December 19, 2016 Week 12! Christmas Week!

December 29, 2016

First off, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas this Sunday! I can't wait! It's a great time to think of the Savior and all He has done for us!

We had a baptism this week! That was definitely the highlight. I performed the ordinance, and we had 3 other elders helping us (The other missionaries of our ward, Elder Chahuara and Elder Paz) so there were 4 missionaries in the font in total. The baptism took all day to prepare. We got the keys for the church and the baptismal font in the morning, then cleaned the font, then filled it with water, then had to turn on the heater to heat up the water. We hoped it would all go well, since Hermana Jessica is tall, and we hoped there would be sufficient water for the baptism. We came back later (a little late since lunch took a while), and a couple people were there. We checked, and the water had gone up to 38 degrees celcius, and we set it at 40, so it was close enough. It was hot, but that's what we needed! When the time came, we all went into the water after filling it up a little more, and I plugged the drain on the wall with my hand until we started the baptism so that we could have all the water. That was a good and bad idea, because we did have enough water, but right as I started saying the words, there was this LOUD slurping sound as the water was being sucked into the drain little by little. I guess some people almost laughed, but I didn't see. That's ok though. It went well, we did have enough water! Baptisms are such great experiences, and it was my first baptism! I definitely hope to have more on my mission.

I was a bit sick this week. Same sickness my companion got the week before, but I pushed through the fever and sore throat and cough and kept working hard and now I feel better, with only a cough left!

We taught Hna. Jessica this week before her baptism, and her sister's dog is a baby, so he keeps trying to bite and chew everything of ours, and until she takes him away, we have to keep our hands up too, because that dog isn't scared to bite hands. He got my ankle and sock, and I got a little scratch from it, but nothing bad. Haha that dog is such a distraction during lessons, but that's ok. We still teach with as much focus as we can have.

We had intercambios again this week, and I went with Elder Williams for the day and night. We spoke a lot of English with each other, but also lots of Spanish during lessons. He's great too. We got lots of lessons and contacts completed, so it was a productive day! Their apartment didn't have much water, and it was cold, so I like where I'm staying now haha. We have hot water for showers.

We had some funny experiences with contacting, where people shook fingers at us, or explained that saying Jesus Christ (not just Jesus) was referring to Satan... Interesting stuff like that. Welcome to the mission!

Also, they have drinks here that taste like coffee, look like tea, but are neither of the two... Interesting.

I love it here still. The spirit is so strong, and the people are so nice. I am so thankful for all of the spiritual experiences I've had, and for the opportunity this mission brings to fully immerse myself in the gospel for 2 years. If you haven't served a mission yet, and you can in the future, I recommend it. It's amazing.

Hope you all have a great Chrismtas! Think of the Savior, think of what Jesus Christ has done for you, and continue to serve others!

-- Elder Bruner