Anyway, SKYPE WAS THE BEST!!!! Oh my. I have the best family. SO good to talk to you and so weird that was the last time before I see you in real life!!! Scary! And all the better Emi made it! Such a good time! Glad to see you're all still a buncha jokers. Christie when I get home I've gotcha back with those bully brothers of ours ;) haha I love you all!
Wow!!! I am thinking back to last Monday and I 100% cannot believe that was only one week ago!!!! Monday Bishop texted and said the packages got to their house so we stopped by on our way home and they opened theirs up. So sweet mom! They loved all the stuff and you should have seen Amber eating those chocolates, the cutest! We brought ours home and opened it up and oh my. THE BEST. THANK YOU!!!! We got to decorate a Christmas tree! It was so legit, Thank you!!!! SO fun. I felt like a lil elf that night haha. I put in the Mormon tabernacle Christmas CD you sent and was setting up the tree, hanging the lights, making the craft banner. hahah It was golden, all of it!
Tuesday was the ward Christmas party! SO fun! SO many people showed up and it was a good time. We were gonna sing a song for our missionary presentation so all 8 of us were practicing before the party. Elder Merril and Elder Romanovitch are the funniest people ever. I just can't not laugh when we're all together. Have you seen Mr. Bean?? Well they are half like him and then Elder R. is half like the Don and Elder M. is half like Auz train and it just gets me every time. So funny. Wish I could film them but they're kinda camera shy :) The 3 of us are the only ones in our district of 10 who aren't Filipino. I think that the others think the 3 of us have ADHD hahah. They are so reserved and we are always just cracking up. Good times.
Wednesday we had some really good morning work and then Bishop got permission for us to go caroling with all the missionaries in the ward to less actives. It was fun. We went in tricies and were able to see a lot of our less actives so it was great! We put together spaghetti kits before we went out. Caroling on Christmas eve just like the good ol' days. Can't believe everyone was at the Heaps but me hahah. Fun!
Christmas!!! Woke up. Put the presents from the other package under the tree. Turned on the Christmas music and opened up our gifts! Thank you soooo much mom and dad! Loved it all and Sister Araja loved hers too. You are so thoughtful! Thanks!!! Then I made Christmas cookies while Sister Araja was getting ready to teach for district mtg the next day. We did our studies, went to a member's house for breakfast, then to Skype!!! After we talked to you we went to another house and got fed... then another... then another... then Bishop's haha. I was so full I really considered throwing up, but it was all so good! The members are so generous and insisted that we stop by! Too kind!
Friday we had district meeting and me and Sister Araja taught the workshop about 'Our purpose as missionaries'. It was great to really study that chapter that morning. Loved it. So much we need to be doing every day! I love being a missionary and really can't believe every day of 2014 I had this privilege! So blessed!
The rest of the week was back to normal with work and it was so good! We have been having some heart break this week with one of our recent converts who started smoking again and it keeps getting worse! We are trying everything! I even bought him a bag of lolly pops! If anyone has a suggestion, let me know please! :)
We had a miracle yesterday as well! You know the fam I told you about like a month or 2 ago who isn't married and has 4 kids?? They started the marriage papers! It should be this FEB!!! ahhh so excited! And the mom went into work late yesterday so they could all come to church. Complete! The whole fam! And the sacrament meeting topic was on the family proclamation. Couldn't have been better! And their little daughter Arleen is like my best friend and she sat next to me all 3 hours haha. Such a cutie.
Oh! Happy birthday Lindsey last Friday and Aunt Shauna right now! Love ya both! Mom, I gave our recent convert Julie-Ann one of the CTR rings you sent in that pouch and she said to tell you thank you! She loved it. Like I said, so thoughtful! I hope everyone has a lovely new years!!! Can't really believe it's gonna be 2015 in a few days! Trippy! This place is crazy for New Years haha. I don't remember so many firecrackers last year in Tigaon, but this whole week we've literally been walking around fearing for our lives and these boys threw a fire cracker SO close to us but luckily I saw so I pulled Sister Araja the other way, but it's sketch haha. Fun stuff.
The pics are going so slow which is such a shame cause I have SO many from this week!!! haha but I love you all soooo much!!!! Have a great week! Send my love to everyone at the cabin and enjoy the snow up there! Looks like fun!
Love, Sister Richmond
P.S. - Clarification for anyone who got our family Christmas card... in the "by the numbers" where it says the showers per week in Asia, that is referring to Christie and Daniel's backpacking trip, NOT ME!!!! hahaha I bathe everyday, usually multiple times a day! :)
Top 10
1. SKYPE WITH THE FAM!
2. Christmas day in general
3. Christmas decorations from mom really turned our apartment into a winter wonderland! :)
4. Ward Christmas party
5. Christmas Eve caroling
6. Got fed like 5 times on Christmas
7. My lil buddy Arleen yesterday at church. Made me miss babysitting!
8. Yesterday all of us missionaries brought food to the church to eat before our meeting and Elders Merrill and Romanovitch both swallowed a Vienna sausage whole, actually Elder Romanovitch did 2 and a half hahahah. I was DYING
9. Morning walk to the beach
10. Just got the sweetest email from Sister Christensen who finished her mission here one year ago! She was vacationing in San Diego and was in 7th ward! Small world!
Amber with their package
De Guzman fam with some of the goodies you sent
Stuff from the 1st package from mom
The lights
And the craft banner
The R.S. cooking for the ward Christmas party
Then there was a fire hahah
Elder merril
District leader
Elder Romanovitch on the right and Llanera in the middle
Raymary, the 19 year old coming back!!!
Cheekie and her kids. She's so sweet!!!!
The 2 Mr. Beans
Bishop and Amber
Sister De Guzman. They went all out with decorations
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