Week Sixty-eight: Christmas!

Christmas Day 2016

Hola mi familia!

Feliz Navidad! I hope you all had the best Christmas ever! Mine sure was! Just thinking about all of the food I ate this weekend makes my stomach hurt but it also fills my heart with joy from all of the love we received from the members here in Manantial. EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE tried feeding us this weekend. We had to do the rejecting this time around haha. Good times. Good food. 

Oh man it was so great talking to my fambam! Definitely the highlight of my week. As we spoke I realized HOW much change I've seen in myself and in my life in this past year! The councelor in the bishopric gave an amazing talk that I wish I could copy and paste to this email but it was still it was SO GREAT! It really got to me. He shared about the song ¨Little Drummer Boy¨ I looked it up in Lds.org but couldn't find it so I'll have to wait to listen to it but you all can go listen! I'm 99% sure that its the song he was talking about. It talked about how this little poor boy didn't have anything to give to the Father, but he had his drum and he could make it sound. He mentioned that many times we feel this way, that we are poor, be financially or in spirit, and that we might just have one talent or two. We may not feel that it is enough. But he said that for our Heavenly Father that doesn't matter, what matters is that we give it our all! That doesn't mean give Him all. It says give Him OUR all. Your all is different than my all and vice versa. But Heavenly Father doesn't ask us to be better than our neighbor. He asks us to be the best person we can be! Be the best you! And remember that Heavenly Father created you so that´s good enough! 

Not sure if all of that rambling made sense. It makes better sense in my head in spanish. But I hope you can get something out of it. I sure did! I loved that talk and it reminded me that if I keep giving my all then my Heavenly Father will be happy! 

Time to keep giving my all to the work! I love you all so much and hope you all have a Happy New Year! 2017!!!!!!!!!!

con mucho amor,

Hermana Beutler

fun facts from the week:

- one can now get anywhere in Quito for just 25 cents. It's the best thing ever.

- I bought a dozen roses the other day for $1.50. Yes. $1.50.

Our Christmas decorations

Thanks Mom! I really needed this!

Can you tell why? haha

My companion trying to figure out what the gift I gave her says haha. 

My new bracelet! Thanks Hermana Valdebenito!

Probably the best gift anyone can give me!

;)

Excited because it's Christmas!

Erika!

She's always the first to throw up a funny face haha!

Christmas craze

The first of many Christmas dinners.

Nothing happened to her baby.
She is just so proud of being a mom that
she didn't want her baby to miss out on the picture
just because he was sleeping XP