i have a ton to write, as i didnt get to write last week, so we'll see if i have time for everything. miguel got baptized saturday the 21st, cus we found out that week that he had gone to the church two times before we met him. his baptism was originally scheduled for the 22nd after church, cus he had a friend in another ward that he wanted to baptize him, and the friend was going to be travelling for Christmas. the friend came and was able to bring baptismal clothes too, cus we dont have a ton in our chapel, and none that would fit miguel very well. miguel is super awesome, the day after he got baptized he used his car to help the relief society deliver a Christmas basket to a less active family, and this week he helped the other elders in the ward to pick up investigators, and he let us use his computer to skype. he's gonna get the priesthood next sunday and sí o sí he's gonna be a great strength to the branch.
rodrigo and tamara were out of town for Christmas, and on saturday, at the baptism of the other elders, sister Chela (who rodrigo and tamara had been living with) told me that they had moved to coronel ovieda, which is like 125 km away, cus they couldnt find any work here. it's a bit sad, but a bit funny too. it's like they showed up, hermana chela brought them to church, we taught them, baptized them, and they left again. God used hermana chela to introduce them to the church, and elder muñoz and i to teach them, and now that they're members, He's using them somewhere else surely to continue his work there.
i got a new companion this transfer, Elder Chalé, who's from mexico. he got baptized just three years ago, so he doesnt know a ton of stuff, but he has a great work ethic and loves missionary work. i've been able to learn a ton from him about missionary work, and i've also been able to share a lot of the knowledge i have about the gospel with him.
elder barahona got a new companion too, elder svedin, who's on his last transfer. they had a marriage and a baptism on saturday, of the mother of a teenager that got baptized the week before i got here. it was purete.
also mary is in my district too, the girl i knew from byu.
also Christmas miracles! elder Chale and i started visiting marcelo again, and at first he said he was still waiting for a sign, but we put a baptismal date for th 28th anyways. he ended up not going to church the 22nd but seemed set to get baptized igual. we passed by his house the 28th and he said he wasnt ready, but out of the blue he showed up to church on sunday, and said he wanted to get baptized right then. elder barahona did an interview with him so that we could baptize him before sacrament meeting, but it lasted a bit longer than expected, so he has a date for this saturday.
on Christmas eve the branch president brought us dinner, which was awesome, and the next day he brought us mcdonalds for lunch, which was also awesome. on friday, the mission had a Christmas activity which was pretty sweet, but i got burned pretty bad. we played sports all morning, then had a white elephant gift exchange (i got balloons), then ate pizza hut, then went to cerro lambaré, which was pretty cool (it's a monument or something, you could probably look it up on wikipedia and find out more than i know about it).
we visited a less active family that i had never visited before, but that elder Muñoz had showed me where they lived, and it turns out one of the teenagers plays accordion and is in a legit band. he was playing and it was incredible what he could do, and i wanted to be able to practice a ton and play it a ton so bad.
we found a couple really cool new investigators this week, but unfortunately one is leaving for argentina next week, til february. the other was a contact that we had done, and set an appointment to come back. i didnt really see much potential in the contact, but when we were doing planning the night before, i confused that lesson with someone else who seemed really hungry spiritually so i was stoked for the lesson. we went to the address we had and realized what had happened, but clapped and had the appointment still. we had originally contacted a teenage girl, and she had said that we could come back to share with her and her dad. we got there and she went and got her grandma, and we asked if there was a man present to share with us, cus we cant enter unless theres a male of at least 12 years. her dad came out and sat down with us and with her. it was a super funny lesson, cus we taught lesson 1, the restoration, and the dad was like ''i already go to a church. i understand everything you're saying and i thank you for coming, but this church saved my family and i feel like this is where i should be.'' he said something along those lines a few times, and every time the girl just rolled her eyes. i had one book of mormon with me to give away, and usually we only give books of mormon to people who have already read a pamphlet or something so we can be sure that we're not wasting it (we only get 21 per transfer) but i felt i should give them the book of mormon even the dad is gonna be a bit tough, and when i said that i was gonna give him the book, you could tell it just made a huge impression on him. he was like ''wait you're just gonna give me the book? for free? why?'' and i explained that it has helped me immeasurably in my life, and i wanted that he and his family could also receive those blessings, and he was just astonished and super grateful that we were just giving away books. it really strengthened my testimony that the Spirit is guiding this work, even if at times we dont realize it. also it seems like the girl is really gonna be able to progress, and that as she progresses, she'll be able to share her testimony with her dad and the rest of her family so that her dad's not so tough and stubborn.
i cant remember anything else and i dont have my camera so i'll try to send pictures next week
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