Hey everyone! ¡Feliz Navidad! I hope you all had a phenomenal Christmas and really felt the spirit of the season. It is a special time of year to realize the blessings we have and spend time with those we love most, so make it last! Down here in Mexico, it was quite a Christmas week too full of crazy experience, fun, and joy.
*Blockades!?* So there happens to be a bit of political unrest here in Oaxaca, and the way it physically manifests is through blockades. People upset with the government blockade the freeway or other important roads usually using dump trucks or city buses. The whole thing is a mess for everyone, and the blockades typically last at the very least a couple days. On Tuesday we had our interviews with the mission president and we had to travel to the city, right in the middle of a pretty bad series of blockades. The trip, which should’ve taken about 2 hours total, ended up going from 11:30-5:00, literally 6 hours in travel time. It really was the “Oaxacin’ Dead” getting to the city with a lot of sun and walking, and the journey back had a “Oaxaca: No Way Home” written all over it. Blockades really just wrecked the whole day and was quite a tiring experience.
*La Nochebuena (Christmas Eve)* Here in Mexico, the majority of the Christmas celebration happens on Christmas Eve (apart from opening presents). We had a wonderful dinner planned with La Familia Pérez that turned out INCREDIBLE. We ate lasagna, salad, and cheesecake, which definitely made us feel right at home. Apart from this, we watched the Shrek Christmas Special and “Klaus” (which I highly recommend seeing both). In the end, we had a gift exchange between us and the family, giving each of the 5 daughters a gift and in turn giving us some really sweet and well-thought out presents too. What a blessing the whole night was!
*Navidad!!* And of course I can’t forget Christmas! This day was super great with having a fun breakfast together with the other missionaries, and then a good time opening the packages from family (Thanks!). The day went on nicely as well with the classic family Christmas phone call too. In the evening, our district got invited to a dinner from La Familia Santiago. Everyone arrived around 6:00 and we ate some super good hamburgers for dinner. The night was a pretty interesting one too because one of the sons of the family is preparing for a mission and so the 6 of us missionaries there went around sharing experiences, ideas, and in a few cases, life stories. The whole dinner lasted around 3 hours and by the time we left, we were stuffed full. Certainly a unique way to spend Christmas!
*Spiritual Thought* Because it is Christmas, I thought I’d like to share my testimony with you all. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know He suffered and died for each of us individually and because of Him, we have the opportunity to return to our Heavenly Father and live with our families forever. I know Christ’s birth was the fulfillment of many prophecies and that this holiday season is a time to remember Him and also remember the love that our Father in Heaven showed us. I know that His Gospel is the true Gospel and blesses whatever person who will embrace its teachings. And I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
*Pictures!!!* -Christmas Eve Dinner -Christmas Dinner -Elder Barret and I wearing our gifts from La Familia Pérez
Take care everyone! Merry Christmas! -Elder Ord
