Dear family,
I am so excited to see your faces! I will be skyping you on Christmas around 5 pm Pacific Standard Time. It'll be 6 pm in Utah. I will give you a call on Mom's cell phone around that time to coordinate the skyping session. We have been advised by President Eaton to keep it to 45 minutes. I look forward to seeing your faces and hearing your voices! We are being hosted by the "P" family. They are a less-active family from Cambodia in our ward. They also have a non-member roommate named "J". We hope that this will be a good teaching opportunity. Last Friday, we went over with Bishop White and visited with them before heading home at 9 pm. It was really nice to see them at church. They stayed the full 3 hours too! They are the sweetest family and they have two little boys. They live on Lake Washington in a really spacious home. Their dock is literally 30-50 ft from the patio! In gospel principles class, I shared my manual with Sister "P". The lesson was on family responsibilities. We talked about why it's important for the parents and children to work together. It reminded me of experiences I've had at home. We also talked about the struggles of raising kids as a single parent.
Last night we had dinner with the "M"'s. They are a sweet old couple in our ward. Sister "M" loves company and there were three sets of full-time missionaries, one service missionary, and a handful of others. It was packed! She made what she calls "shipwreck." It's her family's signature dish. It's called shipwreck because it has all the essentials that are needed to survive a shipwreck. It had ground beef, potatoes, kidney beans, and green beans. She always makes jello salad and a ton of dessert. She gave each of us a loaf of pumpkin bread and giant chocolate oatmeal cookies. She certainly loves to cook!
We have finally had a lesson with "E" and her friend, "A". Even though "E" was cracking jokes the whole time (the stinker), "A" said that she felt at peace in the chapel. She told us that she feels lost sometimes and wants to know how to be happier in life. We are going to have another lesson with them on Christmas day, right before I get to Skype you. She's going to Alaska with "E" and "J" in January, so Elder Bennett and I want to give her a solid foundation before she leaves for work.
I love you all and I'm inspired by your righteous examples.
Much love,
Elder Herbert