Chapter 61: Christmas, Stars, Minecraft

 Merry Christmas again again y'all! I hope y'all had a fabulous, joy filled where ever you were for it.

Down here in Aiken, Christmas was great! It was a rainy day, (wish it was snowy), but that didn't put a damper on things at all. Because Christmas fell on a pday this week, we got permission to do a zone pday! We did still have to do our weekly planning in the morning. But afterwards we drove down to the Aiken church building. Had a southern lunch with bbq pulled pork sandwiches, mac and cheese, and fruit. I brought a whole bunch of cinnamon rolls that I made the night before and in the morning. 

We played lots and lots of games, there was a puzzle, ate candy, talked. I loved getting to spend Christmas with all the missionaries! I think it was good for everyone to get together too. Afterwards, because we didn't have a dinner for that night, we went to IHOP and had Christmas dinner there. Haha, such a fun memory. 

Saturday was literally one of the best days of my life! We had a lesson with our friend Addy and her family,(there's six of them, Addy, Stephan and their 4 kids), set up for early afternoon. When we got there they told us that they want to be baptized! We talked about it with them, and put them on date for January 20th! It's Addy, Stephan, Brayton and Keatyn! I absolutely love getting to teach a whole family about Jesus Christ's restored gospel! And they came to church again on Sunday! It was such an inspired service! Most all the talks were about baptism and the covenant path!! During the lesson when they asked to be baptized, they said that they still have lots of questions and some hesitations, but they know in their hearts this is what they need to do! 

If that isn't confirmation by the Spirit and faith, then I don't know what is! 

Sunday was also New Years Eve! We had early curfew at 6:30pm. Because drunk southerners, guns, dirt roads, and fireworks don't all mix well. So when Sister Jolley and I got back to the house, we did some video calls for planning with the zone leaders, and as soon as we were done with that we bundled up and went stargazing in our backyard! We laid out on the wooden bench swings, listened to minecraft music and watched the stars. Vibes. We got too cold so we didn't last much longer than 45 min. But then we came inside, listened to some cute Disney songs, had hot chocolate, played solitaire and stayed up waaaaaaay too late. Definitely past midnight. Haha. Worth it.

I've been thinking a lot this week about enduring faith. Sometimes I find myself feeling nervous about lessons or how an interaction will go. But I've been focusing on in those moments when I'm not so sure, to actively choose to move forward with faith. And it always turns out better than I could have ever planned. And I LOVE that even though I've been on my mission for over a year, and I've learned so so much, I still have lots I am learning. What a blessing that is! To always be able to learn more!

Have a beautiful week y'all! Don't forget to Abide in Christ this new year. 

God loves you, Jesus loves you, I love you.

-Sister Ray