Merry Christmas Baby!

Feliz Navidad a todos! I hope y'all have a great Christmas and can take some time to think bout the Reason for this Season! My grandpa wrote a document about what the Premortal World could have been like the night before Jesus Christ descended to earth and was born in the manger. My grandpa is a spiritual giant fr (for real), he has got me thinking! We must have been next to him wishing for one last embrace and final moment with Him before He was to start his mortal life. Jesus would have recently revealed to Nephi that he was about to be born (3 Nefi 1:13) So sick. There are so many cool parts of the Plan of Salvation that we probably don't know or think about.

We started out the week in Salamanca, España. A super cool city close to Portugal (shoutout padre). The work is going well down there, we had some fire hamburgers on Tuesday night. We met two ladies from Paraguay as we helped them carry a bed frame up four flights of stairs to their apartment, they gave us Sopa Paraguaya (it's not soup, it's like breakfast casserole). Then we shared about the Book of Mormon.

My comp Elder Sharp and I had to wake up at 6am on Wednesday to catch our train to come back to Alcorcon. Then we had District Council, and then we had lessons the rest of that day. It was PACKED, and I definitely felt it. I was pretty stressed y tal. I think I am gonna make a song that starts out, "I woke up at 6am in Salamanca!" It could go hard lmk.

Juan got baptized It was a quick baptism service. His friend Santiago baptized and confirmed him. Juan is a G man, and has been SO blessed for growing his faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and now Enduring to the end. He is a big Spaniard man, but super kind, after the ordinance of his baptism we were waiting for them to change clothes and were singing The First Noel and as we were singing the "nooooooel, nooooel" part he and Santi walked in, it felt like an epic part of a movie. And Juan had a sincere smile on his face, that really touched me tbh.

Even though it requires so much faith, work, and more work and rejection and prayers, a baptism program is about 45 min, and the actual baptism is like 10 seconds. I always want to feel the spirit super strong at some point during the baptismal program, and sometimes that happens, sometimes less. I am very grateful for all the times I felt the Holy Ghost with Juan as we taught him and as he smiled after his baptism.