This is my December - 12/16/13

Last Christmas, I got pretty homesick. I had lots of time to sit around and think about what I missed at home. And I'm sure they meant well, but when all the members invited us over to their homes so we could watch them be happy with their families, it made it that much more apparent that I was not a part of their family. This year, we don't have any plans for Christmas day other than Skype. I think we're going to have a really big zone party and just hang out with the other missionaries. Hopefully the rowdiness of that many Elders in one spot will overcome any twinges of homesickness that may arise. I've got lots of baking supplies so I can make lots of cookies. Should be pretty fun.

This week has been pretty fun. Lots of non-traditional missionary stuff, again.

The Parking Lot Miracle couple took up a lot of our week. We went over on Tuesday and got the mobile home all set up for them. They separated that night, and haven't slept together since. Wednesday morning, we had to go fix the mobile home because it was leaking water onto the carpet. Luckily for me, my companion is way more handy than I am, and with him and the member that owns it, we were able to get the water pump replaced and the mobile home 100% operational again. So that's all set.

Smoking is still hard for them. They've had a couple of hiccups. But I'm confident that they will keep off the cigarettes, even though it's a bit worrisome that they aren't totally clean yet. 

This couple made me super proud when they told us about their testimony of the Law of Chastity and how separating has been the best decision. "It's really not that hard, when you think about it in terms of being separated for just a little while so that we can be together forever." SHE GETS IT. She totally gets it. I was so proud. 

Those two came to church again, and they brought their 16-year-old and a 9-year-old daughters with them. We taught both of them after church. They really enjoyed it, even though it was high council Sunday and all three of the speakers were pretty dull. Thank goodness for the Holy Ghost! If the spirit wasn't there I'm sure they would have thought our church was horribly dull. The classes were really great, so that helped, too. 

Other than that family, well, things haven't moved forward a whole lot. Our ward mission leader had this genius idea that we should imitate the Jehovah's Witnesses and put literature on every single door in our ward boundaries. Well, we handed out 1500 door hangers with the Articles of Faith and our phone numbers on them on Saturday morning, and so far no leads.

Well, at least I can be super proud of my zone. Our ward is planning on having 4 baptisms on Sunday the 22nd! One of them is super flaky and may not happen, but there will be at least our couple and one other solid dude from the other elders that work in our ward. My zone will probably have 10 baptisms this month, possibly more. If every zone got as many baptisms as ours, we would double our goal. So I have a lot to be happy for, if I'm in the same mindset as Alma 29:14-17.

Love you tons. Have a great week.