Christmas time

So Happy christmas to you all!!! Wooo!  It is still to hot here in the Philippines to be Christmas so it doesn't feel like it at all. But hey whatever!  hahaha People do actually have some christmas lights so it's pretty sweet!!!  It just doesn't feel like it when it's 90 degrees outside.  But oh well it's fun!  So first tell the Van Wagenens (neighbors asking about him) I'm doing okay.  I'm still alive.  But tell them that I miss them! And the other families too!  So first I'll answer your question about Skype.  So I was planning on skyping here on Christmas so it will be Christmas eve for you guys.  I will be doing it here at about 9 o'clock.... so that will be 6 o'clock for you guys. Don't worry it'll be good.  I'm excited to talk to you guys!  So that is what the plan is for skyping.  I hope that would be okay! (:

So this week it was a pretty good week.  Ill start with last p-day.  After emailing, we had a way sweet p-day activity where we had like a water balloon fight.  But we played like a game to it.  It's called game of the generals.   It's like just like chess but more strategy.  But we played in real person and the losers got hit by water balloons.  Of course it just exploded and everyone got attacked with water balloons.  But that was so sick.  I only took like 2 pictures though so sorry... hahaha but that was super fun! (he took 5 pictures above)

So also this week was transfer week.  I don't think I told you guys that.  But ya transfer week!!!  Nothing happened to me and my companion which was good cause this area is freaking amazing.  And we are just the bomb.  We are still the zone leaders, so I was excited that I got to stay with him another transfer.  But I'm actaully his last companion.  He goes home this transfer so its my first "kill" in the mission.  So that's pretty cool. We are getting such good work done.  I'll go into that in a bit.  So some of the people in the zone got transfered which really sucked because we had the coolest zone ever.  We had one of the hardest working also.  We are baptizing so much here in this zone!!  But we will make it work with the new people in the zone!!

So this week we had another baptism.... wohoo!!  It was awesome.  He will hold the melchizedeck priesthood also so that's so awesome.  His name is Marc and his family is so amazing.  They were baptized back in February but he ws the only one who wasn't ready.  So we have been teaching him.  His dad baptized him this last Saturday.  It was completely amazing.  It was so cool even though it took like 5 times to get him baptized. haha  It was awesome!!  So that was a highlight for the week.  Then again on Saturday we have another baptism!!  We are just doing great here.  We have a baptism scheduled every week up until January 17.  So that's like 6 more baptisms I think.  So we are doing work here.  The area is just amazing and the members work awesomly!!!

 

Which leads me into my next part.  We had the branch christmas party.  And it was amazing!  We had so many people there and they used so much money on it.  We had a lechon pig.  I took a picture.  We had tons of food and it was tons.... so it was amazing.  We had like 250 people there so I took some pictures. It was great because it lead us into the greatest Sunday ever.  We hit a new record of 259 members at church this week.  Which might be the most in the whole mission... and we are just a branch!  So we are progressing so well.  The whole year in this branch we have had like 40 baptisms.  I think actually a little more.  So I wouldn't mind staying here for a long time.  But that's basically whats going on here in the mission!!!  This week we have our missionary christmas conference which will be on Tuesday or tomorrow.  So that will be fun.  I'll get to see the other missionaries!!  Other then that not much happening just Christmas!! So Merry Christmas to you all.  Remember the true meaning of Christmas!! Love you all!!

Mahal ko kayong lahat! 

Elder Hedman