The missionaries came for dinner...

The missionaries came over for dinner on Wednesday.  Elder Oyunhold is from Mongolia and he was baptized three years ago.  After dinner, they gave us a message about the restoration and the spirit was so incredibly strong.  My eyes filled with tears to think of the Wentworth letter "...the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent 'til it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear.  'Til the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say 'the work is done'."  Elder Vance was 6'6" and from Montana.  He has an older brother with special needs and was so kind to Luke.  They both had strong testimonies of the restoration and I'm grateful they came.

Tim gave me this portable electric fireplace for Christmas.  It is so cozy and warm, I have enjoyed sitting in front of it and watching the flames.  I kept saying, "When we retire, let's build a fireplace in the basement."  He got me this one and you can put it wherever you want--so nice!

The night before Brian and Chloe left, we made mounds of delicious gyoza and watched a movie.  It was fun.

We took the Christmas decorations down.  The season went by fast (as always).  The highlight was being able to talk with Todd by Skype.  Many other fantastic things happened.  It was a great Christmas!

 

It has snowed so much this past month.  The chickens are still molting.  We always need the moisture and are grateful for the accumulation in the mountains which means, we probably will have enough water next summer. Hooray! 

Luke really wanted some mochi, and since it is kind of a New Year's treat, we whipped up a batch...

Chloe got a job and she is taking online classes.  Brian went to BYU Orientation-he starts school on Monday.  We moved them out on Friday and Saturday.  Mike, Joe, Chris and Alex came over to load Chloe's dad's tailor on Friday, and then Tim drove it down to BYU on Saturday and several people helped unload it into their new apartment.  So they are settled and ready to go!  

We went to the temple on Saturday. Tim was really busy and didn't feel like he had time for a full endowment session, but we decided to go anyway. When we got there, there were signs that read, "Brethren Needed for Sealing Ordinance Work" and "Sisters Needed for Sealing Ordinance Work" - which was cool.  So we did, and it was wonderful. 

During the sealings, Tim was reminded of when his mother was sealed to her parents at age 8 in the Idaho Falls Temple. She told about it, and how she could sense something special between her parents after the sealing that was not there before. As she rode in the back of the car between her older sister Nadeen, and her younger sister Glenda, on their way back to Boise, she remembers looking at the glow in her parents countenances. She made a decision then and there that this was the kind of marriage she wanted. 

Letter from Elder Stout:

Hey FAM!!! Coming at y'all from Sanjo again!! Transfers are next Monday, so it wold be much appreciated if we got some prayers that me and Elder Stout could stay together for another transfer. Not only do we love being companions, but there are seriously tons of people that are on the verge of baptism. Like, there is a very real chance we'll see multiple baptisms in the next few weeks, so it'd be way unfortunate if one of us transferred after getting this far... And of course there's that little part about how me and Elder Stout are almost comically amazing friends. I guarantee that we basically set the standard for a good relationship in companionships.

I miss the temple. I am so happy that you guys were able to go do sealings!! It truly is a special experience. 

Missionaries!!! Send them my love. Our family is so cool, by the way. I love how between Dad and Brian they can essentially determine how close the languages are to anything Far East or Slavic.

BRIAN AND CHLOE ARE ALREADY MOVED OUT?? That was a short lived time period! How fantastic for them though! I am happy that they have a good job!

I can't believe that Nick is getting married!! I am so happy for you guys, road trips have always been our families strong point.

It also occurred to me how special ordinances are this week. I practice the baptism words every day with Elder Stout, and we say the names of all of our investigators that are getting baptized soon, (4) and it fills me with such happy. Also, we have started teaching the Plan of Salvation first, because it seems to get people's attention better, and because of that we've been talking a ton about saving ordinances, and it helps me remember the importance of them. 

This week.. Was pretty normal. Me and Elder Stout seriously make a great team!

LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER YOU ARE AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU THE MOST THIS WEEK. I love Luke just as much though. Always will. 

スタウト長老〜♡