Letter from Goya - 21 October 2011

Dear Family and Friends,


Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I celebrated Thanksgiving with my companion. After celebrating Halloween with our branch activity last month I decided I might as well celebrate every single American holiday I assumed I would miss as a missionary. Hna. Da Silva was excited about the idea so I went ahead and made Thanksgiving plans.

We only own three plates and three chairs, so we decided we could only really accomodate one dinner guest in our apartment. After some deliberation, I decided it would be nice to invite Aylen, a girl in the branch here who is about our same age and teaches seminary. She made for very nice company. It was a small celebration but a good one and I think we successfully captured the spirit of the holiday--eating a nice big meal and chatting about what we are grateful for. Hna. Da Silva will hit 17 months in the mission this week and she shared some very sweet thoughts about how grateful she has been for her mission and for all of her experiences as a missionary. As her time is growing short, and our second transfer together is almost over, we have been extra reflective this week and it has been nice to talk about all of her experiences and the things she has learned and a few of her goals for her last few weeks as a missionary. 


I have only been here for 3 months but I am also very grateful for this experience. I am learning things I am certain I could not have learned anywhere else. I am thankful for my companion. I am not sure if I have mentioned enough in my letters how great she is. I will try to make up for that now: Hna. Da Silva is GREAT, I really could not have asked for a better trainer. She is patient and fun and brave. She is an excellent teacher. She is great.
I am also thankful for family and friends whose love and support has been invaluable. I´d love to hear from more of you! Send me a letter sometime. I promise I will respond.

 Anyways all the Thanksgiving preparation and clean-up has left me with little time to write so I will have to leave it at that this week.

 An Extra Happy Breakfast Thanksgiving to all the believers! I will try to have a more elaborate breakfast than usual this coming Saturday but make sure you celebrate in my honor. Remember the poor starved peasants who had to eat the leftovers of the bourgeoisie for breakfast. This is their day.

Never Forget Your Imagination,

Hermana Parker