share the Gift

This week was another really good week.  I have been loving life a whole lot!!

In our branch there is a clan of Hernandez'.  The big 3: Juan, Lorenzo, and Beatriz.  These three plus 8 other siblings were all baptized in El Paso 8 years ago.  These 3 moved down here and the rest stayed in El Paso.  Their families make up probably 50% of the branch.  Juan is our Branch Mission Leader.  He's pretty inspiring but incredibly flaky.  He and his wife have 4 daughters, the oldest being 17 and the youngest is 7.  Lidia, his wife, makes the best food out of anyone in the branch, but she gets offended if we don't eat 2 plates so she's a reason I'm gaining weight.  I love them a lot.  Lorenzo is one of only 3 high priests in the Branch

 I thought it said Dork

.  He and his wife have 2 boys, one of them is on a mission and the other one is preparing for it.  I have never seen them stay for all three hours of chruch hahaha.  I love that family a lot too.  Beatriz is awesome, the older sister of Juan and Lorenzo.  She's got 2 sons, Gerrardo and Kevin.  Gereardo is 26 and has 3 kids of his own.  Ezikiel, his oldest, is the kid that Elder Pack and I baptized.  Kevin, Beatriz' other son is 10.  That sector of the Hernandez is my favorite probably.  Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is just because we ate with a portion of hernandez every day this week!!  IT was neat. They make a lot of food. They showed me how to make chile verde, I'm gonna make that this afternoon.  It's another reason I love it here so much! 

Exchanges took place this week as well.  I was hoping to go with Tom but still no :(  He felt like he needed to go with Elder Gillette because he's been having some problems adapting to missionary life.  So I went with Harris again. I love Harris a lot.  I got to go to their area, so finally left spanish for a day. It was nice and relaxing.  It's kind of weird in an English area. We talked to a few people and each time I was so pumped because of how legit the people seemed, but Harris thought they seemed way uninterested.  We decided it's becaue even an uninterested white person is a lot more solid than an interested Mexican haha.  Ilove mexicans.  We spent the night walking around and playing duets on our harmonicas, real fun.

The Church is having a new Christmas initiative this year and it is SO SICK!! On Friday we drove down to MOnahans to learn about it and I am so pumped for the magic that is gonna happen!!  It's all about how Jesus Christ is the first Christmas Gift and the best one over.  The Church made a new neat video and a web sight all about about it, christmas.mormon.org.  It wont be open till blackFriday, but go check it out.  THat's not all though.  On December 7 the Church bought out every single advertismetn sport on yourtube...aka the only adds that will show is about Jesus Christ from the mormon church!  They anticipate 220 million people will view their video they made.  From Nov 28 to Jan 1 we will be advertising on a billboard in Time Square...right where they will have the ball drop for the new year.  We got a ton of cards to pass out, you'll get some too in the december ensign.  I am so excited!!  CHristmas is the best and I have really loved it a lot more on my mission!  It really is all about Christ! 

I love you all so much!!  HAve a really good week and be safe:)