¡Feliz Navidad!
This is my first (and hopefully last) Christmas where it was over 100 degrees outside. People here in Paraguay have some interesting traditions in regards to Christmas. To begin with they give out these Christmas baskets to their friends and family, much like how we do in the states. They have this Christmas snack which they LOVE called “Pan Dulce”, meaning “sweet bread”, which is just bread with little bits of fruit in it. They eat it like crazy. It seemed as if each house we visited the past week offered us some. On Christmas Eve is the main party. For some reason they pull an all-nighter, waiting for 12 o’clock to yell, “Feliz Navidad” and then have a massive dinner and party it up all night. We were able to have dinner with the district president, Presidente Bianciotto, and his family. Since everyone pulls an all-nighter, Christmas morning is really bizarre. We left the apartment and everything was dead until about 2 o’clock, and everything was closed. Even the gas station was closed. And that is what a Paraguayan Christmas looks like.
After Christmas dinner with Familia Bianciotto we sang Christmas hymns and took turns sharing our testimony of the Savior. There was a great spirit in that exchange, and it reminded me of when my family would read the account of the Saviors birth and listen to Handel’s Messiah. It’s very important that we don’t get caught up in the traditions, gifts, and festivities so much that we forget the “reason for the season”. I want to now focus my future Christmas celebrations more on the Savior than before, and I hope all of you can do so as well!
That’s it from me. Today we will be traveling to Ciudad del Este to have a special multi-zone conference. Should be exciting, and I’ll tell you all about it next week!
-Elder Watson