I've been waiting to use that subject line for an entire year ever since Uncle Rob suggested it last year when I was in a different place that doesn't see snow, although back then I did stand out a little more for my less-than-dark complexion.
Last week on the night after P-Day, we were chatting under the Christmas lights just before going to bed when we got a mysterious phone call -- it was the assistants telling us that our son was getting emergency transferred the next morning! We were sad to see him go. Several missionaries have received news that they are returning to their foreign mission original assignments, which was part of the reason things were getting shuffled around. So for now we continue as a normal companionship with only an empty top bunk to remind us of Elder Shepherd.
Last night to spread some Christmas Eve cheer, we took a bunch of Christmas cards we made and delivered them to a bunch of members and people we're teaching that we thought might be a little lonely. Sometimes when we knocked on the door, we heard some funny comments on the other side. One house we knocked on had some little kids come peer through the glass. There was a five or six year old girl that ran back into the house and squealed, "It's the missionaries! I'm so excited!" Another house had someone who wasn't a member answer and go to get his elderly sister saying, "The pastors are here." I think my favorite was when we heard a little kid push a stool across the floor and climb up to peek through the hole. Someone asked who was there, and he said, "I dunno . . . two guys. One of them is really tall!"
Christmas has been awesome. A week or so ago we had a Christmas zone conference where we painted ornaments for someone we're teaching. There is a family here in the ward that brought us all Cane's chicken yesterday along with a giant stocking full of snacks. We are having a really hard time eating as fast as the members can cook. Today we also did a white-elephant and a ginger-bread house building competition with the district.
Things are going well in our area. There is a family of four that wants to be baptized on the 30th, so we are really excited for them. We have continued to have our english class (even though it is online for now) and someone that came for the first time last week also came to check out church. It continually blows me away how much more open people are to accepting invitations after being served a little bit.
One awesome and kind of funny experience was when we went to a member's house. We had talked to them in our last appointment about sharing the gospel with their downstairs neighbor by inviting them to church or to a family home evening. They were excited, but a little nervous, as all their past conversations had pretty much been greetings in passing. We were going to follow up on how it went. When we walked in the door, though, they had their friend already in there and where explaining pretty much everything anyone could ever need to know about the gospel. They taught her about the restoration, the Book of Mormon, prophets, life after death, the temple, and a dozen other things, but it was just so fun to see how excited they were to share the gospel and how much it meant to them. When we introduced the Book of Mormon, I mentioned how it answers questions we have, such as what happens after we die. We read a scripture about it, which she liked, and then said, "Sometimes I also wonder, what is the purpose of life?" It was awesome just how perfect the question was and how easy it was to say, "The Book of Mormon also talks about that!" It was just a fun experience.
We also decked out a Halloween skeleton that Aunt Kathy sent a while ago with some Day of the Dead drawings and started using it as a zone travelling trophy. Everyone who wins the challenge of the week gets to decorate a bone. It is a lot of fun.
The other day we called a lady that we had met in the street. We asked if she was ready for Christmas. She told us that it was just going to be a normal day and that she couldn't wait until it was over. She sounded like she would spend it all alone and told us about a recent loss of a loved one she had experienced. We felt like we should share Mosiah 16:7-9, which are some of my all-time favorites about Christ and life after death. She seemed really touched and asked, "Where is that? I would love to study it on my own." We told her about the Book of Mormon and sent her the link to the app. She told us that it had brought her a little peace on an especially difficult Christmas. And I think that is what Christmas is all about. Christ is the gift. Because of him, we can all live again. We have something to hope for. And I think there is nothing that is more beautiful to share with others than that.
Til we meet,
Elder Harris
Pictured is a blurry picture of the Christmas star, me with a chameleon, and our awesome skeleton mascot.
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