Merry Christmas! This last week was extraordinarily memorable. Our President gave us a goal a couple weeks ago of shooting for a 140 contacts a week...something this mission is absolutely not used to. We wanted to inspire our zone and decided to work hard to truly complete it this week. The experiences flooded in. We started talking with everyone, which led to a great many lessons with new people, including two young men about our age. Other than getting a bloody nose on their doorstep, the experience was amazing. We taught some basic principles about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and they felt the Spirit. The next day, we taught the first lesson in the church, invited them to stick around for an activity, and they did...watching messages of President Monson as they waited with members. On Sunday, they failed to come to church, but we found one in the street later that day. He said a family member had just passed away, so we met in the church a little later to talk about the Plan of Salvation. We explained the Spirit would only manifest the truth to him if he was determined to act and take the steps of Christ's gospel, including baptism. He conceded that if he came to know the church was true, he would be baptized, and prayed promising such to God. That was the most memorable experience.
Also, we're preparing this awesome kid, the little brother of one of our last baptisms, for baptism this Christmas Eve. He's completely innocent. We had to explain the commandments to him this week, and I had to try and explain chastity. As I started sweating, starting with the classic, "When a guy and girl like being around each other a lot...sometimes..." He interjected with an understanding, "Oooooh!! My older brother explained this to me! You have to respect girls and and not unchaste them until marriage!" I've never heard that term before, but, eh,we left it alone there.
Well, life is good. Life is amazing. I love every moment of my time here in Tarapacá, and I don´t want to leave it anytime soon. Mission life is golden, and I am so grateful for this time I have been given to legitimately touch the eternities with my actions. I hope you have a merry Christmas.