Noche Buena, Guayaba, Hna. Call y No One Knows What He Can Do Until He Tries.You'll Never Achieve Your Dreams If They Don't Become Goals.

ELDER HILL, CHRISTIAN, CINTHYA y NINOS, ELDER SANDOVAL ~ FELIZ NAVIDAD (24th)

 It was good to see the fam again on Wednesday. I know it was a little packed and all that, but it was good. Looks like the snow is hitting hard. The weather down here has been good still. It rained on Christmas and Thursday but that`s as close as it got to a white Christmas down here. 

On the 24th, Noche Buena, we went to visit a few people. In the missionary handbook it says that Saturday, Sundays, and Holidays are good opportunities to find new people to teach because everyone is home and with their family.... however, the culture here it totally different. Most people have parties and they aren`t really interested in anyone reminding them of the commandments. Of course, there is the occasional good person who lets you in and receives a little lesson. We also  went to see our investigators and the people that we`ve been finding. Some were home, others weren`t. We ate a lot of food that night because the 24th is their day for eating dinner and spending time with the family. 

On Christmas, everything was so quiet! Nobody was on the streets, no loud music. All was still. We went to a district meeting in the zone. Elder Calderón got sick and we had to finish the meeting. It`s been a while since either one of us has given a district meeting.  We ate that day with the Martinez Ayala Family. They gave us some sort of pork roast bathed in guayaba. Strange, but good. After, we went to Rafa`s house to talk to the family the four of us from the ward. Good day. Then we went to see Alfredo because he was on  track to be baptized this Sunday, and he was. 

ELDERS' HILL y SANDOVAL, JOSE LUIS, YOLANDA,
y ANA LAURA

Alfredo was baptized yesterday and the overall didn`t really fit him to well. He`s a big guy and was making a ton of jokes about how he didn`t fit into the clothes. Alfredo has been to many churches and knows a lot of other doctrines which has assisted him in being able to make the right decisions and feel, more than anything, what church is the right church. He`s a humble man from humble circumstances and that`s what has helped him be one of the elect in these days.

ELDER HILL, BRIANDA, RODRIGO, MARIO, ALEJANDRA y ELDER SANDOVAL

On Thursday we did exchanges with the assistants. In the afternoon all of our appointments had fallen through  and we decided to move our plans up a little. When we were almost getting to our next appointment, we passed a lady and said, "buenas noches." Elder De Los Santos and I looked at each other then turned around to talk to the lady. Turns out she is the mom of the 19 year old kid who was killed about two months ago when Christian, Cinthya, and a few other people could go to church. We talked to their family and they are looking for answers. The father, Lázaro, accepted everything really well and even said that he`d go to church. They, too, have received many other churches and haven`t felt the need to join any of them. Tender mercies happen every day. 

Sunday was Alfredo`s baptism. Actually, his name is Martin, but someone called him Alfredo a long time back and it stuck. So while the Bishop baptized him, he said his name and suddenly Martin`s wife shouts, "Martin Alfredo!" like trying to correct the Bishop. Everyone just sat there stunned and a little startled. The Bishop talked to Martin, and re-started the ordinance. It was pretty funny. We think she did it because the tradition here is that when you baptize a little baby, that`s the name that will be used from that point on.... IDK. 

From Sister Call this week: 

Some of you already know that I like to collect inspirational thoughts.  Here are a few that I would like to share with you on goal setting:

Organize your values in the order of their worth.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

No one knows what he can do until he tries.

Keep your eye on eternal goals.

Without some goal and an effort to reach it, no man can live.

Set your goals high enough to inspire you and within reach enough to encourage you.

Goals that are not written down are just wishes.

A goal is a planned event.

You'll never achieve your dreams if they don't become goals.


I hope you will take some time this week to set some worthwhile, achievable goals for yourself.

Let’s make this the best year ever!        Abrazos…….Hermana Call 

Let`s make 2014 the best year of our lives because we are always progressing and moving forward. We shouldn`t be like Lot`s wife with the heart stuck in the past and wishing for things to be the way they used to be. 2013 will soon be water under the bridge or over the dam. 

From PMG: 

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”

–Elder M. Russell Ballard

Happy New Opportunity to Reflect, Re-evaluate, and Progress Forward. 

Love, 

Elder Hill 

-- 24th with:

- José Luis, Yolanda, Ana Laura. We bought them their books for Christmas. 

-Christian and Cinthya and kids

-Brianda, Rodrigo, Mario, Alejandra.