...And a Happy New Year!

This week was so great! For obvious reasons (Christmas Eve + Christmas Day, Talking to the family, all were super terrific!) But by the end of the week we started feeling a bit selfish because we'd spent so much time just house hopping and didn't feel like we were really uplifting or strengthening anyone! So by the 27th we decided we were going to go visit everyone who told us to come back after Christmas. There were a lot of them. As we were making the list, we write down the name "Steve" and it really stuck out to me. Steve was not exactly someone who told us to come by after Christmas. We met him in passing as he was storming up the stairs cursing. We asked him if he was doing alright, and he told us he had just lost his job, only a couple days before Christmas. We asked him if we could talk with him about Christ and he essentially said no, so we told him we'd stop by later and he shrugged his shoulders.

So obviously, he was really interested in what we were saying, right?

On the 27th, we trudged up the stairs with Michael Whatley and knocked on his door. Steve opened the door and said, "come on in, Sisters!" We were rather baffled at his warming welcome but we went inside and met his wife Alyssa and their adorable little red-headed son. "We knew you were going through a rough time and we wanted to help make your life easier," I said. He allowed us to sit down and talk to them, and they both were so friendly and loving as we shared the Restoration with them. They seem so eager to change and draw closer to Christ, They both expressed that they were just looking for something stable in their lives. We asked them if they wanted to come to church, and they agreed. We got them a ride. But they didn't come. We called them after and Alyssa apologized profusely, saying, "I'm so sorry. We really want to start coming every week we just had a bunch of stuff come up yesterday morning."

It's so refreshing to see people who are so sincere in their desire. They both said they want to be baptized and they want to read their scriptures.

It's a Christmas miracle. ;)

Leroy is doing really well! He's feeling clean being dip free, and has even said that he's trying to stop drinking Pepsi MAX because he doesn't like feeling like a slave to the caffeine. I love seeing the change in people! It makes everything worth it!

Funny Christmas Eve story. Sooo we had just pulled up to a member's for lunch and as I was getting out of the car, I hear, "Sister Best! Catch!" I drop the papers in my hand to catch... a dead mouse that Elder Wilcox threw at me. Bleck. I sanitized my hands a dozen times before we ate.

It was a blessing to see some of your faces! Thank you for the cards and gifts. It really was an amazing Christmas. We were able to spend it with members of our ward who were so loving. The spirit of Christmas was in their homes as they sought to serve others and focus their Christmas season on the birth of Christ.

There was a talk given in sacrament yesterday that was so powerful. Brother Dean spoke on New Year Resolutions and how as we try to become better, we are doing so to be able to serve others. We should all try to develop new talents that we can use to help others. Because we don't all need to know how to do everything if we each know how to do something. He talked about how it is a way of being prepared. If we saw a friend get into a car accident, we wouldn't just stand and watch. We would run to help them. Do everything we can. It's that way with the knowledge that we have. We should be eager to help others with our knowledge of them Gospel, with our talents and abilities, and with any other God-given gift that we possess.

I love you all so very much! I'm learning, over and over and over again, that when things get tough, blaming God is never the answer. It is vital that we depend on him through prayer and ask him to strengthen us to deal with the cards we've been dealt.

I hope you have a terrific week and a happy New Year!

Love,

Sister Best

1.A hilarious sign we found in one of the member's homes.
2. A super sleepy Christmas morning photo
3. Busted! All the missionaries eating cake between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School.