Christmas in the Mission Field

Running shoes to keep up with Shellee & Aimee

Elders Wilson, Ball, Barton, Lindsay, Flickinger.

Silly Elder Wilson is wearing Elder Flickingers suit jacket, which is way too small.

We had a nice day, with a baptismal interview at 11:30, then Turkey dinner at 3:30, and the Elders over in the evening for games and chips & dip. The Elders challenged each other to a texting war, with the winner getting bragging rights.

Oh, and our tree is still so fresh, I think I will leave it up till January 12th, when we pack to head home. I just don't have the heart to take it down.

North Pole - Bellevue Branch

There must be 200+ letters in there....


Our office is FULL of Christmas boxes for the Missionaries! We have a little pathway to navigate through, and are contemplating a full-out nerf gun battle since we have 'forts' to hide behind. Elder Wilson is marking the Zone on the box so it can be delivered by Christmas Day.

Moses and the 10 Car-mandments

Every Zone Conference Elder Wilson tries to come up with an attention-getting teaching tool and this time (our last) was no exception. He came up with the clever Ten Carmandments and wrote them on a tablet made of slate tile. The Carmandments included: Thou shalt use a backer at all times and in all places; Thou shalt obey the 4-second rule; Thou shalt wax thy car every 3 months; Thou shalt wash thy car weekly; Thou shalt be careful turning left; Thou shalt obey the speed limit; and ended with "If thou shalt get in a wreck, thou shalt lose thy driving priveleges"

The missionaries loved it, and even applauded when he entered the room. President Moffat asked Elder Wilson and I to bear our Testimonies at the end of the segment. My eyes were leaking, as I expressed my gratitude for the wonderful opportunity and blessing it has been to be here with these Missionaries. It was great to have the chance to tell them I know the church is true, and am so proud of them for dedicating their time to give people the chance to hear about God and Jesus Christ. We have grown to love them all so much, and will miss them all terribly when we go home. This has been so much better than we ever imagined, and can't thank our family enough for taking over things at home so we could serve here. ♥

Oh Christmas Tree!!

Since we live in the place where Christmas trees grow, we decided to cut our own tree at a farm outside Issaquah. The trees were huge and beautiful, and expensive, but as we walked out behind the cabin/office, we found a cute little patch of $15 trees just the right size for our apartment. Larry did the cutting honors and I took the photo. You can't get a fresher tree than that, and we had a lot of fun at the tree farm to boot!

On a clear day...you can see ...well...Seattle...

The other day, Larry went to pick up a new convert for a lesson, and stumbled onto this viewpoint between Sommerset and Newcastle in South Bellevue. He came back to the office, and on our lunch break, we drove back out there and took photos. I also got my first up close and personal with real-live deer, who were eating the bushes in someone's perfectly manicured front yard. Sadly, when I moved to grab the camera, they darted into the perfectly manicured back yard and out of sight. Top photo: downtown Seattle with space needle to far right.#2 Lake Washington and Mercer Island I-90 bridge. #3 downtown Seattle to left, downtown Bellevue to right. #4 zoom of Downtown Seattle (foggy)