The Week before Christmas

The week before Christmas.... Still pretty cold but eventful!  We enjoyed Family Home Evening with Elder & Sister Robinson from Nampa. They are a lovely couple that seem curiously familiar to us.  Tuesday we had a special prayer meeting where we were taught about dealing with difficult people & maintaining a heart at peace. A former Instructor from BYU is teaching the 2 wk. class. He ended with a quote from Robert D. Hales:  “When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek & resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth his love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary & answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage. “

We work hard to pass off the 17 modules in the FHL & we are learning how to research family names. WOW, this is much more complicated then we expected. It was a nice break on Wednesday to receive a visit from my favorite brother. We showed him around & looked up some family history stories. Then we went to lunch at the Lion House. I wish we would have thought to take a pic!!!

That night we made a phone call to Dr. Haderlie in Idaho Falls. A good friend & bicycle buddy of Elder Ferney. He was able to access my medical records & see the results to the tests. In a matter of minutes he could see the problem with my kidneys & called in a stronger prescription for me. Each day the swelling has gone down & I am confident I will be ready to fly out on Jan. 8th. An answer to our prayers. On Friday we did an endowment session at the temple. It was our 1st time to go through and what a treat!!  It is absolutely gorgeous. We payed close attention to the live session & were able to do the work for one of our ancestors. That afternoon Jameson’s Family came to visit. How wonderful to hold them & smooch on them!  Those six little chicklets are so full of love. We enjoyed the Christmas lights & had dinner at City Creek. On Saturday we all went to Brigham Young’s house. A 1st for us. It was very fun to see the beautifully decorated rooms & visit with the Sister missionaries. 

Sunday evening after church, Wally & Nancy Stewart from our home ward in I.F. met us at Temple Square to see the lights. Their daughter Lindsay was with them & we certainly enjoyed sharing the holiday spirit with them. 

It is Christmas Day today & we feel like it has been one of the most special Christmases ever!  Since we have been here we have sung the Christmas hymns over & over & over. What could be more fun or bring in more Christmas Spirit??  We have heard the most beautiful prayers offered up at as we spend Christmas away from our loved ones. Truly the real meaning of Christmas is in our hearts. We are so blessed to have each other. We are counting on the Lord to guide & protect you all while we are away. We already know you will look out & support each other & that gives us much comfort. We will do our best to labor in the vineyard & we pray that you will all have love & harmony in abundance in your homes.