Merry Christmas!!

So the cool thing about serving in Utah is that there are general
authorities around every corner. At our stake conference last week
ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS (mom, I'm sure you can sense my enthusiasm), an
apostle, spoke and shook my hand! He asked where I was from and turns
out he used to live in Joliet and was a branch president there! Crazy!
Then this past Friday at our mission devotional, ELDER JEFFREY R.
HOLLAND spoke to us! He shook each of the missionaries hands and
afterwards told us he did an individual interview when he shook our
hands and looked into our eyes.....so I have bad news. Just kidding of
course I passed! Strict obedience ladies and gentlemen. ;)
Long story short, serving in Utah is awesome! We have been being given
Christmas presents left and right. It really is such a blessing to
have so many people who want to take care of us. I am so thankful. I
am so grateful that I am going to be able to skype with my family in
THREE DAYS! I am not as thankful that they will see how fat I've
gotten! Hahaaa. If you want to give the missionaries presents for
Christmas, get them sweaters or blankets, or a watch or HAND SOAP!
Everyone uses hand soap! Hahaaa.
I am thankful also for the wonderful Christmas season! During the
CHRISTmas season people enjoy hearing of Jesus Christ. He truly is the
reason for the season. People that would usually not listen to our
message have their hearts softened during this time. I love my Savior!
Jeffrey R. Holland told us that "When God wants something done he
sends a baby". He wants us to return to live with him so he sent Jesus
Christ as a baby to the most humble circumstances. And thus begins the
Christmas story...
H***y is wonderful! He is already in Mosiah. The Book of Mormon is the
key to knowing if this church is true and he is reading it. Miracle.
C****r is so funny. For the last month when he offers the prayer he
mentions something about Santa bringing him everything that he asked
for. It is so cute that none of us have had the courage to break it to
him that just because he prays for Santa to bring him everything...it
doesn't mean that it's gonna happen! Hahaa
G***f and his family are really coming closer. G***f mentioned the
other day about how since he's been meeting with us he has seen the
blessings in his life.
Sister Talbert and I are still getting along! And she hasn't gotten
sick of me YET! HAhaaa...when I read that to her she said..."not that
you know of!"
I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. May the joy and happiness of
the Christmas season be in our hearts all year round. LOVE YOU!

Holidays are so much different on a mission. I keep hearing how people
are going home for Christmas or how some people are travelling and I
hear of lots of Christmas traditions! I am excited for everyone to be
with their families for the holidays. I am glad that my beautiful
trainer Sister Unrast is now safely back at home. She was one of my
greatest gifts. I am glad that my sister Kamee will be able to go home
for the holidays and spend time with our wonderful family. I am glad
that my beautiful friend Christine Zamudio will become Hermana Zamudio
tonight. My heart is overjoyed this Christmas season. I find great joy
being a missionary and testifying every day of the life of my Savior.
I love the Christmas season. I love the lights, the smells, the
traditions, the music, the love, the family time. I love the birth and
great gift of Jesus Christ: the reason for the season!!!

This week on my mission was very difficult. I got the heartbreaking
news that my sweet Princess had to be put to sleep this week. My heart
aches thinking that I will not be able to see her when I skype home to
my family. I feel like my family is incomplete without her. When I go
home next year she will not greet me. She will not be laying on my
bed. I will not be able to take her on walks. My heart is sad but I
know I will see her again. Pets can't make mistakes so I know I will
see her in heaven. I know this seems weirdly sentimental for a dog but
I loved her very much. My Princess had the type of love that was
unconditional and perfect just like my Heavenly Father. Okay....I'm
done being a sob but I wanted everyone to know that I loved my dog and
I will miss her very much.

As if Princess wasn't hard enough, our sweet 97 year old investigator
Hazel passed away on Friday morning. She went peacefully and is now
reunited with her husband!

On a happier note, we put our investigator H***y on date to be
baptized on January 10th! Wahooo! We are so excited for him.

This week was great. We have an exciting week ahead of us! We get to
go to the Salt Lake City temple tomorrow for the 8 o clock session!
Then on Wednesday we have zone conference. Then Friday we have a
mission devotional. Busy busy busy. I love being a missionary and
seeing miracles every day!

Love you all!

We got to go to temple square this week with the B***s! (a recent
convert and his family!) I FINALLY GOT TO SEE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!

Obviously I was a slacker last week and I didn't send pictures...silly
me! Who wants to look at a blog without pictures?! NO ONE! So I will
be better.
So....transfers are tomorrow and you know my history with being moved
around...well guess what?! (drum roll please!) I'M STAYING WITH SISTER
TALBERT IN THE COTTONWOOD STAKE! I am really excited. We added
TWO new investigators!
L**y is a sweet 15 year old girl that has grown up around the church
but has a few different feelings than the things we believe in and she
"doesn't believe in organized religion". But she is super cute and
wants to learn more :)
G***f grew up in Utah and has studied pretty much every religion ever!
So he asks very insightful questions that the spirit definitely has to
help us answer! Hahaa. His wife is less-active and they have 3 boys
and they are going to start joining G***f for our lessons!
H***y was a media referral. He is 22 and he had thyroid cancer and
just recently got it removed. He has lived in Utah for 2 years and his
brother is a member and he wants to be baptized.....GOLDEN! He came to
the Christmas devotional last night that we watched at a members
house. Afterwards we began talking and suddenly we were teaching the
Restoration and we invited him to be baptized! He said yes once he
finds out that the Book of Mormon is true! We are so excited!
C****r is our sweet little 8 year old investigator. His parents are
both less-active and his mom is very supportive of his desire to be
baptized...his dad needs the spirit to soften his heart just a little
:) But they are really wonderful and we had a great lesson this week
about repentance! (How do you teach repentance to a 9 year old you may
ask?...it was fun!)
AHH! It was just such a good week. I am so blessed to be a missionary
and to be staying in my area! And....I have been on a mission for 6
months this week!!!!!! 1/3 done. 2/3 to get done. #blessed
#HeIsTheGift #IcantbelieveImusinghashtags #lame

One of our cute less actives R***e!

So I love the Christmas season (duh!) and a family in one of our wards
(the F*******'s) take care of us! They gave us little trees to set up
in our apartment!

A poster I made for one of our ward's Christmas party!

Utah can put anything on a leaf of ice burg lettuce and call it a
salad....they called this an "appetizer salad"! Hahaahaahaa

HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING! Hahaa. Thanksgiving was fun house hopping!
We ate lots of food. We ate with one of our ward mission leaders and
there was a member of the 70 there, Elder Golden, from south Africa.
Then we ate with a less-active and his family! There was like 40
people there...it was like home! (except a lot more old people!) Then
we ate with our recent convert Jose and his family...mexicans know how
to make Thanksgiving! Hahahaaa.
So transfers are next week and I feel like I am going to stay but
we'll see! You know how much the Lord loves to move me around! Sister
Unrast (my trainer) goes home next week! Crazy! We got our first
Christmas invitation!
I wish I had funny stories to tell or exciting things to share but I
don't! I PROMISE I STILL HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR! Hahaaa.
I am so blessed and I thank my Heavenly Father for those blessings. I
hope everyone prays to Him. I hope that everyone will build a
relationship with him. We taught the young men of one of our wards
yesterday and we watched this little video....everyone should watch
it! It's so good!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-07-040-they-that-are-wise?lang=eng

I LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week.