12-28-2016

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! My first Christmas in the mission field was great! It was a tad strange without my family but I got through it. We started our Christmas Day at the mission home where my whole zone went for breakfast and games. That was a blast! My mission president is so good at ping pong! Me and one of the Samoan elders kept him on his toes though haha. That was a lot of fun! It really brought our zone closer together. Our zone is super fun! After the mission home we went to a investor's home to open presents and made ginger bread houses! I opened my Christmas package there. Thanks so much for everything! Thanks for the blanket!!! It is much needed here! It was a lot of fun watching the little kids open their gifts. We shared a Christmas message and then left to go Skype the family.  That was the best part of Christmas! I loved seeing my parents and talking to them and Tyrel. Even though it hasn't been too long I miss you guys a ton! Yes, especially you mom. I am glad to see that everyone had a good Christmas! After we talked to our family we had lunch/more breakfast at the Wagners home. We also Skyped there. There are a awesome crazy family. They have a lot of kids but they are so much fun. After eating there we went and eat some more! We had dinner with sister Boney. She is a single older lady. Since we couldn't be
alone with her and she couldn't find any available males on Christmas we had to eat at the Alaska Worker Association. It was like a pot luck for volunteers. Not going to lie it was a bit strange. Definitely one for the memories. It was nice because we were able to talk to some non members about the church but most of them really didn't want to here anything. So there were about 10 people there. The head lady wanted everyone to sing Christmas carols. So we did. It was the most hilarious thing I have ever heard or was a part of! No one knew any words. Everyone, myself included, was toned deaf. It reminded me of the Christmas story when they go out to the Chinese restaurant and they sing deck the halls. I kept imagining that so I was busting up!
My companion kept nudging me to be quite but i couldn't help it! Super funny! It was a very interesting Christmas dinner! After dinner we went to play board games with some investors. That was also a lot of fun! Oh and a priest that gets out with us a lot got me a packers beanie! It is so awesome! All and all it was a great Christmas!
This week leading up to Christmas was a hard week as no one was home. We were still able to meet with most of our investors. There is one investor who we have on date to be baptized. She is the native lady that gave me fish I my first day. Her name is Sarah. She was going to be baptized this coming Saturday but unfortunately she did not keep some commitments this holiday weekend. We had to push her date back again. It was sad news today. We did have a good talk with her on how she can keep moving forward. I told her that as she puts her trust in the lord he will help her. It so awesome to see these people put their trust in their savior! I love being able to see that each day. I have learned to rely on him more on my mission then ever before! I have already be in situations where there is no way I know what to say. I thought to myself I am only a 18 year old kid. How am I supposed to give marriage advice or teach some one to quit drugs or drinking? I realized I am not the one doing it. I know that I'm just the messenger. The spirt will teach and Christ will help. I know as we put our trust in our savior he will always be there for us. We first have to trust and rely on him. I pray we all remember that this holiday season. Let's make our new year revolutions bring us closer to Christ. Please be safe and have fun this New Years everyone! I miss you all and I really hope to hear from you!

Gifts under the tree