Week 54 response

Merry Christmas!!! This is also my last email before the big day, so I'd better make it good. ;)

We have been working hard this week in preparation for the day of Christmas. We have continued to be blessed to find 200+ people every week willing to take gospel material. It is remarkable because as it is consistently negative degrees Celsius, people aren't out very much. We have been asked to use the "He is the Gift" video from the church. We got a new DVD player so we tried it out. That turned out to be the coldest day of the year so far, so it was difficult to find people willing to stay still for nearly 3 minutes. ;) 

Really, though, it's been a great week of showing our faith through our actions. We had a Christmas party with the ward on Saturday that we helped set up. We finished up a few minutes early, so we decided to go out and street contact for the little time we had. We didn't have time to put on coats, so we just went out in our suits. It was incredible to feel the Christmas spirit so strongly through going out and testifying of Christ instead of sitting, warm, with the members. It is really true that "when you do your best for love, it feels like Christmas." :)

This week also marked the first time I have been ice skating during proselyting time. Don't get the wrong idea. It was just so cold that there was a permanent layer of ice more than an inch thick on all the sidewalk for the majority of the week. It was safer to just skate across than try to walk. :)

We don't have any extraordinary plans for Christmas other than calling home. We had Christmas conference last week, so it is regular missionary work until our next conference... in February. It'll be good. It will be warmer by then. ;) Today we're going to go pick up warmer clothes in preparation for the remaining winter, so I think we'll be fine on that front. :) Thank you for your concern!

I hope you're getting to serve a lot this Christmas season. I'm glad the Sub-for-Santa went well, but I hope you get to do even more. Go out and shovel walks or something! :) Don't let dad do it. He's getting into the habit of hurting himself in the cold. I remember when he broke the shovel and cut his hand on the same day... I hope you guys try to beat him to the shovels. :)

Thank you so much for your prayers. They are very much felt. We pray for you many times every day. I hope you are seeing some more miracles in your lives. ;) I'm reminded of a quote from President Monson: "Miracles are everywhere to be seen when priesthood callings are magnified." Something like that. :) I know when we try our best, we can see things that we couldn't have imagined. I hope you are all living everyday such that you can see miracles. It's the way to live. ;)

Again, merry Christmas! Thank you for your emails. I always love hearing from you and about you! Enjoy this time we have to celebrate Christ's birth. We should always be in celebration of that fact, but it is even more special when we get to do it with the rest of the world at the same time. :) Love you all, and I hope you travel safely!

Press forward with steadfast faith in Christ.

Best wishes,

Elder Jones