Elder Vanderlinden - Uruguay Montevideo Mission

My buddies from the MTC

A Chivito

Hello everyone!  

I hope that everyone is doing well this holiday season. This past week we had our mission wide Christmas party! The night before the Christmas party some companionships asked if they could spend the night at our house, so they wouldn´t have to travel in the morning. We had 8 missionaries sleep in our house.......it is a 2 elder house....and it was never been more apparent than that night. Haha! The next day, the party was super fun because I got to talk with all my buddies from the MTC. 

This week we met with a woman named Blanca Vasquez, and we invited her to Baptism. She accepted, which made us super happy. Her son Jonathan is a recent convert to the Church, and he really wants his mom to join as well. He helped us teach her, which was a really great experience. As we were getting ready to leave, Jonathan pulled out bags of Christmas presents for us to take. One of the gifts was a beautiful tie. I asked him to sign his name on my tie. He wrote his name, and then started to write me a short message. Everyone in Uruguay thinks that they can speak a little english (It is hilarious), so he started to write in English. He wrote ¨I Love U Fried¨.......I tried not to laugh.....but it was so hard.

Speaking of fried, this week I ate something called a Chivito. It is a hamburger that is like the size of my head. It has hamburger, cheese, ham, steak, and pretty much every greasy food you can think of, topped with a ton of peppers, salsa, and sauces. It tasted great, but I could almost feel my heart slowing down as I ate it. Haha just kidding. 

With Christmas time coming up, I would like to share with you the only gift I can. My testimony.

Durante este tiempo de Navidad, Quiero compartir mi testimonio de nuestro salvador, Jesucristo. El sufrió por nuestros pecados. El les conoce sus pruebas, sus problemas, y el sabe como ayudarnos. El nació, el murió, pero el ha sido resucitado. El vive. El es la guía pro su iglesia. Yo se que el vive. Yo se que podemos vivir con nuestros familias para siempre. Yo quiero testificar, que podemos ser limpios de nuestros pecados mediante la expiación. En Navidad, tenemos regalos de cada tipo. Yo pedí que ustedes recuerdan el mas importante de todo..Jesucristo. Estoy muy agradecido por el, y estoy muy agradecido de ensenar su evangelio. Yo se que esta iglesia es la única verdadera iglesia en la tierra. Amo este evangelio, y los amo a todo ustedes. Jesucristo vive, en el nombre de nuestro redentor, salvador, Jesucristo, Amen. 

I love you all! Feliz Navidad!

Elder Vanderlinden

Quote of the week:

¨Obedience is the price, Faith is the power, Love is the motive, the Spirit is the key, and Christ is the reason¨ -unknown