Merry Christmas Message from Rachel Families Christmas Caroling in hotter than you know what weather! Love my family.

Hola Familia! Feliz Navidad! I hope everyone is enjoying themselves this christmas season! I know I am enjoying every second of christmas here in Itaugua with my comp. She leaves the mission in 1 week and I complete 4 months and get a new companion to start off the new year! So we will be working super hard in this last week that we have together! Were going caroling in the hotter than you know what weather and sharing the christmas cheer!! Which is the gospel. Duuuh. AND Tomorrow for christmas eve i will get to talk all my family. And really that is all that I could ever ask for, for this christmas. I am so excited to talk to my family! Im so excited to see your faces! Hoooly moly how emotional. haha I will be able to skype at 5 30 our time.. Thats 1 30 your time, i believe. Be there or be lame. Wow so another year gone by... would you look at that. Almost a year Exactly from today I made the decision to move home to prepare to serve a mission. Best decesion that i have ever made in my entire life. I remember I didnt feel the least bit good about going back to thatcher. Something inside me was telling my that to go back to thatcher and study wasnt what needed to happen. I fought that feeling for like 3 weeks straight and tried to ignore it. But when i came home for christmas I had that feeling even stronger.. it wasnt until after i had read in D&C 4:3 that it hit me. I said to myself, Whelp Rach, you´ll break the news to mom in the morning. haha And i did just so huh mom? haha And now im here serving the lord in South America. I am so grateful for all the things that have happened in the year 2013. My love for the lord has grown so much.. My testimony is stronger than it ever has been and I have learned What really is "the importance of my family." My family has always been important to me.. but now more than ever, I know that my family is the most prized posession that i have and i would do anything for them. Not a day goes by that i dont think about my family. Families are sort of like teams. In a team everyone has to do their part and give everything they have in order to win. Well, every memeber in the family needs to put in their part and needs to give everything they have in order to live together happy, and united for ALL eternity.. I know that I didnt put in my part before my mission.. But i didnt understand. Now i understand. I understand what IS important and what is not. Im so happy and grateful to be here in Paraguay. God couldnt have chosen a better place for me to serve. Duh. Cause God is perfect. He knows me better than i know myself. For example, I thought before my mission that i hated to be hot... but nope. I love it. I love being sweaty 24 hours of the day. haha just kidding.. but really. I love the people, I love the food a little bit, I love the spanish... The words of Grandpa Marion Always ring in my mind. They are good people everywhere you go. Family and friends Its my prayer that everysingle one of you will have a very special christmas where ever you are in the world... And that this next year. THe year 2014 will be filled with lots of happiness! and that we can all learn lots of cool stuff about life. Because thats why God sent us here! Duuuh.. to learn and grow and to be happy! My Motto for this year is this..... "And inasmuch as you keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land.¨" THis is my motto because, 1. It says it a billion times in the Book of Mormon. 2. Because its true. 3. Because i want to prosper in the land. haha Anyways!!!! I love you all! and have a very merry christmas!!!!!!!!!!!