Almost 2014, but not quite...

Monday, 30 December 2013 

I can hardly believe that my first Christmas has already passed by in the mission. It seems like just yesterday that it was July and I was getting packed to go to the MTC. Honestly so much has happened since that day. I'm so grateful for the decision to come on a mission. The mission really is so cool. It is something that I will never regret. This last week passed by really fast. Christmas in the mission field is something that I will never ever forget. 

Tuesday was our mission Christmas conference in Piura. We had to be in Piura at like 10 in the morning. The devotional was about an hour and a half and it was really cool. After the devotional we went and every zone had a sketch that they did and then we ate lunch—chicken, french fries, and Inca Kola. Pretty great lunch if you ask me. After lunch we watched The Polar Express with President Rowley. I absolutely love that movie. It wasn't quite the same though in Spanish. The voice of the conductor was just not the same. It was super fun watching that though. First movie I've seen in five months! After the conference we headed back to Paita. We went to go visit some members and to wish some people a merry Christmas. After that we went and ate our Christmas dinner with our pensionista. Everyone here celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve. They have their turkey for dinner and then they all stay up until midnight to celebrate Christmas. It was pretty fun eating dinner with our pensionista. She's the best. We had to be back at our apartment at 10 pm but it really was a pretty fun night. 

Merry Christmas from zona Paita!

We spent Christmas morning with our district playing some games and listening to some Christmas music. The best Christmas present I could have received, I got on Christmas day—a big fruit cake. Just kidding. But the best present ever was talking on skype. It was crazy when McKay showed me some snow. Snow is something that I definitely haven't touched in a while. There is none to be found here. The people here really don't celebrate at all Christmas day. They just go on and live their lives in a normal way on Christmas day.

The rest of this week was pretty normal without much happening. It was a little bit hard to teach people this last week because everyone was busy and traveling with their families. It was a pretty good week though. Thursday we had our district meeting which was super fun. I love our district here in Paita. We had our district meeting which went super well and then we ate a bunch of candy and Inca Kola. Not the healthiest thing ever, but it was pretty good. 

Friday morning we got a call from the zone leaders. They had received a call about 10 minutes earlier from president saying that Elder P had to be in the mission office the next day at 8 in the morning. He didn't say why, but we all knew that it was because Elder P is the new assistant to the president. Friday night we had to go to the upper part for a baptismal interview. Since it was the last night with our whole district together we decided to go and buy a couple of roasted chickens from Plaza Vea and french fries and to eat dinner as a district. It was pretty fun. The people here in my district are really cool people. This district is the best.

With my zone leader - Elder P

Saturday was a big day, because this week was the final week of this transfer. Saturday nights before transfers we get a call from the zone leaders with all the information about transfers. Saturday night at about 9:30 we got a call from Elder Erickson. Elder Castillo was being transferred. My new companion here in Paita is Elder Gonzales. He is from Mexico. And this is his last transfer. So in another 6 weeks I will get a different companion. Elder Gonzales is a really cool kid. I'm super excited to work with him this transfer!

Sunday was really busy. We had church in the morning and then there was training in the upper part that we had to go to. After the training we came back and we went so Elder Castillo could say goodbye to a couple of people in the ward. After that we had to come back and Elder Castillo had to pack everything up. Transfers are kind of exciting in the mission, but at the same time, they are a little bit sad. It's hard saying goodbye to people when you honestly don't know if you are ever going to see them again!

Hope you enjoyed your time off. We don't really get time off here in the mission. Well, we get 8 hours on p day—10  in the morning until 6 at night. But other than that, we're kind of always on the job. It's okay though. This work is the best work there is.

Lauren, sounds like you had a pretty good Christmas. Christmas in the field is the best isn't it! I really actually enjoyed it. Only 1 more left for me. 0 more for you. You're already at the halfway mark! Crazy how time flies! Gotta make the most of every minute! Thanks for being such a great example to me! Love you! Keep up the great work!

I'm so grateful to be here in the mission! I know that the church is true! There is nothing I would rather be doing than sharing the gospel with others!

Thanks for all the love and support! 

Elder Baker