12/29/09

Hey everyone!

So this week was a crazy one that was a lot different than any other week in the mission! With Christmas, the phone call home, and the mission Christmas conference it made for a great week!

So I have so much to tell you all and do not know where to start....

So the week went by quick and we now have a new investigator named Rosy and her parents Manuel and Damariz. Rosy is great and is reading the Book of Mormon and is definitely one of the chosen ones that God has been preparing! I contacted her in the flea market when we put up the table and all and she is progressing a lot. The down side is that she is a girl and is 22 years old.... which makes it hard to be really concerned and really be a part of her life because it looks bad and you always have to be careful in those kinds of situations. Whereas with Chewy he is a guy and we have become great friends and all and we don’t have to always be reserved with him to not send the wrong message. You know? But she is great and way excited and I really feel like she will be baptized soon :) Her family listens to us sometimes but they are not that interested. They do not reject us by any means, but they are not supportive of Rosy’s desire to keep learning and going to church and all. It’s the first week so we will see how it goes this week.

Veronica is great and we are continuing teaching her and her two daughters, but she struggles to understand the importance of being at church on Sunday. She does not like to be in front of a lot of people so she struggles to come church. We continue helping her though so we will see how it goes. Her daughters are why crazy too by the way! Ha-ha

Also some recent converts, the Salas family, have struggle a bit recently. Their grandma has become anti Mormon, not sure why, and she has been manipulating their kids and such. We worry a lot about them and are doing all we can to help them out. I imagined having close family members attack me about the church and I realized it would be SO hard. I am so grateful that all of my close family members are members of the church and for all the support they give!

So Christmas Eve, which is the big day here, was okay. My comp made his call home and then we just made Christmas treats in the house and relaxed. We had to be home at 8pm so there was not time to go eat with anyone and such. I was okay with it though, I’m not here to be at parties and such, I only have two years to work so I know I have to make the most of it. Well.... I guess I now only have 1 year! Crazy how fast time flies!

The on Christmas day we opened gifts and I called home. It was great to have gifts and all, but I missed the family a bit. It’s not the gifts that make Christmas “Christmas”, it’s the family and time spent together that counts. The phone call home was great and very uplifting! The rest of the day we finished making 84 caramel popcorn balls and then delivered them to the members and investigators on plates of about 4-5 each. We shared a little message with them and invited them to church and all. It was fun and I’m glad I was able to spend Christmas in the service of others. Life is never too great or happy if you just think about yourself, so it was a good Christmas.

Then yesterday we had the mission Christmas conference! It was great and it was the first time I saw the mission president playing around and such in the whole mission! He is a very efficient person so it was cool to relax a bit. I was not too into all of the festivities and all but I really enjoyed talking to everyone because there were 90 missionaries there from 3 zones. Also the best part was that my buddy Elder Killpack was there and we talked a lot. He is a great missionary and I look up to him a lot. I also received packages from mom, grandma, and the Zavoral family! Thanks so much! I love all of the love and support you give me!

Now we are back to the work and going at it again! I’m excited for all I know I will learn in the coming year and all that I was able to learn this past year! I know the gospel is true and it brings us happiness!

Love you all so much!

Elder Andrew Davidson