A Christmas Pageant To Remember!

Monday:

We've had so much snow and so many storms, we stopped keeping track.  My journal mentions a crazy storm though, I kind of remember something....

Tuesday:

Um, well, normally we drive into the city today that way we have time to be there for the meeting, but our Zone Leaders wouldn't let us.... :/  So we had to plan our day on the fly.... :P  Um, we did a lot of work and I got to sign with the deaf lady at the Library.  Anyway, we signed for 5-10 minutes!!  And I never used paper the whole time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :D

Wednesday:

Um... we had transfers.  Elder Miyasaki is awesome!!!!!! He's half Asian, we both love to cook and play guitar!!  We have pretty common interests and he's teaching a lot about how to become a better missionary!  Poor guy is from Hawaii..... but he's going home pretty soon anyway, haha.  He's gonna teach me how to make good Asian food (Japanese curry, fried rice, etc.) and I'm gonna show him some Italian/other dishes!!!

Oh, btw, he has a musabi press!!!  And he said I'm the only elder that has known what it is/what its for!!

Thursday:

We did service the entire day! The weather report was wrong (it was supposed to be a high of -22)  it was only -17!!!!!!!  :l  We also enjoyed a low of -27 to -28 (which with wind chill made it -35 to -40!!!!!!)  It was so cold my eye lashes froze together!!!!

BTW, this is the balaclava Grandma Bear knitted for me, and Grandpa Bear’s old wooly-pully sweater.

Friday:

I made my stuffing (which was half decent) and roasted vegetables!!!  Our Christmas program was straight out of the Best Christmas Pageant EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  lol, we had a very crazy nativity complete with an angel stealing the wiseman's gold, Joseph giving the baby Jesus Shakin' Baby Syndrome, and me trying to get the Angel's cue correctly.... lol  it was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Among all the Craziness.  I realized something.  You've always taught me that Christmas isn't about gifts, trees, food, and wrapping.  But I've always been blessed to enjoy this season with family.  As I sat in the chapel singing Silent Night with my Branch, I felt the Spirit of Christ touch my heart and remind me what the whole thing is really about.  That Christ came, and we're saved...  Which everything else reminds, and amplifies!

Saturday:

Spent the whole day doing service.  I got to crawl through a manhole and work in a cistern!!!!  It was awesome!!!!!!!!!!  I also dislocated my knee later that day.... not so much fun....

Sunday:

Had a fun day at church.  Taught a new investigator, she's interested and coming to church on Sunday!  Her two Italian mastiffs didn't eat us.  And I was reminded, suits can be dry cleaned, souls can't.  We also got to watch the last half of the Christmas Devotional and I made homemade pizza!!!!!!!  I turned out really well.  Deer sausage makes a great topping!!!  (BTW early this week, I made Biscuits and Gravy, with Deer/pork ginger and sage sausage.... it was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Laboring With Love and the Spirit!

Monday:

We went to clear off this older women's driveway and were very successful.  About half way through though, we reached a patch of ice that wasn't breaking very easily (we'd hit patches before, but this was the rest of the driveway)..... afraid that this would stop us (we promised to only do the "easy" stuff)  I felt prompted to utilize the priesthood.... the ice didn't stand a chance.  As I used the Ice cracker (long pole with a flat metal blade to chisel through the ice) with such force every stroke brought massive amounts of sparks, it was breaking off in huge chunks and the driveway was cleared.  Although, half way through the "nasty ice"  I got another prompting that we should go in and eat before it got too late.  We followed it and were blessed with even more opportunities to serve and share the gospel because of it! We were able to go back the next day, finish it, talk to some people while we worked on it, and take up some time between activities!

Oh, I found a small Paul Revere pot!!!  The poor thing has been left and repeated abused in an elementary/middle school.... I cleaned it up as best I could and polished the solid copper bottom...  =D

Tuesday:

We helped hand out flyers for the Filipino Tsunami Bottle Drive!  We (the missionaries, who are used to knocking doors, lol) handed out ~120 flyers in about an hour?  it was awesome!!  Then we helped out the a family in the branch.  Elder Anderson saved the day with his awesome plumbing skills!!!  (We fixed a leaky well spout)  and then (a couple days earlier we followed a prompting to go tract in a neighborhood, where we got a referral and a potential service project!!)  we followed up on that referral (had a good chat, and we might also be able to help them!)  and they gave us another referral!!!  Which we contacted, (her brother, who's building his house and could use an extra hand!)  and we're excited to go out and help there!!!  Then, after a long day, we had a supper appointment at a branch member’s with one of their neighbors.  We (the elders) weren't getting along super well and realized that Satan was trying to get in there and mess things up, boy did we spoil his plan!!!  The lesson went great!!!  Even though my french bagget I made had a stripe of flour down the middle....... X_x  I was so embarrassed!!! and it tasted pretty bad.... oh well, lesson learned I guess

Wednesday:

We repaired the missionaries relationship with an evangelical Food bank!!!  We ended up serving out there for 3~ hours!  And answered a lot of questions too!!!  I was also able to put my pallet jack driving skills to use (form working at Orabrush!)  Then we drove for a long long time to a galaxy far far away!  We ate at a member’s house, it went super well!!! The Mom shares my passion for amazing food, and she cooks using an old style cast iron wood oven!!!!!!!!!  O_O  it was amazing!!!  The Dad played the Banjo and guitar for a lot of awesomeness!!  And then I played Hallelujah!  (could you send me the lyrics? they want a copy)

Thursday:

um, made some AWESOME doughnuts for a DM (cinnamon sugar, powdered, vanilla, and maple!!!) they were perfect!!!!!!!!  Freezing rain sucks......

Friday:

We got to go to the Temple again :D  I made fresh bread and French toast for the Mission President and his wife...

Saturday:

I was stuck in Barrhead in a tri-panion (Elder Anderson was called early to be a District Leader)  and they didn't have much in the way of breakfast foods (no milk... at all).... I tried making a blueberry and mango cobbler.... it didn't work out too well.... at all..... but it was edible!!!!!!  I got to drive on the ice.... it sucks..... I brought a frosting set (for $1.50!!!) and a cooling rack (also $1.50!!) and we finally got home late that night after 3 days of being on the road.... :s

Sunday:

We had ~16 people (including 4-6 children) at fast sunday (it was really cool though, because we all basically shared our testimonies!!)  and then we had an awesome time burning our ties to celebrate our 6 month mark!!!!!!  Can you believe I've been gone for 6 months already?!?!?!?

Adventures Cooking for the School Board, Freezing in a Blind and Packages Stuffed With Love

Oh, there's a super funny story about my companion!! (don't worry, I got permission)  So the day I got the Balsamic Vinegar, I opened it up back home and nearly died and went to heaven!!!   I took a small spoon sip and loved it some much I offered it to my companion.  He was a bit taken back, but decided that he'd be brave..... his bravery wasn't enough to prepare him for this wonderful but somewhat strong and unfamiliar flavor....  I hope I never forget the face he made!!!!!  It was so funny, I nearly died again!!!!!!!   He looked like someone had just fed him kumquat kimchi.... I seriously wish I got a picture, but oh well...... that just means the story will get better with age ;)

Monday:

Burnt myself making doughnuts..... at least they tasted good!!!  I almost killed my thermometer.... :(  But it came back!!!!!!!   The doughnuts came out crisper than I wanted... not too bad, but not like back home either, and I feel like the temp is the culprit

We got yelled at by some guy for shoveling his sidewalk.... he said we were trespassing.... there was no sign, no fence, no gate, and were only standing on his freshly shoveled front walk.....? lol

Tuesday:

We helped shelve books at the local library :D  helped install some flooring, and had a very good day "hanging out" with a less active kid who's struggling with a lot.  Apparently it went super well!!  Oh, I was cold after sitting in a deer blind for 30-45 minutes and said a prayer that heavenly Father would help me warm my feet up and that we could continue to be a good influence.  It seemed right after that, we got to walk up this huge hill!!!  My feet and legs were very warm after :)

Wednesday:

Froze (I hadn't gotten Grandma's package yet =D )  while helping to build a set of stairs.  That night, we had a fantastic lesson (which they setup!!!!) Answered questions, felt the spirit, and found a service project that they can help us with!  The man that we were teaching also was able to give Elder Anderson and me some occupational advice for post-mission!  He owned a very successful (used to be the largest landscaping and snow removal business in western Canada) business!!!  So that was freakin sweet!!

Thursday:

We helped cook a meal for a school board meeting.  They were reheating frozen Shepard pies and were worried because they were still frozen.  They actually asked me what to do!!  It was crazy?!?!?!!  I'm just 19?!?!?!?!  Anyway, so, I remembered some things:

• foil is an insulator, pull it off!!!!!
• Mashed potatoes Don't reheat well, so we scraped those off too (besides, they were still frozen and only insulating the filling beneath....
• then, to save the mashed potatoes, we pooled our heads together... Heated them on a double boiler, added melted butter, sour cream and used an immersion blender to achieve a smooth texture!  IT WORKS!!!! It wasn't as good as fresh, but it worked!!!!!!

Then, we helped build part of a deck, cleaned someone's backyard, and meet up with our district leader and his companion for a "blitz"  (where they come to our area and see how we're doing).  They brought a package!!!!!!  So we went inside, I found some mittens, a pair of socks, boot liners, and lots of treats!!

We finished off the night by going to a Lion's club meeting about the Tsunami in the Philippines, we got our name out there and will be involved in various community service projects for it!!!

Friday:

Worked really hard at a house where we were giving service moving a bunch of stuff, hauling wood, watching the dogs chase mice, and making sausage!!!  I love grating Ginger :D  it made my hands smell amazing!!!  Except it really hurts when it squirts in your eyes..... no kidding...

Saturday:

Downloaded some awesome talks from mormon.org.  Enjoyed a lunch with the Branch President and his wife, their son and his wife, their two kids, some of our investigators, and their two kids (who are basically the same age and the Branch President’s grand-kids!)

The other notable thing is that we stopped by someone (winter roads aren't easy in 2 wheel drive with no snow tires..... :P they're gonna change our car soon though!)  and not only are they still interested, but she said we should stop by her Grandma's and offer to shovel snow.  We did, the homecare nurse was worried and had us leave. Then her daughter (a different person from our investigator) called and apologized and setup something tonight!!!!

Sunday:

We had the Primary children do their program.  Enjoyed all the talks and songs.  (Whitney's daughter actually went up by herself and sat down with the other kids!!  It was adorable!!!!)  After, we had a branch Potluck.  I brought a loaf of bread I made that morning, and not only did the french family love it!!  It was completely gone within just a little bit!!!!!!