December 23, 2013

HOLA HOLA FAMILIA!

THIS WEEK! IT IS HAPPENING!! WE GET TO SKYPE! AHH! I am so stoked! I cannot wait.  We will be spending Christmas at Rhenon's with her mom and dad and son, so I will be skyping from there.  I wrote down tanner's skype name and will find him to skype.  You can count on me getting on to skype at around 2:30-3:00my time.  I believe I can call you beforehand and let you know when I am getting on skype.  Sound good? GOOOOOOD! GET READYY!!  WOOT WOOT!  

I am so happy to hear you got my package! I was so rushed to send it out that I didn't get to wrap anything.  I got your packages!! They are sitting under our little Christmas tree in our room! I am so excited :) And I got Grandma's package as well!  We also got home one night this week and two of my favorite families in the ward made us a wreath to put up in our apartment.  It smells divine! it's nice to have some Christmas cheer in our apartment.

Sister Bonn is absolutely wonderful! I love love love her.  We get along great and have such a good time together. I honestly don't feel like I am even training her. She knows what she is doing. With Sister Greenfield and I, it took a little while to get into the groove of teaching together, but with Sister Bonn when we teach it clicks.  We work very well together.  She is a natural, and it helps because she wants to work and obey and get things done.  She has caught on to the missionary schedule really quick and has been a joy to work with especially with figuring out the bus system.  Speaking of which we now have no car at all.  NONE.  At least we got it for 2 days a week, but they have given the car to the 1st ward Sisters completely.  AHHHHH! They did this because their area isn't even covered by the bus.  It is seriously a struggle not having a car.  We waste so much time riding and walking.  One time this week we waited for the bus for 30 minutes and it never showed which caused us to miss appointments we had set and waste 2 hours of prime proselyting time.  It was very frustrating. Our ward is the biggest ward in the stake and yesterday our Bishop gave us a ward list that is 26 pages long.  26!!! There are so many people we could go out and find but with the bus is makes it very difficult because by the time we ride and walk to the persons home 30-60 minutes has been lost and if they aren't home we have to wait another 60 minutes for the next bus. AND the bus doesn't even run on Sunday and only two lines run on Saturday.  I am pretty frustrated about the situation but we will have to make it work.  Ward members are great, but even then it is hard to schedule with us, our investigators and a member/bus.  We will see what happens.

This week we had Zone conference in Billings and as always, it was FANTASTIC.  They had a slide show of everyone's baby pictures around Christmas time.  haha I saw mine! Good choice family, good choice. Hahaha it was really fun! Then they gave us a goodie bag with letters from everyone! I LOVED that more than anything.  It was such a fun surprise and so much fun to read from everyone. I so loved hearing your testimonies. Not going to lie, looking at everyone's Christmas pictures and reading the letters made me really miss being home at this time of year.  It was fun, but really stunk at the same time.  The Assistants dressed up as Santa and his little helpers so we got pictures with Santa which was fun. P.S. I got a little package from Sharon and Van! They sent me peanut brittle and peanut butter fudge! HOW NICE! What a wonderful surprise.  

We left for zone conference at 4:30...ohmygosh, worst morning of my life.  I died.  And I had to drive!! Holy Moses, I feared for everyone's lives that morning.  Haha but we arrived safely.  One of the Assistants spoke and talked about when Jesus asks Peter, Peter do you love me?  and Peter answers yes Lord, you know that I love thee.  But Christ continues to ask him 3 more times and finishes  by saying if you love me feed my sheep.  It really hit home to me. Because I love my Savior, I have grown to love him a lot more on my mission and I want to show him that I love him.  I want to show that I cherish my relationship with Him more than anything else.  I love my Savior, and because I do, I am going to feed His sheep.  I am going to do and be the best missionary that I can possibly be and bring people unto the same understanding and love that I have for my Savior.  Because I love Him I will serve my mission with love and purpose.  

People always talk about Christmas on the mission and how amazing it is, and I think that I have just now come to that point.  It truly is an incredible experience focusing completely on Christ this Christmas season, and not being influenced by all the commercial aspects of Christmas.  I have come to this realization that if Christ was not born we would have absolutely no chance to return. And how badly I want to return.  I want nothing more than to return to my Heavenly Father and live and know Him again.  I have always heard that Christ is the author of our Salvation and it hasn't been until my mission that I have truly come to understand that.  He led a life paving the way for us to return and what a simple path it is. As humans we have a tendency to complicate things much more than they need to be.  We were teaching the Fuqua's, a part member family this week and we were talking about dropping the last syllable in Spirit of Christmas and it becomes Spirit of Christ. And I got to talking with them about how there is so much more to our existence than what we crack it up to be.  There is so much more than our jobs and our home and the places that we live and the friends that we have.  That Christ has opened up a door of monumental opportunity and eternal progression and potential.  I wish I could better express this understanding that I have received.  It truly is an amazing gift that we have been given.  How grateful I am for the gift of my Savior and all that he has done for me.  At zone conference they gave us choir music and we split up into sections and learned our parts and came together and sang these Christmas songs and I couldn't even sing because of how much love I felt for my Savior at that moment.  One of the songs repeats over and over "Christ came here for you, Christ came here for you" I know that he did.  Like I mentioned in emails before, there are many things that I don't yet "know" but only "believe" but I KNOW that Christ came here for me. 

I am to grateful for this Christmas season. Although it is hard being away from home and family right now I know this is where the Lord needs me and wants me right now.  I love my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  Thank you mom and dad for helping me understand his role in my life. Thank you for your testimonies and your love of the Savior.  Thank you for raising me in a home with Christ at the center.  I will forever be grateful for the home you raised me in full of love and the gospel.

I will write Grandma and Grandpa. Send them my love

I LOVE YOU! MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

talk to you soooooooonn!

Sister MOLINNEEEEE