Bloxham Missionary News: Hermana Bloxham

Hey guys!

Well, what do I talk about this week? Yesterday they had a leadership
training meeting for the zone leaders and sister training leaders in
Scarsdale so I got to go and talk to all my old companions! Stringam,
Cole, and Brog! It was super good! We found out that we are going to
have a "sisters devotional" sometime soon for all of the sister
missionaries in our mission! That will be awesome! Something cool that
is happening, there is a youth fireside in Yorktown and guess who is
coming to speak? Sister Elaine S. Dalton and Elder Hollands son! Isn't
that sweet?! It's only for youth so we are trying to figure out how we
can get an investigator to go so we can go haha. I want to see Elaine
S. Dalton super bad!

Anyways, it has been pretty freezing! Especially yesterday and today!
Yesterday with the windchill it was -13! It like freezes your face
right off and whatever isn't covered is like frozen in 5 seconds! It's
nuts! We are blessed to have a car! Even though it doesn't get warm
until we get to our destination, but at least it's not out in the wind
right? Haha. I didn't even know this coldness existed! It's crazy! We
are going to try to walk around the city today though haha. We are
going to time square and hopefully we'll be in and out of warm stores
so it won't be too bad, and we are going to try to get on the top of
the Rockefeller Building and get some cool pictures! I hope we don't
freeze our buns right off! No me importa, I love the city! Haha

We finally got to see people and teach them this week! The holidays
have been nuts! These Hispanics have more parties than we do, and I
thought we were crazy haha. They have this tradition that the 3 Wise
Men bring them gifts on the 6th of January. They call it "el día de
los reyes magos". It's pretty cool! The wise men bring gifts, kinda
like Santa clause but I have found that they save the best gifts for
the wise men! Which is pretty cool! I like that whole idea of the wise
men bringing Jesus gifts, so they celebrate that day by giving gifts
just like them. They also have this tradition that they have some kind
of bread that they buy and it has little "muñecas" or dolls/plastic
babies inside the bread and each person cuts off a piece and eats it
and if you have a doll in your piece you have to bring food to a party
that they have on February 2nd. Haha and sometimes they even have a
party for each person that gets a doll, which is sometimes a ton! Haha
parties for days!!

We got to go see Oriana, and we actually ate lunch with her husband
Vidal! It was a huge blessing! It was a huge step in the right
direction and hopefully we can help him take some little steps as he
is ready and start to take the lessons. We are basically waiting on
him to allow the rest of his family to get baptized. Oriana doesn't
want to do it alone and without him so that's the holdup right now I
guess. Oriana is so ready! For sure! On the Lords time I guess right?

Well, I hope you all had an awesome "Día de los Reyes" even though you
didn't know about it hahaha. I love you guys so much and pray for you
everyday! I want you to know that God loves you and he knows you
perfectly, so if you are going through something hard and sometimes
wonder why, it's because He is refining you and making you into
something even more beautiful than you were before.(D&C 128:24) Have
patience and know that He is there to watch over and protect you from
all harm. He loves you, and I love you and I know that through the
Atonement everything is possible!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Jessica Bloxham :)