Monday 28 December 2015

Christmas Time!

     Hello Everyone,

     Merry Christmas too all!! 
     This past week was great! I hope everyone had a safe and sound Christmas! On Thursday we had a Zone Christmas Party!! Yay!! It was a lot of fun! We played some games, and ate a lot of food. And I mean a LOT of food haha!! 
 
 

 
 
     Then we came back to Ucum and ate dinner with the Gonzales Family. It was great, but I couldn't eat as much as I wanted because I was already FULL! 
     Then, on Christmas morning, we opened our presents!! YAY!! I got lots of wonderful things! Thank you so much family for sending me some good stuff. And my companion loves the Canada T-shirt! 
 
     I also got to talk to my family! And my brother that is in Salt Lake City and is a missionary too! How exciting!! It was wonderful to see everyone and all the smiling faces! Now, theres only one more time left to talk to them, Mother's Day. Wow, time sure flies by!! 
      Oh, and guess what? Yesterday when my companion and I were walking, we saw a monkey!! Yes, a real live monkey! It was climbing up and down a tree and it had a leash around it's neck. So I guess it was somebody's pet! 
     Well, thats all for this week! I won't be writing again until next year...sorry about that. You'll all have to wait until then! Haha! 

   Love,

         Elder Strate

Saturday 26 December 2015

Skype

Got to Skype with the family. My release date is July 18.


Monday 21 December 2015

Christmas

           Hello Everyone!

            This week has been full of Christmas cheer! And with some more yet to come!
            This Friday we had our Branch Christmas party, and it was great!! 
     


       Lots of less actives and investigators came, yay! My companion and I showed some Christmas videos too and we talked about the true meaning of Christmas. It was wonderful. We really could feel the spirit of Christmas and how it can change our lives. 
      Also, about 5 minutes before sacrament meeting started yesterday, the branch president asked my companion and I to give talks!! Talk about last minute! The other speakers didn't show up so thats why he asked us. Well, good thing that missionaries are always "prepared"...haha. He didn't give us a specific topic, but he told us to talk about what we felt that the branch needed. So my companion Elder Dominguez talked about Charity(and did a wonderful job). And I talked about the Atonement. It all went great. 
      Then, we also had another devotional last night in Chetumal. Were we sang, and bore tesimony and many wonderful things! And after the devotional we went Christmas caroling! It was great. I loved seeing the looks on the peoples faces as we sang to them. The spirit was felt indeed! 
       I think we might spend Christmas Eve with our branch president and his family. For Christmas here, its a crazy party!! Pinatas, candy, lots of food. Its great! 
      Well, I look forward to seeing my family this week. I hope everyone has a safe Christmas week! And don't forget the true meaning of Christmas!! CHRIST!! 

       Lots of love,
           Elder Strate 
    Got this package - Thanks mom and dad!

Monday 14 December 2015

Play

     Hello Everyone

     We had transfers!! But me and my companion are staying here together for at least one more transfer. Yay! And some great things happened this week! 
     On Friday night we had our Stake Christmas activity! It was wonderful. All of the wards and branches prepared numbers to perform. Including the missionaries too! We did our own little play. We acted out the story of Christs birth and what happened here in the Americas. So, I was Nephi. 
 


      Which was awesome! IT was a lot of fun. There was also Samuel the Lamanite who preached of the birth of Christ. Overall it was great and we all felt the spirit and learned more about the BOM and Christmas! 
                       





     Yesterday, something very special occurred too. We were able to attend the broadcast of the Dedication of the Temple in Tijuana, Mexico. So we went to the Stake Center in Chetumal to watch the broadcast. It was so amazing! Fact: The Tijuana Mexico Temple is he first Temple in Mexico to be built with Mexican style and materials! All of the wood, brick, etc came from Mexico! And the style of the structure and the building is Mexican style too. Even the furniture inside! 
               
      The Lord has a lot of confidence in the country of Mexico. I am so happy that I was called to serve here! It truly is the Promised Land. VIVA MEXICO!! Also President Utchdorf dedicated the temple and he gave a great talk too. Oh by the way, about 7 years ago more or less I shook his hand ðŸ˜„ I love listening to General Authorities!!
      So thats what happened this week. Also this Friday we are having a Branch Christmas party! Yay!! If you haven't realized it yet, we kinda party a lot. Its really what us Mexicans do ya know! Haha! 
       Have a great week and a safe Christmas season everyone! Until next week!

                 Love,
                        Elder Strate

Monday 7 December 2015

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Hello Everyone,

     First off, I would like to wish a happy birthday to two very special people. My Mother Kristine Strate and my Father Ron Strate. Who just recently had their birthdays separated by only one day!! Thats right, one day!! Dec 5 and Dec 6th! Wow, not many people can say that their parents are only a day's age apart, but I can!! I just was to say that I have an eternal gratitude for the both of them. There are so many wonderful things I could say about them that would be an endless list! So I will just say this, without them in my life I wouldn't be here right now. All the love, patience, kindness, and more than anything, righteousness! Thanks Mom and Dad for Everything!! Love you both forever and EVER! 
     So, this week we had a Christmas devotional hosted by the missionaries of the Zone Chetumal. It was great! We had originally planned another activity but something happened and we had to change last minute. So, instead of doing a play, we sang and did some other things. However, it was still a very special night! I felt the spirit so strong as we sang Christmas hymns and testified of Christ. It was wonderful! And this Friday we are having a Stake Christmas activity. So we are going to perform then instead. Which is alright with me, more practice makes perfects! Especially being Nephi, one of the leading roles! I'm so excited!! 
                                            Practicing for the play
    
 
     Oh, and I hope that you all have watched the Christmas videos of "A Savior is Born". Please watch them and share them on FB, twitter and everything!! I love Christmas time! Such a wonderful spirit can be felt all around the world! 
     Oh, and the baptism we had this week got postponed. Our investigator Ephriam still doesn't feel quite ready, so we are hoping for the 26th of December. Boxing Day! Well thats all for this week.      
     Thanks everyone and have a wonderful week full of Christmas miracles!!

         Love,
             Elder Strate
 
                     Our Christmas Tree 



                    With me as an ornament! But they put my face crooked...lol







Thursday 3 December 2015

Humble

Received two photos of Dawson this morning. What a great way to start the morning! I think we take for granted a lot in our country (and the USA). He's sitting on a 5 gallon bucket to teach.
Love this kid.
Bottom two pictures are getting ready for the play on Friday. Dawson is Nephi.