Hi friends, I hope you all had a fantastic week and a great Thanksgiving! Peru obviously doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so we didn't really celebrate. Buuut I got a package from my family and they had sent me pumpkin bread mix from trader joes, so we made that as our Thanksgiving feast haha. It was honestly so delicious and a great reminder of home! On the bright side Arequipa goes crazy for Christmas so we're definitely going to celebrate. Last Christmas I was in the MTC in Lima so I didn't get to experience an Arequipeña Christmas, but apparently there's lots of fireworks at midnight and we eat turkey and cakes and hot chocolate. As a mission we're planning to go to the Plaza de Armas in the main part of Arequipa to sing Christmas hymns! It should be super beautiful! We're also going to have a Christmas party with our mission president and his wife, I know it will be really special!

On Saturday two less actives of our ward got married! We went to their wedding and it was so special. They love each other so much and were so excited to finally get married. They have been dating for a while and have 2 kids, and this is pretty normal for Peru. Its actually more rare to find a couple that's legally married than not. We were excited to be a part of their day. This Saturday we'll be having a baptism! Her name is Yuli (you say it like Julie). Her son is a member of the church and she's been going to church for 3 years, but she wasn't ever able to get baptized because she was living with her partner and they weren't married. Long story short he's not in the picture anymore, but now she's able to get baptized! Her story is really touching and really strengthened my testimony of baptism. She has been waiting 3 years for this moment and I feel so lucky to be a part of it! Hermana Kunz and I are gonna have the best month ever in December. We have 6 baptisms planned for this month (: All of the people we are teaching are progressing spiritually! We feel super blessed!

Around this time of the year we think a lot about Christmas. It's important to remember the true meaning of Christmas, or why we celebrate Christmas. We celebrate the life and birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The church also comes out with a video every year for Christmas. This year, the video is called LIGHTtheWORLD...watch it here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=mJmAV0gTp_Q

It's an invitation to follow the example of Jesus Christ, to share His light and serve as he served. He really is the ultimate and perfect example of how we should live. What will you do to serve?

¨I am the light of the world¨ John 8:12

¨Ye are the light of the world¨ Matthew 5:14

Take care!

Hermana Celardo