Sin tortilla - no hay comida

 Hola! Que tal?

Hidalgo is very festive for Christmas. Very festive indeed.

GOOD:

- This week Hidalgo had a lights Parade to kick off the month of December. This was an all out, Disney level Parade. I am talking big light up floats, dancers, singers, the whole works. My current bike area only has one major road, Ramon Ayala Drive, and the Parade stretched the entire length of Ramon Ayala. This Parade was cool but made it hard to be super effective from 7-9 because EVERYONE in the city was at the Parade and we got trapped on one side of our area. But we did our best to stay effective despite the Parade. 

- The Elders that I live with bought literally over 100 pounds of ties last preparation day from the Bodega. After a long week of our apartment being just covered in ties... we were finally able to sort through them, pick out the nice ones and donate the ones we didn't want. 

- We have some cool friends named Rosy and Lionely. Rosy is from Mexico and Lionely is from Cuba. They LOVE to feed us, in fact this week they fed us dinner twice. Some highlights from the meals include 1) when Rosy had me eat a Jalapeño with my rice and then laughed while my eyes watered involuntarily 2) the way she only refers to us as "guerros" and 3) when she reminded us that where she is from if there is not tortilla - you are not even eating, she said that the tortilla is the most important part of the meal. Unfortunately, they don't seem too interested in learning the gospel with us but they love having us over.

BETTER:

- This week I got to go on an exchange with Elder Oli!!! It was such a blast to be back with my old companion, unity was still there! We were able to have an awesome day of teaching. Met some cool people and enjoyed being out on the bikes. We also saw probably the largest house in all of Hidalgo so check that out. Unfortunately all the photos from this exchange did not turn out great but they're still included in this email.

- Contact with our friend Lino has been rough this week while he is out in Kermit, TX for a few weeks to work in the oil fields. Pray for him as he keeps working towards his Baptismal date. 

- This story you guys. Buckle up. Last Sunday we met a girl named Miranda, who is 20 and just moved here from Reynosa and she invited us back over to teach some more. On Monday night, Elder Oli and I went over and ended up teaching her twin sister, Sofie. Throughout the week we kept teaching Sofie who is mad prepared for the gospel and by Saturday night had accepted a date to be baptized! We had not seen Miranda all week but on Sunday only Miranda showed up to church and said Sofie had to go to Reynosa #classic. Now they are IDENTICAL twins and we have never seen them at the same time. To this day we have not confirmed that they're not the same person, Elder Roylance is convinced that it is one girl. Anyways, if you want more details you will have to ask me but to make a long story short, after a turn of events - I do not think we will be teaching them anymore. 🤦‍♂️ They are cool though.

BEST:

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." 2 Nephi 2:11

This week I was studying 2 Nephi 2 and learning more about the nature of God's plan for us. How profound is it that Heavenly Father created a plan full of opposition. Many people wonder why bad things happen to us or why we must feel pain. But how can we expect to even understand joy and success without the opposite. This is why the fall needed to come to pass. Adam and Eve needed to be the first to experience opposition so that we could all follow. 

I am grateful for the good and the bad. I am grateful for my blessings and my consequences. I am grateful for each day that is hard so that when I have a good day - I can truly appreciate it. 

I love my Heavenly Father and His beautiful plan for us. I know my Savior lives.

"Work Hard, Keep the Commandments, Have a Positive Attitude and Show Gratitude."

- Elder Stringham