My Heavenly Father really does know who I am, where I am, what I am experiencing, and what I need most!

     This week I tried keeping track on a sticky note the things I wanted to share... looking down the list, apparently the food stuck out to me this week...

     I don't know if I told you this, but here (and I think in Latino culture in general) everyone makes and eats tamales for Christmas. Just about everyone makes a bunch of their own and then they all give some to neighbors. It's the food to share and so of course we were given some too. The ones here are much better than the couple of times we had them in the CCM. However, just about every other one had more parts of a chicken than I would have preferred. Usually the first was bién rico, but then the second from the same source would have bones and such to pick out. Number 4 even had some lung in it. Mmm. Anat. & Phys. served me well. ...That makes it sound really gross. I promise they tasted good! You just had to be paying attention...

     On Christmas Day we didn't get out much because my companion took an allergy pill. The Hermana who gave it to her warned her to only take it at night because it causes drowsiness, but my companion didn't really believe it. She ended up sleeping most of Christmas. In the end it worked out that I had lots of study time. It turns out that that is what I needed. I had more than one prayer answered. I know that Heavenly Father has a specific plan for all of His children, but some times I forget that this includes me. I forget that He truly knows me and knows what I need. Christmas Day I was reminded that He really does know who I am, where I am, what I am experiencing, and what I need most! I am so very grateful for such a loving and merciful Heavenly Father!

     By Christmas evening my companion was finally feeling better, and so we went and made brownies at the Bishop's house. They were from a box which goes against everything I believe in, but they were Ghiradelli and they were brownies. I have missed brownies more than I imagined. A couple of months ago when I heard that they don't use their ovens here, it never fully set in that that would mean no brownies... When we served them, just about everyone asked if they were really cooked all of the way through. Truth be told, I don't think so, but they tasted good and were a delicious gooey. I forgot that I would need to convert the oven temp.. and I couldn't figure out how to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius fast enough before the bishop's wife had them in the oven... moral is--they still turned out and they ''tasted like America.''

     Last food story for the week... When I was assured that even though I will be serving mostly on the coast they don't eat that much sea food, I assumed that meant every once in a while. (Actually I think I was in denial, or being overly hopeful that this would mean never.) So far it averages out to once a week. This week I had more Sopa de Mariscos. I was ever so grateful that the hermana who made it had her back to us long enough for me to spoon the chunks of sea creature into my companion's bowl. The first time I was able to easily eat the broth and even got down some of the marisco part, but this time it was a challenge to get the broth down and see the pieces of octopus tentacle. (I think that is what it was. I tried not to look too closely) I cringe a little inside every time our hostess anounces that she made seafood for us. I know that it is really expensive and I feel bad that it is being wasted on me...

     This reminds me of a talk I heard this week. It was about the enabling power of the Atonement. Fantastic BYU devotional by Elder Bednar called "In the Strength of the Lord". I highly recommend it. In it he tells the story of handcart pioneers who only had leather to eat. He reads part of a journal entry and in it the man talks about praying for the Lord to bless their bodies to adapt to the leather jelly stuff that they had to eat. Now my situation is not nearly anywhere close to that extreme. In general we are fed very delicious food. But I thought of that story the whole time eating the soup and decided to try a few prayers of that kind of my own. I am hoping that by the end of my mission, preferably before I leave here, my prayers will be answered. In all seriousness though, it really was an amazing talk that reminded me that grace is divine power that we need in order to become who Heavenly Father wants us to become. It gives us the strength to do all that we are asked. It truly was exactly what I needed to hear this week.

Hasta luego!
Hna. Thacker