Hello Family and Friends!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I can't believe 2012 has already come to a close. Time flies way too fast!
So, this last week was an eventful one. I love the Holidays! It's such a magical time of year. Christmas Eve was a fun day. It was preparation day so we got to spend a lot of time with the other missionaries in our Zone at the Stake Center. Since it was Pday I decided to make Cinnamon Twists. It was a hit. We also did a White Elephant gift exchange with everyone. (I, of course, ended up organizing it all). ;) Funny how that always seems to work. We had all the presents off to the side and then everyone had to shoot to pick a present. If you made a basket you could pick either a present from the pile or one that someone else already grabbed (all presents remained wrapped.) That turned out quite funny. Especially since most the Elders were fighting for the gifts that Sister Williams and I brought (even though they had no idea what it was.) The rule was you could only bring something from your apartment. We randomly had a snowglobe that you could put your own picture in, so I put our "Christmas letter" picture inside. It was so funny! Finally, when everyone had a picture we all sat in a circle and opened all the presents. I got a stuffed camel that said, "You finally made it over the hump!" ha ha (a little late hey?) Elder Shreeve ended up getting our snowglobe with our picture that said "Merry Christmas! Love Sisters Williams and Thompson" He absolutely loved it!!!! Ha ha ha There were definitely a lot of really random presents. It's crazy what you can find in a missionary apartment. :) Later we had dinner at the Acorda's and then went to the Meldrum's. It was like going home for Christmas to me since I went to both their houses last year for Christmas and Christmas Eve. At the Meldrum's the Elders from Beaumont were there. We played the paper bag game where you have to pick up the paper bag with your mouth while on one foot. It was hilarious!!! I got a lot of video, so you'll have to wait in suspense for me to show you when I get home. Christmas day was wonderful! We did stuff with the Ellerslie sisters in the morning briefly and then Melanie picked us up and took us to Wetaskwin where her family lives. It was a blast! There we got to skype with the family and we played a lot of fun games. It was fun/ weird to just relax, not worry about how long we were there or that we had to get to another lesson. It was fun for a day, but I don't know if I could do it everyday.
I woke up the 26th with a really bad cold. :( It was a pretty slow day too. I'm grateful that it was Sister Williams birthday so we were able to celebrate. We had a "Birthday Dinner" at the Whyte Ave Chapel with Sophie (her birthday was on the 24th) and the Millcreek Elders. It was so much fun! Sophie brought us some Chinese dishes. One of which was pig hoofs. That's right! I said it, pig hoofs. That is now officially the weirdest thing that I have eaten on my mission. It's not so bad as far as taste go, but the texture sure gets to you. We took the left overs to Zone Meeting the next day and I convinced some Elders to try it. ha ha ha Friday I fell on the ice/ snow so now I owe doughnuts to my district. Gotta love Canada! Sunday (yesterday) was the mission farewell of two guys from our YSA Ward. Christian Hinman and Logan Orr are serving in the Toronto Canada mission (one goes this week and the other next week) Logan is speaking English and Christian Mandarin. It's been fun to work with both of them. They have both been awesome fellowshippers for our investigator Robert. Since we didn't have our YSA ward again this week we went to the Hillview Family ward (which is Christian and Logan's home ward) for their farewell. It was cool for Robert to come and say bye to them as well. I love seeing new missionaries leave. They have so much fire in them. The Lord's work is really moving forward. Speaking of missionaries. We met with a prospective elder in our ward, Michael Kastendieck. He lives in the Beaumont ward. It was fun to visit with his family. They mentioned that Joe (serving in Montreal) has now been on his mission for over a year. That was an awakening moment for sure. I spoke at his farewell in my second transfer! I can't believe that time has flown by that quickly. He's already been out just over a year. Crazy!!!
This week we have been focusing on Goal setting with members. As missionaries we focus on goal setting every month, week, day, even hour. Goals are so important and with the new year we have a great opportunity to focus on what is really important. I think it's no coincidence that we focus on the Savior at the end of the year and then have the opportunity to set new goals a week later. Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." Alma 5:14 asks each of us some great reflective questions. "Have I spiritually been born of God? Do I have His image in my countenance? Have I received a mighty change of heart?" We all can improve. Each of us can become more like our Savior. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. It takes a little each day. Elder Richard G. Scott said, "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." I encourage each of you to go forward, set goals that help you reach your potential as a Child of God. It is in the little things we do that we grow the most.
Skyping with the family!!!!
I love you all so much!!! Make this next year really count!
Love always,
Sister Thompson
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