Talking on Christmas

Dear Family,

That was really fun talking to you guys on Christmas.  I'm glad you guys are all doing so well. My companion was happy to speak with his parents, he also spoke for a good amount of time. I'm really glad the internet worked really well. 

We had a couple of cool experiences this week, on Saturday we taught a lady that we were teaching last month, but hadn't been able to speak to her for a long time. When we went by this time we saw a real change in her.  A lot of hard things happened to her last month and she really sees the need to put her trust in God. She didn't go to Church, she got sick but I think she is being prepared. 

We don't really have any plans for New Years but we have permission to stay up until 12:00 if a member brings us home.  I've been so tired almost everyday I would rather just go to but at 10:30, but we'll see what happens. 

I hope you guys have a great new years and eat a lot of good food.

I love you
Elder Weston

My companion talking to his family

The house we Skyped for Christmas

Christmas Party

Feliz Navidad

Dear Family,

Thank you for the letter. Sounds good, I'll will try to do at 8:00 or 9:00 with Skype, we should have good internet at the members house we are going to. That's really sad that Sister Johnson passed away I'll remember to keep here family in my prayers. 

I'm doing good with my companion and we have fun speaking spanglish, everyday we mix them both so much it gets pretty ridiculous. We have been working really hard and we have been trying to speak to more people everyday. Everything in the zone has been really calm so we haven't had to worry about anything these last few weeks so we have been able to focus a lot in our area. 

We have been contacting a lot more in this area and trying to give out more pass along cards, we have a lot of planned lessons for this next week and we hope we can find some positive investigators. We walked a lot everyday and my shoes are holding up. I know we are going to eat a lot of food. 

That's cool you guys got to go see the lights at Temple Square, and you had a cool Christmas program at Church.

Today for P day we are having a Christmas Party and playing games, we had a question game and threw a plate of shaving cream at the loser, it was pretty fun.  We are going to have a Zone talent show after we use Skype with you guys.

I hope you guys have a lot of fun and I will talk to you on Thursday.  :)

Love you all,
Elder Weston

10 pounds of pancake mix

Dear Family,

Thank you for the letters. I'm excited to Skype with you guys on Christmas. What time would be best for you guys because I can do it at any hour, I'm assuming in the morning. Thanks for the pictures. It seems like Michael likes the dances.

We haven't had anymore earthquakes here and nothing broke when they happened, because it shook for only a few seconds.

So this week was great, on Monday my companion Elder Cifuentes left to Panama, so I was on divisions Tuesday, and Wednesday. We were waiting at the bus stop for a long time on Wednesday because at 4 PM sent a sister to Panama, at about 6:30 PM we got two new missionaries. We ate dinner and went to the closest house and at 3:00 AM on Thursday my companion came and other sister missionary.

My companion is Elder Rasmusson, he is from Oklahoma and lives in a city in the south east corner of the state. He's a great Elder. We've been working really hard the last few days. He has about 13 months in the mission.

We have been doing really well this week, it has been good. We have been giving out pass along cards about He's the Gift video by the Church, and we have been singing a lot of Christmas songs.

Today we went to ''Costco'' and bought a 10 pound bag a pancake mix so we are basically have pancakes everyday until February.

One of the Elders in the Zone has to go to Panama today so if my package has arrived they will bring it to me, I hope it gets here.

I had this thought while reading in the Book of Mormon this week. in Nephi 11 it says

 8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

(I believe the Tree of Life is a Christmas tree covered in Snow ha ha)

(and after Nephi saw the Birth of Christ)

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the (Christmas) tree which thy father saw?

 22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

So if Nephi saw a white Christmas tree (or the tree of life), a Christmas tree can represent the Love of God, and biggest act of love was the Atonement. So I have been trying to remember the Love of God every time I see a Christmas tree.

I love you,
Elder Weston

Earthquake

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters and Happy Mothers Day (in Panama it's the 8th of December). I got the package with all the letters from the Young Women and the skittles, thank you so much and I got a letter from Grandma Jane tell here thank you.
On Saturday afternoon and this morning at 4:00 we felt earthquakes. It was super cool, I've never felt an earthquake before they both lasted for only 15 seconds but it was really interesting seeing everything shake.
This was the last week for my companion and we had a lot to do this week. On Tuesday, I worked with one of our recent converts in the area, while my companion said goodbye to some people. On Wednesday we had a meeting with the President for all the leaders, and on Thursday we had zone conference.
Zone conference was really great we watched a movie called ''Ephraims Rescue'' I don't know if you guys have seen it but it is really good. It's about the Pioneers. We also went to an orphanage and sang songs and gave gifts to the kids.
On Saturday we had the Mothers Day activity and we ended up setting it up but it turned out really well.
My companion is really great but these last few days he's been super truncky but I can't blame him it was his last week. I'll be getting a new companion on Wednesday.
People here are starting to put up there Christmas trees and lights outside but we don't have a tree in our house, I should go buy one.
We watched the first presidency devotional yesterday it was really great, I loved all the music and the cute story about the kids who had Halloween, Christmas Eve, and Christmas all in one week.
I still find it strange to sing Christmas songs under the hot sun but maybe God is trying to teach me the real meaning of Christmas doesn't mean snow.

The other week I read in the Teachings of Joseph Smith this about our Heavenly Father.

When we comprehend the character of God, we comprehend ourselves and know how to approach Him.

“There are but a very few beings in the world who understand rightly the character of God. The great majority of mankind do not comprehend anything, either that which is past, or that which is to come, as it respects their relationship to God. They do not know, neither do they understand the nature of that relationship; and consequently they know but little above the brute beast, or more than to eat, drink and sleep. This is all man knows about God or His existence, unless it is given by the inspiration of the Almighty.

“If a man learns nothing more than to eat, drink and sleep, and does not comprehend any of the designs of God, the beast comprehends the same things. It eats, drinks, sleeps, and knows nothing more about God; yet it knows as much as we, unless we are able to comprehend by the inspiration of Almighty God. If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves. I want to go back to the beginning, and so lift your minds into more lofty spheres and a more exalted understanding than what the human mind generally aspires to.

“… The scriptures inform us that ‘This is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.’ [John17:3.]

“If any man does not know God, and inquires what kind of a being He is,—if he will search diligently his own heart—if the declaration of Jesus and the apostles be true, he will realize that he has not eternal life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle.

“My first object is to find out the character of the only wise and true God,and what kind of a being He is. …

“God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible,—I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form—like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with another. …

“… Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him,and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to Him, He is ready to come to us.”9

After reading this I've been trying to improve my prayers by imagining God sitting next to me and listening to me during prayers. It helps me realize that God truly does listen to our prayers and is a Father to us.

Thank you for your letters and I'll wait for the packages.

I love you,

Elder Weston

"always have a prayer in your heart"

Dear Family,

Thank you for your letters, sounds like dads talk went well, I will
read those talks about personal revelation. Last Sunday my companion
and I were helping a member with family search and I started looking
at my family tree, on Grandpa John's side there are a bunch of Kings
and Queens and by clicking I got to 150 BC that's crazy right. I didn't
think it was possible to get so far.

That's weird that it's so warm in Utah right now, every time they show
the temperature in the United States on the news they say it's so cold
in the United States.

On Thanksgiving I did eat a turkey sandwich for dinner, but for lunch
there was a conference with the President of the mission, so after the
conference they gave us money to buy Domino's Pizza so that tasted
good.

My retainer is holding up, I've been using glasses and contacts and
sometimes neither. The contacts sometimes hurt my eyes but glasses
always get sweaty so sometimes I just walk a little blind but really
my eyes aren't that bad, I can see good enough.

I watched he is the Gift that's a super cool video.

That's cool you guys continue to exercise, I exercise in the morning
but the only motivation I have is the cold shower. If I don't exercise
the shower is unbearably cold. We also walk a bunch but we
continue to eat so much rice and fried foods that I'm not getting
skinnier.

One thing that I learned a few weeks ago that's been helping me a lot
is ''always have a prayer in your heart'' but for someone else.
Sometimes I start to criticize in my head when I don't like what
someone is teaching, or what somebody is saying. But a missionary
taught me that we should always have a prayer in our hearts for the
person who is teaching or giving a talk and as well as pray for the person
who is teaching, that they may have the Spirit, we stop judging and we
start learning. It's been helping me a lot.

I love you so much, Happy Christmas Season

Elder Weston