I made the most beautiful gingerbread house that you all will need to see pictures of,and I will hopefully send them today as well. It started out as a normal enough
gingerbread house and then turned into a white-trash gingerbread house, and then it
became a gingerbread mobile home. Can't even describe it, words don't do it justice,
so just wait for the pictures.
This weekend we had a big snowstorm. On Sunday church was cancelled and we were snowed in for a while. So I went all out with cutesy Christmas cards. Must have made about 100 of them. All for the investigators and members! Woo-hoo. When we were able to go out later we decided to walk (our cars were grounded) to the closest member family in Trumbull to visit briefly, give them a Christmas card and go tracting/caroling in their neighborhood. Well, we learned that even the closest family was much farther away, walking distance, than we had anticipated. When we got to their house they looked at us like we were crazy, and insisted on driving us home (after stopping to visit some less-actives, that was nice of them!). Come on, people, it's all part of the experience! Missionaries used to do that all the time, now they won't let us rough it even a little bit. I think I am the most spoiled missionary I have ever heard of. Our apartment is absolutely bursting with food, we have a car and a cell phone and now we get rides even when we don't drive? I'm sure my brothers are turning green right now.
We've had a lot of success this transfer with reaching out to less-active members. In some ways I really enjoy this part of missionary work. It's very rewarding when the person really does have a desire to come back, and is prevented by some reason or another that we can help with.
We have one investigator with a baptismal date, who is coming to a crossroads. She has to figure out some things and make a decision pretty soon. Not much else is going on. The biggest excitement right now is all the missionaries going home this week (sad!) and transfers happening next week. I hate getting so attached to these missionaries and then they all go home. Lame! And I am praying not to be transferred. I LOVE this area and there is so much to be done, now that the elders are gone and our area covers five towns instead of two. The ward is truly amazing.
Christmas is always such a pondering/reflecting time for me, and it's been the same
even on the mission. I keep thinking about where I was last Christmas. Sitting at home, bored out of my mind and wanting to be here. And now here I am! While I would never say that my mission has been all fun and games, I do still thank Heavenly Father every morning and night that I am here. I miss everyone back home (especially this time of year!) but I don't want to be anywhere else.
With all these missionaries going home (I've been surrounded by trunkiness!) I've
been thinking about the mission and the changes that I hope are occurring in myself. I wonder what will be noticeably different about me when I go home. This brought to mind a cheesy Michael McLean song that I love, called "In the Wink of an Eye." This verse in particular:
In the wink of an eye I'll be home,
And I'll show you the treasures I've found.
And I hope you'll see, that these changes in me
Are ones that will make you proud.
As I'm leaving, I feel sure,
We've all gone through leaving home before.
Really, truly, ten months has felt like about ten minutes and I know the next eight
months will feel like "the wink of an eye," and I just hope that I can get as much
growth and enjoyment out of them as possible. I am so blessed to be here. It's the best thing God could have done for me. That may sound somewhat trite or cliche, but it is so hard for me to express the feelings that are so deep.
Merry Christmas. I love and miss you all, and look forward to talking to the fam on
Friday!
-Sister Monson
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