First of allm the scriptures are great.
Also, I hope you have had a wonderful week, and a most glorious Christmas! It was WONDERFUL to skype with you mommy and dad, and I hope you passed my love to all! :)
It has been quite a week here....some of the sweetest and also some of the most difficult moments of my mission thus far. All of these experiences are beautiful and worthwhile if we allow them to help us grow.
I had my first Zone Conference this week...I was quite famous among the other missionaries for recieving the most letters of anyone...thank you so much for your continued love and support! I've said it before but please know how sincere I am, I feel so blessed to have friends and family who care for me. I meet many people who lack this in their lives, and I just can't adequately express how thankful I am for all that you do! We had a lovely time at Zone Conference, we sang and talked of Christmas things, we were edified and strengthened as we discussed how we can become better missionaries, and sister madsen was in Lyon (thats where the conference was) before she became my comnpanion and I got to meet some pf the people who got baptized while she was there....that was beautiful to see the love they have for eachother. I also hear O Holy night in French for the first time, it is too beautiful.
Christmas day was wonderful! Pere Noel even found us, and ate his cookies we left out! Haha, there are some traditions you never grow out of. We also had lingonberries on some extra buttery crepes, so I felt like I was at home having Swedish Pancakes with you all :) Sacrament meeting was wonderful, and we went to the Guerin familys home for a lovely French meal...DELICIOUS! So much food, TURKEYm delcious cheese and chocolatesm and of course a buche de Noel! They live in a little village about forty minutes outside of town and it was a beautiful dri ve through the French countryside to get there. The vibrant green against the gray sky, and the silhouette of bare trees against the sunset on the horizon....oh la la c'etait magnifique! It does the sould good to see expansive horizontals after living in a city of vertical structures.
We got to carol a bit this Christmas, and on Christmas eve we favored the bus driver and the few lonesome passengers with our Chorale....we even got an ovation. It was grand.
Som now Christmas is over, and we have to wait another 360some odd days until it comes again. I am reminded of Brother Dwight Jackson's talk in Sacrament meeting last Christmas, which obviously made a lasting impression on me since I still think of it. He encouraged us not to go back to "life as normal" after Christmas. That is my hope this year. This week, as I said, we had some sublime moments and also some that were very sad...and this is kind of how things go on the mission. But, I believe everyday we can find a way to change. An often used phrase in missionary work is "return with honor" and that is exaclty what I want to do, not only when I come back home, but when I return home to my apartment each night...everyday I want to come home a little better than I was when I left that morning, and I know that the way to do that is through the service of others.
Well, the time for emails has gone by fast as it so often does, I hope my thoughts weren't too scattered! I hope also, that we can all continue in the remembrance of our Savior this week, and that His Atonement is at the center of God's plan for us...by which we can know of a surety where we came from, we can find purpose in every moment of our lives, and we can look to the future in faith, for He is the source of truth, which is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let us apply His Atonement in our lives by repenting of our past transgressions, and acting in faith every moment of every day! Let us find the joy He has in store for each of us!
I love you so! Guardez la Foi, guardez le souri, et Bonne Annee!
Love Soeur Waldron!
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