Monday, December 30, 2013

...y prospero ano nuevo!

                                                                                                       December 30, 2013
Hello everyone!!

It was so good to talk to you on Christmas, and a whole lot easier to explain things in person than try to write them in an email :) haha

I can`t remember all I told you on Christmas so I will just give you a little summary of what we did for Christmas.

So on the 24th we had the big party in the offices with all the missionaries. The elders played soccer and the hermanas talked and then we had a barbeque for lunch and then a special program followed by watching the movie Monsters University. That was a LOT of fun. Our mission is pretty small so I know the majority of the missionaries (especially the sisters) and I absolutely love being able to see everybody together and talk with all of them. Then, that night we received special permission to spend Christmas with the other Hermanas in the zone, and that was really fun. (They had the Christmas tree in their apartment that we all bought together when we lived together so we decided to go to their apartment :)) So in Peru, everybody celebrates Christmas the 24th at midnight. At midnight is when they have their huge special Christmas dinner and it is also when about a million fireworks go off. Seriously. Everybody and their dog does fireworks and the night sky literally lights up with fireworks.  And then after the dinner and fireworks everybody opens their presents and then goes to bed and sleeps all day on the 25th  
So we went up to the roof of the apartment building at midnight to watch the fireworks and it was so awesome! I have a video of it I will try to send. But...what we didn`t realize was that we closed the door of the roof behind us and accidentally locked ourselves up on the roof. oops. :P We were thinking that we just might spend the night on the roof, but we were able to yell down to a neighbor who lives across the street and we dropped the keys down to her and she rescued us. Funny coincidence, turns out that she has two sons that are on missions, but she isn`t a member. So the hermanas are now teaching her and she accepted baptism! Woo hoo! I`m thinking that that really wasn`t a coincidence :)
And so then on the 25th we went and did service in the morning and then talked with our families! We also had to go back to the apartment a couple times because my companion was sick and throwing up. That wasn`t so good. She blames the Paneton and Chocolatada. Oh yeah! That is another huge tradition here in Peru. Paneton is kind of like fruit cake but it actually tastes good. And everybody (not even lying, EVERYBODY) eats paneton and chocolatada(hot chocolate) the whole month of december, but especially for Christmas. It’s really good but I think I ate so much that I will be ok with not eating it again for a year. And you can`t even mention the word `paneton` to my companion without her gagging :P 
And then that night the whole zone got together for a special Christmas dinner and we ate Pollo a la Braza and french fries with mayonaise, and had a really good time together. Elder Peterson brought christmas music from home and gave us `special permission` to be really trunky for the night :) Hermana Nelson and I had a lot of fun singing along to all the songs we missed out on hearing this year.

So that about sums up my only Christmas in the mission! It was definitely one I will always remember, especially because we received three very special `Christmas gifts` this Sunday. We were able to baptize A. last night, and let’s just say that it was a miracle that everything went smoothly. A lot of his family who are inactive were there and I think it was a really good experience for them. And then, our other two christmas miracles. First, our `family` P. and Y. (who went to the temple with us and that we have been teaching for a long time) FINALLY came to church! yay!!!!! Not even kidding, I was fighting back tears of happiness all throughout sacrament meeting I was so excited to have them there. And then another family we are teaching who aren`t married (she is a less active member and he isn`t a member) told us yesterday that they have decided to get married! We put the goal with them for the end of this month and we are so excited for them. Next step is getting him to accept baptism. He has said he will get baptized, but only when he knows FOR SURE that it is true. We know he`ll get there and we are praying that he will be ready by the time his wedding rolls around.

It is very, very possible that I won`t be here to see their wedding, or be here to help P. and Y. progress and get married and baptized because cambios (transfers) are in two weeks. And....since I`ve been in Independencia my whole mission I will probably be leaving. But, we will see. They are putting two new sisters in another ward and everyone is joking that my transfer will just be to that new area in the stake (since I have served in two different wards in this stake) and that I will serve only in the mission Peru Lima Norte, Estaca Independencia. Haha, but we`ll see. It’s all in the Lords hands.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a wonderful New Year! Next week I will have to tell you about the crazy new year’s eve traditions they have here :) 

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hermana Shelton

Pictures: 

Doing `fireworks` (sparklers) in our apartment for Christmas Eve

My MTC district back together again for Christmas :)


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