SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW!!

Yep, you heard right. SNOW!!!!! It has snowed twice here in Segovia now. It snowed yesterday night, leaving about an inch for us to trudge through that morning, but it all evaporated by the end of the day. Then, today, it snowed again! It has left a nice layer which gives an almost numinous [mysterious] frosting to the Aqueduct and the Cathedral. I don't know if it's snowed in Madrid, but up here in Segovia we get a bit more than them. According to the old Spaniard buzz, the weather is acting much differently this year. Supposedly it snowed in Andalucia in the south of Spain where it hardly ever snows. Segovia, however, gets snow every year, up to a foot at times.

The next big thing also has to do with the color white: Baptism this Saturday! Luis Enrique had his interview this Monday and now is all good to go to get baptized. We'll be filling up a "portable font" in our little church with cold water (because we don't have hot water in the church building). Presidente Galera and Patricio were both concerned about the coldness of the water, worrying that Luis wouldn't like it. On the contrary, however, Luis is a very tough man. He served in the Peruvian military as a young man and is just all around tough. In fact, he showers with cold water every morning. So I don't think the cold water will be a problem...for him at least. When we asked him who he wanted to baptize him, he looked at me and said "You want to go in the cold water with me?" We all laughed, and of course I agreed. So I'll be the one doing the baptism.

We've been enjoying the many typical Christmas foods here. There is of course Turron, in all it's varieties. They also have Polvorones, which literally translated means "big dusts." They're golf ball sized chunks of compacted almond powder and sugar, mixed with a variety of spices like cinnamon and lemon zest. They live up to their name and are very crumbly, so you have to eat them with care. Figs or "Higos" are popular around this time of year as well, and I've grown quite fond of them. They taste just like fig newtons (no surprise there). I've found that pretty much all of their Christmas treats are made in some way or another out of crushed almonds. I don't mind; they're delicious! :)

Besides all this, we're still teaching Itso the Bulgarian. It's hard because of communication but it's fun at the same time. And he has a great desire to follow the gospel and continue to learn, which is nice to see as a missionary.

Elder Kap and I are getting along great. We're trying all kinds of strategies to keep the apartment warm (our normal heating units are disfunctional so all we have is a little box heater). But it's fun!

Well, I've got to go. We've got a crazy amount of stuff to get done this preparation day and naught but a few hours in which to do it. I love you all! Take care, and I hope your holiday season is great!

-Elder Knorr