Merry Christmas!

Elder Ruby and Elder Campbell

On Christmas Eve, Elder Campbell and I did a lot of walking.  Like all day long!  We thought we would do some daytime caroling, but we quickly found that it is very unproductive.  So was walking, but that was all we did:)  We did meet some people we had never seen before, so that was good, but that was a very long day.  We ended it very well though.  One of the families in the ward invited us over to their house in Guadalupe.  They have an enormous pink house in the middle of town.  Can't
miss it.  They had us over, along with their family;  I felt a bit odd spending Christmas Eve with someone's big family because I thought we would be spoiling the gathering, but they made us feel welcome.  They decorated the table and hung marshmallows from the ceiling fan for snow, and they put gift labels at everyone's spot at the table.  Dinner was soup (split pea and ham or chicken tortilla).  Yum.  Dessert was great too after Elder Campbell and I did their dishes.  It was a good Christmas Eve.  That night Elder Campbell and I finished up the advent calendar Mom and Lily made.  I love it.

On Christmas, we had a District meeting and then drove to Brother Larsen's to call home!  Boy was that good.  I wish we could do that more often!  I didn't feel homesick and still have not felt that way.  That has been a great blessing.

We then went to the Espinosa family's dinner.  They, too, have a big family, but they were so happy to have us over.  They fed us Hawaiian haystacks.  After giving a little lesson on the candy cane, we left with a prayer and blessing on their home.  Sister Espinosa was teary-eyed as we finished.  They left us with two boxes of cereal and a gallon of apple juice, and said to stop by for dinner anytime at 6:30!  Good day!  It was sunny and 65 degrees.  Yep, I didn't miss the cold, just the snow and feeling of Christmas.

So, I told you about one of the miracles that happened last week, but this week was miracle after miracle.  On Friday, we had made an appointment with some investigators.  They didn't answer.  I turned my back around toward the street, and this lady asked if we were the missionaries.  We said yes, and she said she had been looking for us.  Sarah and her soon-to-be husband, Ed, had had a series of unfortunate events.  Five deaths of people they knew on Christmas Eve/Day!  She is a recent convert of about 2 years.  He is not, but he wants to be sealed to her and be baptized!  At the moment, they are homeless, but trying to find a job.  We walked with them to the nearby park and listened to their crazy/awful story and then shared some scriptures from the Book of Mormon.  They wanted to come to church, so we found them a ride and they came.  Unlike many stories that I hear, I actually believe this one, and I think we will be having a baptism soon, as soon as Ed can give up his chewing tobacco.  She has to/wants to give up smoking.  They are going to do it together. Sarah was teaching Ed the gospel right in front of us, so she is pretty solid.  We are going to help these two get in contact with the ward employment specialist and get them back on their feet and merrily (or marrily, haha) in the temple.

God works in mysterious ways.  We happened to be at the right place at the right time.  No doubt, the spirit led us to make that appointment, and for some reason, the appointment fell through.

Here's a few pictures of our apartment.  I love the bags under the bike tires:)  Smart men!  I think he sent the pictures before they were fully loaded.  Clean, tidy apartment.  I wouldn't expect Hyrum to live any other way:)