Hey everyone!
 
This week has been great. We actually taught 20 lessons for the first time that I have been here in the mission, and Elders told me that the missionaries before would always complain about how slow of an area it is. Every area is only as good as YOU make it! This week we started teaching a 9-year-old boy named Sebastian who has been bugging his parents about being baptized for about 6 months. We really are teaching the whole family because they have been inactive until last month. The mom remembers a lot from her childhood, but the dad really needs some help with understanding some of the basic things about the Restoration, prophets and the Book of Mormon. They are all very eager to learn and to improve their lives and relationship with their Heavenly Father. They told us that the bishop of their ward has been visiting them for about 5 years, and now we get to see them finally come around. We really need to have patience with everyone, because sooner or later, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will help them come back to the fold, just how the shepherd goes looking for the one lost sheep.
On Saturday, our ward mission leader in Eagle Mountain told us that we were giving talks in Sacrament Meeting the next day, which was pretty short notice, but I was excited to give my talk. I thought a lot about what the most important thing was that I could tell them and it came to me that I should talk about the two most important events in the history of the world: The Atonement (Expiacion) of Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of the Gospel (La Restauracion del Evangelio). I found a few basic scriptures that I wanted to share, including two particularly powerful ones: Alma 7:11-15, which talks about everything that Christ suffered for us in verses 11-13 and then in verses 14 and 15 it teaches us how we must accept that sacrifice; and Joseph Smith's account of the first vision, which I recited, and as I recited that scripture, the Spirit came and testified of the truth and reality of what happened that day in a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, to a young boy. That experience changed the world forevera and connected us once again fully to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, His great and perfect sacrifice for all of us. The Spirit really spoke through me yesterday. It was the best talk I have given in any language, not because I gave it, but because I was the mouthpiece for the Spirit.
We have had many opportunities for service here. This week we helped a member, Hermano Cruz, and his wife (who we are teaching) to take down, move and rebuild a swingset and trampoline that someone had given them. It was pretty fun and we learned how to put together a trampoline, too! On your mission you learn a lot more than the scriptures.
I want to end with a little saying that I read on someone's wall this week, that I think we should all ponder and apply this Christmas and every Christmas:
 
-- Together is a wonderful place to be --
 
Love,
Elder Getts