Christmas!

Christmas morning in front of the "fake back drop" we sent him.
Ross with the Elders he came out with from the MTC, all going home February 29th.

Baptism of kids from his first area, got to go back and see them baptized.

Christmas went really well! We did some caroling for service and had a nice Christmas day. The Christmas Eve mission devotional went really well! There were lots of really nice musical numbers, and Elder Maddox and I were able to pull off a nice organ/piano duet. We knocked their socks off!
Today we played basketball as a zone. I'm still not very good at that sport, but it sure is fun!
I received nice packages from both grandparents Watkins and Merrell! Thank you!
Thanks for all the food and stuff! Just remember mom, you can't blame it ALL on me if I have a zillion cavities when I get home. But I try to brush at least once a month haha jkjk. I brush daily. And I floss. You would be proud of my good hygienically advanced habits I have developed as a missionary! But no matter how much I wash my hair, it continues falling out. It's inevitable. I'm going bald.
We are moving in to a new month, which means a new zone goal! This past month wasn't as successful as we were hoping for a a zone, but that will hopefully change next month! We will be meeting with the District Leaders tomorrow to put it together. Elder Oroczo and I set some goals this morning for our area for next month. We are shooting for 5 baptisms in our area! It's a really high goal, but we think we can reach it with some help from heaven!
Also, I got a call from Jefferson Park telling me that Marisol's kids were going to get baptized! So I got to go down again to watch the baptism! I attached a picture!
I am very grateful for this restored church! I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God! I'm about to finish it, and 3 Nephi never ceases to amaze me! The ministry of Christ amongst the Nephites is an amazing record, and I feel the Spirit every time I read it! I love you! Have a great week!
Elder Watkins

December 21st Temple P-day

Just Ross.
Family Home Evening with investigators and members.

In front of the L.A. temple after a session.

As you may have guessed, we had temple p-day this week! Which is why I'm e-mailing on Wednesday. We have had a super crazy week!! I don't think I can fit it all in an e-mail! We have been working really hard with our two investigators this past week! They are going to get baptized on Christmas!!!! What a great gift right? They came to the Christmas fireside at the Hollywood chapel on Sunday and really liked it. We also invited them to come to a Family Home Evening with another family in the ward and we had a really nice lesson about baptism and confirmation. They are doing really well with their Book of Mormon reading too! We are super excited about them!! She invited us to have dinner this thursday, and she's going to make us some Salvadorian food! It is always a good sign when investigators feed their missionaries. We are expecting lots of Salvadorian, Guatemalan, and Mexican tamales this Christmas too!

Hey guess what? Elder Maddox and I have been preparing an Organ/Piano duet for the mission Christmas fireside this Saturday. It is super awesome. I will have to play it with aunt Ronda when I come home.

Also, I will be calling around 8pm, Utah time. I'm excited to talk to you! It's been a long time. When we tell investigators that we only call home twice a year they think we are really weird. So I try to avoid that conversation. But it is an exciting time for missionaries! Chrismas and Christmas Eve are normal working days for us. We won't be coming in early this year like we did last year, so we will be out visiting people and maybe some knocking doors. Christmas is the best time of year for missionary work. People are a little more accepting to our message around this time.

AWESOME WEEK!

Los Angeles Temple
New Companion, Elder Orozco

AWESOME WEEK! We have been working super hard! Guess what!? I have a new companion, because my last companion is busy hanging out with his family haha. My new companion is Elder Orozco from Michuacan, Mexico! If you don't remember, I came out with him to the field! I have a Mexican companion, and it's pretty awesome. He has an awesome Mexican accent, and I'm starting to pick it up a little. The Mexicans speak pretty different spanish from the rest of the Latin world. We have been really busy with the zone, transfers, and our area. We found 5 new investigators last week! It was a blast. We are spending lots of time on the streets contacting people and teaching. He will be here for one transfer after me, because he only went to the MCT for 3 weeks, because he already speaks the language. He is perfectly fluent in Spanish and English.
We had a miracle yesterday! Wanna hear it? So we have been banking on our investigators coming to church this week. She missed last week because of work, so we were really excited for this week. But then we got a text from her on Sunday morning saying that she had to work and wouldn't be able to make it to church. Saddness entered our souls and our excitement got smacked to the floor. Just before we left the apartment to go to church, Elder Orozco said a prayer and asked God to bless her to be able to go to church even though she had to work. So we got to church and saddly sat down on one of the half soft benches, then about 5 minutes in to the meeting, lo and behold, theywere at the door!!! I couldn't believe it! They came to sit by us, and they enjoyed the whole meeting. We later went to their house with a member, and had a lesson for the first time in 2 weeks! They have been doing really well, and are still reading the Book of Mormon. Her testimony is awesome! Then we asked about how she got to church, and she told us that she was on her way to work and she felt impressed to turn and go to church. She followed the impression and ended up being about an hour late for work, but she said that her boss didn't mind! And thus we see that if the Lord gives us a commandment, He will surely provide a way for His children to keep that commandment! Wow. This church is true. I love my mission. Love, Elder Watkins
P.S- I am fully aware that my e-mails are getting gradually shorter as my mission rolls on. It is by no means a sign of my love for you. It must just mean that I'm too caught up in the work. I love you!

Zone Trainings

Elder Jacobberger, Elder Watkins and investigators at the Los Angeles Temple Visitor Center

Ross and Elder Haslem, also from Vernal.

HELLO! Things are going great! We have had a really crazy week! We planned and executed a couple of trainings for our zone and the Metro zone, which is Elder Haslem's zone. We got to train in the same meeting! He is leaving this week! I can't believe it. My companion is leaving this week as well. I don't know who my new companion will be yet. I'm definitely staying in the area though. We had the departing missionary fireside last night. Elder Haslem and Elder Jacobberger along with all the other dying missionaries, gave their final testimonies. I got to play the piano for a couple musical numbers in it. I've become a "designated mission pianist". I find my name on the programs to play the piano for all the meetings we go to. They don't even ask anymore, they just put my name down. It forces me to learn more hymns, which is good, since I had a hard time practicing hymns at home because they put me to sleep after a couple minutes. We announced our zone goal for December today. We are focusing on increasing our faith to boost miracles. The goal is to baptize 10 people as a zone in the month of December. Our zone has been struggling with baptisms lately, and we hope to reverse that!
I'm really excited for Christmas! That means TAMALES and sweet bread with hot chocolate! I'm excited to eat a ton! I feel like a pig lately. The people here give us sooooo much food. We had a really good mexican dish called Pollo Barabacoa. It is really good. If you ever go to a mexican restaurant, get the Barbacoa.
Sadly, we didn't get a chance to meet with our investigators this week. She has been super busy with work all week, and she works crazy hours, so we've kept in contact by phone. She got called in to work this week too. Bummer. But we hope to meet with her this week. We will see...
Hey mom, thanks for sending the package! I can't believe that Christmas tree!!! How did you do that?! It's even MORE awesome than last year's!!! I'm excited to put it up.
Welp, I love you all and thank you publicly (through private e-mail) for all of your goodness and niceness and love. I know that this church is true! Have a great week!!!
Love, Elder Watkins