Happy New Year!, Testimony, Rosca de Reyes, Senior FHE, YSA Ward

Here is what I wrote in my Journal on New Years Day!  

"Happy New Year!  It's like opening a very large container and you can't see what is inside.  You just have to jump in and, one day at a time, and in 365 days, we'll view it all!"  Kind of crazy, but that's how I could best describe what beginning a new year feels like.

The missionaries experienced a fun treat for New Years Day.  Half of the mission (the other half of the mission did these same activities on Christmas Day, a week ago) all met at Ocean Beach.  The missionaries have a hard and fast rule of no touching the sand!  That means no beach for them.  But on this one day of exception, they all swarmed to the beach, wearing their casual clothes, ready for a beach cleanup.  After the clean up, there were donuts and hot chocolate and beach volleyball and other games.  It was such a fun joyful afternoon for them, and us, too!  

Can you see Stan out their on the court?  He just can't resist playing with the youngsters!

When we were ready to leave, Stan suggested we find a place to get some dinner.  So I pulled up my phone to see what I could find.  When I saw "Hodads" listed, I knew we had to go there.  The Allen's, from our Northbridge ward who served  at the Mormon Battalion, had told us about this restaurant.  This is how they described it:  "It looks grungy, but just beachy, and so good and worth it.  All the missionaries know about it."  It's a local hamburger, onion ring and milkshake kind of place.  So we went there.  It was exactly how they described it.  As you can see from the pictures, the walls are covered with license plates, etc.  The food was great, but as I laid in bed that night with my stomach girgling, I decided that meal was a heart attack in waiting!  I sure can't (or shouldn't) eat like that anymore!  But it was fun, and we're glad we did it once!  Thanks Allen's!

We had several opportunities to meet with the Elders at their teaching appointments this week.  This is one of our favorite things to do; to meet with and help to help teach and bear testimony to the friends of the missionaries.  One evening we received a call from a set of Elders asking if we could meet with them in 30 minutes to help with an appointment.  We were at the grocery store at the time, and by the time we finished and got home to put the food away, we would be too late.  So the Elders suggested that maybe they could call and we could bear testimony at the end of their lesson on the phone.  I agreed.  

So after we finished at the grocery store, I dropped Stan off at our apartment with the food, and headed to another store to get a few things they didn't have at the first.  I had just finished my purchases and got in the car when my phone rang.  It was the Elders asking me to share my testimony.  I asked them what their lesson had been on, and he said it was on Temples.  Well, I love to talk about the temple.  So as I bore my testimony of my love for the temple, I could feel the Spirit.  When I finished, I told them I felt a sweet spirit and asked them if they felt it as well.  They said they did, too.  I commented on how distance doesn't matter, we could all feel the spirit together.  As I drove home, I pondered over what a sweet spirit I felt in the grocery store parking lot.

It's been three weeks since we've had a YSA activity (because of all the Holidays).  It was so good to get back together again, with the few that came.  We were wondering where everyone was, when three Hispanic young men came in; none of us knew who they were.  Apparently the Elders had visited with them earlier in the day and invited them to our activity.  I'm so glad they came, we sure needed them.  The gal  in charge of the activity found out that one of them is her neighbor.  It seemed like a few of the YSA's had some kind of connection with them.  I think they had a positive experience.  

We also celebrated Rosca de Reyes, Three Kings Day.  The Hispanic culture  has a tradition of "eating the decorated bread 12 days after Christmas, marking the day when Christians believe the Three Wise Men followed the star to Bethlehem and arrived with gifts for baby Jesus."  There is a plastic baby baked into the cake, and whoever gets the baby, they are supposed to make homemade tamales for their friends.  Guess who got the baby?  Me!  I told them they have to teach me how to make tamales.  

We had a fun time playing Telestrations.  One thing we learned is that the young adults have a different language and thought process than us Seniors do!  Sometimes we just don't get what they're talking about!  It's all fun! 

Last night we enjoyed a gathering with all the Senior Missionaries for a yummy meal and some musical games and activities.  My two favorite things about serving a mission are rubbing shoulders with the young missionaries, and gleaning from the older and wiser Senior missionaries.  At least we know their language!

Today we taught our last Temple Prep class.  I wish we had taken a picture.  We've loved this opportunity to teach these choice young people about the temple, and share our love for the temple with them.  I look forward to seeing many of them make the decision to move forward on the Covenant Path.  

This morning at Ward Council, I was sitting by our ward Mission Leader, Charlie.  He is in the Navy.  I turned to him and asked him how he felt about all the activity that is going on in the Middle East right now.  He said "That's what I signed up for."  It stirred my heart to hear his reply and see the  determination on his face to serve our country.  I thanked him.  I'm grateful for young people like Charlie.