Anyway,
Hello people! How is Christmas break?! It definitely does not feel like December here....it's in the high 60s, so of course I'm freezing (we wore sweaters to church yesterday and weren't even hot) but there isn't any snow, so the Christmas decorations are awkward in my mind. But. You know. It's feels really good outside!!!
This week a bug went around the mission and my companion got super sick, so for the first time in my mission we stayed in for two days. It was super weird, but it was good to have a lot of time to study the scriptures. I was extremely grateful for that time. On Friday we went on exchanges with the sisters serving in Sebastian....it is the most northern area in our mission. They attend the Orlando temple! Craziness! It was really cool though because we knocked on the island in their area which is beyond gorgeous and talked to some cool people. It was weird to think I was only about 5 miles from the mission border. (You have to keep in mind that all the other borders of our mission are the ocean.)
We also ate dinner with a Haitian family in our ward, which was my first time eating Haitian food. I'm not sure how I made it this far into my mission without eating at a Haitian house, but it's probably because I've been in full Spanish wards instead of mixed wards. It was really good food and they are awesome! One of my favorite things about a mission is seeing the clear impact that the gospel has on families. There is such a difference in their homes!!
Also, funny side note, our new ward mission leader is from Argentina. His wife's reaction to hearing that my last companion was from Chile was priceless. The rivalry between Chile and Argentina is a real thing.
During my 2 days of scripture this week I read D&C 45:3-5. Part of it reads: "Listen to him who is the advocate with the father, who is pleading your cause before him." That really hit me, especially during this Christmas season. I have such a testimony that Christ lived a life worthy of emulating. He worked and continues to work for us and none of us ever fall so far that he quits advocating and pleading for us to come back. Why would we not love and listen to The One who is continually fighting for us? It is a very comforting and encouraging image. It makes me want to live up to the fight He puts forward for me every day. During this Christmas week, I am grateful for an older brother who is our Savior and loves each of us so deeply that he dedicates his entire existence to helping us progress and find happiness.
I love all of you so much and hope you have an amazing week! I, for one, can not wait to see my family on Friday!!!!! I've been counting down the days for a couple months now! haha.
Love you and miss you!
Love,
Sister Bren Scadden