December 27, 2009

December 27,2009

Dear Family and Friends

We hope you all had a good Christmas week. We did and we survived being away from our family during the holiday . It was not easy but we know we are where we are supposed to be. Mark has been especially sweet to me as he could see there were certain things I was missing, like watching my favorite old Christmas movies with the girls. He has sat through all of the movies with me and I think he actually enjoyed them. We have enjoyed learning about the traditions here in Paraguay also. Noche Buena is the big day here. Christmas eve is spent with the family having a big dinner late in the evening and then celebrating the birth of Jesus with fireworks. It was a loud night from about 10 pm until 2 or 3am. The gift giving originally happened later the first week of January when the kings arrived with their gifts for the baby Jesus. Now there is a mix of traditions of other countries included in the celebrations .

Monday we had a dinner for the mission presidency and their families. We had 18 people here for dinner and visiting. It was a fun night . Mark has some good men in the presidency who help so much. The families are nice and we’re getting to know each other better and better. One of the wives is in the Utah now to help a daughter with a new baby. She left around Thanksgiving and won’t be back until February.

Tuesday and Wednesday Mark spent interviewing missionaries and we did a few things to get ready for Christmas. I stayed home and baked a little to make a few treats for the office elders and Lidu (our helper )and her family . I was missing my tradition of clam chowder for some of our friends back home.

Thursday we took some little gifts and treats to the office elders and then went over to visit the Wades, the other mission president’s family. Their boys had all come for Christmas so we met them and visited for a bit. We came home and had a quiet evening together watching Christmas movies.

Friday we spent the day talking to our family one by one. It took most of the day to visit with everyone. We are so grateful that we could talk to each one. We received wonderful news that our two sons and their wives are expecting babies 4 days apart in August. What a wonderful Christmas gift to hear that our family is continuing to grow. We are grateful for the faith of our children to move forward with their families even while they are busy with school and preparations for their futures. We know we were blessed for having our family when we did. It’s fun to think of the future get-togethers with these cousins and grandchildren who will be the same age.

Saturday we spent out at the pool for a bit. Last time I didn’t seem to get much sun but this time I got quite red. I guess I need to be more careful next time. It was nice to relax and enjoy the sun during the Christmas season. It’s not something that we are used to in Utah.

One thing that has helped us as we are away from our family during this holiday season has been to hear of all the family gatherings that are still happening. We are so grateful that Jenny and Brian are continuing to make our home open and welcoming for Robert and Rachel and Jack and Laura and Sara and their friends. We are so grateful that they all want to gather and continue the traditions of the holidays. We love our family so much and are grateful for the way they are supporting us so well in the way they are living their lives and taking care of each other. Elder Bednar told us in our training in November that sometimes we as parents need to “get out of the way” so our children can learn and grow on their own. We see good things happening in the lives of all our children as we are surely “out of their way “for a bit of time now. We know the Lord is helping each of our children, their spouses and our grandchildren.

Our missionaries were asked to have a Christmas activity with their zones to celebrate Christmas this year. They were to include a fun aspect, some service and something spiritual. It has been fun to begin to hear their reports of what they’ve done. Some had games like jeopardy using Preach my Gospel info. Some played and learned games they could use for Noche de Hogar (Family Home Evenings) with new member s and investigators Some wrote letters of gratitude to local priesthood leaders, some wrote to their companion’s mother, some cleaned some people’s homes, some visited a hospital and sang Christmas carols to them. It has been wonderful to see how they took the assignment and made some wonderful memories for their zones. We have some great missionaries here who love the Lord and the opportunity they have to be here on their missions. We learn so much by watching their goodness and their testimonies in action. Our lives are being blessed by this opportunity to serve this mission together. Hope you all have a great start to the new year! Love, Mark and Sandy