7 December 2025
VOLUME 13 – NUMBER 633
Veidi’s birthday celebration
It was Thanksgiving week, and for Thanksgiving we had a stake dinner. It was so delicious. We had family over, played games, ate lots of food, and had so much fun. I love Thanksgiving because it helps me think about the things I am grateful for.
It was also my birthday, and we celebrated on Thursday and Friday because that’s when my presents were coming.
On Wednesday, we went to activities where they wished me a happy birthday. The activity was painting Holy Bibles, which was really fun. I painted mine with mountains, and then Troy and I walked home in the cold.
Yarima’s Christmas ornament activity
For my birthday dinner, we had mini corn dogs and pizza pockets. We watched Modern Family while we ate, and then had cake and ice cream afterward. After that, we went to bed.
Rima had her Christmas ornament party, and I painted the abominable snowman. I also made no-bake treats with the help of Ellie, Gloria, Joanna, and Charlie. That was the most no-bakes I have ever made at one time because I tripled the recipe. They turned out delicious.
Yarima’s Christmas ornament activity
Last Sunday night, after a pre-Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Amy’s house, Kai came down to Provo with me. While I worked, he did some schoolwork in the Wilkinson Center. After that, we went grocery shopping, had lunch, went to the BYU Store, and then Kai joined Ashton and me in our entrepreneurship class.
After class, Kai and I went to some outdoor basketball courts and calculated our free-throw percentages. Ashton eventually joined us, and then we went to the movies and watched Wicked 2. Kai stayed the night at my apartment, and the next morning I drove him to the train station.
Thanksgiving dinner
On Tuesday night, Ashton organized an MTC turkey bowl. Then on Thursday, we had another Thanksgiving dinner and spent the day hanging out at home. It was a nice, relaxing holiday break.
On Saturday, Gloria came down to Provo with me to watch BYU’s last home game. We started out high in the upper bowl, and it wasn’t very packed due to Thanksgiving break, so it wasn’t the best at first. However, we ran into some friends while getting Cougar Tails and hot chocolate, and they invited us to sit with them on Row 13.
Yarima’s Christmas ornament activity
After the game, we sat in some crazy traffic for about an hour and then decided to go shopping at the mall. After that, we watched Zootopia 2. I love hanging out with Gloria—she’s a lot of fun.
The next Saturday, Dad and I went down to SLC to watch Nate Bargatze. It was so much fun and super funny, and I laughed pretty hard. I especially loved spending time with Dad and being able to strengthen our relationship.
Then on Sunday, we had Yarima’s Christmas ornament party. It’s one of my favorite family traditions. This year, I painted Charlie and Brigham sledding down a snowy hill.
London’s charcuterie boxes
Hannah and I had another catering event at the MTC this week. Originally, we were going to do Christmas desserts like we have in the past, but due to budget cuts, they asked us to do a charcuterie box instead. The past few events have been really easy and have required minimal planning or effort.
These events are still fun, but they’re a little less exciting than actually making something. Even so, we are continually shocked and grateful that they keep reaching out to us for more help with their events. Ashton has definitely been the main reason Graze is even a thing.
Keaton with London’s nerdy emoji pillow
Thanksgiving was awesome because everyone came over and we had a delicious meal. We didn’t even have turkey; instead, we had steak, which was so good. This was probably only the third time I’ve ever had steak, and it did not disappoint.
The best part of the dinner was the broccoli salad, which is and has always been my favorite side dish. The rolls came pretty close to being the best, though. Overall, the food was amazing.
Caleb and Ashton were there the whole day, and like every year, we went to play basketball at the stake center. It was really fun because basketball is one of my favorite sports. It’s always a great tradition.
On Sunday, my biological mom came over and made enchiladas. They were so delicious!
Family at Gentry Christmas concert
That week, we went to a Gentry concert, and it was super cool. The roof had stars, and the music was amazing. The concert was centered around Christmas songs. They even chose a Star Wars–themed song and Carol of the Bells.
The pianist was incredible. He didn’t even use any sheet music; he just played. Laura has footage of it, and it was amazing to watch. The whole performance was so impressive.
We also saw President Oaks there, which was really cool. Everyone was waiting by Utah’s animals. I just loved hearing the music, especially the first song, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. It was awesome.
Gentry Christmas concert
While the family went to the Gentry Christmas concert, Isaac and I were invited to Braden’s to watch the new Stranger Things season. The drive up was full of traffic, but we eventually made it there.
I really enjoyed the episodes we watched and ended up excited for the next ones. The treats were awesome—Oreos and chocolate milk, all the snacks a guy could ask for.
I loved staying up all night watching! Thanks so much for inviting us, Braden!
Monte and Elder Allred with boy
Last week we found 10 new people, and for real, that’s a huge step up from the week before when we only found two. Now that we have our bearings, we are going to start cooking! However, both of our fechas dropped (people scheduled to be baptized), which was pretty tough.
Last Monday, as we were walking back to the house, a random lady walked out of a Catholic church in the center of town, approached us, and immediately started crying. She pulled out a Book of Mormon and told us that her mom took all of her money and that her husband tried to kill her.
She had visible lacerations on her neck, and we didn’t want to leave her alone since she didn’t seem emotionally stable. She told us she was from Playa del Carmen and said she knew two missionaries from there, Hermana Villalobos and someone else. She also kept asking us to baptize her on the spot at a nearby splash pad, which was pretty strange.
Monte’s new hammock
Then her aunt showed up with the police, and about five more people arrived shortly after. We explained to the officers why we were there, and they let us go since they had the situation under control. It was pretty wild, not going to lie. It almost rivals getting mooned by a random drunk tourist in Cozumel.
For Thanksgiving, our district had a Thanksgiving breakfast at district council. It was actually super cool. It was also really strange to call home and see everyone celebrating while I wasn’t there. I got a little emotional afterward.
I then opened the Christmas present Mom gave me before I left. It was a really nice weighted sweats and hoodie set. I’ve been hauling that present around everywhere while it was still in its packaging, and now that I’ve hit six months, finally opening it was kind of wild. I will cherish this present always.
Monte and Elder Allred
Tizimín has been an absolute blast these last four weeks. It’s crazy that we’re already nearing the end of this transfer. It genuinely feels like I just got here. Time flies when you serve the Lord, that’s for sure.
The blessings we’ve seen have been miraculous. We’ve been able to find some amazing people lately, and they are so potente. When you listen to the Spirit, miracles really do happen. We’ve been prompted so many times to stop at random houses, and every time it has been potente. Listen to the Spirit, y’all—it’ll change your life.
Guess what? We went to Chichén Itzá today! It was pretty awesome, and the ride there was wild. Imagine 11 people crammed inside a clown car of a taxi meant for 7. The distance from Tizimín to Chichén Itzá is about an hour and a half. Yeah, it was a wild ride, to say the least.
Monte at Chichen Itza
I was up front sitting on Elder Chapman’s lap. The Hermanas were all the way in the back seats with two friends we’re teaching. The four other Elders, including my companion Elder Allred, were crammed into the middle row. It was so fun, and memories were definitely made.
The ruins themselves were amazing. I couldn’t believe how massive everything was. How fortunate I am to have one of the Seven Wonders of the World in my mission. But hey, for me it was just another P-day (slight flex on missionaries who only go bowling for their P-days).
It was also fun bargaining with the vendors because they were so eager for us to buy their stuff. If they don’t give you the price you ask for, just walk away. About 80% of the time, they’ll drop it. So fun.
I’m still loving training. Elder Allred is such a good missionary, and I really hope I get to finish his training here.
Preparing Monte’s care package
A couple weeks ago, after much procrastination, we finally sat down and worked on Monte’s Christmas care package. We added in favorite treats, toys, and cards.
Next, we found a courier service that should be able to get the package to Monte a little more quickly, but we just missed their November run, so we needed to have the package dropped off on Tuesday, December 2 in Salt Lake.
Here’s where the story takes a turn. I missed the drop off! Later in the day, when I realized my mistake, I called the company, but they had already left the area and were headed to St. George. The only way to get the care package to them was to drop it off the next morning at 9:30am…in St. George!
Dad packing Monte’s care package
So at 7:00pm, I dashed out of the house with Monte’s package, and started the journey to St. George. I had already showered, and I wore only my new Comfort hoodie and sweats, so I wouldn’t even need to shower in St. George, and I could just sleep in what I was wearing.
I arrived at my motel at 1:00am, and went straight to bed. It was so convenient that I didn’t even need to pack anything, except a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some hairspray and mouthwash for the next day. I slept until 8:00am.
Then I dropped off Monte’s package the next morning in a church parking lot. Whew! We just barely made it! Hopefully Monte gets his package before Christmas, or at least soon after!
Gloria and Veidi sewing doll clothes
These past couple of weeks have been pretty good. We went to a Gentry concert in Salt Lake City, and they played Christmas music. After getting seated, I was just looking around when I saw a very familiar face.
I looked closer and realized it was President Oaks. It was really cool to experience him there and to be in the same room with the prophet.
We also had my mom come over, which was really nice. She was teaching us some kitchen skills and showed us how to make enchiladas, which turned out really well in the end. It honestly brought back so many memories of when she used to cook for us. I loved talking to her about cooking.
Gloria helping Jovita cook dinner
We also celebrated Veidi’s birthday. I went to the BYU game with Caleb, which was really fun. We were kind of close to the field, so it made the game even more exciting.
I also got my hair done for my mission, which looks really nice. It looks more natural now, with less blonde and darker tones with some highlights.
This year, we also had Yarima’s ornament party. I decided to make a gnome. I’m not the best at drawing, but I feel like it turned out really well.
Jenn, Yaretzie and Selvin after run