Feliz Ano Nuevo 2016!

Well hey y'all I still can't believe that in 4 days it is going to be the new year!  That is super crazy to me.  First off I would just like to say that I had a wonderful Christmas Day here in Argentina and although it didn't feel anything like Christmas, I was so thankful to be able to talk to my amazing family.  Christmas Day started off with opening gifts from my family, grandparents, and Heidi Monson, and then we basically spent the day with our district playing soccer, talking, and eating tacos.  Then comes my favorite part when I got to skype my fam!!  I was soooooo so so happy to see their beautiful, smiling faces and they always remind me of how so very grateful I am for this gospel and the opportunity that I have to share it.  I have definitely come to realize how blessed I am with the special family I have been given, and now it is my turn to thank God for this great blessing in my life by helping other families be eternal.  Anyway, I just love my family so much and I had a wonderful holiday week!  It brought me so much joy being able to remind the people of Argentina about the true meaning of Christmas.  

2016 is right around the corner!  What are you wanting to change about yourself this year?  What are your goals, desires, and New Year's resolutions?  I just want to invite you all to take a moment and write down a few goals for this upcoming year.  Both spiritual and temporal goals!  If some of you are maybe a little confused or unsure where to start with your goals, I would just like to leave you with the wise words of Neal A. Maxwell that have really helped me put things into perspective what what I want to accomplish this new year of 2016:

Brothers and sisters, Christ paid such an enormous, enabling price for us! Will we not apply His Atonement in order to pay the much smaller price required for personal progress?. Being valiant in our testimony of Jesus, therefore, includes being valiant in our efforts to live more as He lived. We certainly cannot enter His kingdom without receiving the restored ordinances and keeping their associated covenants, but neither can we enter His kingdom without having significantly developed our charity and the other cardinal attributes. Yes, we need the essential ordinances, but we also need the essential attributes. Yes, we need to keep our covenants, but we also need to develop our character. Do we not sing, “More holiness give me,” pleading that we can be “more, Savior, like thee”? 

I love you all and HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Quote of the week:

The best way to make a permanent change for good is to make Jesus Christ your model and His teachings your guide for life.

-Elder Richard G. Scott

xoxo

Hermana Anika Van Boerum

Singing with the Choir

Christmas Eve wit the Lagos Family 

Christmas Day

Feliz Navidad

My first week in San Martin went really well!  It is super beautiful here and although we have only 1 investigator right now, we are working hard to find more people.  Today I just wanted to share one of my favorite scriptures and also give a big birthday shoutout to my girl Toshy!!!! Happy birthday last Friday!  I love love love you and hope you had the BEST 16 birthday ever!  

Ok so this week I would like to share a very well-known scripture, John 3:16; which says:

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The thing I have really come to love about learning the Spanish language is how sometimes the scriptures in Spanish have a different meaning than they do in English. John 3:16 in Spanish says:

16 Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo que ha dado a su Hijo Unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.

I know probably none of you understand what that says but I would just like to point out the part that says "para que todo aquel que en el cree no se pierda."  That part in the English scripture says, "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish," but in Spanish the words directly translate into something different.  It changes to "that whosoever believeth in him will not be lost."  I love that so much because it gives the scripture a different meaning-it tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ, will not be lost.  Not only that we won't perish like the English version says, but if you simply believe in the very Son of God, you will never ever be lost in your life.  I have been thinking lots about this scripture in Spanish this holiday season and I can truly testify that if we just believe in the greatest being to ever walk the earth - the King of kings, Lord of lords, our very own brother Jesus Christ - we will never. ever. be lost.  I would like to testify to all of you that Christ´s birth was the greatest event in history.  It was the beginning and the end.  It was the end of darkness, spiritual drought, loneliness, and fear.  And yet was the beginning of love, comfort, faith, hope, and salvation.  The birth of God's Only Begotten Son - the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, our Redeemer - changed each and every one of our lives, forever.  Because of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we will never be lost again.  "The Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand" and will "never leave you comfortless."  As the Lord promises to us in Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-18 he says:

 17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

 18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches ofeternity are yours.

The birth of Jesus Christ in the humblest of circumstances was everything.  Remember that the true spirit of Christmas, is only the spirit of Jesus Christ.  I hope that you all have a beautiful Christmas day full of laughter, gratitude, family, and fun.  Recognizing that the birth of the Savior was the greatest act of love from our God Above towards His children.  He didn't ever want us to be lost, so He sent His Son.  So that we may once again be found.

I love you all and I hope you have the best Christmas ever!! Especially you Mom, Dad, Jakers, Toshy, Britt, and Torbs.  I love you all so much.  :)

Quote of the week:

The greatest gift you could give to the Lord at Christmas, or at any other time, is to keep yourself unspotted from the world, and His gift to you will be the peace of knowing that you are prepared to meet Him, whenever that time shall come.

-Elder Russel M. Nelson

MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!!! :)

XOXO

Hermana Anika Van Boerum

p.s. sorry if this email didn't make any sense, President cut our emailing time short today!!! ok bye love you all!!

My new comp Hermana Webb