That was the greatest Christmas.....possibly the best ever!

How is it that you can love a place you've never been and people you've never met? That's exactly how I feel right now. I am seeing this mighty change in my son and it fills my heart with great joy. I know that it is because of what he is doing, where he is at, and who he is serving. I also know that he is being blessed beyond measure. What a privilege it is to be in the service of God and to teach and testify of His son Jesus Christ. I give thanks for this season to celebrate His birth and for the opportunity to see my son serve and watch him grow each day. My cup truly runneth over. Merry Christmas!


Merry day after Christmas!

I had such an awesome Christmas this year!  Getting to skype my family was super duper great! It was bitter sweet to see you guys and made my Christmas so wonderful. You all look so good! But super pale hahaha! I felt overwhelming joy when I saw all of your faces and was so happy to call home. Like you, that was the greatest Christmas present. To me, possibly the best ever. I loved it so much. It truly helped me to overcome my homesickness even more and be super happy. I thought it would have an opposite effect and cause my homesickness to come back, but it didn't! I gave thanks to my Father in Heaven for such a chance to see you. I hope I get to do it again! I love being on the mission and serving others during this time. My family is doing well but I am doing the best!

I will be honest, my update today will be super short. I am exhausted and already talked to my family. And my keyboard is the crappiest thing on earth and is breaking my hands to type on it. 

Christmas day was super sweet! After talking to the family we had our first baptisms in the area for a long time and my first baptisms as a missionary! Ruth, John, William and Nora were all baptized. It was so cool to see how happy they were. To see someone's life take a turn for the best because of my missionary efforts was so sweet to see and made my heart so happy. Seeing converts dressed in white and being baptized was one of the most spiritual and powerful things I have ever experienced. I look forward to many more! They will be confirmed next week as members of our church. Man, missionary work is the best! After the baptisms we went to 2 different members to hang out and eat. Brother Sam is on the wealthier end of life here and fed us the BEST food I have had on my mission. It was super sweet! We ate BIG! Chicken, beef, pork, rice, salad, greens, matoke, potatoes, and tons of soda. Then we had a nice cake for dessert. I will add pictures later.

On the way home we found some members using the church property to park cars and earn money for a party taking place next door which is super against the rules and we had to settle business there. It was a crazy and fun twist to our day but all is well!

Thank you for making my Christmas away from home so great! The presents were so awesome. Cuticle lotion and pocket knife were so sweet. I loved it. And the basketball hoop! Cracked me up... I have it set up and play on it when I have time! 

Thanks for the update on everyone. I love to hear what and how everyone is doing. I am doing super well and am improving more and more every day. Today is p-day. We went to the stake center to hang out with all the Elders. Some played sports but I went with Elder Randall and my Zone Leaders to Pizza Hut to treat myself to a good meal. It was super good! It tastes the same as pizza hut back home. It was nice to be with all the elders too!

All is well right now for me. 

I hope everyone has a good new years and week! 

I am so happy to be here and love my mission so much! I hope you have a great week back home.

Love,

Elder McLain