This week was pretty great. On Tuesday we ate dinner at a members house. It was rice and chicken. I swear that is the only thing the members make out here. But it was pretty good. The next day though I was so sick. I didn't think it was from the food because my companion was fine but I tried to tough it out. We were helping a member move into his house and it was just pouring rain and we were soaked and cold. After about an hour I felt so sick that I could barely do anything so I went into the bathroom and I threw up that whole meal that I had eaten that night before. It was pretty bad. I didn't really eat for the next two days because it was so bad but I feel much better now.

On Saturday we went to a baptism for a man named Juan. He had been meeting with the missionaries for like 8 months and he finally decided to be baptized. There were so many people there and I felt the spirit so strong there. I have really come to love singing hymns in spanish. It makes me really think about the words so I know what it is saying and I love how the translations are a little different. The different wording almost gives it more meaning to me. We sang "I am a child of god" (spanish) and that was one of the times on my mission that I have felt the spirit the most so far.

Later, we went to a live nativity celebration thing at the church, it was really great and the spirit was so strong there. The people that were supposed to be in the nativity never showed up so they asked my companion and I, and two other elders to fill in as Shepherds and kings. I was pretty excited but all we did was stand in the foyer for 45 minutes and we weren't allowed to talk. It wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. The next day we watched the Christmas devotional. I really liked Elder Christensen's talk about how there would be no Christmas without Easter. I had never thought about it that way and I realized how true that was. If Christ never suffered the Atonement and overcame his crucifixion, what would be the point of celebrating Christmas? I encourage all of you to celebrate not only Christ's birth, but all of the things he accomplished in his life. Being out on a mission has really helped me strengthen my relationship with my savior and appreciate so much more all of the things he did in his life for me. I know my savior lives and I am forever grateful to him. I love you all and hope you all have an amazing Christmas season!

Elder May