12/29/09

Hello Everybody,
I can't believe it is already the week after Christmas. It came and went in a flash. I was taken care of out here. I had 4 meals and got to talk to my family for awhile.
So last Tuesday was my first p-day out in the field. It was really fun to just chill with the other elders in our zone. We got all our emails and shopping done, then we went bowling with this guy named Shawn Bardwell. He is a funny little guy. That night we had a few appointments but nothing big. I got my Christmas package this day. I was weak and that night I opened it. Luckily my parents are smart and wrapped all the gifts inside. I waited to open those ones.
Wednesday-12/23
we had district meeting and just had appointments all day. Nothing really happened. We had a nativity dinner that night. We had Sheppard’s pie, jell-o in the shape of a star. Angel cake, "peas" on earth, candies for the wish men and bread and water to symbolize Christ. It was a creative thing by one of our members.
Thursday-12/24
it was already Christmas Eve. I couldn't believe it. We were really busy this day. Even though it was Christmas Eve we still walked a lot. We walked to the other side of our area for a lesson with the Herrera’s then we took a couple members a Christmas gift. Then we had dinner with the cooks. They made some great clam chowder. It was really good and we ate a lot. Then we had a lesson with Judith. She is an amazing lady. We are hoping she will get baptized. We talked about pray and how important it is. She has such a strong testimony and is so close.
Friday-12/25
it was Christmas day. It was sad to say that it really didn't feel like Christmas. There was no snow. But there was a little frost covering everything which made it kind of white. I had to make due. I opened my gifts that morning. I got a cool tie, a sweater vest and this really cool picture storage device (it works really well). then the member we live with made us a really nice breakfast. We had eggs and ham. Then we went to Peter Clark’s house and called our families. It was so good to talk to them. It was nice just to hear their voice and tell them I love them. Then Peter fed us an amazing meal. Prime rib and shrimp and ham and baked potatoes. They were so good. The problem was that like an hour later we had another meal. We went to the Mendez’s and had a traditional meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls. It was really good but we were full from the previous meal. Then we went home and played with our toys for a little bit. I got NERF guns as well. Also this really cool calendar that has all the important events marked in so I don't forget any. Then that night we played basketball with all the elders. Then we had another meal after that fried chicken and more baked potatoes. It was really good.
Saturday-12/26
it was a tough day. Christmas day took it out of us and we were dead tired. We went to the Rios' for our usual lesson. The problem was they fed us a wonderful traditional Mexican food. Then an hour later we had another meal. We had Italian and we ate a lot at both meals. Our stomachs weren't too happy from the night before and that just put us over the edge. Neither of us was feeling very good so we slowed down a little that night.
Sunday-12/27
this was our last week of late church. I don't know how I feel about it. We did all the usual church things. We thought we had to teach elders quorum but ended up not having to. That was nice. Then we had a great dinner with the Collins. I felt like I was back home because she was trying out new recipes on us. They were really good pork chops and this sweet potato stuff. It was good. Then we did splits with Brother Lolar. We visited a couple people and got a new person to teach.
Monday-12/28
we had a busy day planned but nothing seemed to work out. We did our weekly planning and then went to wingman for lunch. After that it just seemed like no one was around and everyone canceled. So we walked around and just talked to whoever we could. We had planned to go to the SA activity with Tito but it ended up getting canceled. We decide that we would call the night at that point. We had to get up really early the next morning so we went to bed early.
Tuesday 12/29
we woke up at 5 this morning and went to the Portland temple. We did a session and got some great picture.

That is my week in review. I hope everyone back home is having a great time and have fun this weekend. Happy New Year!! Please everyone be safe and don't do anything stupid. Love you all and don't want anything to happen to you.

Love
Elder M Scott Draper