Music, Meals, and Marriage

I was asked to accompany a children's choir for a Christmas activity on Sunday on the piano. Little did I realize when they asked me, they don't have any sheet music! So we got together Saturday night, and they found a picture on google of the tune, and a video of the intro, and sang me the ending, and I very quickly learned it, and practiced a little on Sunday, and performed it. It wasn't perfect, but I think it went alright! At the same activity, the elders were asked to sing a number, and somehow I became the missionary choir director! It was really fun, because I got to encourage them to think about the words of the songs, smile, breathe properly, and organize them into 2 parts. We sang 1 verse each of Silent Night, Away in a Manger, and Noche de Luz (Silent Night in Spanish). I had a ton of fun standing up there leading them, bringing in the different parts when they split. It was pretty awesome! I also was able to help all of them in Spanish, which was awesome! I feel like I can actually participate in conversations in Spanish now, which is really cool.

You guys should look up a recipe for crema de aji! It's like a hot sauce that is creamy, instead of just vinegar. It's super good! Also, our pensionista is the best! She has been giving us basically fried eggs and french fries with bread every night, with some variation. We all felt that it wasn't super good for us, so we asked her if she would make us fruit salads instead. She was so happy we asked for what we wanted, and she made us an amazing fruit salad last night! It was so good, and I felt like I was getting the vitamins I needed! Also, one of my new favorite ways to eat rice is with eggs. If you cook an over-easy fried egg, and put it on rice, and mix it all together, it tastes incredible! Also, Elder Saavedra, my roommate, is going to copy the recipe book you guys sent me, because he loves to cook, and he is super excited! And the peanut butter you guys sent me is incredible! I am literally scraping the sides of the jar, because it is so, so tasty! Also, the oreos, and everything else, but I've been eating the peanut butter with my breakfast for two weeks!

One thing that is incredible about missionary work is the willingness you see in people to change their lives. Once people feel the spirit, they want to have more of it, and they will obey the commandments to get it. We have a family whose parents aren't married, and we had to teach them the law of chastity. It was hard, especially because it's expensive to get married here, but they told us they would work on it, because they knew it was a commandment. It was incredible to see the love they have for the Lord and for their family.

Also, the thing they eat for Christmas here is not Cinnamon Rolls. It's called Paneton, and it's really good! It's basically a massive sweetbread with pieces of dried fruit embedded in it. It's so good!

I love you all, and hope you are all doing well!