Becca in Boston: Balaclava

Well folks, 'tis the season! It has been quite chilly this past week. I have been very grateful for my big, warm coat and wool socks lately. When we had service at the zoo on Wednesday it was a balmy 25 degrees and I don't think I've ever been more cold in my life. We were working outside taking down fall decorations around the grounds and I couldn't feel my face. It reminded me of the Vampire Weekend song: "In December, drinking horchata. I look psychotic in a balaclava." No, I was not drinking horchata (but that stuff is way good), and no, I wasn't wearing a balaclava. BUT I THINK I NEED ONE. That probably wouldn't be very becoming of a servant of the Lord, but at this point, I'm not sure I really care... (jk) But really though. Today is kinda weird because it's like 60 degrees. But reports are saying SNOW for this week. So yeah, exciting times!

More exciting times in the Missionary Department:

Rodrigo and fam: We invited his mom to officially investigate the church.... AAAAAAAAAND SHE SAID YES! Rodrigo is all set for his baptism for Friday at 7 pm, so if I could get a blast of prayers that day that would be awesome! The whole family came to our open house or casa abierta on Saturday which was excellent! Which leads me to my next point...

CASA ABIERTA: Woot. It was basically one big chapel tour. We were able to have the PVC (portable visitor center) Sisters come to the event and bring all the portable visitor centers that they had in Spanish. I don't remember if I've mentioned these at all in the past, but I have some pics that I will include for sure. The description is in the name. Basically they are visitors centers that are very much portable. They are designed specifically for chapel tours so that people can watch a video clip and learn more about the church. They are very professionally made and look just like something you would see at a temple visitors center. So awesome. Hna Heileson and I were in charge of the Jesus Christ one and we got to show people the "Because of Him" video and bare our testimonies of Christ. It was super powerful. When the Tello family came and watched the video they were all crying and I was able to testify that what they were feeling was the Spirit. So powerful. If you haven't seen that video, stop right now and look it up on Mormon Channel. And the best part of the Casa Abierta was that afterwards everyone came together for a big, potluck dinner. Everyone. The members did such a great job mingling with the people who came to "come and see" and I was especially touched to see the Tellos integrate into our ward family. That's how it's done, folks.

Temple Trip 2.0: So excited for my 2nd temple trip! We are going this Saturday and the best part is that the wife of one of our investigators is receiving her endowment! So we will get to be a part of that special event. It's gonna be an all day trip and I am so excited to spend my entire Saturday in the house of the Lord. Plus the Boston temple is cooler than life. No big deal.

#November2Remeber Update: So far our goal for the #MBM70 is going great! We are now sitting comfortably on 63 baptisms with one more weekend left. And there are still about 60 more dates set, including Rodrigo's. This has truly been a #November2Remeber or #NovemberToBecomeAMember. We have felt the support of your prayers in addition to every missionary in the mission, the Packards, and Elder Holland. We have truly called upon the powers of heaven.

Well, in honor of Thanksgiving I think it's clear that I have so much to be grateful for. This week take some time to reflect on the many miracles in your life and eat some delicious pumpkin pie for me.We will be eating with the family of our Ward Mission Leader so I have no idea what to expect, except that it is going to be great! I love that family, and I'm sure that the food will be delicious as always.

Love you all. And remember that I am grateful for you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Frei