MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      I know this time is crazy for you all back home, especially in the Moulton household, but I hope you have been able to feel the Spirit during this time of year testifying to your hearts that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I read Luke 2 this week and if you can read it too, I know it will bring a lot of joy to your life.

      I finished the Book of Mormon again this morning. It was my goal to finish it for Christmas as my gift to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I was marking all the times it mentioned Christ and there's a lot of red in the book now. Please tell Brother Taylor and I think Brother Haddock thank you because I think it was their idea to give all us young men a Book of Mormon to mark two years ago now. I'm going to start reading again for the new year and I invite any of you who would like to to join me. My plan is to read 3 pages a day so I can finish in the middle of the year. In time for my birthday and the birthday of our great nation. I would love to do it with you if you want.

      Now onto another week in the life of a missionary. This week was pretty crazy with all of the goings on so I'll do my best. Last Monday it was so amazing to be able to talk to you Mom, Dad, and Brianna. It's really weird hearing your voices but it sure made me happy. That day we also played soccer on a turf field and it was so amazing. It smelt just like home. Those long summer days of practicing and those great Friday nights. That's so weird to think about high school sometimes, but I am so grateful for all of the experiences I have had.

      On Wednesday we had a marriage here in our ward. Elder Perez has been working with their whole family for a couple of months now. They are the Rojas and they used to be inactive. It's a mom and dad and their 6 kids. One of their boys Elder Perez already helped to get married and then his wife was married and this week one of their other sons, Giancarlo, got married to his wife Angela and she was baptized on Saturday. It was special to be a part of all of that and to just see the happiness that they felt. I thought how crazy it was to be thinking about marriage and how it just feels like something that will always happen in the future, kind of like how I  always felt about a mission. Life is pretty tricky sometimes.

      We had a Christmas party in the offices this week with 3 of the 12 zones in our mission. It was really fun to just be with all of those other missionaries. Sister Dorius had been cooking for all of us and it was so great to eat that turkey. She also baked carrot cake and even though I've never liked it too much, it was just so good to think about home. President and Sister Dorius gave us some gifts including a satchel with a llama on it and I forgot to take a picture, but it's about the coolest bag that could ever exist on the face of the planet. We had to do sketches, I think that's English too, but if not plays, as a district and ours was the highlight of the show. We did it again during our ward Christmas party and yesterday in church everyone was just talking about it.

      Yesterday I went on exchanges with Elder Brimley. He is from Arizona and this is his first transfer. He lives in the same house as me.  We just went out and worked and it was amazing. It's really true that quote that says the great secret to missionary work is work. That's my one piece of advice to everyone as a missionary, but I also think we can apply it to our lives as Papa did. When we work hard for what's right and do the will of our Heavenly Father we will be happy. When I work I don't think about anything else, I'm just happy with the time I have been given. I'm so grateful for that lesson I learned and that I could work with Elder Brimley and just have a fun time, two gringos who don't speak Spanish well just loving the people, spreading the message of the restored gospel, and wishing everyone a Feliz Navidad.

      I had another experience with Elder Brimley that I want to tell real quick. We were walking along and I stopped because we passed by the house of a contact. I didn't know if we should try to have a lesson so I just stopped and waited. Out of no where this man comes up and asks us how he can find the ward that he belongs too. His name is Silverio and he went on to explain that he was in Iraq for 5 years because he was in the military and he had been receiving the lessons there, still not really sure how that works out. He said he wanted to talk to the missionaries so he could be baptized and he knew he needed to go to a certain ward that he belonged to. We told him how to find it out and it was just amazing that we were there at that moment. I didn't feel the Spirit telling me really strongly anything, but I know it was directed by God and I'm so grateful for that.

      I'm wishing you all the merriest of Christmas's from here in Peru. I know it's a crazy Christmas for us all but my prayers are in your behalf and I hope you can feel the love of our Lord and Savior and the love of our Heavenly Father who sent His Son for all of us.

I love you all so much.

Love forever,

Elder Aaron Micah Wheatley