"I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!"

December 19, 2009 - Hey Merry Family,
I love you so very much. Can you believe we are already in the week of Christmas? It came so fast. But you know what that means…PHONE CALL!!! I am so excited to be able to talk to you guys this week. Remember what I said in our phone call on Mother’s Day. This is the longest period of time that we have had to go without being able to hear each others’ voices. After this, there is one more phone call, and then I’ll be home. :) Imagine how strong we have become. We are a strong surviving family and I love that so much. . Excellent news… I finished my first journal this week. By that, I mean that I have been writing in my journal every single day since I started my Mission and I have now filled up one whole journal and I am starting the second one. My journal is my most-prized possession now because it has fourteen months of my life written in it. I cannot wait to be back at home and be able to share everyday and every experience with you. We will be able to read every day and just laugh or cry depending on what was going on that day. I am so excited to share my Mission with you, my sweet and cherished family. I love you.
I received a Christmas package from Grandma and Granpda Olsen full of good Christmas goodies. Please tell them thanks and let them know of my love for them. I am going to take the goodies to President’s house on Christmas Eve to share with everyone. We are going to have so much fun and I am so excited for this week. It is another week that is just going to fly by. We’ll be talking next Friday and then writing each other on Saturday. What a great and merry week it is going to be. :) Christmas is not a hugely celebrated Holiday here in Peru. The people are just not as excited as they should be. A lot say that it is a sad Holiday because a lot of kids pass this day just like any other regular day. But I am glad I am here. I am bringing the Christmas Spirit into every house that I walk into. I love Christmas. I think everyone in the Offices is getting tired of me repeating the same Christmas songs. But I just keep on singing because I love it. It is the best time of year and it will be even better next year because I will be with you! :) I cannot wait. Elder Steed and I stayed up the other night watching the lights that I put up on our porch. It was so fun to just sit in peacefulness and watch the lights. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!
My companion has a lot of work right now because there are a ton of Christmas packages that are arriving and he has to go to the Post Office to take them out. We went the other day to take thirteen packages out and it took us four hours. Right now, I think there are thirty more packages and even more on the way. It is the Christmas Season, so why not send your Missionary a package… The whole Mission is receiving packages. We have a new Gringo Missionary Couple that entered in the Mission. They are in my ward and are so fun. They can’t speak or understand even a little bit of Spanish so they are struggling. They are being supported by three of their kids that are currently serving Missions, one in the Philippines, one in Guatemala, and one in Chile. They are a Missionary Family. It is fun to have some adult Utahns in the Mission. We are trying to help them learn Spanish and get used to the culture which is a lot of fun. I honestly love the Mission. I really do. It is the best. I love you guys so so much and I am more than excited for our phone call this week. I am so glad that the house is finally started and I can’t wait to see the finished product. (Mom, don’t forget to put in a scrapbooking room…) It is going to be a wonderful, comfy, and cozy home. I am excited to come home to a new house. I love you so much family and can’t wait to hear your laughs and your voices. I love you forever. Love, Coco