Ey Bonjour! Happy Almost 2013!! The french verb that I chose to use for the subject line means, no joke, "to bring the New Year in." Yes, they have a verb for that. (Thanks to Elder Grigsby for looking up random french verbs in the MTC.) There's also a verb for "to remove the pin from a grenade" in french, but I digress...
Anyways!! It was SOOO good to see all your beautiful faces on skype last week, even if it was just for a few seconds. I love you all! And it was not the same having Christmas without you. I want to stay a missionary forever, but I am excited to be with you and go caroling during Christmas again! I hope that you all had a good Christmas, since it was still Christmas eve when I called. I got some pics from Smooz, but I hope it was good for everyone else! I spent Christmas with the Guidi family, (He's the stake president here) and 7 other missionaries. It was super fun. We ate good food and played fun games! It was a Christmas well spent. And I love that there's no snow here! Smooz said it dumped in Utah this week, and I am so glad I'm not there. hah, I'm probs gonna go into shock when I get home and get back to school though. Cause this week it was superrr hot here. Like 30 to 35 degrees. And the humidity. We were a pied (on foot) for part of the week just doing port a port and stuff to try and find people, and oh man. I have never dripped sweat before until being here. Even after running my half marathon I don't think... But after walking outside here for 5 mins. It's crazy and kinda gross too. But at least it's not snowing.
This week we did a lot of port a port cause we're trying to find people to teach. And port a port here is hilarious. I forget if I've told you, but you basically just stand on the edge of the property, cause you're not allowed to go to the door, and yell "BONJOURRRR" like a crazy until someone decides to answer. hah. It's probably one of the funniest things of my life. I laugh even today... So that's one of the things we're doing to find and teach! It's been frustrating at times, but I know that the Lord has prepared people to receive His everlasting gospel, so I just need to keep having that faith and hope. That being said, I could not be with a better companion during this time. There's been a lot of rejection this week, but somehow Soeur Kailiponi keep eachother laughing as we're walking the streets sweating our guts out. hah. And although there are a lot of people that aren't interested, we have found some people that are! My favorite from this last week, a Catholic family! I forget the nom de famille, but the dad's name is Andre. And he's great! We taught him the beginning of lesson one and then we got to pray with him and his family, he has three daughters. And it was so great! The spirit was there, and we testified and invited him to read the retablissement pamphlet and then to pray to know that it was true. And this week, that's something that's really been hit home for me. The fact that this message, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of Le Livre de Mormon, all of it, is something that we share, testify of, and then invite others to pray to know for themselves. It's about the testimony of the people and them knowing for themselves that this gospel is true! It's not our job as missionaries to convince anyone that this is the true church. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to teach and invite and help. But if the people/the person is willing to pray and has an open mind and heart then they can KNOW for themselves. It's incredible. This is our invitation. This is what I get the opportunity to do everyday. And I've never been happier.
Well, that's about it for this week. There might be a cyclone today, which I'm pretty excited about. Also, a lot of members are leaving to go to the temple tomorrow. They save up to try and go once a year every year. That's one of the things that I love about the members here. Their dedication and love for the temple. They litterally go to New Zealand for three weeks a year and just live in the temple, because it's such a blessing in their lives. I love the temple! And I miss it. It's so important, and it's a place that we can go and worship and learn and be closer to Heavenly Father than anywhere else on this earth.
Well famille, I love you so much! I hope that you have a fantastic week!! Happy New Years! Thanks for all your love and support! Oh! And I got mail today! Mom, the package, and the one with the printed out emails, Smooz and Megs the Christmas card, and the Osorio's Christmas card! Merci a tous! I love getting mail. Oh, and Happy Birthday Bels!! I hope it's good. Aunty Pono loves you so much! Well, I love you all! You're in my prayers.
L'evangile est vrai!!
Love, Soeur Santos
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