December 7, 2020

You handsome beautiful boy. How is everything? I’m so excited on Mondays that we get to hear from you! I missed you a lot last night thinking about both of us watching the Christmas devotional. To me the poem by Elder Holland was just exquisite joy. If I pair that in my feelings with all of the beautiful information I’m gathering while I’m studying let God prevail, I just want to weep with joy. It is so beautiful and amazing what the Savior has done, what he is willing to do, what he is able to do what he wants to do, and how we can open up an opportunity through our obedience for those blessings to flow. I am overwhelmed by his goodness. I want to sit in the joy of salvation, I want to marinate in it. I want my worship to be so deep and so profound and so constant that every breath every look every action I do is worship and done an absolute joy. I think one of the biggest sins of my life has been not being grateful enough, and not allowing the joy and redemption of Jesus Christ to be the source of my happiness constantly. Elder Maxwell talks about getting caught up in the thick of thin things. I think that’s what I’m talking about I regret time spent away from the big picture of the joy of salvation and getting caught up and worry about the thick of thin things. How was like the world going? I hope your ward is helping you! The posts that I’m seeing are so uplifting and encouraging and beautiful. With one sweep of the hand President Nelson fixed social media for me. I used to never even look at it but I have scrolled a few times lately and it’s been so uplifting and so beautiful. One of the inspiration I received this weekend was about proximity and influence. The greater the proximity the greater the influence. There’s a reason why you’re not doing missionary work from here, and those that we have the most to do with provide us the most opportunity to do good. Far and away, by and large, the posts that I’ve seen about people people and the Christlike influences that they have chosen to post about our people very close to them whom the world likely doesn’t know much about. I think a lot about how I can do good and I think most of my effort should be within my intimate circles. I think that’s why the Lord sends missionaries so people can look in their eyes and hear their personal testimonies testifying just to them; One by one like in 3 Nephi. We’ve had a fun miracle this week. We posted about Uganda on Friday, and by last night $8000 had been raised. I am so touched and overjoyed by that. I am so in love with the human race. I’m so grateful for people is good hearts. This morning we get an opportunity to talk to the stake president in Uganda and make specific plans about how to distribute this incredible amount of donations. $40 will feed a family for 1 to 2 weeks. I’m just amazed. Yesterday Jonathan and family were here. They came up Saturday for a baby shower with Megan and Dallin. Their baby is due in January. That is so exciting. I got to spend yesterday playing with Bryce and the other babies and they’re so so so cute. It was just pure heaven. We watched the Christmas devotional with Camie last night. Coy and Becca and McKay and Lydia have been very attentive to Camie trying to help her along and I am just so grateful for their precious love. That is definitely one of our missionary efforts right now is to help her regain her membership in the church and try to find her way towards Jesus Christ. We still have a long way to go I thought prison will change everything but it really hasn’t. That’s me judging, but I just feel like there’s still some ground to cover before she understands what the Lord has done for her and how much he loves her. Saturday we had a belated birthday party for Coy and Rebecca‘s family came up for a few hours we were able to get to know them better. Saturday night Natalie Katie Jane Spencer Coy Rebecca Seth and Sam and Annie and I play games until 1:30 in the morning, green couch games. It was pretty awesome. Sam didn’t stay that late. We were supposed to have a Regency ball for Emmy Slichta’s birthday on Saturday night, but it got canceled because then we got sick. On I think it was Saturday as well, James and Carol Jacobs stopped by. Do you remember their story Joseph? James had been chewing tobacco since he was 13 years old and tried to quit multiple times with no success. They began to come closer to God, and he called the missionaries. The missionaries and people from our ward were coming over to read the book of Mormon to them. Anyway, he called the missionaries and they came over and gave him a blessing. The second their hands left his head he said he was cured of the desire to chew tobacco it just left him. He’s never wanted to do it again. Seth is painting his room and the whole entire thing is spackle. That room is had a lot of beating up over the years :-). We gave our family couches to the Larsen family. One of my favorite nights this week was Sam came over and Annie Sam Spencer and I sang around the piano for a couple of hours it was so much fun. I might have to fly to Colorado to get a passport for Mexico. I was just thinking about when we went to California with Allie and Megan. That was so fun. So if he wants something super crazy and random for his birthday like your accordion. That’s the example he keeps bringing up. We’re trying to think of something crazy and fun to do, any ideas? Well can’t wait to hear from you we love you so very very much. So so proud of you. Love, Momzies