Christmas Conference

Dear Family,

This past week was probably one of our best weeks, even if we didn't baptize. A couple we have been teaching are close to baptism but have to get married first (V. and W., with their child named I.).

I am pretty confident I am leaving Alpuyeca soon. Elder Blair wants me to go to Cuautla. I have no idea where I will be going. I imagine I will be going to some tiny little pueblo in the hills of who knows where for 6 months. Can you believe that I am 3 months away from being halfway done on my mission? Nutso.

Our mission president said we can have a visit via Skype on Christmas day but it needs to be limited to 45 minutes. I will be online at 2:00 p.m. my time (1:00 p.m. your time). It will be so strange to see everyone again after nine months. Where has the time gone?

I got the package from home the other day. It didn't say ¨NAVIDAD¨ or anything of the like on it, but when I began opening it Claire had some Christmas paper things for us, so I am guessing it's my Christmas package. I won't open it until Christmas day.

I got E. Anderson a cool Mexican backpack for Christmas. I didn't know what to get him and they are pretty cool. I haven't found a single place to wrap the Christmas presents I bought for people down here so I used the newspaper you guys used as padding in a package you sent me to wrap one gift, and I think I will use one of my many Zucaritas (Frosted Flakes) boxes that I have lying around the house for the others. I have been able to fulfill my dreams of eating however much cereal I want while here in Mexico. It is wonderful.

One fun thing that occurred this week was the mission Christmas conference. We went to Civac and joined up with Zonas Civac and Cuernavaca. We did a big white elephant gift exchange (my Mexican backpack gift was the first thing to be stolen three times, haha) and I scored a nice fleece hat. It keeps my cranium warm in the semi-chilly mornings. The conference began with a talent show. E. Anderson and I wrote lyrics about President Spannaus and baptizing to the tunes of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and "Joy to the World." We must have done okay because President loved it and now wants a copy of our lyrics. The other district in our zone did a sick interpretive dance to a song called "Healing Waters", where they danced robotically and played out the whole teaching, baptizing, and confirmation process. We took a break for some food and finished with a thunderous devotional by Hermana and President Spannaus.

Hna. Spannaus talked about grace. I liked how she said that grace isn't something we receive after reaching a certain point on the imaginary line between us and God, but rather that we can receive grace continually-- before, during, and after.

Pres. Spannaus' talk was powerful. He spoke about our "fuente de fuerza" [source of strength]. Where do we get our strength? Money, muscles, strong family, intelligence, baptisms, etc? He told us it could all disappear in a moment. He spoke about our need to have our source of strength in Christ and in nothing else, because all other things can and will fall. He showed us pictures of the time he went to Jerusalem and told us he didn't gain his testimony by going inside the tomb of Christ, but rather in his seminary class as a boy and at church. It was awesome.

The conference was nice because I was able to relax and stop stressing about the work. I have got to learn how to become more relaxed but still effective, not only as a missionary but as a person in general.

That's it for this week. I can't wait to see and talk to you all through Skype on Christmas day.

Merry Christmas,

Elder Bosque