Elder Corey Dobbs: Christmas lights at the Temple

Hey everyone,
This week was another pretty cool week. The weather has been chillier but it's not raining as much anymore. Besides that, this week was fun. As far as big events, last Sunday we went to the temple in Madrid because they turned on the Christmas lights on the temple grounds and afterwards there was a concert inside the chapel right there. As missionaries, we could only go if we were going with someone we're teaching, and luckily, a couple weeks before, our friend Carlos had told us he wanted to visit the temple. We were able to get a ride with a couple members in the ward, a couple from Peru, who were also going. That was really nice because instead of an 1 1/2 hr trip by bus, train, and metro, it was 40 minutes by car. When we got there they had already turned on the lights but we had time to walk around and take pictures. It was super pretty. After that, we went inside the chapel and found seats for the concert. It started with a couple opening act type performances that were more of classical pieces (and I don't know why exactly they were performing there), then the church choir got up and sang Christmas hymns, accompanied by a piano, violin, flute, and oboe. They were really good and it was a cool performance. Carlos kept asking me questions like "what is the director doing with her hands?" while she was conducting, which was kind of funny.
This week we also ate with members a few days, which is always good. On Monday we had to go to Madrid again to practice for the missionary Christmas choir they're putting together. We have plans to sing in a couple different places in Madrid, like Sol, the Plaza Mayor, and the Parque del Retiro over the next couple weeks. More on that later once we've actually performed once or twice and I can talk about it.
Today after we went to the temple we stayed in Madrid to play basketball with other missionaries who went to the temple today. I've consigned myself to the fact that even though I'm tall, I'm not good at basketball, but I still had fun just because I knew a bunch of the guys playing so we had fun.
As far as missionary work, things are going really well. Rosa Maria is getting ready for her baptism next week, and everyone is excited. Yesterday we had our weekly Noche de Barrio after English classes, where either we or the Hermanas share a message, then we play some games and have snacks, and we had a bunch of people. Carlos, Rosa Maria, someone the Hermanas are teaching, and Evelyn and her son (the Bulgarian woman we met about a month ago, who's been really busy) all came, along with more members than usual, and it was really fun and awesome to see so many people we know being able to enjoy themselves.
I hope you all have a swell week and I love you all!
-Elder Dobbs