i cant believe it is already almost christmas here! i know i always talk about the weather but it really is throwing me off! my companion almost got sun burnt the day before yesterday and we were hot in our short sleeve button downs! (the high was 79!)
ok enough of me rubbing in about our warm weather!
some random things that i want to talk about in more detail from last weeks email (im so sorry that it got deleted, i am just going to have to copy periodically)
but the LA temple is ginormous! its so majestic sitting up on the hill! and LA is so dirty that it really stands out! when you are standing on temple hill you can see a lot of the city (because the city bounderies are ridiculous! it just keeps going on and on and on and on!) but yeah you get a really amazing view of the LA smog! and when we went it was a 630 session so we got there when it was pitch black so we got to enjoy all the christmas lights on the trees and bushes on the grounds. i loved the lights on all the palm trees! haha)
after that we went to santa monica. i loved it and it was quite an adventure to get out there on the bus, but we really needed to go shopping (to get white shirts with pockets of course) and it was elder cooleys old area and we would be semi close because we were at the temple so we decided to go. anyway we shopped on the 35d st promenode (sp) we walked on ocean ave in between pico and california streets. we got to see the santa monica pier from a distance. circus olay (sp so i did it semi phoentically, i can only handle spelling in spanish and english at the moment..,. haha) and so they had huge tents out for that. the coast is pretty cool, pretty similar to what i have seen of florida... we also got to see hotel california, as i guessed it was pretty small... anway what streets did you work on/stay at when you go to work there dad? i loved it! it was very different from our area- it was the first time i had seen name brand stores (except downtown but we dont go there that often- like 2-3 times a week and even then only to skidrow, so we dont usually walk around downtown...) anyway yeah the only name brands are one burger king and one taco bell oh and one KFC... haha other than that its all lavanderias (laundry mats), pupuserias (one of my new favorite foods! (pupusas)), 99c stores (we shopped at one today that is in a really sweet neighboorhood like a 3 min bus ride from our apt. its like a mexican version of canal st except there is not that many people on the street, but there is still a lot...) anyway back to what i was saying about santa monica- i was actually kind of disgusted by all the materialism and plastic surgery and just all around vanity but then i realized that it was exactly like the north shore just plus palm trees and good weather... but all in all i liked santa monica... some place i would love visisting outside of the mission but not to work in during the mission. i better watch what i say though with transfers coming up hahaha (we find out where we are going tomorrow night at like 930 and if we are moving we move on wed...)
as for whats going on in our area- i love it! we had a baptism in the beginnning of december and we are having another one this sunday! i also got to preform the confirmation at chuirch in front of everyone for steven (the 17 kid who we baptized in the beginning of december... he is a great kid- i think i have talked about him before... he always does his reading and nothing phases him, he is really mellow- even more so than seth or pete haha)
and the baptism we have this sunday is a 38 blind man who lives with his mom. they are both english investigators (our only ones) but they are both mexican but grew up speaking english so they are more comfortable speaking english... his mom didnt really like us (well the church) but we wrote her a letter and then she soften up- she talked to us for the first time this past sunday when we went to make sure that anthony (38 blind guy- he is blind because he got shot 3 years ago and his eye balls popped out...pretty intense....) was going to be at church...
and then on the 3rd we have a whole family that is getting baptized! they are amazing! like every latin family they always give us a little somethign to eat and drink when we visit. (its like part of the latin culture that its rude/not good hosting to not offer people at least a drink even if they are only going to be there for 5 mins)anyway the mom (maria) the dad (tomas) the daughter (ana) the niece (gisele) the brother (of maria) (jorge-30s) will all be baptized... they also have jasmin (3) and tomas (almost 1ish) who of course wont be getting baptized. it was so nice when they came to church (they went up to the valley this past sunday so they couldnt come...) but i wasnt there- i was at the english ward but elder cooley got to sit with all of them!
so yeah, staying busy! we dont really know what we are doing for christmas dinner (we have tentative plans to go to the fam chavez (the above described family) on christmas eve- we wont be staying up with them til 12 because thats when as latin culture dictates you open the presents- christmas day doesnt really exist for them, just sleeping all day... so its pretty similar to new years... and for christmas day with the less active family that we had thanksgiving with... we have to be in by 6 on both nights and we are going to a soup kitchen for service from 10-2 on christmas day... i think just my zone is doing that but we'll see. i know service on christmas is a mission wide thing though...) but to be honest im kind of glad that we have to be in by 6- ill be able to fnish the book of mormon ( i dont know if i told you but in connection of our "white christmas miracle goal" of baptizing 80 poeple in december as a mission we are reading the new testament and book of mormon in our native lang and highlighting the miracles in them) and call you! and tracting and inturrupting family time would be kind of a bad rep for mormonism considering we are all about families! haha
but I LOVE YOU!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!!!
im sorry i couldnt get you guys presents!
i hope you enjoyed the christmas cards- when i send the memory card home can you (sarah) put up the good ones on facebook? please! there are 700+ so that will be quite a fun task... im sorry! ill try to delete as many of the bad ones as i can before sending the card... inlist my familys help! yay! thanks so much for running my facebook, i didnt think it would be super helpful since i was NEVER on it last summer/spring but people have already written me saying they have been keeping up with me through f book and you and my family (i love they train of info there...) anyway thanks so much!
I LOVE (everyone)!!!
will
