The Rain

Merry Christmas!

I have really been feeling the Christmas spirit this week! First off,
we had our mission Christmas party. It was a blast! I got to see a lot
of my mission buddies that I haven't seen for a little while. We also
had our branch Christmas party the next day. I have come to realize
that the Filipino and Hispanic cultures have a lot in common when it
comes to parties. They are both loud unorganized chaos. I love it. Oh
and lots of food as well. Can't forget the food. I really felt at home
with the branch party. :)

Actively participating in the Light the World campaign has really
brought me closer to my Savior. By trying to replicate many things
that he did in his life, I have been able to feel of the saviors love.
It is something that I think everyone should feel around Christmas
time. If you have been following the advent calendar on Mormon.org, I
hope it is something that you have sought and felt as well. If not,
it's not too late to start! ;)

I love you all! Enjoy the time that you get to spend with family this
week! Have a merry Christmas! Be like Christ this Christmas!

Elder Navarro

Breathe

Light the world!

Our mission is going pretty hard on this years Christmas Campaign. If
you haven't noticed, I have been posting on Facebook everyday, which
is something that President Ballard has asked us to do. The goal is to
have as many people see our posts as possible, so feel fee to share,
like, and comment on my posts if you feel so inclined to do so. We
just want to do everything we can to help people see the light that we
possess.

We have also been doing a lot of planning and preparation for the
Christmas party that we are going to have in the branch. The party is
titled "The Taqueria de Santa". ;) It will be the most Mexican
Christmas I have ever had. Seriously, we will be having all you can
eat tacos and a special appearance from overly tan Santa Clause! It
will be great!

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the holiday season!
Remember to follow the advent calendar on Mormon.org and post on
Facebook about it. Also, feel free to tag me in whatever you post.
I'll get you more likes if you're into that sort of thing ;) I hope
everyone has a great week!

Also, my address is 15292 SW Royalty Pkwy. #D16 Tigard, OR 97224 for
those that send Christmas cards! I would love to receive those! :)

Elder Navarro

Flight

Merry Christmas!

It is now Christmas season, but we had a great thanksgiving as well.
It was a wet one, but still great! We did service for a 5k race in the
morning and got soaking wet! I made the mistake of not wearing
anything waterproof, but it was still a blast! I have done a lot of
helping for 5ks and this one was the fanciest and most organized.

Then, we went on to have dinner with a member at 2. Then at 4, we had
dinner again. It was a ton of food! I'm pretty sure I'm still full
right now from all of the food we ate. It was a lot of fun. We played
board games for the rest of the night. It was nice to have a chill day
and relax a little bit! We are back to work now lighting the world! If
you haven't seen the new #LIGHTtheWORLD video, go watch it. Serve
somebody this week! Bye! :)

Elder Navarro

City Lights

Happy Thanksgiving!

Something that I am super grateful is the temple! This week we were
able to attend the temple. We have been having a pretty hard time
finding people to teach these past couple weeks, so it was the perfect
time to go to the temple. It's crazy to me just how much peace that
can be found in the temples. No matter how much stress or craziness
there is in our lives, the temple is a place we can go to forget the
world and focus on the good of the world.

I'm also grateful for nice people! This week we were at the crosswalk,
and we start talking to this 18 year old girl. She was nice and
actually wanted to go to church. Then, out of nowhere, her dad pulls
up and starts swearing and yelling at us. I couldn't help but just
smile the whole time thinking about how stupid this guy is.
Eventually, he just picked up his daughter and left, but it was a
funny experience. It makes me grateful for the people that are nice to
us even if they are not interested in our message.

I would also like to give thanks to all of you! I get a lot of support
from you all, and I wouldn't be able to any of this without your help
so thanks you! Enjoy all the food that you will consume! Don't forget
to thank Heavenly Father for everything he has given us because he has
given us a lot. I love you all! :)

Elder Navarro

No Good Deed

Hello!

The highlight of this week was definitely that extra hour of sleep we
got! Haha That doesn't happen too much on the mission. It was
seriously the best thing ever! The only downside is that it gets
darker a lot earlier which means people get mad when you knock on
their door at 6 o'clock saying "it's too late!" People say the
funniest things!

This week has been great though! We taught an English class at a
tienda! A legit Mexican store! Well, we were going to teach an English
class at a tienda, but the only problem was that no one showed up.
Haha We are going to keep trying though until people show up. There
should be some more people that come this week. We have invited
everyone in Tigard that even has a slightly dark skin tone. ;)

Anyways, I hope you all have a great week! Have I ever told you guys
that you are the coolest people in the world for reading my emails?
Well, you are! ;)  Haha I love you all! Bye!

Elder Navarro

Icarus

Happy Halloween!!!

I think if I wasn't Mormon, I would be Muslim! Haha this has been a
great week! Since we are doing this whole "no knock November" thing,
we have had to think of new ways to find people to teach! Earlier this
week, we decided to try to walk around the park and talk to people,
and let me tell you, that is not the easiest thing to do! After
talking to a few people, we ended up talking to this Muslim family.
They eventually invited us to join the barbecue that they were having
at the park! Of course we said yes, so we just sat down, ate some
lamb, and talked about our beliefs! It was seriously the coolest thing
ever! I learned sooo much about the Muslim religion. Super
interesting! They were easily some of the nicest people I have ever
met!

This experience really taught me that everyone really is a child of
God! It doesn't matter what you believe in, or where you are from, or
anything like that. We are all children of our Heavenly Father! We all
have millions of brothers and sisters on this earth. This week, I met
some of our brothers and sisters from Oman, and I KNOW that they are
my brothers and sisters! I love the mission. I may only be in Oregon,
but I am meeting people from around the world! Ahhh I love it! I love
you guys! Bye! Have a fantastic week.

Elder Potter for today! ;)

Overjoyed

Hola everyone!

Today is transfer day once again! Woohoo! Luckily, I will be staying
in Tigard, but I will be getting another new companion. I will be
getting Elder Cornwall. I already know him pretty well since I went on
exchanges with him a few months ago. I'm excited to work with him.
Maybe I will even be able to keep him around for more than one
transfer. Something I haven't been able to do since I was trained. ;)

Also, Elder Ballard came to our mission again last week, and as usual,
it was the coolest thing ever! I even got to sit in the front row! I
didn't even mean to, but we accidentally overestimated the time it
would take to get to the building the meeting was held at. Oh well! It
was a blessing in the end! It just strengthens my testimony that the
apostles really are called of God. He talked about things that our
mission really needed to hear. It really inspired me to be the best
missionary I can be while I am here!

Anyways, I hope all is well with each of you. I love all of you!
Smile. Have a great week! :)

Elder Navarro