Dear family and friends,

how has everything been going? every thing here in mexico has been going really good. my companion and i have been trying really hard to teach 30 lessons every week to non members. we are getting closer every week to this goal. we have 8 investigators right now who are just the coolest people ever. they are all so awesome. we have been working really hard to get them excited to be baptized. we have been stressing the point that when we are baptized we become clean from all of our sins and after we receive the holy ghost and we can feel peace in our lives. it is so cool to see the joy of the gospel in their eyes when we teach them. the other day one of our investigators had this doubt or question. why do we need to go to church every week, why do i need one church when all the churches are really good. my companion tried to do everything to prove why we need to go to church every week and why we need one church with the scriptures. she started getting mad and said that, that doesn´t make any sense. he tried some more. then she shoved him aside and said to me, i want to hear your opinion on this. so i was like oh no i have to explain this in spanish. so i started off slow, but as it went on i was speaking perfect spanish and words i didn´t know were flowing. i swear i learned how to speak so much more spanish from this experience. i told her. that i don´t know all the reasons why we need to go to church every week, but i know that christ taught that we should go to church every week. christ also taught one chruch, one faith, one baptism, and i is u to u to find this church and b members o this church because this i also a commandment. d and of the closeness our family has become of that experience. i then told her, that at the moment everything may seem bad, but if you put you trust in the lord, the blessings that will come will be all worth it. i told her that it seems like your trial will never end, but it will end one day and if you put your trust in the lord, the blessings will come. i am telling you all today, that if you all put your trust in the lord and do your best, you will be blessed through your trials and they will seem to be easier. i promise you that, because God himself has said it and God doesn´t lie or he would not be God. i love you all and i hope you all have a great week. you guys are all so awesome. do you best, God loves you and there is nothing you can do about that. i can tell that God has been blessing us with through our hard times. as i said before my comp and i have been working harder than ever. this sunday we saw the fruits of our labor. we had all of our investigators come to church. I felt like God was pleased with my work, and i was so happy that they all came. i couldn´t even explain it. we have three baptisms for the fourth of january. it will be a great day to see them all baptized. i just know that we are so close with all of our investigators and that i can´t slow down. i need to work harder, because we all can do better, because we are all imperfect. o.k. i have to go now, but have a great week. oh one last thing. i was santa this week and it was so funny because they gave me these prescription glasses and it was dark and they wanted me to give candy to all the kids in the party, so i couldn´t see and i tripped so many times, but it was so fun to be santa. i said jo jo jo mer feliz navidad. i kept on trying to say merry christmas, but i forgot i was in mexico and i needed to speak spanish. it was so cool also because this little girl came up to me and said with the coolest face, le quiero mucho santa and gave me the biggest hug ever, i was a pretty horrible santa, but it was so fun. all the adults call me elder santa now, but not in front of the kids. o.k. i really have to go now. i love you all.

love,elder robert atwood