Another Merry Skypemas!

It's my favorite day of the year again. Not only is it Christmas, it's also my 2nd ever Merry Skypemas. We are so excited to talk to Elder Scott today for a few minutes via video call. It was great to not only see his face, but to hear his voice. After today's Skype we'll be down to one more at Mother's Day and then he'll be heading home late August. Wow, this past 15.5 months has flown by!

As usual Elder Scott managed to send surprise gifts to all the family members for Christmas. This time one of his best friend (the former Elder Chapman) acted as Santa for him by bringing them with him when he left the mission last month (thank you Casey. You made our whole Christmas super special!) Included in the gifts were some incredible personal letters for each of us, so I am going to focus my next 4 blog posts on those individual letters. For today I am choosing to share some of the thoughts Elder Scott wrote to his brother Jordan. In his letter he shared his testimony and gave some outstanding advice that is applicable to all of us. We hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, and that it was one filled with the Spirit and love that comes from honoring and revering our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope that you are having a very Merry Christmas. I just love this time of year. There's just always so much peace and joy in the air Magical feelings really. I pray and hope that you take the time to pause, forget everything, and just listen and feel the magical spirit in the air. All of it is centered on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is al centered on His birth. How great of a gift was it to us, as imperfect and malcreado (wrongdoing) as we might be, for God to give his only Begotten Son in sacrifice for us? As imperfect, as impure, as undeserving we are, He gave Him so that we might have the Plan of Salvation open and available to us. When you really stop and think about it, internalize it, and ponder it, you will be able to understand just the very, very start. Not even 1/1,000,000 of a part though, of Heavenly Father and the Savior's perfect love for us. Perfect. Look up its definition in a dictionary. It doesn't mean slightly or normally correct or whole. It means always, without any fault correct and whole. No matter how far we stray, what we do, or how lost we become, their love is always (perfectly) here for us. They call for us to come back home, waiting with outstretched hands, pleading for us to come back into the light. If any of you have strayed from the straight and narrow path I invite you to search and reach for the outstretched hands of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They are there waiting and calling for you to return to true happiness and peace. It doesn't matter what you have done. The light of the Savior's Atonement is infinite. You can never be in shadow from it. It reaches every nook and cranny. But, you have to be the one to accept it, to take hold and use it.  
If there is anything that has happened in the past, forget it and focus on the here and now. Start today and every day forward to do better and be the best that you can be. Have love and patience. Apply that light of Christ in your life this Christmas season and work to always see the same light in other people as well. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas filled with life, light, hope, joy, and love. 

I testify that Christ lives that He is our Savior, our Redeemer, and I testify that this is the true church. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.Te amo y tenga un muy feliz navidad. Hasta pronto mi Hermano El Señor bendiga. 

It's been a while since I've posted photos so here's a super quick recap from December

Elder Ganoza honorably finished his 2 years of missionary service so Elder Scott had to say goodbye to his last companion.

 He also said goodbye to his trainer, Elder Parra, who also finished his 2 years of missionary service. 

With changes come new faces and Elder Scott welcomed his new companion, Elder Vergaras, fresh out of the MTC (Missionary Training Center). He's excited to train once again, and says he is an incredible missionary already.

Merry Skypemas 2017

Ilumina de Mundo

For the past 2 years our church has launched a campaign during the month of December known as, "Light The World" where over the course of 25 days you're given 25 ways you can choose to serve others, and in so doing illuminate the real reason for the season. Today's #LightTheWorld initiative comes from Matthew 22:39, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." 
(Here's a link for a short video about day 4 of Light the World)

Today also happens to be Elder Scott's preparation day and he was able to send home a beautiful journal entry about this very topic which states, "I'm sending you a spiritual thought on Mateo 22:39 which is going to be the Ilumina de Mundo topic for today, "Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo." I have always loved this scripture. "Love thy neighbor." Elder Uchtdorf gave an amazing talk tonight on the topic of doctrine love. 
(You can find a link to the First Presidency Christmas devotional at lds.org). 

In his talk he had some amazing and inspiring points. I have always said that I love this time of year for all of the energy and special feeling that's in the air. It truly is special and magical. It's because it creates a feeling of pure love and care. Love is such a special thing. When we truly strive to love, it creates a unique environment of unity, peace, and care. That's why this time of year naturally feels different, it's from all of the love. This love is key. It encourages us to serve and help. To lend a smile to someone random. To help out a friend. To donate to help the needy. There's a list of literally a million different things that we can do all focused on love. When we have increased love in our lives, Heavenly Father will bless us even more. He will give us more opportunity to further our love as well. May this Christmas season be filled with this unique and wonderful love. When it is, memories will be made that will last a lifetime."

Our whole family looks forward to this time of year, and we especially enjoy the reminders we receive about giving of ourselves and serving those in need. We have witnessed how it blesses our lives when we live by the adage of, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 and during this special and sacred time of year, opportunities to give of oneself will certainly be prevalent. We hope all who read this grow closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ, this Christmas season as you find ways to #LightTheWorld and illuminate the world around them.

Pictures from the past 2 weeks

The missionaries decided to HIKE to Cerro de la Paz. Elder Scott said this was way harder than the trip they took a couple weeks back when they drove up in a van, but was a super cool way to spend their preparation day as a zone.

Random pictures of Elder Scott in his apartment and out proselyting.

Christmas has officially arrived inside of his apartment, and he could not be happier!

Merry Christmas from Elder Scott

So Much To Be Thankful For.

With Thanksgiving being celebrated this week, I thought this would be a perfect time to find out some of the things Elder Scott has been most thankful for recently. It was fun to see his responses.

Question: What are you most thankful for or looking forward to this week? 
Answer: Ummmm, the chance to get my mouth-guard tomorrow. I'm thankful for modern medicine and doctors that know what they are doing. Dr. Suarez has been really good for me.
So this answer may need a little background information. Elder Scott has been suffering from some jaw pain for the past several months and after seeing a couple doctors he was diagnosed with TMJ, which basically means the hinge connecting the upper and lower jaw joints is a little out of whack causing some inflammation and swelling within the jaw joints. He's been suffering chronic pain due to this, some days worse than others, but he is finally getting a special mouth-guard tomorrow that will help relieve some of the discomfort he's been experiencing. It has been a long process to get the guard made with lots of appointments back and forth to make it correctly, and he's excited to finally have this part of process complete with some relief in sight.

Question: What are you most thankful for from last week?
Answer: Members that go out of their way to watch over and care for the missionaries. Hermana Iris (his pensionista) has little by little been changing my food to cater to my likes and dislikes without even asking. Like, if she notices I don't eat something or I'm eating something slower, she's been changing my plate to make it special. She's so awesome!

Question: What quality does your companion possess that you are most thankful for?
Answer: Humor. He is so laid back and light-hearted. He's really fun to be around.

Question: What attribute of the Savior's are you most thankful for right now?
Answer: Patience and love. It's a characteristic that I'm working on to develop more because it is so incredibly useful.

Question: What food are you most thankful for in Perú?
Answer: Aji de Guillena. YUM!

Question: What are you most thankful for when thinking about President and Sister Rios (his mission president and wife)? 
Answer: Their love for the missionaries and their constant desire to serve and help.

Question: What comfort item are you most thankful for?
Answer: This week it is my memory foam pillow or the ice cream. Actually, the freezer that makes ice cream possible, haha.
This answer could use a few more details as well 😄 In Elder Scott's new apartment he has a few items that are rare for missionaries to come across in Perú. The first is carpet which is almost unheard of, and the second is a mini-fridge/freezer combo so he is able to store a little food right inside his apartment. On top of all of that, he also has gym equipment and a hammock. The roof of the top floor of his apartment has big chunks missing, but the missionaries don't even care because these other items are such luxuries that they are enjoying them while they still can.

Question: What spiritual item are you most thankful for?
Answer: The scriptures that are a guide and a lifeline.

Question: What are you most thankful for when thinking about your brother Jordan?
Answer: His love to be creative and the many things he is able to do that I couldn't even hope to do. Like at all!

Question: What are you most thankful for when you think about your brother Caleb?
Answer: His love and happiness to serve. He's literally so darn amazing!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. There is so much in this life we can be thankful for, not the least of which is the atoning sacrifice our Savior endured for each and every one of us. I am so grateful for His matchless love, His patience with me, the charity He shows to all, and the faith He places in me to do better and to be better. I'm also so grateful for a loving and kind Father in Heaven who continuously gives us opportunities to become more like Him, and has given us prophets, apostles, and scriptures as a guideline on how to live and return to Him. Finally, I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who is my constant companion as long as I live my life in a way that allows Him to be my guide. What an incredible blessing that truly is.

Photos (hundreds of them) finally came through from the missionaries outing to Cerro de La Paz in October. 

Here are a few of my favorites.

Elder Scott and Elder Pacco

Elder Scott and Elder Cruz

Elder Scott with Elder Gunn

Elder Luna and Elder Parra 😆

Elder Scott back with his trainer, Elder Parra

Elder Pacco & Elder Scott

The Ten Commandments

This is the road they had to travel up to reach Cerro de La Paz.
It was a pretty precarious drive to say the least.

Closer view of the road they traveled. Kyler said he's pretty
sure they almost fell off the rocky cliff numerous times,
but he's alive to tell about it so it's all good.

Throwback to hair-color disasters and the remedy to correct it.

The after look with a treat to celebrate.

Elder Scott was excited to find minion tic-tac's

Pictures of Elder Scott's newest place in Pensacola

One of his first orders of business was to
get a tree and decorate for the holidays.

This child of mine LOVES Christmas!

Gym equipment and a hammock. He's a bit spoiled at the moment.

Hammock life!