Hola...Happy Thanksgiving...It's A Boy!

Hola! It's a boy :) Mom I am so excited for you and Alan and that you're having a boy! I knew it haha Well anyways I'm super excited for you and can't wait to see him! So this week was really exhausting. Last Monday was pretty sweet, I had to go to Ross and get some warmer clothes because for some reason Cali gets a little cold in the winter. Who knew? That night we had this lady drop us but we ended up finding two awesome people to teach so it all worked out. Tuesday we taught Belen the second half of the Plan of Salvation and she really enjoyed it, plus we brought an awesome member, hermano Ralegino, he is so awesome! Belen says she realized why she needs to be baptized again but this time actually confirmed. She really wants to learn more though before she sets a date on her baptism. Then we taught Derick the Plan of Salvation up to the Atonement and he although he didn't accept a date for baptism he said he would read and pray and really think about it. We also had a sweet lesson with Zaira and taught the Restoration with her and shared some of our favorite Book of Mormon stories and miracles that Christ performed. It was sweet to see how much her testimony has grown and how much the Restoration has helped her in her life already. Wednesday was amazing! We taught this less-active member and she told us how she really missed church and wanted to come back, and Sunday she did :) awesome! oh yeah, a MIRACLE happened on Wednesday too. This guy with tons of tattoos who was smoking sees us and yells "Hey! Are you guys Mormons?" We told him that we were and then he asks us "Do you have a pamphlet or something I can have?" It was soooo cool. This guy named Victor started telling us how he has made a ton of mistakes in his life but he really wants to change. He told us how he just felt like there was something more to life. He said he has seen missionaries around there a lot before and always had an urge to talk to us but it wasn't until then that he finally did. It reminded me how we need to stop and talk to everyone! He didn't have much time to talk to us but the small part we did share he really liked and he really wants to learn more. Way cool dude! We also taught this dude Armando, he loves anyone that talks about God and like to hear others beliefs, he said that Mormon missionaries are always welcome in his home. He is super nice, but it's really interesting that he doesn't like JW missionaries because they came into his house once and just went off on his how much of a sinner he is but he really likes us so that's good :) We also taught Efren and got him to pray at the end of the lesson. I think his first prayer ever. It was a cool experience! That night was awesome because we also got a referral from a Quorum of the 70 but we weren't able to find it :/ We were almost home that night when it was raining pretty good, and on the last turn to our apartment my companion slid and crashed on his bike into the middle of the intersection. It was a way crazy slide and he was lucky no cars were coming. He was fine except he said he left his dignity on that corner haha. Thursday we taught an awesome lesson to this lady named Martha. She said she had met with missionaries for a long time but they never really shared what they believed and she had never heard the name Joseph Smith before or the word Restoration. Weird situation but super awesome lesson. She told us about her childhood and wow she had a really rough life growing up and she also has had some bad experiences with other churches and the leaders so she is scared to come to church but she is really awesome. We also met this guy Efrain who really liked what we had to say and was just so awesome and prepared to hear us. That day I got letters from my awesome Mama, Cherrie and Del, and Grandma and Grandpa Grayson. Grandma sent me a lot of awesome poems and quotes that were awesome, Thanks :) The rest of the weekend was really awesome we met this really shy guy named Heiro and he had never prayed before but we taught him how and by the end of the lesson he said an amazing heart felt prayer it was so cool. We also found this guy named Oscar, he has 8 kids and that family is awesome. They are super Catholic but they love our message so we will see what happens. Elder Hawkins came back on Sunday with his dad, sister and girlfriend and a beard. That was super weird to see him and think that he was our companion 4 weeks ago. For Thanksgiving we already have breakfast, lunch, and at least 2 dinners set up so I think I might die with how much food I am going to eat that day. This week I weighed in 16 pounds heavier than when I got to Cali so I think it is time for a diet, but with the Holiday's coming up I don't know how it is possible. If I keep this up I will be 360 pounds when I get home. Fun stuff! I love Cali, I love serving a mission, and I love all of you! Thanks for everything and have an amazing Thanksgiving this week :) Love, Elder Hyde