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¡¡It's Christmas time!!

It's been a short week but it's been a full one! On Wednesday after temple pday we had a mini zone conference with the zone and it was so cool! We did rotations with prácticas for some different sections of preach my gospel and I learned so much!! We talked a lot about being bold and showing people that we love them. Because if they understand that we love them and that their heavenly father loves them, they'll be willing to change and they'll appreciate our being bold to help them along that process. After the incredible (but slightly long) meeting, we may or may not have finally gotten home to piso at midnight. Woops. 

On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving at the mission home with the office elders and matrimony couple and it was incredible to eat American food! I mean I've always loved mashed potatoes and rolls a lot but after not eating them for muchísimo tiempo they were sooooo good. We also got good ole pumpkin pie from Costco and that was a dream come true. I am very thankful for everything I've learned and all the people I've met here in spain and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

On Friday we set up our "Christmas tree" and we had intercambios here in sanse instead of the STL area. They started out a little rushed because the STLs took the wrong exit coming out of the metro and we were directing them as if they had come out of the right one (who knew there were two lizard statues!) but they eventually found us and we were able to get to our citas and it all went really well! And I got to be compañeras with Hermana frame for the day!! Wahoo dreams comin true all over the place. We had a lesson with Francisco and we were a little nervous because we were gonna teach the word of wisdom for the 4th time but this time he loved it and he was so pumped to stop drinking coffee. I think hermana frame was exactly what he needed. A few years ago we never would have thought that we would be contacting in the streets of Spain together haha. Love it.

On Saturday we had English/spanish/Arabic class. Hermana Arscott teaches English to one of our friends while I teach Spanish to our two marruecan friends and they try to teach us Arabic between every sentence becuase they get so excited about it. I now know the first four letters of the alphabet and the vowels and how to read them. Plus a few little random other things thrown in there. But I probably will forget them as of tomorrow so that's unfortunate. We let them down every time we tell them we don't have 2 extra hours in the week to learn Arabic. But they love learning Spanish. And they love playing fútbol. So now they're bffs with all the members because they go play soccer with them every week.

Also on Saturday we were gifted kinder advent calendars. Best gift ever haha. One of our ward mission leaders gave them to us. On Sunday after church we finished decorating for Christmas and it was so fun because we have sooo many decorations sitting around in our piso. It's a holly jolly Christmas that's for sure.

And to top off the beginning of the Christmas celebrations, there was a concert in pavones and they turned on the temple Christmas lights! The concert was full of musical numbers from members from all different wards plus a few missionary numbers (like my previous opera singing companion) and to end it all of the missionaries together we sang Noche de luz (silent night) and for the third verse the whole congregation joined in and it was SO powerful. I felt the spirit so strong and I could feel how much power we really have to light the world with the light of christ. 

This week as I was studying in preach my gospel, I came across the scripture DyC 58:27. And I've always loved this scripture ("be anxiously engaged in a good cause"), but I love studying the scriptures in Spanish because it's like reading a whole new book and I discover new things every day. Something that I love about this verse in Spanish is that there is a slight different. Translating it back to English, instead of saying "anxiously engaged", it says, "longingly consecrated" or "with the desire to be consecrated." that made me see it in a whole new light and really understand what it means to be anxiously engaged in the work of the Lord. It's the desire to give it all up. To consecrate all of our efforts. To be true disciples of Jesus Christ. And normally I feel like we kind of just stop at that verse. Be anxiously engaged in a good cause! Ok cool we'll do that! But wait! The first line of the next verse says, "for the power is in them." The power is in US! We are sons and daughters of God! We have the light of christ and we have the knowledge of his gospel and his restored church! Especially during this Christmas season we have the power to help so many people. With their physical needs and especially their spiritual needs. Everyone needs to know our Savior, Jesus Christ a little more. Even if they don't know it yet. One of my favorite quotes says, "don't shine so that others can see you, shine so that through you, others can see Him." I know that we have that light. I've seen it in all of you. I've seen Him in all of you. Please share that with someone new this Christmas. 

I love you all! Happy December! 

Hermana Pendleton 

(by the way, in the middle of writing this email we had to run to catch another train. We love chamartin.) 









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