Tuesday, December 30, 2014

An American, Guatemalan, El Salvadorenan Christmas and a Happy New Year


Feliz Navidad and Happy New Year! 

 

Posing with the bags of cookies
Well I feel extremely overwhelmed at the quantity of information that I would like to put into this email. Christmas week!!!!!!! Too much happened...today my companion and I want nothing more than to rest. 

 

By the way, Sis Mago is awesome. Love her. Mag dawg. What a rock star. 

 

I guess it all began on Monday. The first day of the week. Sis Mago and I decided to make 450,326 no-bake cookies because we have no oven and we wanted to give something to all the fantastic people that we know here in El Sal. We actually made a meager 240 cookies, and then we put them in little bags and attached cute little cards to them. It was a labor of love that kept us up a little late, and I don’t think I’ll eat EVER another no bake cookies in my life. que lastima. But it proved to be a well-received gift.

 

Tuesday was our mission Christmas dinner multi zone! It was a pleasant time. We even got to......WATCH A MOVIE. And I was almost in tears because I haven’t watched a movie in a very extremely long time. We kept it clean with Disney’s A Christmas Carol. But man I ate it up. I just soaked in every single second of Jim Carrey. It was fun. 4/5 stars. But yeah...the Christmas multizone has to be the most anticipated multizone of the whole year. I love being together with allllll my mission buddies. They make me laugh. And ever since I cut my hair I have been coined the mission ´soccer mom´. I’m not sure how I feel about the title...but I like my short hair so I have to suffer the title for now. 

 

CHRISTMAS EVE DAY! Here Christmas Eve is the big occasion. Everyone has a huuuuge dinner of...rice and chicken or turkey. And they stay up until midnight partying so they can say Merry Christmas on the dot. And there are a looooot of fireworks and drunk people. We ate two dinners that night, including the best turkey I’ve ever had in my life! (Sorry mom) When we got home, I decided that the four of us (me, Sis Mago, Sis E, and Sis Mart) would carry on the traditional Hirschi program of Christmas eve. haha Sis E and Sis Mart are from Guatemala and they seemed unsure, but I assured them that they would enjoy themselves. 

 

We started with a song and prayer, and then read the account of Christ’s birth in Lucas. Then, there was an enforced talent show, in which I made sure each sister participated. It was funny. I did my traditional annual dance to Josh Groban’s the First Noel. I received high ratings. Mago

braided hair. E did stand-up comedy. Mart put a mustache on her face. ???? We are a talented lot.


Waiting on the balcony for fireworks
 

Then we opened presents that we’d bought each other. I got a giant heart shaped box from Sis Mart and I gave her a skirt that didn’t fit her. And then we went out on our balcony and waited for the fireworks! It was quite the spectacle! We sang a lot of songs while we waited. But it was so beautiful! We had a sweet view from our balcony. We retired to bed a little tardy that night.....

 

We also did a ward Christmas dinner which I greatly enjoyed. Ironically, we get many more people to the party accompanied by a full dinner and show than we do to church....hmmmm what does that tell me. We need to give away free food at church! My favorite part of the party was when Álvaro signed us up to sing and didn’t tell us. 

 

Always a gentleman that one. I testify of the importance of ward mission leaders. 

 

But actually the most fun part was the karaoke at the end. They gave Mago and I some good ol English Christmas songs to perform. We probably got a little too into it. Who can say. Santa. He didn’t come so I think that means we got to into it. 

 

I have written in my notes of things to include in my email this week ´Latin revolt´ but I’m not entirely sure what I was referring to...if the story comes back to me I’ll clue y’all in. 

 
Skyping with Alaina...it was pixely, but worth it!
 

Naturally I quite enjoyed skyping with my family. BAAAAAAAAAAA I miss you all so much! You guys gotta work on your Spanish though...blank stares when I spoke to y’all in my favorite language! But really...after talking to them and lunching with our Bishop, we hit the streets. And we....preached the gospel! Again!! Like every other day! But I felt that it was a sacred privilege to testify of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the day dedicated to Him in many parts of the world. 

 

Saturday we did another trip to the temple with our investigators and we had an activity about the “He is the Gift” Campaign. I got to thinking about gifts that we can give our savior this year, and Mago and I ran across this quote...

 

President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95) gave some practical advice that helps us do that:

“This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.”3

Without Christ, there would be no Christmas. Without Christ, there can be no fulness of joy. Without His birth and His Atonement, we would have no Intercessor, no Advocate with the Father, and no Mediator who makes it possible for us to return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and live together as eternal families.´´

 

As I think on some of the New Year’s goals I’ll be setting this week....I want to think on what I can improve for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that as we diligently live the gospel of Jesus Christ, as we stay on that course each day...we change! We create lives of joy and progress and improvement. He is the way and the light! Read the Bible. And the Book of Mormon.

 

Love you all!!!

 

Have a great week! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

2015!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I never even realized it was 2014.

 

Hermana Hirschi

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 comment:

  1. I really love this blog! I am going to miss our girls being together once their companionship ends...

    ReplyDelete