It's A wonderful Life Around the Square

What a "Wonderful Life"  That is one of my favorite Christmas Shows and it truly describes what it is like to be serving here around the square with all the beautiful lights, nativities, and the warm spirit.  It has not been too cold this week and no snow expected till Christmas Eve.

We haven't seen this kind of frost yet but it is a beautiful picture given to us by one of our missionaries.

We are on a steep learning curve and the more we learn the more we realize how much we don't know.  Family search is so amazing!  I had no idea how fun it can be and how easy they have tried to make it for everyone to be able to do it.  This past week we observed enrichment classes being taught. (we will one day be teaching them) When new missionaries are not coming in we do classes for any of the missionaries already serving to learn more about what they can do with their family history.  We learned about My Heritage, Puzzilla and finding cousins, Tiles and Stories, Indexing, Attaching External Sources, and finding things in the Family Search Catalog.  The Church has provided so many tools we really have no excuse not to dive in.  This mission is pushing Bob and me off the diving board.  I think we definitely needed the push!  It has been reinforced "That with God all things are possible.

We were able to do a sealing session at the Salt Lake Temple with our Training Zone.  It is crazy busy but all was peaceful in our special sealing room.  Six more days and the temple will close for 4 years for renovations and making it earthquake safe.  We were told the conference center and the temple when it is finished can withstand an 8.2 earthquake with hardly a shake of the chandeliers.

A favorite spot on the plaza for taking pictures

For Christmas (early) Bob got a new suit that was purchased by Alea, our granddaughter, who works at Kohls.  It looks very handsome on him.

Bob's new Christmas Suit.  Thanks Alea!

I got a used Yamaha 88 keyboard so I can have a piano like instrument in our apartment.  We joined the Elijah Choir. (the mission choir)  It is under the direction of Vanja Y. Watkins who has written and published a lot of church music.  She is an amazing director and it should be a great learning experience.  We needed the keyboard for my sanity and to practice our music.

Debra at her new keyboard and $3 chair from DI

Our mission Christmas "tree"  notice the ornaments hanging from his nose and buttons!

We visited with Bruce and Vicky Haws our friends from years gone by.  He was Bobs best man at our wedding.  We also visited with Trisha and Grant Madsen, friends from our Nauvoo days.  She is truly a walking talking miracle as she was in a horrendous car accident in Mesa 5 years ago.  She was in the hospital for 7 months and in rehab for 3 more months.  She is one amazing woman.  Both she and Grant are service missionaries in our mission.  She plays the organ for her ward and also for the Salt Lake Temple.

Our new Mission friends, Sandy and Dave Briggs from Lovell Wyoming.

Bob and I were able to attend Savior of the World, a beautiful play about the Saviors Birth and Resurrection at the Conference Center Theater.  There is so much to see and do around the square, especially at Christmastime.
We got this picture from Heidi and Wynn on Saturday.  They went to the house to get oranges for us and to do the yard and found our lemon tree split right down the middle. I don't think it will survive but they are working on it.

Lemon tree with a big portion broken off.

Today after church all the young Elders in our mission lined up by the tree at the Joseph Smith Memorial building to receive their Christmas Stockings neatly placed around the Tree.  We Senior Missionaries stood around the Mezzanine to watch.  They are such great young men.

Young Elders getting their Christmas Stockings

Mission life is so good.  We are both enjoying our assignments and the sweet people and missionaries we rub shoulders with.