Dec 19, 2011

Well, Time Flies

I am just starting this and I literally have only 15 minutes. So, it will be a short Christmas greeting - sorry about that!

I just want to tell you all how much I love and adore you! Christmas is a little sadder this year because I don't get to be with my beloved family and friends, but honestly this season has been really special for me this year. Never have I ever focused so much on the Savior which is a little sad because He is honestly the whole reason that we have Christmas - I mean, it's his birthday and all I have ever done to celebrate is give other people gifts. I'm trying (and still need to improve a little) to give more to the Savior. To become more like the person I know He would want me to be. Merry Christmas!

This last week has been a little crazy! We had to move the other sisters out of our apartment on Friday and so we had 8 or 10 elders traipsing through our apartment. It was kinda weird! Usually there is no one in our apartment but us four...and sometimes the landlord and his wife when they need to fix something or install something. Now our apartment is rather barren - our front room is where the other sisters used to study and now all we have is a couch and a tree. On the bright side, apart from the fact that our landlords live beneath us, we could totally have a rollerblading rink :) I have had a hankering to go rollerblading lately and when we went to Saugus last week to go to Sally's (Salvation Army) we saw one and I really wanted to go! Too bad we didn't have time.

We have two investigators that are really progressing - Dxxxxx and la familia Nxxx (a part-member family).  Dxxxxx has been to church the last two weeks and she loves it! She is doing super well in her Book of Mormon reading and we feel like she is really gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. She is just the sweetest thing ever :) Then there's the familia Nxxx. Dxxxx (mom) and Gxxxxxx (daughter) are both nonmembers but Fxxxxx (dad) is. Fxxxxx's pretty inactive but we've been meeting with Dxxxx and Gxxxxx pretty regularly. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation this week and Dxxxx was getting really into it - she was reading the pamphlet and asking lots of really good questions. The lesson went fine and then we were going to end with a prayer. We finally got her to say a prayer out loud because she shyed out of it during the last two lessons. Her prayer brought the Spirit into that room SO much stronger than anything either one of us could have said during that lesson. She was so sincere in asking for the ability to read and learn for herself and in blessing her family that they would be able to come to church this week. They didn't make it to church this week because Dxxxx and Gxxxxxx had gotten ready and then fallen asleep in front of the TV :) But they did come to the "Cena Navidenia" with the ward on Saturday. I'm really excited for all of them!

Speaking of the Christmas dinner - it was absolutely crazy! It was supposed to start at 5:00 and it didn't actually start until 6:00 (not even sacramant meeting starts on time in this ward) and I got to play piano last minute because the primary pianist (Sister Ixxxxxx - the Bishop's wife) is in Brazil with her families for a few weeks over the holiday. The primary pageant was cute from what I could see behind the piano, and then as tables were overflowing with people we got to help serve all the tamales. :) Not my favorite but I'm learning to love it. Then once everyone was finishing the food, they cranked up the tunes and started dancing - EVERYONE danced! Hermana Sxxxxx (who is probably 70 something) was doing her thing with her daughter on the dance floor. I wanted to get in on the action so bad! They were having such a good time.

Life is good - I'm doing well I'm excited for Christmas. Thanks for the letters and packages and prayers and love. I am so blessed to have so much support!

Also, I actually KNEW as I was writing my letter last week about going to Nahant that Dad would totally be all over google maps :) Love that about our family! I'm inheriting it a little bit. Sidenote - I'm starting to understand where everything is! I could probably drive around for a little while before getting lost. It's a start! Roads are so incredibly crazy here!

Well, I love you all! Feliz Navidad and all that!

Mucho Amor!
Hermana Palmer

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