Cucuta Christmas Choir activity: Take 2 + Novenas + Cambios = TIRED...

This week was pretty much amazing. We had an amazing Cucuta Christmas choir activity, where we sang (I actually didn't sing. I got to play the piano.) an amazing medley of Christmas Hymns. This was my second time being in this activity, since I was here last year, but this year I got to be the one that arranged all the songs and put them together with key changes and stuff, which I loved, of course, and all the Elders in the zone sang while Elder Valverde (my awesome Ecuadorian music/choir director friend from Bogota) directed us. He actually directed the stake choir as well, because two weeks before, the real director went to Bogota. I think it turned out really great. The stake center was FULL, with a lot of investigators, so we were busy before and after contacting everyone and their dog. And! I only messed up once. Haha. I went to the deceptive cadence instead of the second verse of The First Noel. :P Oops. But I don't think anyone noticed. Except maybe my companion. 

So...there's this thing here in latinoamerica that's called "Las Novenas." It's a Catholic tradition that I'm not really very fond of. I don't even know what they do in the novenas. I just know that they do them the 9 days (nights) leading up to Christmas at 3 in the morning, and there's always fireworks included. Plus the fact that we live half a block from a huge catholic church...they didn't let us sleep at all. Sigh. We closed all the windows and sliding doors and such, but it didn't block out any of the noise. Sigh.

Then...yesterday was the last day of the transfer. Dun dun DUN... I'm leaving. Nooooooo... I didn't want to go. The Stake President and 2 or 3 other members had already invited us to dinner on Christmas and Christmas Eve, and I was hoping to stay here in Cucuta for my 2nd Christmas on the mission. Sigh. Pero así es la vida. O...la misión, mas bien. My companion is leaving as well. Actually I think we're going to be in the same stake in Bogota. I'm going to the Dorado ward, in the Dorado stake. I guess it was a nice break here in the heat. I've been vacationing for the past 3 months. Haha...okay, not really...but with 90+ degrees every day and 700% humidity (okay, It's only about 75%. But...still). I guess it'll be nice to be back in the cool Bogota weather. 

Here in Quinta Bosch they're going to put sister missionaries. There are actually going to be a lot of sisters coming out with the new age limit. This transfer we have 30 new missionaries!!! I'm not sure how many are sisters. Which reminds me...one of those 30 is going to be my third son. I'm going to train again. :) Fun stuff. 

So...last night we were up until...really late...packing and cleaning and filling out some last minute things in the area book. Then there were novenas...again...so that's why we're writing early, because we're going back to the house to sleep after this. We'll leave for Bogota at around 2pm. 

Oh!!! One more thing! Basically the most exciting piece of news in like 10 years. And sad day that we're not oging to be here. :-/ Yuranny came to us Thursday night after a choir practice and says "I have something to tell you. But don't get too excited. I want to be baptized." I'm pretty sure that if she hadn't said not to get too excited, I would have freaked out. Haha. I coulnd't believe it! So that same night we had a lesson where we went over the interview questions and set a date for this Saturday, the 22nd of December. I asked her what had made her decide to be baptized, and she said "you guys were always telling me I should pray to know if it was the right thing to do, so that's what I did. And it felt right." In that moment, the Spirit washed over me, and I remembered all of the prayers that I had said, and all of you that have been praying and praying for her to reveice an answer. Well I have some news for y'all: Prayer works. It's always such a testimony builder when I experience first hand the power and the truth of the promise God has made us to give liberally and upbraid not if we only ask in faith. This church is so true. I love it. :) 

So. that's basically my week. In a few hours I'll be on a 16 hour bus ride to Bogota. We'll get there around 6am, with time to shower and be to the temple at 10. 

Pray for me. :) 

I love you all. Take care. And merry almost Christmas. :) 

-Elder Cannon

P.S. The fotos are of Elder Madsen, Elder Valverde, Me and my comp, Elder Salazar. And the other one is the decorations for the activity (that we put up and took down.) :)

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