Merry Christmas! Happy Boxing Day!

December 27

Merry Christmas to you all! Hope you were able to appreciate this great time of year with special loved ones. I am so grateful for all of you and the support you have given me throughout my life :)

This week was pretty exciting! On Wednesday we got together with our zone ( a group of missionaries) and had a special Christmas conference! Everything was focused on strengthening our faith in Christ. We were able to act out some Christmas skits! Because I love acting....

On Thursday we got to go to the temple!! That was really special, a wonderful Christmas present. Then we went to go see Tanya, and acted out for her the Christmas story. So much fun :)

Friday we went to the baptism of Jack, and our investigator Misa came! She was stressed for Jack, and she doesn't even know him! But at the end, she really loved the baptism service, and the spirit that we felt there was really strong.

On Saturday it was nice and hot! (fun fact: we were told that on Christmas, Adelaide was the hottest city in the world, 40 degrees Celcius!) We met some interesting people on Rundle Mall, and there were 2 men that wanted to discuss the Bible with us for 30 minutes! One thing that I really love about being a missionary is being able to learn from other peoples' point of view. Because they really want to share their beliefs! But I love learning why they believe what they do, and it only strengthens my testimony that God loves everyone :) (Romans 8:39)

Sunday we SKYPED with our families, that is always awesome! Then we were able to watch all the Christmas skits from missionaries all over Adelaide. Ours definitely won.

Monday was Boxing Day, and Australians really love to shop! It was like Black Friday, but after Christmas... and raining a lot, but people were determined.

Overall, I pray you were all able to feel a bit happier at this time. If not, I know there is always a reason for everything, even if we do not see it at the time. I love you all, have a wonderful week!

Sister Townsend





parents

"Here's our card...No, I'm a Communist"

Dec. 21

Every night we do compliments with our companionship, it ends the day on a good note :) this week I was complimented on being organized, and my first thought was, "I'M GOLD!" Something I never thought would happen, that's always been my last color. But good to know that Heavenly Father blesses us with traits we need to help further His work.

Even at this wonderful Christmas time, we still meet people who don't want to talk to us. At least one person had the excuse they were a Communist!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!! I wish I could share how much I love Christmas time and the Spirit it brings. There is just so much light and happiness, hopefully you can feel it :) this is my favorite time, and we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and we celebrate His birth because of the wonderful things He did for us while He was alive.

I know that He loves us so much. And I love you!!

John 3:16

"Corsets Improve Posture"

December 11

Dear Family,
Quick summary of my week: Not possible. But I do my best :)

Sunday night: found out I would be training. That was pretty big surprise. Then had to help Sister Coultrup pack up all her things and prepare to go home, do all her leavers things.

Monday: Took Sister Coultrup to the temple, took Sister Rougeau to the mission office (she's going to DARWIN) and hung out with Sisters Collins and Samita for a while, they're both from Samoa, Sister Collins was raised in New Zealand. Started my trio with Sister Maea and Sister Purvis, who will now be living with me and my new companion in our very small flat.

Tuesday: Leadership meetings from 10:30 - 6:15 AWESOME!!! It was great, talking a lot more about how the priesthood and sisters can work more together and help the mission grow. Loved it :)

Wednesday: Sister Paton, a member of the ward, came with us to see Tanya. She was so excited to learn Auslan, and to help others at church learn as well. small miracle. We looked and looked for ways we could "Feed the Hungry", but all the hungry people must have been hiding.
Met up with Sister Taufa, who I haven't seen in 11 months, and now sh'es training as well. Then we met our new companions!!! Mine is Sister Brough, from Springville, Utah. Nice and close to home :) She came in with HEAPS of other sisters, it is so exciting.

Thursday: Arrivers Training with all the new missionaries, and I got to see Sister Matthes!! The first sister I trained. Now she's training :D after training I got to have an interview with President which was wonderful, Sister Brough took her driving test on the opposite side of the road (which now feels normal to me...) and we had dinner with a member.

Friday: wrapped Christmas presents for Sister Parker. Finally visited Sister Quinton, a lday in the ward we go see, haven't seen her in ages. But we'll have lunch with her next week. We met a really nice girl from China, who told us her friend is serving a mission, just like us, in Korea!! That's pretty cool.

Saturday: went to Onkaparinga for their Chrismas party, drove an hour to get there

Sunday: Miracle day. So good. Met some funny people (see title of email) and had great experiences. We met Winnie on the street, and invited her to come to the teaching center we have, she agreed, came up, and committed to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized! Unfortunately, she's leaving for China today, we'll see her in February. This is how excited we were

Missionary work is amazing, especially at this time of year. For those who haven't seen it yet, there is a 2 minute video on mormon.org that truly shows the focus of Christmas. It's not about the gifts we get, but about what we can give to others, big or small :)

#LIGHT THE WORLD

Love Sister Townsend