¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!!

Hello hello!

It's been an awesome week and we are very excited for the week to come! Everyone is just full of happy Christmas cheer. :) We have had a week LLENO of Christmas activities, and more this week. But I absolutely love it. We go home every night just absolutely exhausted, so I just wrote for the first time all week about it in my journal.... (I used to do so good writing every night, but these past few days has been not the best....) So I decided to just do a run through kinda like I did in my journal... :)

Okie dokie. So Tuesday morning we had our district meeting and we practiced a little bit as a zone for Thursday's singing at the hospital. We were having a great lesson at about 9ish that night, and the lights turned off!! Haha so turns out that Copiapó had a black out from all the Christmas lights so the electricity just went off... There are a lot of lights... :) We were having a lesson with a girl named Tamara. She's up here for school, but is from Rancagua. So we've been teaching her and she actually leaves tomorrow for summer break... :( She won't come back until Marchish, BUT I am going to ask for her address and send it to Kenna. How cool would that be if Kenna was in her ward... :) Anywho. She is great and progressing great. We are leaving her with a Book of Mormon tonight, so we hope she'll read it this summer and get her in touch with the missionaries down there. :)

Thursday we went to get my carnet! I will officially be Chilean soon. :) That afternoon we went to the hospital with the zone and sang to the little kids, and sang a couple songs on every floor of the hospital. That was fun to bring a little Christmas cheer to those people in the hospital at this time. :) We had a lesson that night with Andrea, and she is progressing slowly but surely. She knows there is something different about the church and we explained that feeling she always feels with us is the Spirit, and that she can have it with her all the time. She wants to know if it's true, but she just needs to pray... So we're planning on doing an activity with their family to do prayer rocks this week. Keep her in your prayers please. :)

On Friday, we did service in the morning for a new investigator and her daughter. She has Parkinson's so it's hard for her to get around much, and her daughter is in a wheelchair. She was so very grateful, and we were grateful to help. We have been excited to meet and start working with them. :) Then we had intercambios with our sister training leaders that afternoon until Saturday morning. We had a great time! I was with Hna Brewster (from Salt Lake) and Hna Severtson went to their sector to be with Hna Delgado. We went to visit a couple who have been investigating for about a year or more. Missionaries stop by every once and a while, but not consistently. When we planned on Thursday night, Hna Severtson and I both felt like we should visit them. So we did and Hna Brewster and I stopped by. It was a missionary moment that I will never forget. The Spirit was so strong and I just felt such peace as we retaught the first lesson. They normally have TONS of questions, but after we finished, they just both sat there and stared at us... I kinda thought for a second they hadn't understood a single word that we had just said, but they did and they just smiled. They said they have never understood Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon very well until then, but the time was right and the Spirit was able to work through us. It was a very special experience!

Sunday we sang again in the plaza, and with both zones here in Copiapó this time, so that was another fun thing and then we did contacts until it was time to go to the rebroadcast of the Christmas First Presidency Devotional. That was a great meeting. I loved how someone talked about how Christ could have come in a manger of gold, but he came in a humble pesebre, showing us that it's the things that don't necessarily have much worth, in means of money and riches, that have the most worth in our lives.

Another thought that I loved was that we can all go on our own spiritual journey to Bethlehem. It is so incredible that the wise men could follow a star in order to find the newly born Son of God. We have the same "star" in our lives. It's also the same fruit that Lehi partook of in his dream, and it is the same star that Nefi saw when he asked of the significance of the fruit. The love of God is His Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that all get the chance to read the Christmas story in the Bible, and in the Book of Mormon as well. How beautiful is this time of the year!

Sé que esta iglesia es verdadera y que Jesuscristo vive. Este tiempo del año es lo más precioso, y me encanta que yo esté aqui en Chile. Estoy super agradecida que tenga la oportunidad a compartir estas nuevas de gran gozo con todos. Espero que todos puedan hacer lo mismo, especialmente en eses tiempos de la Navidad. Les quiero MUCHO y que tengan un Navidad super felices. :)

(I know this church is true and that Jesus Christ lives. This time of year is the most precious, and I love that I am here in Chile. I'm super grateful to have the opportunity to share these tidings of great joy to all. I hope everyone can do the same, especially in times such as Christmas. I love you A LOT and hope you have a super happy Christmas. :))

Con todo amor,
Hermana Tuft
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Hello Mom and Dad!

I was so sad to hear about Sister Elaine Staheli.... I hope their family is doing okay. She had a hard go these past few years though. I am very happy to know that she is no longer in pain. It sounds like you've all had a very busy and fun week! I'm glad to hear about Lindsay's arm doing a little better and that Spencer's concert went well. :) I also am very excited to talk to you all on Wednesday! I hope that 1 your time will be okay! I haven't gotten anything back from Mom yet.... My excitement though will not get in the way of the work though, I promise. There's too much to do and too little time. :) Thank you for talking to Elders Manning y Fenn Mom! We'll be awaiting his letter. :) I loved that story too Dad, of that missionary story in the Ensign. That is just what I needed to read. There are discouraging moments, but when I keep stories like that in mind, I feel like my efforts might be farther reaching than I realize. :) YAY also that all that Uncle Mark stuff is dealt with!! :) Merry Christmas Mom! :) Also, your story Dad, reminded me of going to the hospital to sing to the kids this week! That would be so fun to read to them! Unfortunately, the hospital is in another sector... :( Maybe one day. :) We have not moved into our new house, just random side note. :P Someday... :) We also had a GREAT less active and brownie giving experience... :) I might have to share that on Wednesday if you remind me. :) I will definitely want to see the snow too! So save a little for me... :P I love you both so very much! Talk to you soon!! :)

All my love,
Kristen

P.S. Freaked me out that picture of Kaisa in a wedding dress.....whattttt? So happy for her though!! :) And Jaden and Carolina! Fun stuff. :) Thanks for the pic!!