And...still Christmas-ing!

FELIZ NAVIDAD OR ELSE. Yes, Christmas is a-ringin' loud and proud down here in the oven of Arizona! Sometimes when I am sweating to death I pretend that I'm just soaked with melted snowflakes.  I AM CRAVING A WINTER. And I will probably take that back after about ten minutes in Utah but HOLY COW. I don't think you all understand. I haven't seen a cold day for LIKE TWENTY MONTHS. I mean, I guess that it was a little cold in my first two weeks in Chile, but that's due to the absolutely nonexistence of indoor heating. It was probably in the high seventies, low eighties during the day.  For those of you just tuning into my life, I am pretty much world-renown for turning the fireplace on in July and sitting two inches from it to warm my fingers and toes and whole body in general. I am 138% positive that I have a higher body temperature than the average human being...okay, well, I don't really get "science" but wouldn't that make sense?? Wouldn't that explain why I am always colder than everyone else?  DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WEEKLY PLANNING HERE. In this mission we all come together every Friday as a zone and do our weekly planning in the cultural hall of a chapel (as companionships, obviously.) I AM ALWAYS FREEZING. I have brought a jacket to this meeting for the last few months because I seriously just sit and freeze. For three hours.  So, just to clarify, just because I am craving a winter...probably doesn't mean that I won't have the fireplace on in July. Now that I've gotten your attention with that super interesting story...let's get on with this letter! First, I have to say...Georgette did not end up being baptized this week. :( Super sad. Again. I guess that she's been out of town/super hard to get a hold of. I KNOW THAT SHE WILL FIGURE IT OUT SOME DAY. It makes me so totally sad. :( BUT I HAVE OTHER NEWS THAT IS SUPER GREAT! ROSALIA IS GETTING BAPTIZED!! Do you remember my Mexican grandma who read and loved the Book of Mormon? She is on date for this week! Hopefully it will happen, though. She's not sure that she can get work off, but I saw Sister Homer last night and she told me all about it, I'm going to try to get permission to go! Also, in case you are wondering, Gerardo was not baptized this weekend, either, but it's okay! He is on date for this coming weekend. There were a couple things that he still needed to learn and apply, and we want him to be totally prepared to be baptized so that he can have the best experience possible! So we moved it. But he's doing awesome! My companion is so sweet. We've had quite a few funny moments this week...oh, a classic Hermana Mello quote: "I really want to marry a guy from Scotland. I am confident that we would never have any communication problems. I would just sit and listen to him talk all day and be happy about it." She is so funny...and also TOTALLY from New England. (OH WAIT. SIDE-NOTE. Everyone, answer me this: is New York considered part of New England? Very important that you tell me soon.) She uses these big words and formal phrasing, and when she talks I seriously feel this empty omniscient echo in the back of me that feels so familiar and nostalgic of living in Connecticut! I have remembered so much vocabulary being her companion. And sometimes I use big words again. It's for fun. LIKE FLABBERGASTED. #favoritewordsince2ndgrade Also, I was trying to open a jar the other day but couldn't. So I asked her to help. She was struggling, too, but then she went across the kitchen to grab a rag to help her open it...then she turns around and runs at the jar from across the kitchen, practically leaps on top of it, and tries to rip it open! I was laughing so hard, it was the most unexpected attack I have ever seen. She was like, "I don't know why I went at it with a running start, I usually think that it gives me more force or something, but I forgot that doesn't usually work when you're opening a jar." Another great quote from the week: "In my mind, Nephi looks exactly like Kronk." --Elder Whitted, District Leader Hermana Mello and I had a good week! We got super blessed. We had more member-presents than we ever have had before, so that was a big improvement! We also found a lot of new investigators, which was so fun! But we did run into this guy and his wife who have listened to missionaries before, but they've got some giant beef about tithing and bishops. He was absolutely one hundred percent convinced that bishops make their living by taking people's tithing. We tried to explain why we pay tithing and that it's only used to build temples, chapels, serve members of the church, serve the world, print books, build the Kingdom of God on the earth, but he wasn't really having it. Then he went on to say that he went to a Mormon church once, asked for food and a job and didn't get it. So later he went to a random other christian church and they gave him everything he asked for. And he said that that's why he goes there. Not for Jesus. For the free stuff. 1) Sorry that you had that experience with the Mormon church, I'm sure they would have loved to help you, but we also know that God intends for his children to learn to work for and support themselves so that they can learn new skills and become independent and industrious. 2) Didn't you just accuse and condemn bishops of supposedly committing the sin of "free-loading"? 3) Go to church for Jesus, please. He also firmly believes that people cannot repent. He claims that church is where murderers and evil people go to pretend like they are good, but that Jesus rejects them and is therefore disgusted with churches in general. WELL, I have never heard something so untrue in my entire life. EVERYONE. JESUS LOVES ALL OF US. HE DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU'VE DONE. THAT DOESN'T CHANGE HIS LOVE FOR YOU. And He welcomes us with open arms when we humble ourselves enough to come unto Him for help. THAT IS WHY HE CAME TO EARTH IN THE FIRST PLACE! :) So that we can change! So that, no matter what we've done, we can ALWAYS COME BACK!  I am so grateful that I know that.  I don't mean to talk badly about that man and his wife. It just really made me sad for them. And sad for anyone who believes the same. GOD LOVES YOU!! :) Last night I got to sing one more time in that double quartet at the Mission President's Fireside. Brother Barney, part of the mission presidency here in Tempe, gave a beautiful talk afterwards. He told this story: There was a family who had a severely handicapped 12-year-old daughter. The parents wanted her to be baptized, but the bishop did not believe that it was a necessary course of action. Not only was he unsure that she needed it, but he wasn't convinced that she could understand enough of the gospel to know the significance of the baptismal covenant. Regardless, he decided that he would have at least an interview with her to determine what they would do.  Just as he had predicted, she didn't recognize most of the vocabulary of the discussion, such as "repentance" or "immersion," "priesthood" or "prophet." Feeling justified, the bishop was about to close the case and decide that the little girl would not need to be baptized. However, the painting behind her caught his eye. It depicted the Savior in Gethsemane. He felt prompted to ask the little girl if she even knew who that was.  After he had asked the question, the girl stood herself up, approached his desk, leaned herself by her elbows onto the table and said firmly, "that's Jesus. And He loves me!" Then, waving her hand around in a circle above her head, she added, "He loves ALL of us!" The bishop was overwhelmed by the enormous spirit he felt in the room, and was both humbled and grateful that she had drawn the circle big enough to include him, as well. I LOVE THAT STORY! GOD LOVES YOU. HE LOVES ME. HE LOVES ALL OF US. Never forget that! READ YOUR SCRIPTURES, ERIN AND IRELAND. AND PRAY. AND GO TO CHURCH. DON'T SKIP IT. EVER. Love, Hermana Thomas