Hola! :0) 12.08.2008 (Email)

My Amazing Family,

Hola! ¿Cómo están? ¿Todo bien? I hope that you´re all doing great. Things here are going well. Sorry I´m writing this a little later than usual. We did the other things of preparation day first this time. We just ate lunch with the elders in the district in the plaza. It was good. It´s funny because we were like the only ones in the plaza. People in Argentina (in the city anyway) really
do sleep the Siesta from what I can see. :o)

Well, it was a good week! Did some of you end up going to the Christmas devotional in Salt Lake? If so, how was it? Oh how I love Christmas music. Last night our stake had a choir concert of Christmas music. Our ward sang ¨La Primera Navidad¨I can´t remember the title in English. But it´s in the hymn book. And we sang an Argentine Folklore song. It was very fun. It was fun to listen to different Christmas music as well. However, a couple sang ¨I´m dreaming of a white Christmas¨and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It´s funny how you sometimes don´t recognize how much you love things until you go for a while without it. Christmas music in English for the month before Christmas definitely doesn´t exist here. haha Very enjoyable last night. I played the piano for ¨La Primera Navidad¨ and it went pretty well. I was nervous before hand but it worked out just fine.

Dad, in response to your question, it is interesting to think that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away when it´s so warm outside. My mind and body tells me we´re in July. Not December! It´s great though. I have been talking to Hna. Riquelme and the members about Christmas in South America and Argentina specifically, and it´s very different from what I can tell. For example, they open all the gifts on Christmas Eve - at midnight on the dot. Interesting huh? I´ll write more details later.

Mom, Hna. Riquelme did open the package and got out the Christmas tree. It´s just like the one at home! Thank you thank you! We´re enjoying adding an ornament every night. I think we´re one behind though... :D

I got the soccer pictures you sent! Thanks! I´ve showed them to a few different people and they think it´s great. They´re all surprised. And they´re all impressed with the fields.

How interesting to read the article about the LA Temple. Wow. It´s amazing how the work will go forward no matter what the world tries to do. Also, an Elder just told me that Elder Wirthlin passed away. What an amazing person.

This week in our lunch appointments, etc... we were trying to teach the people about the 5 things important for a testimony, and then inviting them to share their testimonies yesterday in testimony meeting.
1- That God is our Heavenly Father and loves us
2- Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world
3- Joseph Smith was called by God to be a Prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon
4- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Church of Jesus Christ today. It is guided and directed by Him.
5- Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today.

We had an amazing sacrament meeting. I really enjoyed it. The spirit was very strong. It´s amazing what happens when people really testify of these five things.

So yesterday when we were in the bus ¨cole¨getting the people before church it occurred to me that we had several countries on the bus! Hna Riquelme- Chile. Me - U.S. Several from Argentina, and several from Bolivia. I don´t remember how much I have said about Julia and Clara. That went to church that first Sunday without us even teaching them first? They always invite others they live by to go to church. And it seems like every time we go to teach there´s someone new - a neighbor, co-worker, or friend. Anyway, a couple of them went to church yesterday. Anyway, it´s amazing to me. Maybe we look different, speak different languages, have different accents and different cultures, but we´re all children of God, and we all need the exact same message. A message of hope and love. A message about Jesus Christ - that He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

So we´re still teaching Familia Vasquez. Franco (14) hasn´t gone to church yet, but Enzo (12), Kevin (9) and Bruno (8) are doing wonderful and have gone to church the last three weeks. Yay! They´re still scheduled for December 20th. We just need to get everything taught! We really want to teach her two older sons as well. There are actually seven in total but the oldest already lives in Chile. Anyway, that´s alot of Priesthood! The ward is going to have an activity tonight by the river and have a barbecue, play soccer etc... and we´re really hoping that their whole family goes. It would be great.

Dad, I think investigators need to go to church 4 times before being baptized. Preferably (sp???) in a row.

Lets see, what else is happening... we´re struggling a little bit with retention. There aren´t enough hours in the day! We want to visit everyone 1-3 times every week, but we´re finding that it´s pretty tricky. We´re trying to use our time wisely. It makes me so sad when peole are baptized but then don´t continue going to church.

So I´ve been reading about the birth of Jesus Christ this last week. And sometimes we listen to Christmas music in the morning too. Lisa, I think of you :D. Anyway, it has been really enjoyable. I love the story in the Bible and Book of Mormon, and I have been reading a little in ¨Jesus the Christ¨ as well. It´s so amazing to me. I read this morning that if in that time, the people really
had a king of the Jews (a descendant of King David) Joseph would be the crowned king. And then of course, the heir of the throne would be Jesus Christ. I don´t know if that made sense. It´s the end of the chapter that talks about the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ by the angel Gabriel. Very interesting.

Dad, about FHE. We have only had one so far in a members home, and I think there were like 15 or so people. Most young men/ young women / young single adults. But a few adults as well.
Hopefully that will continue to go well.

We had 76 people at sacrament meeting yesterday. Yay!
Raimundo Beltan left on the mission to Buenos Aires this week so we no longer have a ward mission leader. :o( Hopefully someone else will be called before too long.

Jordan, I got your email from you and Lisa. Gracias! AK, I got the letter from you, Ryan, and Nyah as well. Thanks for the pictures of Nyah! Very cute. I hope that you find a good replacement for Jamee if you haven´t already.

I hope the rest of you are all doing wonderful. Time really goes by so quickly here. I hope you´re all enjoying the Christmas season. Listen to lots of music for me and sing lots of songs. And most importantly, remember the true meaning of Christmas! I love you all very much!

Love Always,
Hermana Jana Banana Pincock :D

A scripture I love: John 8:12.