'Tis the Season

Well is doesn't really feel like Christmas BUT it is the season... Here are the happenings for the past week...
 
1. We got to decorate GIANT gingerbread men! They are about a foot tall. A member invited us over and it was the first time Sister Zamora had EVER done it! LOVE creating memories hahah
2. Members at lessons are usually the BEST!!! If the missionaries ask you to go... GO! We meet with Lydia this week with a sister from the ward and it was a HUGE difference! We had a member with us before but it hadn't clicked so much like this with Lydia. We read from the Book of Mormon with her and her family. They are so great and really want God in their life.
3. An investigator Decora came to other lessons with us to less active members. She was really excited to come and afterwards she really liked it. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and talked about what we need to do in this life to get to the Celestial Kingdom. We invited her to be baptized and she said yes! I hope we can keep being her guide to help her see the light.
4. We found out one of the less active men, Blake, was ordained an Elder but never went to the temple. He went less active about 4 years after he was ordained. He really seems like he wants to come back though and that is REALLY important!
5. Orrillius is still amazing! We went over this week and he told us he "wasn't feeling this. Any of this" We got to talking and his mother is very against him joining the church. He is 54 but loves his mom and respects her. We started to read and he said he would just listen. By the end he was discussing how true the chapter was and reading and involved. He is so amazing. He still has a baptismal date set for Christmas... hopefully he will be able to keep it.
6. David, Orrillius' roommate we are also teaching. He is young, party type but still very open to learning and reading the Book of Mormon. I never cease to be amazed at how much joy it brings me to see the light come to people. David had read the chapter we left for him at our last visit and came to the next visit saying it was confusing. We prayed and then read... he answered his own questions he had about it. We pointed out the only real difference was it was read AFTER we prayed for the spirit of understanding. He knew it.
7. Saw the Southern California Mormon Choir again this week... it was their Christmas program... WOW! It was AWESOME!! I felt like I was getting blasted out of the chapel but the music and everything was great! And two investigators came and they LOVED it! Guess thats all that really mattered hahaha
8. Sister Zamora and I got to go to the temple Saturday! Our Relief Society was having a "White Christmas in the Temple" activity. Either endowments, baptisms, or just visiting the visitors center. Then a box lunch salad afterwards in the temple apartments here. WOW! They had a chapel session first, which I have never been to but it was AMAZING! The temple president and his wife came and spoke to us, they are in our ward :] They spoke to us about covenants and how important it is to not just make them but to KEEP them! She said she wishes instead of telling her kids to remember who they were as they went out the door to say, "Keep your covenants!" How true. We made them when we were baptized. Going to the temple lead me to my favorite scripture this week. I was studying covenants and Mosiah 5 hit home for me. The joy we find in the gospel leads us to want to make and keep covenants. Its truly the simple as that.
 
LOVE YOU ALL!!
 
Sister Arbogast