Merry Christmas! I hope that you´re enjoying all the festivities there, because there´s practically nothing here. Pretty much everyone we talk to says that they plan on calling their family for a few minutes, or singing a Christmas hymn, and then drinking Maté all day long. I don´t think it´s going to be different than any other day for us on the 25th. But that´s fine with me! There´s nothing I´d rather do that preach the word of Christ to celebrate His birthday!
Here´s some culture facts that I learned from my companion yesterday. In the southern half of Mexico during Christmas, they have Papá Noel, and the 3 Reyes Magios. In other words, there are 4 people giving presents to little kids. And they say that America over-commercialized this holiday! ;) Also he asked me if we have ¨El ratón de dientes¨. Yeah, their ¨Tooth Fairy¨ is a rat. I couldn´t stop laughing for a good five minutes.
This new area, Pablo Nogués 1, is incredible. The people are much more wealthy than in my old area. They´re compairively less so than back home, but there is much less villa (slum). And we have progressing investigators! We had 3 investigators come to church, and one of them, a ¨vejita¨ (sweet old lady) named Juana, was baptized! It was incredible. It´s so nice to be in an area with people who are interested, even if it´s only just a few. We still have pleanty of rejection, but I´m so happy to see our efforts affect someone.
For example, we´re teaching a family with the father, Sergio, being a less active member, and the mother, Natalia, an investigator. They like to talk, which is something pretty much everyone has in common. I had the prompting to testify about the Sacrament, but I was so lost in the conversation I had no idea when would be a good time. Right before we ended the lesson, I just burst out into testimony, and I was amazed at what Heavenly Father said through me. I promised that there was real power in partaking of the Sacrament to remember Christ and renew your covenants. I told Sergio that he would be able to quit smoking faster, and that Natalia would recieve an answer that what she´s reading in the Book of Mormon is true, if they would excercise their faith in this way. My speech was clear, and the Spirit was incredibly strong, both of which were evidences to me that was I was saying were the words of God.
The more letters I write, the harder it is to differentiate experiences. I feel like I´m saying the same thing over and over, yet I never get bored of doing so. It´s all because I´m still preaching the same Gospel, and witnessing the same miracle of seeing God´s hand in His Own Work. The more I ponder about this, the more I´m humbled to be a part of it. I love being involved in the single and only work of the most Noble and Glorious Father of Heaven. Everything that God does is to bring about immortality and Eternal Life for His children. I testify that God´s plan is perfect. Though there are a million things bent on the corruption our progress, there was never a flaw in the Plan of Salvation. God has forseen all our problems, and provided us with a universal and infinite solution through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I´m so grateful for Him, and I testify that He lives and wants to help us, en Su nombre sagrado, Jesucristo, Amén.
¡Les amo muchísimo! ¡Hasta miércoles!
-Élder Goff
The pictures:
1. Élder Bobadilla and I in the apartment.
2. Waiting for the bus which is always delayed on Sunday, the day we need it most to bring investigators to the Chapel.
3. Juana´s baptism
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