12/19/22: Trip to Trinidad

 For the Christmas multizona we all flew down to Trinidad, another city here in Beni. It was a crazy trip because there wasn't enough space for us to all stay in the other Elders houses, so a lot of us ended up sleeping in the church. It was one of the few chapels around here the had pews instead of the plastic primary chairs. It was definitely more comfortable that the floor in the other elderes house. It was fun getting to know another town though, we got lost a few time on the motorcycles on the way to the church so we go to know Trini pretty well. Definitely would love to serve there.


The actually Christmas multizona was pretty great. As we sang hymns and read the Christmas story, it was a good moment of reflection and pondering on the coming of the Lord. As we read the name "Jesus" I thought about the meaning of his name, "God among us". It's amazing that the one true God decended among us in such a humble way. As Alma 7 teaches us he came to walk with us, suffering pains and affections, and  temptations  just so one day we could be free from sin and suffering. The great God Jehovah, choose to come to this Earth just as each one of us did so he could become our mediator to the Father. This is the greatest act of love and humility. 

We also had a baptism for a little girl in the branch, Clarisa. It was difficult to land a day for the baptism because although her Grandma takes good care of her (even though she has one leg), her parents are pretty negligent. She was very excited for the baptism and she drank up everything we taught her and made her best effort to prepare. She read a loud the book of Mormon from the bank of the arroyo to her Grandma while she helped her wash clothes, the main source of income for the family. The day of the baptism we found and old dressed covered in spiders buried in dirty laundry left in our house. I was worried she wouldn't like it, but when we presented it her eyes lit up. Her shyness melted away, replaced by excited as she rushed away to get changed. Her preparation and diligence despite her humble and difficult living circumstances gave me confidence for her future. Sometime I stress thinking about the challenge lots of my friends  face here in Beni as it's much more then I ever did growing up. But I know God rewards his children tenfold when the pass faithfully through trials. I know that to be true and seen miracle for it. I know Clarisa has miracles and protection thanks to her faith, this gives me peace of mind.

Fun and humbling experience here in the mission. For the more fun stuff, I'll put a link to Photos from the last few weeks below. 

Merry Christmas

Elder Allen



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