Feliz Navidad!

Hola!!

Did Christmas really come and go?! 

Christmas Eve was pretty fun because all of West campus were bused to main campus for the Christmas Eve devotional.  Elder Evans (of the 70) spoke to us and we (the choir) got to sing 'Far Far Away on Judea's Plains'.   A lot of new people joined the choir knowing that we would be singing to an apostle so we had about 300 people singing.  We all knew that one of the 12 apostles would be speaking to us the next day but none of us knew who...it was a complete secret.  During Elder Evans' talk he kept saying things like, "You're going to love hearing form Elder---" and "Tomorrow, when you get to hear from El----".  Every time he was about to say the name, he would stop himself and continue on another subject.  I don't know if he was having a hard time not spilling the beans or if he just loved seeing 2000 missionaries with excited wide eyes.  

I've gotten so used to speaking Spanish all the time at West campus that, when I go to main campus, I forget that not everyone speaks Spanish too.  It's actually pretty hilarious!  I'll walk up to someone and start speaking spanish and it isn't until they get a really confused face that I realize that they don't know Spanish or that I'm even speaking spanish in the first place.  Praying and singing hymns in English is really weird!  Like English is becoming the foreign language or something!  I can't even imagine what it will be like when I get home from Mexico. 

At the end of the devotional, we remained seated and missionaries came in with candy to pass out to us and we watched Mr. Kreuger's Christmas.  Movie night at the MTC!  

We bused home and, knowing we wouldn't have time to open presents on Christmas day, sat in the living room with the other Hermanas with all of our presents laid out in the middle of the room.  To be a little more festive, we grabbed a piece of paper, drew a big Christmas tree on it and hung it on the wall.  Christmas just isn't the same if your presents aren't underneath a Christmas tree right??  I have never been so grateful for even the smallest things in my whole life.  In my stocking I got a Spanish verb conjugation dictionary and studied it all night.  Hermana Call walked into my room as I was studying and said, "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen any one so excited and appreciative for a dictionary in my whole life!"

Opening Presents

Christmas PJ's

Christmas day:

Unfortunately, Santa didn't come this year....;)  But we all were so excited to see what the day had in store for us.  It was the first time I had had frosted flakes for Christmas breakfast..but there's a first for everything!  Oh what I would've given for some of my mom's famous Christmas morning cinnamon rolls!

We bused to main campus and were seated in the auditorium for a 'Christmas Celebration' which was basically one big missionary talent show.  People did all kinds of things: magic shows, guitar solos, piano solos, bottle on head dancing (like on Fiddler on the Roof), etc.  You name it, it probably happened at the Talent Show.  

It was finally time for the devotional we had all been waiting for.  As we sat down, in walked Elder Bednar.  We were all so excited.  The choir sang and he stood up and said, "I'm about to do something that has never been done before."  And what he did was crazy!  The missionaries in every MTC in the entire world received cell phones and a phone number to an iPad he had at the pulpit with him.  He told us that we could text a question to that number and that he would be able to answer it from the pulpit.  SO CRAZY!  Do you know how tempting it was to call my family right then and there?!  It was so crazy holding a phone in my hands while out on a mission.  It seemed like a foreign object or something! 

 BYU's Synthesis Jazz Band came and performed Christmas songs for us and the members were whipping out all kinds of instruments.  It was a lot of fun. 

Later, we all gathered on last time in the auditorium and watched 2012's Christmas MoTab concert.  As it was starting, about 50 elders walked through the front door carrying huge sacks of BYU kettle corn popcorn.  Let me repeat: BYU KETTLE CORN POPCORN!!!  The only thing missing was sitting on the sideline of a BYU football game enjoying every bite of that delicious popcorn;) 

This was the first Christmas I have ever had away from home and at first I was pretty discouraged 
about it.  There wasn't a lit up tree in the living room and stockings above the fire place.  There wasn't Christmas music blasting while we ate a delicious Christmas breakfast. For Christmas dinner, instead of a big turkey and some mashed potatoes, we had a sack lunch.  We were promised that this would be a Christmas we would never forget and at first I was unsure that that would be true.  Despite the things that were missing from the Christmas that I have grown so accustomed to, I learned a very valuable lesson.  I learned that Christmas isn't about all of those things.  It's about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and for all the many things that he has done for us.  So, was this a Christmas that I will remember for the rest of my life?  Absolutely.  The lesson I have learned here will be one that I will have forever and I am so thankful for that.  

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!  

-Hermana Ingram

 P.S. Thank you everyone for the Christmas wishes!  It meant the world to me and made my Christmas that much better!