Cucuta Week 29 December 22

Ok so the first piece of news is we got a white guy in the apartment! This is the first time I've lived with a white guy in 7 months so pretty cool if you like white people. He's brand new, fresh out of the factory and only speaks a few words of spanish but he's a cool guy! He's from Bear Lake Utah and he's 18. He brought his lasso and I roped my companion so that was fun. The only bad thing about him is that all of his sisters are married. You win some, you lose some.

Speaking of losing some, the ants have won the last few battles of our war. So I used my towel one morning after showering and I found out that it was full of ants. I found out because all of the little ants got angry that I was using them to dry off, and they all bit me. I have like 30 ant bites all over my body that are all really itchy. Their sneak attack was perfect. They just waited and I applied them all over my body. I think they're getting smarter. stay tuned.

We had our christmas conference this week wit the president and the APs. First we listened to a few hours of the president training us, and then we geared up in our pday clothes! Not to play sports or anything, but to do physical fitness tests! So cool I guess if you like physical fitness tests. And at the end they gave us all candy canes and a really cool cover for our planners (I really liked that part). Our president is super cool.

So my whole week basically has been singing. On wednesday we spent 3 hours practicing and 3 hours performing a choir presentation. On saturday we sang too. We prepared to sing at a stake activity on friday but we didn't because they ran out of time. I love the spanish christmas carols now. Check out "los pastores a belèn" and "mi burrito sabanero" (no it's not about mexican food).

To close, I just want to wish you guys a merry christmas (not much to update on investigators because we were so busy with other activities)

I have gained a greater appreciation for the saviour in this christmas season. We often forget just how extensive his atonement was. It was infinite. He paid for every sin, He suffered every sickness, and He endured every trial that we had, that we have, and that we will have. And thanks to him we can achieve our divine potential. We are children of God! I think it's easy to forget what that really means sometimes. We have a potential so much greater than the everyday tasks and challenges we face. But often we forget our divine potential and focus on our day to day tasks. I know I have. Merry Christmas everyone, and happy birthday to the One who made it possible for us to achieve our divine potential.

Love Elder Downing