New Year, New Me

HELLO EVERYONE MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS I HOPE IT WAS MAGICAL AND SPECIAL AND YOU ALL GOT TO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR LOVED ONES!!

This week was stellar, I had a lovely Christmas.

We woke up at 6:30, worked out, then went back to bed. I then made arepas with eggs for breakfast, then we studied, talked to our families, then just hung out in the house until 7 pm. At 7 we went to dinner at a chinese place with Hermano Castañada. All his family was out of town, so we went and ate with him because none of us had family here in Baños. It was great, I loved it. 

I ate something called Chontacuro this week. Chontacuro is a jungle grub; just think of those wormy looking things that Simón and Pumba eat in the Lion King, and you have a good picture of it. We ate them live too, so you have to grab it by the head, then bite it off and all the guts squish out in your mouth and it is absolutely hideous and I hated it so much. But I'm not gonna lie, it was worth it for the video and the story. I'll try to send the video so you can all gag and feel grossed out too. 

This is the last Monday of 2019, I hope all of you make it a good one. 

Last night we went to the Rubio Family's house to visit them. Hermano and Hermana Rubio are like our parents here in Baños, they love the missionaries. They also speak really good English, so sometimes we have conversations in English so they can practice. The other companionship here in Baños is Elder Piraquive and Elder Murdock; Elder Piraquive is Columbian, but his English is super good. Elder Murdock is brand new, so his Spanish is pretty limited. We were all chatting and Elder Murdock said to his comp, "Hey when I speak English do you sometimes just nod your head and say yes?" Elder Piraquive wasn't really listening, so he just looked at Murdock with a somewhat confused look and nodded and said, "Yeah." Hahaha we all died laughing, it was so hilarious. 

I love the time of New Year because we can reflect on the past year and see everything we've done and the kind of person we've been. I always like to make goals, and this past week I found a scripture that I want to make my motto of 2020. it's in 3rd Nephi 27:27. In this scripture, Jesus Christ is talking and teaching the people in Ancient America and he says, "...Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

If we can try our best to be like Jesus Christ, we will always be able to accomplish our goals. I'm excited for the new year and the progress that I will be able to make. 

Welp, that's it for this week! Love and miss you all and Happy New Year!

Elder Spangler