Tis the season

 

Hey everyone!

Well, now November has ended, and December has begun. It is now the Christmas season, and we are all preparing to celebrate it. The only minor problem with this is that there is still no snow... But, either way, the Christmas decorations have been coming up all around, the music in the stores has changed (though it still seems to me like everyone stopped recording Christmas music some time in the 50's), and it truly feels like the holidays are here. 

I have attached a couple of photos in this E-mail this time. They are a couple of group photos, each of myself and the rest of the young elders in my zone. One will be explained later in this E-mail, one is us at zone, and one is us eating together in the Nauvoo Cafe in the JSMB.

So, the week has been a bit less eventful than the last, but then again, that's not saying much - last week was quite a bit hectic. It is nice to be back to working cases in the contact center. Don't take this the wrong way, we are still doing good work here, but things have been a bit slow there as of recently, but management is currently working on resolving our not having a ton to do. Next Monday (two days from now), we will do some training so that we can process requests related to FamilySearch's 110-year rule, which essentially means you either must be a close relative of a deceased person or have permission from such a relative in order to do his/her temple ordinances. Of course, we will get training to do even more things in the future, but this will be a nice start for new things. Aside from this, things are still kind of the same as they have been. We are still in the Family History Library, and we are still working the same cases as we have been. 

In my last E-mail to you guys, I mentioned going to a show titled "Savior of the World", which turned out not to be a movie as I had originally thought, but a drama production. This two-act performance centered around the Savior's birth, as well as his Resurrection. The musical was quite well done, in my opinion. The acting was well done, and the music was wonderful! Elder Duran says that this musical was also shown last year, and he even thinks that they used the same actors as before. To me, this was a nice way to end off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. This was a performance I would definitely enjoy attending again in the future!

We have had another Book of Mormon class from President Fenn last Monday. This is open for the entire mission, but he especially wants us young elders attending these. It is really nice to attend these classes, as he can do a really nice commentary on the Book of Mormon. We hope to get through the entire book by this time next year, one monthly class at a time. Whether or not we meet this deadline, it is still a good experience for us. I personally have learned much from attending these classes, and I look forward to them every time. 

So, as I have mentioned earlier in this E-mail, the Christmas season has arrived, and the Church is running #LightTheWorld again this year. The premise of this is to set a theme for each day of December leading up to the holiday, all designed to remember Christ in the holiday season and become more like him. Each theme is a quote from the scriptures, and the goal of each participant is to try and apply the scripture to their lives. (For more information, click here.) Anyway, the theme of the first day (yesterday) was "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8). As a part of this, the Church had set up a vending machine in the lobby of the JSMB, the purpose of which is actually donate things, ranging from clothing to food to animals, to other people who are struggling around the world. For example, if we were to spend money on a water purifier, one would be given to someone struggling who needed one. So, me and other young elders serving in my zone decided to use money from our personal accounts rather than mission funds to each put in ten dollars apiece to buy a goat using this vending machine, a picture of which is attached to this E-mail. After this, we ate dinner together and went back to night zone together. To me, this was a nice way for a charitable organization to put itself out there - making donating to a charitable cause as simple as buying something from a vending machine is a novel idea, and I am wondering why I have not seen this sort of thing before! 

Finally, I look forward to the Christmas Devotional happening tomorrow. The young elders have actually gotten tickets to attend this one in person, so I will be attending it live. I look forward to doing so tomorrow. If you are interested as well, there will likely be a broadcast at your local meetinghouse, or you can stream it through www.lds.org. I think it will probably also show on television, though I am not sure what channel you would turn to. I would recommend checking it out, whether or not you are a member. It is a good way to remember why Christmas is so important.

Well, that is my week. Thanks again for all the support from home. I enjoy reading all your E-mails, and I hope you enjoy reading mine. I will catch you all next week. Have a good one!

From,

Elder Bryce Petersen

Challenge: As I have mentioned earlier, the Church is running #LightTheWorld again this year. They had done this last year, and it was a success, so they are running it again. I will be participating in it's daily challenges, and I challenge you to do so as well. The challenges are based on loving one another, service to others, and generally becoming more Christlike. You can keep up to date on www.mormon.org, or you can download and print a PDF of the calendar on the same website. It will be alright if you miss a day, or mess up a bit. Remember - the Lord does not expect perfection, only improvement. So, try and make it a goal to meet each challenge every day. Doing this will help you to keep the true spirit of Christmas in your mind, and help you become more like the Savior.