This picture is of the baptism of Martin! Such a stud. The family Alvarez is so happy these days!
For Christmas I gave the Alvarez family my Canadian flag. They were so stoked haha. Love them.
We had an outdoor nativity last night! We were able to dress up as soldiers and participate, was so spiritual and awesome!
Christmas celebrations continue right up until the 6 of January, which is the Day of the Kings. The children polish their shoes and fill them with straw and put water nearby to feed the camels of the kings. In return, the kings leave gifts for the children.
Hola Familia! Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo de Argentina!
I love you guys so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to be able to talk on Christmas, to be able to share experiences and our testimonies with one another. It really was a moment and a time very special for me. Definitely was the quickest 40 minutes ever, but I enjoyed every second of it. I have to thank you guys for your support and for your spirit. I could feel your love and your compassion through the computer haha. I could also feel the Love of the Savior so strong when you guys were talking. Thank you for living lives so worthily, you really do have the spirit of the Lord with you. I could feel it. It's something Ive been thinking about a lot today. How grateful I am for a family who is so worthy, and the biggest thing is you are worthy to be able to enter the temple. This is one of our greatest gifts, and I'm glad we are able to take use it to bless our lives and the lives of others.
Sounds like things are going great back home. Glad to hear Christmas was good as usual! You guys are all spoiled, especially Jordan. I am always so excited for you guys and love that you are having fun and enjoying life. I'm glad the Maxwells are doing well, I pray for them often and am so glad for the friends we have. we really are so blessed!
The other day we did a service project at the church. There was a field with grass about 8 feet high, and we cut it all down with a machette! haha Took us about an hour but it was so fun.
Although it has been 2 weeks I don't have a lot to say because we talked just a couple days ago. But things in Lujan are good. We had the baptism of Martin a couple weeks ago like I said. Little kid 8 years old, he is great. He wanted me personally to baptize him, which was a great honour for me. The Alvarez family is so content right now and are loving the church. They are going to mutual, activities, and church every single week! They are easily one of the most active and involved families in our branch right now. They haven't missed church for almost 2 months! Its amazing what the Lord can do. If we just do a little bit on our part, he will literally bless us more then we can imagine. I have seen this so strong with this family. We are now teaching some of their cousins as well. Its a cool process. As they become to love the Gospel more they are starting to have the desire to share it with others!
At this moment things are a bit hard when it comes to finding new people to teach. But we have a few people with baptism dates for the next couple weeks. We have one lady named L••••••• who is awesome! But all of her family is Evangelistas which is a problem at the moment. She has a testimony of the church, and she told us when we talk and when she's in the church she can feel something she has never felt before. So we are working with her a lot right now. She has the desire to be baptized but she is scared of what her family would think. Her daughter who is 12 years old actually left the house to live with the dad because she doesn't want her mom to be baptized. It is one of the hardest situations to try to deal with for her, and for us its a tough situation as well. But we have been praying to the Lord a lot for help and guidance.
Last night we had an outdoor nativity at the church! Where the the basketball and football court is. They built a little nativity and a stable where the shepherds were, and they had fire all around the outside of the fence. It was so sweet! There was one hermano who was narrating, and the rest of us participated and sang just like we do back home! The coolest part is that they had a wire strung from one side of the fence to the other, and when they started talking about the new star they turned on a light that was dangling from this wire. They pulled it across the whole court and the wise men followed it. It was such a cool experience!
I am starting to find more joy and love for the little things everyday, and especially for the opportunity to preach the gospel. The more I apply the teachings in my life, the more I know that this church is true and that it blesses families. I have seen it change the hearts and lives of so many people. And although we have been members for many years, and know that everyday it helps shape and change our lives, so that we can become better people. We really have no idea how great our potential is, but it is my prayer that with the help of the Lord we can become all that he wants us to be! I love you all. Thank you so much for your testimonies and for the love you show me. I know this is the greatest thing I could be doing at this point in my life. Thank you for supporting my in my decision! Have a great week, all the best!!
Love, Elder Hansen!