Xicotencatl 1

Hello everyone. I hope that you are all well and enjoying the lead up to Christmas. I realized today that at the end of next week it will be Christmas. Super crazy that it is almost here. It feels a little bit like it, but honestly it isn't the same without snow and really cold weather. Alright.

New companions

So on Tuesday we had the changes and I was assigned to a ward named Xicotencatl, which is in the city of Apizaco in Tlaxcala. Its a fairly big city. Our area is also pretty big, with a fair part of the city and neighborhoods that are farther out amidst the fields. It seems like a cool area. We've been getting lost which always happens when you open an area. My companion is named Elder Cornejo and is from El Salvador. He´s a cool guy. He has just over a year of being a member and is excited to be a missionary. He is also a Chef, plays guitar, and speaks English almost fluently. He has a lot of talents. So Tuesday we had the changes meeting and then came to the area and had an appointment. A Hno. named Hno. Serrano (you will remember him as the Hno. that cut my tie in Zacatlan) took us to the appointment. We taught an investigator whose name is Jesus who has a baptismal date for this week. He´s a good guy, and was a little stiff in the first lesson but loosened up in the second one on Thursday.

On Wednesday we had a fair amount of appointments and had a district meeting with the new district. So our district are the four Elders from our ward, and two other Elders that are in a town called Huamantla. They´re good guys, but now I´m the old man in the District. It isn't a feeling that I like honestly. Thursday we got to know a bunch of members that live pretty far away in our area and taught Jesus and Geraldine again. Friday we had Weekly Planning (Elder Cornejo´s first weekly planning! Whoo!) and visited a really Catholic guy in his panaderia. Oh, we also are teaching a recent convert who is deaf and doesn't talk. We have to write the lesson out. Her name is Melissa and it is so cool that she found the church in spite of the obstacles. On Saturday we also taught another couple, Steve and Noemi. Steve is a less active guy coming back to the church and Noemi has a baptismal date for the next week. It was great to get to know them. 

Tijuana Mexico Temple

And on Sunday we went to the Tijuana temple dedication in the stake center. It was a really cool experience. Pres. Uchdorf dedicated it. Also his Spanglish was really funny. When he wanted to say border he said bordo (in Spanish it's frontera). And in the evening we visited some members.

Yup, Things are going well here, but we also have out work cut out for us. Everyone have a great week!
-Elder Hartvigsen