December 26, 2012 (Perth Amboy)

Hey hey hey ho. Happy Christmas everybody. Thank you so so much family and friends for the wonderful gifts. I feel SPOILED. In reality I do.

So this email is NOT going to be very long because I got to talk to most of the people that read these posts YESTERDAY. But first know that I love all of you. Oh and the church is still true.

Updates:

1. Transfers in a week. Elder Giglio and I have grown really close in these past 3 months and we think he's leaving.

2. WE HAD A BAPTISM YESTERDAY. X-mas Day baptism = greatest X-Mas Present ever. Thanks Lord, you're the best.

We visited Maria on Sunday night. We brought Hermano Vidal (from Peru) to help us teach and resolve some doubts, if we could. After answering a lot of questions, bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon, and finally breaking down the barriers she kept throwing around herself, we happily set her with another date: December 25th, 2012 at 5 o clock.

On Tuesday (yesterday) we got to the chapel late and President Jeppson was already there and we hadn't even filled the font. I was stressing out and running around trying to fill the fount, give Maria her baptismal clothes, send the other elders back to the house to grab the bap interview form, etc.. It was really hectic, but finally when she was in the water, and Elder Giglio and I wwere witnessing it, we felt AWESOME. Maria finally entered into her first covenant with God. I love that.

3. We visited Dante (65 year old Uruguayan man) this week and he we found he got another cat. He know has 11. It's insane, but we love him and we really wish he would come back to church.

4. Ate whole boiled lobsters with our ward mission leader. I don't know how he bought them but they were delicious.

5. We set Juan Jose with a baptismal date! He's our recovering alcoholic and he's progressing really well. He is really humble and is SO ready for baptism.

6. We ate 4 meals on Christmas Eve. I felt like I was going to DIE when we were finished.

7. I am ready to get back to REAL missionary work. This past Saturday was the last day of service. I feel like we have not had a real week or even day of missionary work since Sandy came.

Life is good. I love all of you and I LOVED hearing about mission calls and all my friends serving aka Bekah, Jonny Bigelow, etc.

1 John 4:10

EC