A White Christmas at 76 degrees!

I cannot even begin to say how excited I was for Sonya's baptism yesterday!  This picture is most of the 4 generation group we've been helping the sisters and then the elders to teach since we got here.  I had a hard time sleeping Friday night I was so excited!  There's a Christmas present story involved here. Sonya's daughter, April was baptized about 4 years ago in Belize.  It was totally life changing for her and she's been working on her family ever since.  Ashley, April's sister was baptized a couple of years ago in our Cleveland ward.  She started having the missionaries teach her family about 4 months ago.  Sonya is the first of that group to be baptized.  She decided to be baptized on Christmas Eve and confirmed on Christmas Day!  April lives in Colorado.  So after Sacrament meeting today the family started driving to see her.  They haven't told her that her mom got baptized.  We took a picture of her in her baptism clothes and made a 8x10 picture they are wrapping and surprising her with tonight!  They promised to get a picture of April opening the picture! 

How many missionaries does it take to baptize one cute little sister?  More than those shown in the picture!  Well, one more, Sister White started teaching the Bible Study group! 

Elder Quincy finished the huge ramp project!  Here's some of the helpers!  It was important and needed, but I hated not having a companion for lots of days this week!

We had all the missionaries over for breakfast at 7:30 this morning.  It was really fun!

Elder Taylors dad sent ties for all of the Elders and scarves for all the Sisters. 

Sister Fisher, on the right is leaving us on Tuesday!  We will miss her!  Elder Riches on the far right above is leaving us ,too.  I really hate transfers!

We had dinner at the Roberts after church with the Sisters.  I had my first fried turkey.  Delish!  The Sisters had to hold these baby pigs.

 

Our first for the week was going to the CC Driver Pentacostal Chrismas Program on Friday night.  Vanessa, an investigator said she'd come to church (and she did) and invited us to hear her sing at her church Friday night.  It was awesome, right in the middle of the hood, we were the only white people in the building.  They were very kind and welcoming.  Vanessa sang a solo and was amazing!

The sisters skyped at our house, and then we got to Jenny's in time to play a few games with the grandkids, eat a delicious Jerusalem dinner and Elder Quincy helped get Dean's robot together

Its been a great week and an amazing Christmas!!

From 80 degrees to 29 degrees over night and celebrating Glenda!

Can it really be Christmas in a week?  It was 80 degrees yesterday, but got down to 29 last night. I actually wore my raincoat over a sweater this afternoon. What a week!!  The lesson with the wonderful Allen family last Monday couldn't have gone better.  They were all there plus Ashely's boyfriend, Luke made it!  Two of them were sick and asked for blessings after the lesson.  Sonya is getting baptized on Christmas Eve!!  Her sister said she would be, too, but not yet.  We think that Jaycee, Luke, and Tammy will be next, followed by Sonya's husband, Cheyenne and her boyfriend, and then, finally the Great grandma and pa.  I love them all soo much!
Tuesday was our Christmas Conference.  It was an all day affair, which included talks, special numbers, a slide show with pictures of all of us.  Testimonies of the missionaries about to go home, a wonderful lunch, including a chocolate fountain, a talent show (with everything from Polynesian dances, piano performances, off tune solos, on tune quartets, Irish dancing by an Elder who is ranked for clogging competition nationally, viola, violin, and yes, even bag pipes), a movie (17 Miracles), and lots of fun seeing most of the missionaries we've lost from Cleveland.
We had 3 nonmembers to English class on Wednesday morning!  Awesome Hermana Torres told them how she was converted by coming to the church for English classes.  Elder Quincy got about 2 thirds of the way done with his huge ramp project.  I got to go out with the Sisters a bunch while he worked.  Br. Sneed, recently reactivated, helped Elder Quincy all day Friday.  He said it made him so happy!  He hadn't done a service project for 18 years!  He wants to help him both days he's working on it this week.
The highlight of the week was Glenda's baptism Saturday!!  She is just about the sweetest thing ever! Having James Farmer baptize was icing on the cake! And it happened to be on my sweet grand-daughter's 8th birthday.   Luke committing to being baptized Thursday night was cool, too. The only problem being, its the date that Tessa will be baptized in Colorado.  We're trying to figure out if we can do both of them.  Some firsts for the week, would be going to Livingston for the first time to help the Sisters with their exchanges, finding members from the English ward we've been looking for when we attended the Spanish branch's Christmas party, having a recent convert baptize, and helping a recent convert anoint , first a baby, then his nonmember mom for blessings with Elder Quincy.  The Lord is pouring down blessings on our ward.  Glenda was the 20th baptism for the year, which was the goal the Ward mission leader had set, but there will be 2 more before the end of the year!

 Br. Sneed at Book of Mormon class Tuesday night.

First time we met Br. Sneed in October.

The fall looking trees on the way to Livingston on Wednesday.

Tessa and her scriptures!  Our traditional 8 year old birthday gift

 I brought these guys lunch at the work site.  I even helped them a little.

This is sweet Faith.  She has spina bifida and is a doll!

Glenda and her husband, Roger with the friends who converted her.

Glenda with her daughter, Melissa. 

We are praying that Roger will be baptized, too!

There's a lot of joy in this picture!

Glenda's family

On the way to a FHE with the Jones

This sweet family is moving to Farmington, New Mexico.  We had one last FHE with them before they go.

 Having 8 investigators to church Sunday was awesome; 5 for their first time! 

Leaving or coming? Hard to say

Such a fun clashing of worlds this week!  Monday my sister Nancy fed us dinner in Lake Point.  My parents, 2 sisters and their spouses, my sister-in-law, a niece and a nephew with their spouses and kids came by and it was so much fun!  So great to be able to see them all with just one evening away from Joni and the new baby.  We loved playing and bonding with Tayson and Kinsley and it was fun to have lots of time with Joni and Mikey.  Richard got lots of handyman projects done in the house!

 Don't worry I got my traditional picture of Kinsley in her father's hand for my collection!

This cute family!  Joni and Mikey are awesome parents.  There's a lot of love in my house while I'm gone!  I love it!

Our couch and chair look tiny in Josh and Meg's huge basement.

We even slept in our own bed!

We got back in time for the Cleveland ward's Christmas party.  It was a blast!

Glenda and her member friend who's been preparing her for baptism for many years.

Brianna nd her cousin.

Brianna's uncle and a couple of cousins. 

Some cute young women.

Hunter.

Emily

Our fun sisters.

We spent our last night with Josh's family.  They just got the basement carpeted and ready in time for us!  We went to their ward Christmas Party.

 Family time!

Wearing her "Grandma love me" onesie!

Tayson got Grandpa into Mario Cart!  He played it even when Tayson left and did something else.

We did some decorating of our apartment thanks to my sibling's fun gifts.

We also got to go to a dinner with my Scripture group!  The 10th anniversary of meeting together! 

One story; at the airport on the way home; Elder Quincy saw a bird crash into a window trying to fly out of the terminal.  I asked the clerk at the desk if we could open a window and let it out.  They say it didn't  open.  Elder Quincy put on his gloves and carried the bird to the gate so then let them use his glove to take the bird down to the door and let it go.  Lots of people were watching and noticed.  The clerks gave us awesome seats on the plane for our flight home.  We even got to sit together and had lots of leg room.  Elder Quincy is the coolest!

People at the airport all asked if we were coming home or leaving.  We didn't know what to say.  It really felt like we were on our way home, so we said "kind of both; We're leaving one home to come to another home".  Since we got home last night Elder Quincy has given 4 blessings.