Rio Gallegos Centro, Zona Rio Gallegos - Week 15... Christmas!

Alright, what have we got to say about this week... It went by fast, that's for sure! It was a really tranqy week to be honest. We taught Cristian a couple times, and he's accepting everything that we're teaching, he just doesn't want to accept a fecha, so were trying our best to get in on that. We've been getting a really good relationship with some recent converts named Belen and Luis. Luis has been helping us to teach Cristian a bit. Belen gave us some little Christmas presents which were cool, they were some little golden tie bars. I wore mine on Christmas day :) We had a bit of success finding some new people to teach, but both the people we found fell through on their second citas (appointments), so we're still suffering that curse, but we'll get there eventually. 

There was a branch activity this Friday, which was fun. There was a live pesebre (manger) done by the primary, and I had to be one of the singing angels. I felt like our goodness as missionaries and the lack of ability to say no to members was taken advantage of, but it turned out okay, so it was good. I personally sounded like Michael Buble, but just a little bit better ;) 

On Saturday, it rained a ton. Like a ton. It rained so much that the majority of the roads out here were rivers, and it made it really hard to walk around. It was like each block was an island! It was a fun adventure though! Saturday night, Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) we were supposed to watch a movie as a zone (the one time all year that Pres lets us watch a movie). We were gonna watch PETS, but the ZLs hadn't downloaded it, so they tried for hours to make something work, and couldn't, so we just ended up leaving. That was definitely a disappointment, but whatevs, one more movie to watch when I get back. Later that night, we had a Nochebuena dinner with Los Chodin. They made asado, and the cordero (lamb) was SOOOO good. If the cordero is well grilled, it's definitely the highlight of any asado. Soooooo rico. We read Lucas 2 after dinner, and shared some testimonies, then we had a toast at 12 to celebrate Christmas. That's when the war started. We had to walk home, and I thought I was in Vietnam, there were firecrackers all over, and pieces of cardboard raining down on us the whole time. Legit! 

Christmas was pretty awesome. I wasn't actually trunky at all, so that was great. Church was very short, 1 hour no mas. I got to discursar (speak), which went really well. I talked about member-missionary work, and after the reunion (meeting), all the members were like "wow, we're gonna work harder now!" I made a comment about how it would be better if after I leave, no one ever says my name but the work progresses well instead of having everyone remember me because I wasted all my time drinking mate with members, and after the reunion, Hna Vargas grabbed my arm and told me "hey, don't say that were not gonna remember you! We're never going to forget you!". It made me feel good :) We also defied worldly logic, and actually had an investigator at church on Chistmas, so take that world. 

Talking to my family Sunday night was the greatest thing ever. To see you guys so healthy and happy just made me soooooo happy! Just to hear your voices was incredible. And to have Dad deliver the bowl news with his own voice. WITHOUT PRICE! BYU! BYU! BYU! GO HOOSIERS! These next 4-5 months until Mothers Day are gonna fly by, I'll see you guys soon. All in all, great christmas. 

I'm soooo grateful to be a missionary, and represent my Savior. In a country where Christ is an afterthought during Christmas time, it was refreshing to gather together with the faithful saints of Rio Gallegos and renew our covenants on Christmas, enjoying the greatest gift that was ever given, LA EXPIACION (the ATONEMENT)! 

I love you guys soooo much! Keep choosing the right, and using your time wisely. 

See y'all on Mothers Day!!! - Elder Jimenez

Christmas Zone Conference/Dinner pics

Picture from the Mission Conference with Elder Teixeira of the Seventy

 

You can also see the Mannequin Challenge and a special edition of the Light the World campaign video on the mission facebook page: Mission Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Facebook Page

And finally, here's a video of the street on Christmas Eve...