Hermana Warburton: ¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! ¡PROSPERO AÑO Y FELIZIDAD!

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD! ¡PROSPERO AÑO Y FELIZIDAD!

Hola hola familia y amigos! i hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this past week! i loved hearing from you and seeing pictures of all the Christmas fun. Christmas is truly such a magical time of year... and im so glad i got the chance to spend this great time in Ecuador!

This past week was super different than the usual weeks here... but super fun!

Tuesday- i had my final verification for my 12 weeks of training... so im offically out of my training and a "real missionary" now! :) the verification went really well and i learned a lot from the practices that we had to do. wow. its crazy to think my training is over!!

Then that night we got to sing around the Guayaquil city, Christmas Hymns, as a zone. we sang on the streets for the people that were passing by, and it was fun to share the Christmas spirit through song. As we were singing, i realized how blessed i am to have the Gospel in my life, and how blessed i am to know the truth. it is such an incredible blessing, and i am just so lucky to have been born in the Church and to be here in Ecuador sharing the blessings i have received in my life with the people here.

Wednesday- we went to the temple in the morning (luckily we made it after our taxi driver got lost...). such a great morning in the temple! Then we went to a living center for elderly people, and sang Christmas hymns for them and shared Christmas scriptures. Hermana Childs and i really enjoyed talking to an elderly man about his life story and all of the challenges he went through in his life. again i found my self so grateful for the life i have and the blessings i have received.

that night we had a huge Christmas dinner with ALL of the missionaries in the mission, and also had a talent show/variety show as a mission. all of the zones did a musical number (my zone sang peces en el rio and mi burrito sabanero). and hermana childs and i sang a special musical number of an arrangement of Angels we have heard on high and Hark the herald angels sing in spanish! :)

Thursday- Christmas eve we got to eat a dinner at our investigators house- joffre y kattis house. they made us some chicken, mashed potatoes, and rice! it was delicious! and... the best part of the whole week.... i got to skype my family!!! :) wow! such a good day!! :)

Friday- Christmas day! we spent the day visiting members and giving them little Christmas cards

once we hit saturday though... it became a normal week again, and we were back to the normal days of work! :) but it was good because we sure needed to visit our investigators! haha!! so it was good to get back to work!

Christmas was extra special this year in ecuador. instead of focusing on gifts and what i wanted, we were really just focused on Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason for the season. i am so grateful for my Savior. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Through Him we can find the peace and comfort that daily we are in need of. He is the way that we can return to Heavenly Father after this life.

Yo se que Jesucristo es mi Salvador y Redentor. Yo se que solo por medio de El podemos regresar y vivir como familias en las presencia de Dios. Ese Evangelio es un mensaje de paz y gozo. Un mensaje de esperanza. Yo estoy muy agradecido conocer la verdad y ser un miembro y misionera de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de Los Ultimos Dias. Yo se que la iglesia es verdadera. Yo se que Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial y nos ama y tiene un plan perfecto por Sus hijos. Yo estoy muy agradecido por todo sus oraciones y amor. Feliz Navidad. ¡Bendiciones!

les amo mucho!

Hermana Warburton

translation:

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know that only through Him can we return and live as families in God's presence. That gospel is a message of peace and joy. A message of hope. I am grateful to know the truth and be a member and missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . I know the church is true. I know that God is our Heavenly Father loves us and has a perfect plan for His children. I am very grateful for all your prayers and love. Merry Christmas. Blessings !