Letter dated 7Jan2013

[Dear family and friends, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that your holidays were good and that you enjoy a wonderful new year. This is the letter we received from Weston this morning. If you want to send a quick note, just respond to this email and I will forward the note to Weston! Best regards - Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, I´m not sure how I´m supposed to begin this e-mail because I´m still giddy from my present I got today! The mail came today and I saw the lady carrying a GIANT package up to our door and she asked, ´´Is there an Elder Weston here?´´ My companion was disappointed because he´s waiting for a package as well, but I was jumping up and down when I got it into the other room! I definitely wasn't expecting such a great holiday treat such as what you sent to me. I´m not sure if it was the Kool-Aid, Reeses, Cheez-Its, Starburst, Pictures, Dark Knight, DRADLE!!!, pop corn, Michigan momentos, or sick ties that made it so great but I think it was the love that came with it! It made my year! Thank you all so much! I also got all the Christmas letters on the same day and I loved the poems! Such a great family memory gift! Thanks mom! In all honesty, we had a really great week to start of the New Year. We had a bunch of lessons in total even though we had a day that we went to a Zone Meeting for most of the day but the week turned out really good. The highlight was on Sunday when we were blessed to have 11 investigators come to church! It seemed like everyone we've been inviting this past week found time to get up in the morning and come over to church and it was a really special testimony meeting. Many of the members shared their testimonies and I was amazed to listen to many of them talk about their first experiences with the missionaries when they got baptized. It was special for me to realize that we are here to serve the members and help them in our calling we have as elders. It was a great spiritual experience for me in sacrament meeting. We´re also working with Andrea, a 22 year old girl who is living with a family that recently got baptized when I got here, and she wants to be baptized this year, but she needs help to stop doing some things. We´re looking at this as a great opportunity for her to take this chance and take the next step as we work with her. She is the one in the family that helps all the girls get ready for church and she gets involved in our discussions when we visit them. I hope the best for her progress in the upcoming weeks. There is also a family that have come to church 2 weeks in a row, which they haven´t done since this past summer. They look like they are also preparing to take their next steps, which is super exciting for me to have the chance to see this happen for them. Great things are happening in Terrassasourus Rex right now! We finally finished the holidays too! YES! It´s been hard with all the parties that people go to and I hope the we can get back into a solid routine with people getting back to work and school. The last holiday was actually yesterday, named Los Tres Reyes, or The Three Kings. It´s actually a bigger day than Christmas here in Spain and it´s about the three kings coming and giving the gifts to Jesus when he was a baby. There was a big parade and it seemed like it was a blast for the people here. As part of the new year, the mission is starting to get ready to receive all the new incoming missionaries from the new wave that´s coming in. We are now all, as a mission, re-doing the 12 week program for missionaries to learn how to train and also be a better missionary. Also, as a companionship, Elder Wiggins and I are starting to keep a routine for working out in the morning and at night. It includes push ups, P90X, and running when we wake up and our goal is to see how we change in the next 3 weeks. We started it today and we´ll see how it goes! I also have my goals set up and still choosing some other ones that I want for 2013. I just know that this will be a great year. I love you all, more and more each day! Élder Xander Weston Schindler P.S. We have to go back, Kate.... P.P.S. Since I got the super incredible package just now, you can take your time if you need to before you send the next one. I have one other request, which would be to send one or two of my v-neck shirts that I left in my box. Some of the photos reminded me of them and I kind of want them again! =P

Letter dated 31Dec2012

[Dear friends and family, this is the letter we received from Weston this morning. We loved being able to Skye with Weston on Christmas Day. It was almost like he was here with us! We wish all of you a wonderful and beautiful New Year! Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, What a great year it has been! I can´t believe it came and went the way that it did. I´m so happy for this season of changes and new opportunities. I hope that we all look for those ways to make differences in our lives and in the lives of others as we make our New Year's Goals. This year is going to be my last year as a missionary (as far as I know) and I´m going to start if off the way I want to finish it. I know that I´m doing work that can change others' lives but to do that I´m going to have to keep progressing myself in order to do that. I hope that we all make the best out of 2013 as a family and that we can look back at it all with satisfaction and with full memories of great experiences! It was among the best moments of my mission to talk to you all this past Christmas and see, hear, and feel your love! You are all just the best in the world, no doubt in my mind, and you all deserve the best in the weeks and months to come! I can´t imagine what will be in store for us all but it´ll be great, that´s for sure! Sorry for this short letter, but I talked myself dead to you all on Christmas, so there´s not much else to say. We had a good week and we´re looking for our next opportunities to find, teach, and baptize in the upcoming weeks and we hope to find much success in our time in Terrassa! I´ll make sure to start talking more about the funny things too! Those are the best stories, right?!? Os quiero un montón! Élder Xander Weston Schindler P.S. We have to go back, Kate... P.P.S. Why are you all so interested to know if I´m teaching more Spaniards or South Americans?!? Actually, it only feels like Joseph is the one asking me that. ^_^

Letter dated 24Dec2012

[Dear friends and family, as always, we were thrilled to receive this letter from Weston this morning! We hope that you are all happy and well and enjoying this beautiful Christmas season! If any of you have any messages for Weston, we will be talking to him TOMORROW(!!) and we could pass any message that you may have along to our missionary son. Have a blessed Christmas during His day! Love, Weston's editor - BWS] Dearest Family, Happy Christmas! I´m so happy that the family is all safe and together right now. I don´t have to imagine how the house is, because I know it´s warm and welcoming and Christmas is definitely in the air. I was glad to see that I had many notes to read and that you didn't wait to talk to me tomorrow! Each message was super great and I´m excited to talk about a bunch of things tomorrow. I really do hope that it will be the highlight of the day for all of us. I guarantee nothing but I promise that it will be the best Christmas gift I´ll be receiving! As soon as the post office gets back to work after all of this holiday season and gives me the package, I´ll let you know. Thanks for getting that all together. I am, without a doubt, going to freak out when I get it and just be incredibly excited for the rest of the day! I can´t wait! Just to give you a heads up, we are going to be eating at the same member´s house whom we ate with on Thanksgiving and they have several computers and we have plans to sign onto our Skypes at 4:00pm here in Spain, so that´ll be around 10:00am for you all. We might get one a bit earlier, depending, so if you start waiting at 3:30, that would be splendid! Now, just thinking, would it be possible to have the computer set up in the piano room and get a tour of how everything looks? I hope the connection will be fine, but I would love that! Also, I want to see some presents get opened! That would be fantastic! But hey, I think that it´s time for some legit Christmas miracles that I've seen during this past week. One day I went to open a new bag of bread and I was happy to see two heels at the front end of the loaf! A true Christmas miracle! Okay, here´s another one. We have been having a problem with a family that we teach because they have to work on Sunday mornings now but we've been trying to arrange different things to get the daughter to come to church, but all of our attempts were unsuccessful... but this week we visited the family of a recent convert, Meyling, and we somehow mentioned the name of the other family. It turned out that they knew them very well and I was just sitting there, unable to say much of anything for a few seconds because I was literally awed by the experience. We asked the family if they could walk to the other family's house on Sunday mornings and pick up the daughter and bring her to church and they said that it would not be a problem. That, my family, was a Christmas miracle if I ever saw one! Happy Christmas, Harry! Hope you enjoy the Grinch tonight! I love you all! Élder Xander Weston Schindler P.S. We have to go back, Kate... to the north pole!

Letter dated 18Dec2012

[Dear family and friends, I hope this letter finds you healthy and well. I like Weston's word: "Fantastically!" I hope you are all doing fantastically well! May you have a safe and wonderful, Merry Christmas! Love, Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, How about that? Would you believe me if I told you all that it´s almost Christmas?! Seriously, it´s literally one week from today in case you didn't know! I´m doing fantastically right now. It sounds so great that everyone (but me) will be home for the holidays. I hope that Daniel is having a great time in San Diego and stays safe while he´s down there. [Daniel is with the BYU Marching Band in San Diego. They will be marching in the Poinsettia Bowl!] Maybe you´ll be able to brush up a little on your Spanish while you´re there. Maybe not, you´ll just have to let me know how it is next week! We´ve been having a great Holiday season here in Terrassasourus-Rex. Last Friday we had a ward Christmas dinner and tons of people showed up. It was different than any church dinner I've seen and we had rows of rows of people at tables and we all got served bread, soup, and turkey during the course of the dinner. Unfortunately, the dinner started a bit later than it was supposed to and as soon as Elder Wiggins and I got our last plate we had to eat fast and leave to get home on time. Lots of people asked us why we had to leave and we had to explain that we have a curfew, which even some strong members seemed a bit surprised. It was possible that it was because we were at a ward activity but had we stayed the whole time, we would have been back home past midnight! But rest assured, we got home on time! We also sang after church in the Christmas Choir practice but it seriously took the longest time in the world. I was having a good time, but my companion didn´t enjoy himself one bit. I thanked him for giving it a try but I don´t think we´ll be going back anytime soon during this transfer. I thought it was funny though! Mom, is the Catalan song, by chance, called Fum Fum Fum? The ward sang that song at the dinner and it was super fun and cute! Let me know which on it is and I´ll ask some of the families if they can sing it for me. That´d be tight! It´s no big deal that no package has been sent yet, I´ll just be happy to get one! So if I could choose things that I´d like to get, here´s a short list of ideas for what I´d enjoy: Black socks, Cheez-Its, Reeses, Starbursts, Kool-Aid, Advil (maybe), a sick tie, money for new shoes or a functionable camera, or anything else that would be awesome for me to get (notably any gift that has to do with The Hobbit or with Batman)! I´ll know more about the Skype call next week and I´ll let you know on Monday what time you should be waiting for me to sign on for Christmas. [We are able to Skype with Weston on Christmas day!] I think the most likely will be that I´ll get on around 4:00 pm and I hope you´ll all be awake by then in Michigan time. I´ll let you know for sure next week! I e-mailed late this week because they moved transfers a week early but luckily I´ll be with my companion for another 7 weeks. Can´t wait to hear and see you all next week! Hope you get a Happy-White-Christmas! Best of wishes to Adam tomorrow as well! I love you all so much, Élder Xander Weston Schindler P.S. We have to go back, Kate...

Letter dated 10Dec2012

[Dear friends and family, I am a week behind in sending Weston's letters out. This is the letter dated December 10. There are some pictures that I will be including in Weston's blog. I will let you know when they have been posted! I hope you are all well and enjoying this beautiful Christmas season! Weston's editor - BWS] Dear Family, Hey everyone! Glad to hear from dad this week. I hope everyone else is doing well and staying safe and successful. I´m sure you all are. If not, sorry! I think it´s so exciting that Donald is leaving this week! [Our friend, Donald, is leaving on a mission for Scotland/Ireland!] He´ll be getting closer to me but we won´t be able to see each other. I hope that he´s all ready for what is to come in his mission. I was happy to get both Thanksgiving cards from his family and from you all! In other words, the address is good so you can send anything you want and it should get here in good time! We had a great zone conference this past Friday and we learned tons of great things. I do hope that as a missionary I am working with the members as best I can. I know that that is the best way to have success in whatever are you have, whether it be a small branch or a huge ward, it´s important. Have fun watching the Hobbit everyone! If you don´t watch it immediately I´ll be very disappointed in you... BUT I love you all at least a little more than the Hobbit! Élder Xander Weston Schindler P.S. We have to go back, Kate... [Weston's weekly movie reference!] P.P.S. Should I be blessed to get a package, I would enjoy surprises! Make your best judgments! ^_^ P.P.P.S. Here are some photos of Terrassa that I´m in! WHEW! The outside picture is with Nicole and the other two girls in the other photo are Carolina (left) and Yurimar (right). The other photo is my companion (left) and I (right). The Santa Hat one also has Juan Peroni, who just left for the Malaga Mission this past Wednesday! He was a lot of fun.