2015?? WHAT?!

January 5, 2015

Katie and her companions

Happy New Year!  I´m still freaking out that it´s 2015.  That means that ten years ago it was 2005.  It´s already been 10 years since then!  MANDE.  Ya pues.  

We had to be home by 6pm both the 31st and the 1st.  That was fine with us because there are usually a ton of borrachos near our neighborhood anyways, and we didn´t want to know what it would be like on the one day of the year of the highest alcohol consumption.  Literally, like even the people who normally don´t drink, they always say that the only time every year that they do drink is New Year´s.  Imagínense.  New Year´s Eve was pretty boring, we pretty much did nothing that evening in the house.  We watched a video.  Yup.  New Year´s Day there was barely anyone outside.  There were usually a lot more people than I thought I´d see; usually everyone´s sleeping.  That night when we got home, we went downstairs to the bishop´s house to borrow their mixer and their oven to make chocolate chip cookies.  They turned out really good and I was so happy.  I wanna make more.  While they were baking, we played a Book of Mormon trivia board game with his family.  It was super fun, especially since his two kids, who are 10 and 8 years old, are crazy, and we totally won.  We kind of read that book every single day, so hey.  It felt like a little Family Home Evening, it was great.

Yesterday we got a bit of a surprise thrown at us.  Since it´s the first Monday of the month, there was Consejo de Líderes in Guayaquil, so the zone leaders and the hermana leaders went.  But the thing is, the companions of each of the hermana leaders are still in their 12 weeks of training (they both literally only have a week left), so they couldn´t be alone together without an hermana that wasn´t in her training.  So somehow somebody decided it would be best to ask the trio to stay with them.  It was a little crazy trying to meet up with them, but we finally did.  We aren´t allowed to do divisions for whatever reason, so we´ve been in a strange 5-person companionship for the last 24 hours.  Yup. 

We got the Liahona magazine for this month, and I saw that the Mutual theme for the youth is in D&C 4:2.  I thought that was really great, and it made me remember how our teachers made us memorize that entire section in the MTC.  I really hope that the youth take it to heart and really study what the scripture says.  I only remember it in Spanish, but mas o menos it says: Therefore, oh ye that embark in the service of thy God, see that ye serve Him with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength, so that ye may appear before him without stains in the last day.  (that´s a rough translation)  Now more than ever we need to be more focused in being in the service of Him, to serve Him and show Him that we´re willing to do whatever He needs in order to complete His work and His glory here on earth.  A lot of the youth are getting ready to serve missions, and they´ll learn to really appreciate this scripture a lot more once they´re out on the mission.  

Well, gotta go, but I love you a lot and be careful with all that snow!  One of the hermanas that was with us today is from Rancho Cucamonga and was hardcore freaking out, like "THAT IS NOT CALIFORNIA, THAT LOOKS LIKE UTAH.  THIS NEVER HAPPENS."

Abrazos y besos,

Hermana Iverson