Week 66: "And what do you have for pudding then, chicken and ice cream?"

Good morning and salutations everyone! So here we are, back to the regular format for these weekly emails, of which I have written right around 65 already which is just a mind boggling idea for me to process. I hit my 15 month mark this last Friday and I still cannot believe I have been gone so long. It does not feel like that much time has passed. However, I have the weariness to show for 15 months of work haha. I am so tired. But it's a good tired! It's the kind of tired you feel when you have accomplished really amazing and fulfilling things and I am so grateful I can work every day to help other people, especially during this upcoming season. 

This week was interesting to say the least. In the spirit of Thanksgiving we wrote a lot of thank you cards to the families that have fed us recently. I just wanted to give them a shout out briefly. These families in any other circumstances would have no reason to associate with us. We come to their country and their towns from lands abroad and more often than not see the world in very different lights and have a variety of experiences that creative our outlooks on life. Yet, they do not hesitate inviting us into their home, sharing a meal with us, and letting us share a portion of the everlasting faith that brought us together in the first place. They are so giving and warm and friendly and just share a bit of their lives with us. This phenomenon of almost instant trust, not a trust in us necessarily but a trust in the calling which we bear and whom we represent, blows my mind and warms my heart and truthfully fills my soul with a hope for the future. There are people out there, inside AND outside of our church who have open hearts, who give and love and serve and they are whom Christ called "a city...set on a hill [that] cannot be hid" and "the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). Especially when the nights are longer and colder and I am far from home, I thank God for those who share their home with me.

We also spent a good amount of time searching out people interested in our message. I learned a really important lesson this week. The details are personal but the principle is this: the individuality of our own personalities is meant to be felt and shine through in all of our efforts, not absorbed and lost. Christ commands us to be one, but I think that the only way we can truly be one is if we are all who we are and who we are meant to be. Then we are all striving for the same authenticity and fulfilling of divine potential, and then we are united in that great cause of Christ. 

We also found a toilet on the side of the road #rip #restinpee #pardonmypottylanguage

WE HAD 2 THANKSGIVINGS!! We went with our district to the senior couple of missionaries who are assigned to our local area. They went all out and it was probably the greatest pecan pie I have had in a long time, though I think that Keith Smith's pumpkin pie remains at the top of my recent pie list. I am thankful for many things and I am so grateful for the chance I had to reflect on such. Then a couple on the island took us out for dinner later on in the evening and we were absolutely stuffed. It was such a great day but it took everything to fight the Thanksgiving nap urges. I stayed fully awake though, during the which I was able to eat more food ;-)

We have also been teaching our friend who is getting ready for baptism and he is doing really well. I am continually humbled by the opportunity I have to see people renew their connection with God. It truly does change hearts and lift lives. 

British Word of the Week, Phrase Edition: possessive supermarkets - so british people refer to stores as having possession of something regardless of the context in which they are speaking of such i.e. Lidl becomes Lidl's, Tesco becomes Tesco's and so on; "Lidl's does a great trifle" or "I just absolutely love Tesco's chicken curry"

British Food of the Week: salad - it's not actually a salad, it's just the vegetables in a salad put in a bowl. No dressing or anything, just salad vegetables.

Companion Comic: inanimate object charades. "you're not trying to get everyone to guess that you're using an ironing board, you're trying to BE the ironing board" - Sister Rowley, senior missionary that also, shoutout to Nita Clemmer, is from the same stake as my grandma. They're in the Frederick ward Grandma :-)

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 5:16 - this week LIGHT THE WORLD STARTS AND I AM SO EXCITED. GET OUT THERE AND CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO AND SERVE THIS SEASON! See how you can light the world here: lighttheworld.org

To end, I will share an example of my favourite misisonary moments. After church yesterday, we were setting up a christmas tree, because, light the world of course, and there were a few other members there waiting for their spouses to get out of a meeting. We were chatting with all of them as we were setting up this tree and somehow got on the subject of Jello salad. After describing the contents to them, one of them said the titular quote of this email. I could not stop laughing. It's in the small moments where you just have these great conversations with people about jello salad, poultry and dairy combinations, volunteering to taste kipper at the christmas party if someone else cooks it, apple playdough, and the magic of Christmas where I am filled with an inexplicable love for this country and this people. I love what I do everyday and would not trade it for the world. That's not to say that I don't miss home, this time of the year especially, but I do know that I want to be here now, serving my God and His children. I love you all and thank you so much for the love and support you give me. Have an amazing week!

PHOTOS: Dinner round 1, offering tech support, dinner squad, district squad, Toilets, selfie-ception, dinner round 2, thanksgiving lols,