HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLA!!!!!!!
Definitely, AWESOME talking to y'all this past Christmas day! And you know, for some reason I felt like I should have asked more, or said more, and now I know why: There's been SO MUCH that has happened! And with Elder Nore and his first baptism already - Way awesome! It sounds like he's loving it out there!!
Wow, after reading your e-mail, I don't even know where to start! I'll definitely keep Ethan, Peyton, Dave and Christie in my prayers - this has got to be a really tough time for them right now. I hope things get better soon, and that Ethan is well.
Before I forget (Because after I write it, I want to forget until I need to stress over things in that half of the world): THAT WOULDS BE SO COOL!! The four of us rooming together at BYU-I! Does Justin have his track yet? I can't remember if you told me that they'll let him know later on, or soon after he received his acceptance letter. But yes, that would be rank!
Wow...wow, wow wow...Matt in the Army? When did he go into boot camp? And then with Alexis, and what happened with Timmy Card, and that Mig Jernigan's married, Nathan and Theo on missions, Ryan a few weeks ago and Brother Nelson now...It all just blows my mind! I hope all goes well, and that everyone is able to have the peace that they need, especially around this time of year.
Okay, so I'll try to let you know a little more about what's going on around these parts. On Saturday at mission conference...wow, it was great! We had steak, salad, corn on the cob, and a lot of other great food! Just before that, we watched a great movie called "17 Miracles." It's about the Willie-Martin Handcart company, and there is actually a missionary serving in our mission (And his name is...Elder Willie!) who is a descendant of them. It shows a lot of the miracles that happened on the trail to Zion, and how they were able to make it to the end. It's a great movie...Not a dry eye in the house. You've got to check it out one day! We did a gift exchange after, and heard some skits and musical numbers (Yodeling was...very interesting), and had a good testimony meeting before all the Christmas activities. Sister Saylin put together a book of miracles - miracles that missionaries e-mailed in - and we each got a copy. I'll have to take a picture of the book and then send you a copy (It looks a lot like the Book of Mormon on the cover). Really neat to see all the miracles that are just all throughout the mission.
Then, Sunday I think I told you about. A certain number of members went up front and shared their favorite hymn, why it was their favorite, and then we sang a few lines from it (Oh, and the organ we have here plays by itself - All you have to do it hit the keys to keep the tempo!). It was a very good Sacrament meeting - one where I could really feel the Spirit there. Just a really unique experience.
Monday - A day of a lot of phone calls! After planning, and after we had visited a few people (and had some good lessons with them), the assistants texted us and asked if we could help them out with something, but that they'd call us later on. When they did call, they asked us if they could move us out of our apartment for a little while and move some Sister missionaries in there, because that day (Actually, I think someone said that this happened on Christmas day), the member they were living with went crazy and kicked them out! (When we talked to the Sisters later to give them the keys, they told us that they brought in a Christmas tree without asking, and gave her some gifts...) So they stayed with some other sisters for a night, and yesterday when the assistants called, they had us go home and clean up a bit. An hour and a half later, it was loking pretty good! This morning, we packed up our suitcases with enough clothes to last us for about a week and a half, our study supplies, our bikes, and went over to the apartment of the Houston 4 ward elders, Elder Banks and Elder Stoker. So, all four of us are going to live there until the assistants can find another apartment for someone, either the Sisters or us.
But that wasn't the end of it! The assistants called us back later that night and told us that President wanted us to go on a 48 hour exchange with the Missouri City elders. They had us call them, and we set up the exchange for Thursday evening. I'll be staying here, and Elder Lyman is going to Missouri City, almost to the area where he started his mission. It's definitely going to be an interesting week! And right before we started getting all these calls or finding out about everything that is going on, Elder Lyman said, "There's never anything interesting that goes on in my mission - no emergency exchanges or anything." Well, now there is! It'll be really interesting to see how we do everything, and to see how things turn out in the end!
Elder Lyman in general is doing pretty well. He seems a little homesick, but that should pass in a few days, if all goes well.
I think this is about it! It has definitely been a full week, on both ends! Could you possibly send me that Christmas Newsletter, if it's not too much to ask? It's really cool!
Again, it was super great to talk to you on Christmas!! I hope New Year's is great, too, and that everyone is doing well!
Have a WONDERFUL week!!
Les amo - A infinidad, y mas alla!!
Con MUCHO amor,
Elder Devin Collins
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