Merry Christmas!

 Hey everyone!

Well, it is finally Christmastime! The big day is just two days away, and I am excited for it! Now, the results of this Transfer Conference are that my P-Day is still on the same day, so can still expect my E-mails on Saturdays; I am still in the same zone; I have moved apartments - I now live with my district leader; and, most importantly, I am now a trainer again. I am training Elder Beeson from Boise, Idaho. He is doing quite well so far, though the entire district has honestly been a bit stressed over the past couple of days for some reason - I don't know exactly why. Oh well, we are getting some days off now, so that will be helpful to us. Aside from Elder Beeson, we do have another Young Elder in the zone, Elder Black, who is being trained by one of the other district leaders. That brings our total of young elders in the zone up to fourteen - much more than are in any other zones! I will say this though - I do not think I will be transferred out of this zone any time soon. But, that is alright -

Our Christmas holiday will be spent as follows: later today, I will be going to a Christmas party with the other young elders. I don't know much about this party, but I do know that two things that will be there are pizza, and Santa Clause. Tomorrow, on Sunday, both branches will be having sacrament meeting together, so that will be a bit extra special. Later that day, we will all be having district Christmas devotionals. On Christmas day, we will be able to make Skype calls home to our families. I don't know about the rest of the mission, but I really look forward to talking to mine! It will be great to see them again! Later that day, the mission will be having a Christmas dinner together! The day after that has not yet been scheduled, but I do know that we will not be going in to zone on that day. I do look forward to this Christmas season, it will be a special day that day!

The weather here has been quite interesting. We have been getting both snow and rain here today. Winter has technically begun, but it does not look quite winter yet... I am hoping for a nice, thick blanket of snow to make for a nice, white snow. We have some, which I guess is better than none, though I do still want it to come down more. Then again, more snow would make driving much more difficult. The conditions are already unruly enough! But, I think it would be worth it to have a nice, white Christmas!

So, I have received a lot of Christmas cards from you back home! I appreciate them very much, and I thank every one of you for the support you have given me! Your support from home is part of why I work so hard out here as a missionary! I just wanted to throw that in there before concluding my E-mail. Aside from what I just told you, there have not been very happenings out here in the mission field. Sorry I have not attached any photos to this E-mail - I am not very good with pictures... I will make a point to take some this week to send on home now though, so you can expect some with my next E-mail. I love you all. Have a merry Christmas!



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. It is a perfect opportunity to be together with those whom you love. This can include family, friends, and other special people. However, the holidays can also be quite stressful for some of us - this can include those who have no one to celebrate it with, people dealing with difficult times, or even people for whom Christmas has lost it's magic. My challenge for you this week is to make the holiday as special as possible by showing love to anyone who may need a little extra. This may mean someone you have not known much beforehand, or someone you have been estranged to. The season is already happy and beautiful - how much more would it be if everyone would feel love from somewhere least expected! Buy lunch for a friend, send a card to your parents and/or children, or even just smile to those passing by. Doing this will make the Christmas season more special than ever before, as this sort of service and companionship would be the gift which the Savior himself would ask for.