Simply having a wonderful Christmas time - 12/17/12

"Well Elder... you're great."

That's what President Smart usually has to say during our interviews. He's not the most social person in the world, but he always makes his missionaries feel like he loves them. He also makes us feel like he can peer into our souls and know everything about us. But he still loves us, so that must be a good thing.

This week, my companion and I had interviews, and he also interviewed the best investigator I've had in a long time ("EQ"). He got baptized the very next day. He didn't invite any family or friends, but a lot of the ward showed up to support him. And they brought food, too. I felt bad because I couldn't bake anything super special for his special day, but I did find the time to whip up a box of brownies.

On Sunday, we attended a special musical performance that was composed and performed by members of our stake. It was pretty good. I met Sister Beckstrom there, the missionary that served in my home ward before I came here. She took a picture for facebook, if any of you are friends with her. She's a sweetheart, and she's excited to serve a mini-mission for a couple weeks after Christmas. That seems like a pretty cool opportunity to me.

Exchanges with the Zone Leaders were also this week, and that was a whole lot of fun. I love our Zone Leaders to bits. They are very good missionaries. I got to teach a killer first lesson to a potential investigator, which was super refreshing because we haven't found any new investigators in the three weeks I've been here.

Three weeks? That's half a transfer! I still don't know my ward or my area at all, and I'm sure my comp will be leaving me soon, since this is his fifth transfer in Murrieta. So I better pay attention and figure out what's going on so I don't look completely incompetent.

Christmas Eve will be next p-day. I don't know if the library will be open or not, to be honest, but I've got a homeshare that will bail us out if we need it. Hopefully we can figure out skype arrangements for our bi-yearly call home.

If I don't get to do it later, I'll go ahead and wish you a Merry Christmas right now. There are a few families in the ward that want us to see them either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we should be taken care of. Do me a favor and look at the Sara Bareilles song "Love is Christmas". Know that you are all loved and cared about, especially during the few seconds between my head hitting the pillow at night and the alarm going off at 6:30am.