Feliz Navidad!

¡Hola Todos!

Feliz Navidad to you all! I hope your christmas and new year will be as great as it will be here also. As a mission, we get to go to the temple on the 23rd so we are all excited for that. The temple is not in our mission so we dont ever get to go, but we get a special christmas gift this year! In this season of Christs birth, I hope you can all remember the importance of Christmas. I know every once says that, but really this year put an effort to help someone else or share the knowledge of the great gift of Christ to others. This year more than ever, I am grateful for this time of year to recognize the birth of the Savior and also share it with others. Christmas here isnt much. Usually its just a week of partying and barbacueing(asado), but we have been able to share the real meaning of Christmas to the souls ready to here it. The Lord is definitely blessing us and the work here this time of year. We are seeing miracles after miracles. We were able to have many investigators in church this past sunday with some of our investigators progressing well to be baptized soon in January. Unfortunately, Cintia, her son Kevin, and Graciela wont be baptized this saturday, but pushed back to January. We were down a little, but it just means that we will have a great start to the new year! 

Spiritual Experience of the Week: This past sunday, we had a christmas miracle when a random man came into church. His name is Marcial and he is Bolivian. He came here for medical reasons, but also has family that lives here. He is very religious and wanted to attend any church, so he saw ours and came in. Also, because is aunt in a member as well. We were able to stay with him during the meetings and he really enjoyed it. He didnt know his address so we could come by to talk to him again so we invited him to come back to the chapel later that day. He came back and we were able to teach him the first lesson. It was very spiritual and he accepted a date to be baptized him January!

Scripture of the Week: I wanted to share a scripture of Christmas and Christ this week but I decided to share this one instead. This is a very known scripture, but I was able to think a lot more deeply and study this scripture more, which really helped me. Ether 12.27. As humans, we are not perfect, but our weaknesses are not sins, we shouldnt get down on ourselves becuase of our weaknesses, but should have faith and trust in the Lord that he will help us turn them into strengths. I have experienced this first hand already on my mission. I have been able to do things and develop atributes that I have never before been good at. But through the Lord, I am developing more talents and atributes to better help others. If you look to better yourself to help others, you will succeed witht the Lord help. I know this to be true.

Funny of the Week: We are always having fun here and laughing as well. Its always good to stay happy and laugh often. I have learned this on my mission. However, its hard to come up with things to write haha. Anyways, we decided to make a little christmas tree and nativity in our apartment. After a little arts and craft. We made a pretty sad looking christmas tree and nativity out of paper and pictures from ensigns and liahonas. We had to take a picture of our masterpiece of course after, so I set a timer and we hurriedly got into place. But I accidently knocked everything over trying to get there fast. We hurriedly tried to put everything back into place put the picture took too soon. Haha the picture turned out pretty funny though. Doesnt sound as funny is writing and without the picture. Its one of those you had to be there stories, but oh well haha.

Fact of the Week: Here, people put there trash right in the middle of the dirt streets to burn it. So there is trash burning alot...and it doesnt smell that great but what are ya gonna do.

Love you all and Merry Christmas!

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Elder Trent

Our Christmas tree and decorations haha! (There is a nativity and an Argentina flag)

Close up of decorations

Funny picture; We tried to put a timer but I accidently pushed over all of the decorations trying to be fast, and so we tried to put them all back up and this is the photo that it took. Haha

We went and played soccer with a few other elders in our zone last pday. It was fun! and my first time playing soccer in Argentina ha!

We had a very successful ward christmas party here and had an asado! We were only able to stay for a little bit until we had to return back home, but it turned out very well with a huge turnout.

Cooking the asado. (So many people here look american. just everyone has dark hair)

The one that is facing the camera is the bishop. He reminds me a lot of bishop graf, with the same personality, knows how to do a lot of things and has been raised in this area his whole life.

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