WEEK 53!!! DANIEL GOT BAPTIZED!!! FUN STORY OF THE WEEK--DON'T MIX COALS AND BUD LIGHT!!!

Decorating the tree!!

Putting on the star!!!!

Coloring in my new santa hat, using an Arabic Book of Mormon!!

Making tacos de papa for Thanksgiving lunch!!!

Also, I can't believe I forgot this part!!! This was the highlight of the week!!!

My friend Daniel who I taught in Arvin got baptized on Saturday and asked if I could be there, so I got special permission to leave the zone to go back to East Bakersfield for his baptism!!! So I got to see Hna White one last time and see this wonderful young man enter into a sacred covenant with our Father in Heaven. What a blessing that was!!!! I can't believe I almost forgot!!! 

Meagan Martineau	Nov 28 (1 day ago)

Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias!!!!

So this week was... kind of rough because everyone is gone for holidays and most of the people we talked to don't live in our area and were only here visiting for the holidays!!! So it's been a bit slow, but that's ok! It'll pick back up!! So there's not a whole lot to report on this week...

Thanksgiving was wonderful!!! People took such good care of us!! We had dinner with a member and their family and our whole district!! So that was kind of fun!! It was really weird too though, because it was at the member's family's house who lives out of our zone, so we didn't know them and we were eating at their house! They were super nice though and the food was WONDERFUL!!!! It was la familia Urbina. I wanted to eat so much more, but I made sure I left still a little bit hungry because we had a second dinner with a less active member, Felix, in our area! I've only met him once before and he is living with his VERY Catholic girlfriend.. and they are in their 50s. It was very quiet and also a kind of weird dinner, but again the food was SO GOOD!!!!! We had this weird green fruit that kind of looks like a pear that only grows in South America where he is from and it was stuffed with meat!!! It was SO GOOD!!!!! 

(but this is making me hungry because I'm fasting!!!) ;)

And we got a wonderful, thoughtful Christmas package on Friday, then on Saturday there was a big dust storm so we had to stay inside for about 2 hours until it passed (because here in Bakersfield there is something called "Valley Fever" that you can only get from the dirt here in Bakersfield and nowhere else in the world, because the dirt and air is so polluted!! And Valley Fever affects you for your whole life and can kill you! So we stayed inside under our leader's direction :) ) so we used that time to start decorating!!! We set up our little Christmas tree and decorated it! We are working on coloring the little foam angels and ornaments stuff we got too!! It is so fun!! We feel the Christmas cheer!!! Although Christmas isn't the same without snow!!! (I realized that I will go about 3 years without snow because the last time I saw snow was the end of winter at the beginning of 2015 and I won't see it again until the beginning of winter of 2018!!! Que triste!!)

Also, fun story of the week: we were talking to some guys outside and while we were talking their trash can lit on fire from coals they didn't fully extinguish from the night before!! And the coals were put in a big, empty box of BudLight. That is why you don't drink. Especially when having a fire, because then the fire comes back the next day in the trash can and you have to extinguish it with a hose in front of 2 Mormon misioneras :) So that was fun!!!

But that's about all!!! I just want to leave you all with my simple testimony that I know that this gospel IS true. Jesus Christ is our personal Savior and He loves us more than we could ever know!! I know that we are truly healed through His Atonement. Through His Atonement and the gift of the Holy Ghost we are cleansed and purified. That is what I am grateful for this holiday season :) 

I love you all so so much and sincerely appreciate all the love and support you all constantly give me!! I hope you have a great week!!! <3

con mucho amor,

Hermana Martineau <3