Feliz Navidad :)

Elder Aguilar & Elder Moberg in luchador masks

Elder Gilando & Elder Aguilar soaking wet

Either Hilda or Liliana's Baptism

Ditto

Maybe one of these ladies is Hilda or Liliana

Hey Fam!
How are you all? This week has gone a little better for us. We're still searching out more people who are ready for the gospel and it's tough but we're finally starting to see some results. Hopefully with in a week or two everything will be going smoothly in the area.
Anyway, so this week we went by the house of a family (the Sarabias) in the ward to see how they were doing. Last week when we were eating lunch with them and Sister Sarabia let us know that after lunch they were going to the doctor to find out if she had cancer. It was pretty hard to finish lunch with them because we just felt anxious and nervous for her. But anyway, this last monday we went by to see how she was doing. We shared a message with her and then asked if there was anything we could do for her while we were there. She said she wanted to show us her test results from the doctor. She brought out some papers and had my companion start to read. He read that where she was having the pains they had found about a three inch tumor that was really aggressive and dangerous. He then read a second test on the same tumor that confirmed the results of the first. He then read a third test that they had done to scan her whole body for signs of cancer. At this point we were all feeling pretty stressed of coarse, because if the first tumor was so aggressive it was pretty possible there would be more. The third test, however, showed no signs of cancer. The did a fourth test to re check for the tumor they had found originally, and it was gone! Sister Sarabia told us that after the second test she had prayed and truly humbled herself, committing her life to the will of the Lord, and later recieved two blessings, one from her son and the other from the bishop. She said after the blessings the pains she'd been having had left and she wasn't sure why, but then the tests showed that she's now healthy as can be, no sign of cancer anywhere. It was a pretty cool experience to hear about.
This last tuesday we went by with Marco and Beatrice and watched a video with them, "In the Hands of the Master," the one with the violin. It was pretty cool to see it in spanish for my first time. After the video we both bore our testimonies about the blessings we've recieved having our lives in the hands of the Lord. The topic of baptism came up while my companion was talking, and he asked how they felt lately about baptism. Beatrice said she was ready for baptism and knows the church is true, she just doesn't want to have to give talks in sacrament... I was pretty bummed. I let her know that talks were the last thing she should be worrying about, and that she should remember that this is their opportunity to start in the path towards an eternal family. They didn't take my comments very seriously, so I decided not to say anymore. Before we were about to leave Marco asked for a blessing because he had been sick for a few days. We said that would be fine of coarse, and gave him a blessing. After the blessing Beatrice was crying, and said she didn't know why, but she just felt the spirit strongly and started to cry. We headed home feeling a little confused about what to do. They both have really strong testimonies, but maybe it's just not their time right now.
The other night we went to visit a brother in the ward (Brother Lee) who recently had a stroke. He's a little bit loopy now but he loves our visits so we go by every week or two to share a message with him and his wife when we're on divisions. This last time I went with a brother from the ward, and neither Brother or Sister Lee recognized me. Brother Lee doesn't hear very well so we all have to shout the whole time while we're there so he feels included. He asked me what my name was after we shared the message, so I told him "Elder Aguilar" to which he replied "Feliz Navidad" (or Merry Christmas). We all laughed a little.
Well the weather down here is pretty much perfect, the day time ranges from about seventy to eighty degrees in the day time and sticks at about seventy two in the night. Recently it's been raining a ton every night after we're in the house, but the other day it started up before we had made it home and we got super soaked! it was pretty sweet. And the streets were flooded so every time a car would come by we'd get nailed with a big wave.
Me and my new companion are still getting along fine, this is the start of the fourth week for this change so I guess he's not my new companion anymore but I haven't really mentioned anything about him yet in the e mails. He's from about two hours north of here by car. He's twenty six years old. He's got a really different accent that's hard to understand, which has helped my spanish alot because it makes everyone else really easy to understand. He's a good missionary and recognizes the importance of having the Spirit in our lessons, and never tries to teach without the guidance of the Spirit so our lessons have been going really well. Anyway that's a little about my comp.
So all my friends back home are getting their mission calls! Cristobal man you're going to have a blast down there in San Fernando, my teacher in the MTC served near there and from the stories he told us it's a pretty incredible area to be in as a missionary. Jace Broadbent will actually be serving in the mission where my companion is from! My comp said the strawberries up there are the best in the world so that'll be sweet. Seth is going to Cali too huh? What part? haha. That's awesome that he gets to learn Spanish too. And Fui in New York, that's sweet. And TANNER! (I don't know if you read these e mails so if not hopefully my parents can tell you to read this one) Dude I think that mission call really reflects what a strong guy you are Spiritually. I can't even imagine the kind of blessings you're going to recieve while your serving down ther in Bolivia, and for the rest of your life as a result of your service. Man you're going to change the world for alot of people there with the gospel message. I can't wait to get to talk with you all about our missions after and in Spanish! I'm super excited for you dude. You're such a good example to me!
Anyway family, I'm finally sending some pictures this week, but I only have like three or four new ones. Don't worry I'll take more soon!
Shash- I can't believe your story about swimming! Is your foot ok? I hope so! I love you Sloosh! Have a good week! Thanks for your e mails!
Mom- Thanks for keeping me updated about all my friends and their mission calls. You'll have to let me know where JD gets his call to this week. Are you going to send those pictures of Dig and Pers in the package? That would be sweet. Is Persie still happy and healthy? Thanks for letting me know about the contacts. Also I was wondering if you could maybe send me some music in the package if it's not already sent... I would love to have the Prince of Egypt sound track and maybe some music from some Baptist choirs. I know that's a little random and if you can't get anything like that it's fine, but if you can I'd love it! I've been listening to Draper Sisters since I got Bam's package by the way. Oh I'm attaching pictures from Hilda's and Liliana's baptisms and one of me and my comp when we got home soaked in the rain. I'm also sending one of me and Elder Moberg in our luchador masks because I can't remember if I sent it already before. Anyway, thanks for your dear elders and e mails mom. I love getting dear elders from you because I never really know when they'll get here so it's always an awesome surprise! I love you Mom! Have a good week!
Dig- I can't believe Tanner really gave you his iTouch! You're a lucky guy. Be sure to share it with Den and Shash every once and a while so you don't get addicted to it and turn into a robot or something. So you're a Spain fan for the World cup huh? Mexico is out now too. They lost to Argentina really bad yesterday. We were walking in the street while the game was on and there was literally not a single person anywhere! All the stores were closed and everything because they were all watching the game. You'd think we were in like a ghost town or something, but when Mexico scored their only goal the whole city exploded with screaming and cheering and fireworks and stuff. But after the game everyone was really sad. Haha. Anyway, Love you Dig! Have a good week!
Dad- Thanks for keeping me updated on Tanner. That's awesome you guys still get to see him so often. Let him know I think his idea about the taco stand reunions sounds like a perfect idea to me! haha. That's cool that you and Den can just cross the street and practice golf at the park. That's fine that you're borrowing my clubs by the way, feel free! Sounds like your talk on Joseph Smith went really well. It seems to me that usually when people give talks that are really guided by the Spirit they say the same things after like you said, that they're not really sure what they talked about exactly, so I bet your talk was awesome! Sounds like mom's was really good too. Thanks for your testimony on the Priesthood also, and thanks for always being a great example to me as a worthy Priesthood holder. Love you Dad, have a great week!
Den- That's sweet that your still working on golf! You should keep it up so you can really become a pro at it. I never really had the patience to develope a talent really well, but when I get home from my mission I'm going to start practicing the banjo or something so I can have a cool talent. I hope it's not too late to start! Anyway, love you denny o! Have a great week!
Nay- I'm stoked to get your letter in the mail! So your off at soccer camp right now I guess. You'll have to let me know how it went! Thanks for that story about the tuna. Haha, I laughed a ton. There's a weird fruit here called tuna that's super good. It tastes like a kiwi only sweeter. Anyway, that's sweet that you ended up getting your purse back! Did that lady make you guys pay her? Anyway, Love you Nay. Have a great week!
Love you all! Thanks for everything!
Elder Dallas Robert Aguilar