A "WHITE" Christmas....

Wow! I can`t believe that Christmas has come and gone.. but that definitely doesnt mean that we should stop thinking about Jesucristo.  If you think about it, everyday can be Christmas! But everyday I dont get the opportunity to Skype my family!! It was so good to see my family. Many tears were shed.. but happy tears! After finishing the call, I was so content and overwhelmed with gratitude.  Grateful for the amazing family that I have been blessed with, and so content that I am EXACTLY where I need to be right now.  

I was asked by Presidente to give a talk at our mission wide Christmas conference this past Thursday. I was so nervous and stressed about it, especially because I gave it in Spanish. But I got many compliments afterwards and I think that has finally helped me realize that I CAN speak Spanish! jajaja 

It was truly amazing to have a Christmas in the mission. My Mom's huge package that she sent is lost out there somewhere. There wasn`t a lot of presents given, but I didn`t even think twice about receiving anything. I just wanted to focus on the true meaning of Christmas...the real gift. CHRIST!

We had a baptism Christmas Eve! Brian was baptized!  He was confirmed Christmas day.  So even though there isn`t any snow here in Argentina, and I am currenly sweating to death, we were able to have a "WHITE" Christmas (:  Just being able to light the world during this past month has been so special. I have seen many miracles! Some day I hope that I would have enough time to write about them. 

Transfers were today and I said good bye to Hermana Alvarez. She was transferred and I received a new companion, Hermana Borhoqez. She is from Bolivia and has been in the mission for 9 months. So we are going to work hard to meet new people and helping them find hope through the gospel!

I love you all, and thank you so much for the love and support!

Con Amor,

Hermana Norman

Christmas dinner with Presidente

Gifts sent from family...my momma's package wasnt' there!

Christmas devotional that I spoke at

Elders got a hold of my camera

Christmas at our apartment

Our ward Christmas dinner

Brian's baptism!!!

other baptisms for Christmas

So happy for him!

With Presidente

Dessert made for baptism

Hermana Alvarez! Going to miss her!

Christmas dinner...chicken....

....Pork.....

....Beef and potatoes!

What a spread!

Hermana Quintana had us for dinner

Christmas Sunday....last day with Hermana Alvarez

Hermana Lanier is comps with a mini missionary who went home to spend Christmas with her family. So we got to have her all day Christmas with us!

Had the opportunity to go to an old folks home to sing Christmas carols. The conditions were bad, smelly with no air conditioning. So sad, but thankful to uplift their spirits for a moment.

Esta será la mejor Navidad de todos!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Feliz Navidad all the way from beautiful Argentina!!

This past week was full of Christmas miracles!

Our Korean investigator, Francisco, got baptized!! He never felt really confident about being baptized.. he always got nervous when we talked about baptism... we told him to pray and then open up the BOM to find an answer... the next morning (Saturday) he told us that he received an answer and wanted to be baptized. He got baptized at 3! It was incredible to be able to witness his conversion, and to see the difference in him after his baptism.  He had a light in his eyes, and I know without a doubt that it was the Light of Christ.  

Francisco's big day!

We have been having a lot of activities to ``Ilumina el Mundo`` , and it has been such a cool experience.  We were able to go to a park, set up a TV, and we had the Light The World video playing on replay.. many people stopped, watched, and even cried as they watched the video of Christ.  It was incredible.  It didn`t matter what religion they were from, they could feel the spirit as they watched the video.  Needless to say we were able to find many people to teach just because of a simple, yet powerful video about Christ.

I know without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, this is His church, and I know that He lives.

With love,

Hermana Norman

We had a live nativity outside after the baptism. It was INCREDIBLE!

I obviously didn't get the pink memo...jajajaja

When you know....

At our mission office

This past week has been amazing!

We had interviews with President Chaparro, and I know that this man is called of God and can receive revelation for us as missionaries.  Everything that he told me in my interview was EXACTLY what I needed to hear.  I really liked what he said about power and authority.

As a missionary, I have been set apart, and I have received and been given the right to this authority, but to recieve the power,  I need to do my part. I need to be exactly obedient. I need to study diligently every day. I need to pray for the guidance and help of the holy ghost. I need to be the missionary that Heavenly Father wants me to be.  But most importantly, I need to have the faith and confidence in HIM.  As I have applied these things and as I have relied more on the spirit, we have seen a lot of miracles!

We have found several inactive, part member families. The thought of completing a family in the gospel and giving them the opportunity to come back and hopefully one day be sealed in the temple just excites me. I can't imagine anything better for them. 

We are also helping our friend who changed his mind on baptism at the last second. He is meeting with us again and thinking about baptism again. We are being patient and letting him make that progress in his own time. We are there to help and just want whats best for him.

Please continue with the Light the World initiative that our leaders have been inspired to share with us at this time. I challenge everyone to reach outside of your circles and help someone, uplift them and strengthen them. Help them come to know that they are a child of God. Light the world calendar

Thank you all for the love and support. Merry Christmas and hope your holidays are filled with peace and joy!

Con Amor,

Hermana Norman

PS Shout out to my cousin, Tupu Loo! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Hope you have an awesome day. You have been such a great example to me. So lucky to have you to look up to!

My zone

my girls

My comp and I

Today we got to go play paddle ball with the APs and office elders....Gpa I will be ready for pickleball when I get back! jajajaja

Sometimes there just isn't time...

So today we were able to take a trip up the tram to overlook Salta. It was fun and it was nice to have the four of us together.

I really don't have much time to write, but just wanted everyone to know I am alive and doing well. I was able to do splits this week with Hermana Meija in her area Vicente Sola. We had a full day of rejection and kept going. We ended the day with a wonder discussion with a family that have such a desire to learn more. The father is very knowledgable in the Bible and had a hard time accepting anything other than what was in its beautiful pages. We could only bear our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and how it works hand in hand with the Bible. Doesn't take away from it, but compliments it. It acts as a second witness of Jesus Christ and His ministries. I am not going to water it down, but it was a very powerful moment. We invited them to pray to find out for themselves if what we were saying was true. We let the Spirit be the teacher and converter.

I am so thankful for my testimony of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the knowledge of the gospel that I have been blessed with. I can't help but want to share it with everyone I come in contact with. It truly breaks my heart when people refuse or reject this gospel. If only they knew the blessings and eternal progress that comes from it. I LOVE the people of Argentina! I feel a responsibility to be his arm in this missionary work, to help my brother and sisters here to hear this wonderful gospel and have the opportunity to partake in it for themselves.

I challenge everyone who reads this to participate in the initiative to Ilumina el Mundo, Light the World, this Christmas season. Please make Christ the center of focus at this time. Take time to watch this short video and download the calendar to light the world in 25 ways over 25 days. Video  Calendar

To my cousin, Beav: congrats on your engagement to Brin. Sad to miss occassions like this, but know that I am happy for you and wish you the best.

To my sister, Harmoni Te'o: Yay for missions! You will be awesome and love every minute of it!

I love you all and thanks for the support, prayers and love!

Till next week,
Hermana Norman

my area is the only area in my entire mission with a Mickey D's! It is expensive too.

Getting ready for Pday

Me and Hermana Alvarez

standing at the top

Hermana Mejia (Nicaragua) and Hermana Martins (Brazil) with us!

Riding the tram to overlook Salta