Skibby sent us the following email on Monday, December 12, 2016:

Date:  December 12, 2016 at 9:59 AM

Subject:  Short and Sweet

Hola Familia!!

This week has been short since I wrote last Wednesday.

So this letter will be short and sweet also.

Well.

Much of what has happened the rest of this week is failed appointments and traveling. We had to travel to Sol twice this week to sing. I don't think you know, but last Tuesday and Thursday were holidays here. THERE WAS A TON OF PEOPLE IN SOL. I thought I was going to lose my companion. We almost held hands to keep track of each other, but decided it was a little weird.

We sang 9 songs. I wish I could hear it from a native’s point of view because I'm sure our accents were horrendous, and maybe that's why there was a sufficient crowd...!!  But it went well! My favorite part of singing was watching the faces of the people and seeing them content to stop and listen in the hubbub and bustle of the night. My other favorite part: Hna Bates (the director) sang the first part of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” before we all joined in, and she turned to the crowd and started singing really loudly. One of the ladies in the crowd thought she was singing at her or something, and joined in really loudly and excitedly until she realized she wasn't supposed to be singing. Adorable. I'm sure this doesn't sound funny at all, but it was hilarious.

Maybe I haven't told you about Rosa, but I really love her. She is from Puerto Rico. The last 2 times we visited her we happened to have food. She carefully takes the food we give her and puts it in her kitchen. She loves it when we give her food. I firmly believe Rosa really understands our purpose and understands the role of the Book of Mormon. This is really really good for her, and really good for me. We read in 3 Nephi 11 with her, and she loves the words they say. We talked about receiving an answer to her prayers, and my companion and I were able to testify about our own experiences, which was really sweet. Rosa said she feels really tranquil (here's the thing: they say siento tranquilidad con ustedes. And I don't really know the exact translation because tranquil just sounds weird. But it probably works the best since it is the same word. All words in Spanish are the same as they are in English) when she's with us. I just hope she will be able to recognize that it is THE HOLY GHOST!!

Well, that's about all for now. I love and miss you all. I forgot (again) today to buy an advent calendar, but I hope you are all eating yours faithfully. Don't fear, I am eating chocolate practically on a daily basis; it just isn't from the advent calendar.

I am hoping to skype Dec. 25 at 8:00 pm my time. Would that work for you guys? It should be about what -- 1:00 or 12:00 pm there in the USA??

Love,

Skib