Merry CHRISTmas!!!

     So this week Sister Arndt and I were talking and she asked me why we call is Christmas. I told her I had no clue but that "mas" in spanish is more, so it technically is saying more Christ. Later we went to a Christmas devo for the missionaries and there our President said the same thing. WHAT WHAT!? Yep, President and I are in tune. Just kidding. So This week. More miracles happened of course. We went on exchanges and the sister training leader I was with looked at me and said "you know everyone calls you two the miracle sisters right?" I just laughed. Really the work Sister Arndt and I do is not our own. We are definitely guided by the spirit in all things. So anyway this week during weekly planning we were looking through one of the sections and there is this guy in there who was baptized about a year ago and then disappeared. We thought he had passed away because he was very sick and no one even in the ward had heard from him. For some weird reason though we wanted to know if he was still alive. So we looked at the membership record behind it and decided we should just try to call the number on it and see what happens. Guess what!! He totally answered! He had gone down to LA to be with his son but he had just moved back to his old apartment up here! So we are going over on Tuesday to start the new member lessons. We are so excited we found him! That is really a huge miracle! Also on exchanges we were able to reset Lydia's date! She is now scheduled for January 8th! She is so great! We taught her about Joseph Smith and she looked at us and said "I just watched something on the bible...." At this point I thought oh great, it is probably all wrong. But then she continued on to say "It makes sense that we would need a restoration." AH!! YES!! We are so excited for her! The little girls are doing really well too! We are going over there tonight to do a Christmas message and make gingerbread houses. Sister Arndt's mom sent her a13lb package of food for gingerbread houses.
     OH! Speaking of! Mom! Thank you so much for the 12 days of Christmas package! We have loved opening something every day!
Also I have some of the greatest friends. In case you were all wondering. I got this huge package the other day from Spenser and Jamie and I almost died when I opened it!
I do have a request though....please NO more candy until at least June of next year. I am not joking when I say I am going to come home 100 lbs heavier because of all of the junk food you people are sending me. I really do love it and unfortunately for me I am eating all of it but now I need to take a break and not eat so horribly. I need my closes to fit me for the next year and a half.
     Oh! Oh! Oh! Mom is going to love this but I never thought I would say this. I am SO tired of singing! Sister Arndt has volunteered me to sing for almost all of the ward during our messages and that is ok but we do the same song so I am getting tired of that one. We put together and arrangement of Savior Redeemer of My Soul and I Stand All Amazed. After the Elders in our district heard it they asked us to put together a christmas song. So we did and then we got volunteered to sing at the Christmas devotional. So I did that for about 50-60 missionaries. Then we were volunteered to sing at Brother Landy's funeral on Saturday so we sang I Need Thee Ever Hour because Sister Landy said that one was the one he liked the most that we sang to him at the hospital. Then yesterday at church we were volunteered to sing in sacrament. So we did our Christmas arrangement again and I think we are finally done for a couple days. I have now officially sang for about 200+ people and I am still terrified every time I get up. I don't like singing to people. Guys. I can't sing. I don't know why I am being asked to do this so much. Anyway the Christmas arrangement we did was a medley of The First Noel, and Silent Night, with a line of Oh Come All Ye Faithful. It was really sweet once it was all put together! We are both really proud of it!...just for the fact that we both did the arranging so it was new to everyone who heard it. Brother Landy's son came up to us after sacrament and asked who did the arranging of it. We told him that both of us had done it and he looked at us in amazement. He then told us that He was at the brink of tears when he heard it. This guy isn't just some mormon guy who loves music. Picture this, a thick man with tattoos up his arm, and has been in and out of prison multiple times. Mission Accomplished! He is so great and I am so grateful we could invite the spirit that much with our number.
     I keep forgetting to mention this. I got THE cutest cards from Candice the past couple of weeks. Talk about adorable children! So cute! Also is Patton strangling Alice in them? I am assuming the family got them as well...
     Question for all you RMs. Did you ever have to deal with people getting upset about 1 Nephi 14:10? We are at a loss for what we can do for these people. The scripture talks about the great and abominable church. We have explained that it is anything that keeps people from reaching their full potential and that there is good, better, and best. We have talked constantly and told them that it does not mean we are telling them they are going to hell because of what they believed. We have been bold and told them that you can't serve God and Mammon and that if it is not from God it is basically of the devil. Really there is no other way to explain it. Either you are following Heavenly Father and reaching your full potential or you aren't. It is that simple. Obviously we haven't been that rude about saying it but that is the gist of what we have said. And this has been over a good 6 or 7 weeks now.
Alright on to the next thing. Christmas as a missionary is one of the greatest things ever! Talk about really focusing on the Savior and all that He has done for us. I have loved not worrying about presents or worldy things. I have been able to really study the Savior's life and become more grateful for what He has done. I have loved really focusing on the Sacrament and making it a spiritual experience each Sunday. Before the mission I kind of dreaded going to church just because it was so long. After being out I have realized that it is a really commandment to go to church each week and partake of the Sacrament. I have also realized how lucky I am to partake of that Sacrament each week and show my gratitude to the Savior and renew my covenants with my Heavenly Father. What a better way to start off the week than focusing on the most important part of the Church! Family and friends; I love the Savior and I know He lives. I know He loves each one of His children individually and He needs my help and the help of all of the missionaries to bring those lost sheep to Him. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary for Him. I am trying my very best to be the missionary He wants me to be and I pray that I will be able to reach the potential that He sees in me.
I hope you all have a great CHRISTmas. I love you all and miss you!
Sister Skeeter.