to go one ENTIRE DAY to work with us! What a good way to prepare for a future mission :)

I am not exactly sure when I will be skyping you but I am sure it will be Christmas Day. We just recieved instructions and we are going to find a member this week that we can go to skype. Next Monday I will tell you more details.

Now is the time to study about the life of Jesus Christ and remember all that he has done for you- the greatest gift of all times is His Atonement. I invite ALL to search the scriptures for the greatest gift and pray to know that God loves you.

SEE YA LATER!!!

Hermana Beardall

PICS:

1. Hey. That's my companion's name. (Street in our area)

2 y 3. A house in the Fuentes Ward  puts on a Christmas production. It's a house of a member and she had the institute here in Celaya sing for the program. It was sooo pretty and soo cool to hear Mexican Christmas songs- I don't remember what it is called but some song about the perspective of the fish in the river on the night christ was born. My companion says it is called Peces en el Río. Look it up and what it means. Jaja I like it :)

UNTITLED

Dear Family,

Let me tell you a little about this week.

To start with the big event of the week, we had an activity in the ward  where the church was an open house and the members brought their friends and family that aren`t members to learn what we do in the church. The activity was one day before the church would be cleaned so the elders, our ward mission leaders and my companion and I came early to clean the church.  The activity went pretty well and we have some future new families to teach! I am excited!!

As a district this week, we put some goals and decided to have a special fast for our investigators that we have planned to be baptized this month of December. We fasted for two of our investigadors that have had a hard time living the Word of Wisdom and one that has some pretty interesting ideas and talks a lot. Man! We have seen MIRACLES working here in Pinos!!!

Blanca let us remove the coffee from her house and promised not to buy more. She is going to drink hot chocolate or something hot that isn't against the WoW in place of coffee from now on. Why is this a miracle? Because two weeks before, she said there was nothing in the world that would convince her to stop drinking coffee. It was neccessary and she had to have it. She has gone one whole week without her coffee :)

Irene has to fight hard to quit smoking. She has put forth an effort to not smoke day for day, taking it one step at a time and SHE IS DOING IT.  Miracles exist because God exists and hears our pleas.

Pablo still has his interesting ideas and we found out that he doesn't believe in the Bible and still talks a lot. The miracle here is that we have some how committed him to read about the Godhead in the scriptures and to pray about it. He seems pretty receptive and we will see how things turn out. Story to be continued.

We have had a MAJOR struggle to find new people and FAMILIES that we can teach. it's hard because we have to leave other families that aren't progressing and we are left with the desparate search for work, for FAMILIES to teach. 

I hope it is a snowy blizzard in Utah this week and that you can send some pictures. I am living an October-like December here in Pinos. Its weird that I am walking around in short sleeves still. 

Whelp. That's all for this week.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!

Hermana Beardall

p.s. see this video here- christmas.mormon.org again and again if you have to.

BAPTISMO: K. V.

Dearest loved ones,

This week will be brief.

We faced innumerable trials this week. All because Satan knew that we were going to do and well, the least I can say is that it ended with ONE MORE WIN AGAINST SATAN. 

My companion got sick this week from the food we ate. God blessed me with only a stomach ache that was bearable enough to care for my companion. The members in our ward are a great help and helped us find the medicine that she needed. Thank goodness she is feeling better again.

Trials in terms of the baptism this week we faced MUCHÍSIMO. To name one, we didn't find baptismal clothes for K until 10 minutes before the baptism. But all in all, the trials don't matter because God's power made it possible that His beloved daughter could make a covenant with Him and in return that she could recieve blessings of peace and happiness. 

My feelings before her baptism were endless feelings of numbness, but when she came up from the water her face of pureness and happiness changed my feelings to infinite chills running through my body (aka el Espíritu).

There isn't a sense of joy greater that the joy one feels when one of God's beloved children come closer to Him. I understood my purpose as a missionary a thousand times stronger and felt the great importance of this grand work.

If you have fallen away spiritually (or maybe phyisically too) from your Heavenly Father I invite you to ask your self the same question that God asked Adam: Where art thou? Reflect on the happiness you have and how much happier you can and will be when you fall to your knees and remove the infinite space that is between you and the heavens and begin to pour your heart to that loving Father who created you. Now we are entering into the Christmas season and NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO COME UNTO HIM. 

I know that my Redeemer lives. I know it because I have felt it.

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Beardall