theyre not flies, theyre bees

Hello hello!! I hope you all have had the merriest of all the merry Christmas's. If I've learned anything this week it's that Jesus lives and I'm super grateful for Him and if one more person gives me sweet bread (pan dulce) with weird fruits and nuts in it I think I'll throw up. So I think you can call it a win.

JAJAJAJAJAJAJAs of the week: 

• I left the mission, went to Brazil, and bought air force ones for 18 bucks. Idk why that's under jajajajas cause I didn't laugh, I was actually very excited. 

• I had 3 more exchanges this week. While sleeping in someone else's bed with someone else's blanket and stealing whoevers shampoo I can find in their shower has become a common theme this transfer, I really am loving all these exchanges. I have some incredible girls in the zone I'm in and they're hilarious.
  
  Highlights of the exchanges:
  • being in Brazil with a little baby missionary who barely even speaks Spanish and having people speaking rapid fire Portuguese at me and me just simply giving up and walking away saying "feliz natal!"
  • finding out one of the girls in the zone kissed another girl in the zones cousin. 
  • sleeping with the windows open on accident and all 10 of us waking up to 52 mosquito bites on every limb.
  • me stepping on a slug barefoot that was the size of my palm.
  • finding out that sister missionaries eat a LOT more crepes than you think they would.
  • shawarma. 
  • sleeping on the floor without a blanket and using my backpack as a pillow two nights in a row.

MILAGRITOS: 

• On the 23rd, the bishops wife invited us over and we got to make sweet bread (way more fun to make than it is to eat) and then go deliver it to a ton of people in the ward and our friends. I will forever love the bishop and his family. 

• We went Christmas caroling on Sunday and it was super tender cause everyone was so happy, but we got a whole lot of weird looks and people who were like "okay listen I know you guys are all from the US but I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. We don't do that here." We told them we know, that's why we're doing it. And went on our way. One drunk guy joined us singing. And a lot of old ladies looked more happy than I'd ever seen them. 

• Hna Dominguez really likes deep and profound doctrine. We were walking to the bishops house one morning, and she asked me a question that I had simply no idea how to answer. She had been studying it for weeks and she couldn't figure it out. Well, we got to the bishops house and we started a conversation about who knows what, but it ended in him pulling out his Old Testament Institute manual from like a hundred years ago. Anyway, he was showing it to us and he opened up to a random page and there was a picture that caught my attention and I looked at it and read the caption and right there in front of us was the answer to Hna Dominguez's question. I was kinda in awe. It wasn't a question of any eternal importance, but right in that moment, God knew and God cared. And God answered. It was kinda awesome. 

SHPIRITUAL SHPEEL: 

A few weeks ago, we found our good friend Hugo on the street. He was baptized a long while ago, but he hasn't gone to church in years. Well, this week the spirit finally convinced him to show up, and it was awesome. We sat next to him and as we started to sing "oh come all ye faithful" (which in the spanish translation is just essentially "come and we will adore him") Hugo was practically SCREAMING the words of the song. Ive never in my life heard anyone sing in church that loud. Not a single note was correct, but the whole ward was sure listening in on his singing. I was practically in tears, shoulders shaking trying not to laugh next to him, but as the hymn ended the spirit taught me something I hope I never forget. Hugo had been terrified to go to church because of some of the things he had done, and he didn't want God to be mad at him. Well, on that Christmas morning, Hugo decided to shake away his fears and show up to church. And not only did he do that, but when given the opportunity to adore his Savior, he did it fully, without holding back. As loud as he could with as much gusto as he could muster. The song he was singing really tells everyone to come, and we will all worship our Savior together. Maybe we won't hit all the notes. Maybe we don't know all the words to all the verses. Maybe we don't know how to read music. But may we all worship our Savior a little louder. Not so that others can hear us and praise us, but so that our Lord can know that we love Him, no matter what other people think. Let's follow the words of the hymns, for sure. Let's follow the commandments and the revelation that God has given us. But let's do it in the way we know best. As loud as we can and with as much power as we can put into it. So when that song is over, we have a Savior who knows we love Him. Let's sing those hymns a little louder and a little more off key. After all, God doesn't care what note we hit, He cares that we're singing. So let's all sing a little bit more like Hugo. 

I love you all!! Have a Happy New Year!!

- hermana allen