12/16/13—here we are a caroling among the trees so …. WHITE!

well that is a bummer that my last email didnt go through. i guess thats what i get for trying to use an iPad instead of a real computer. 

Here is a summary of last week: dinner with the deaf, decor, devo and double feature. 

Last week was good. We helped mamma goods put up all her christmas decorations. It was SO MUCH FUN!! she even gave us our own little christmas tree! (hopefully i can send some pics) and she even has Christmas bedspreads! and there is Christmas in the BAthroom!! its just all so exciting! i love living with a member for the holidays!  YES!! 

Also this has be the best christmas ever! I just love being a missionary! 

the Christmas devotional was SO wonderful! i loved it! and what made it better:  We went to the church to try and watch it from the satellite in there and bishop didnt come untill like 10 min before it started. which would have been fine, but it didnt work. so we went down to the FHC and those computers didnt work. So Brother Bill and Sister Janet Allen, The elders(Prince and Austed), Us, Bishop Pincock, Brother Steve Wageman (our WML) and Sister Crista Smalley(my fav.) and her kids. and two of bishops kids. all crammed in this little room to watch the chrsitmas devotional from.... wait for it... my iPad!! hahah it was the funnest thing. i love this ward! we are just one big happy family.  it was just perfect.  

Then on Sunday, everyone that came to chruch didnt know they were getting a double feature of Sister O'Neil. I didnt even know really.  - well sorta.. haha but I had been planning to sing our song "to hear the angels sweetly sing" for like 3 weeks and so i knew about that. and then on Wednesday (before sunday) Brother Davis (1st councilor) called and asked me to speak about christmas traditions and ways we can invite the christmas spirit into our holidays. 

so i sang and spoke, right after each other. hahaha.  (felt like Dejavu from my farewell).haha anyways. And then in my email that I did write and send -which has now been lost in the techno world - i concluded by saying how many christmas miracles were going to happen this week  and how i could just feel it. 

well now that the week has come and past. YES!! christmas miracles happened! and you want to know what?!?  we have 4 new investigators!!! WOOT!!! and they are awesome!  on Monday we went to stop by Amanda - she has two kids. and It was great that we got to meet with them. we have another appointment with them tonight, Its going to be great! 

and then on Wednesday we had 2 appointments! one with a less active- Sister Webster. and she introduced us to her fiance Mark. And he is interested in learning more, we had a really good chat and answered a lot of his questions. and are going back to answer more and teach the first lesson. sometimes with investigators i feel like they are already members. and He is one of those, just have to help him with his smoking habits. 

And the James, James is interesting.His sister married a mormon and recently was sealed.- so this is obviously a sign we are supposed to be there! HELLO!?! duh!  He got a book of mormon from his moms storage and it is all marked and it came complete with 7 or8 or 9 other anti mormon literature books. that was interesting.I guess his mom liked to study religions and so she bought all these other books too. but it was weird to see them/ and he made us look/hold at them... that was even weirder.. but He is extremely Intelligent! and i love teaching him because it kind of keeps me in check. Often as missionaries we use words or terms that we dont really know the meaning of or fully comprehend, so he will always stop us and ask, "what do you mean by that? becuase it really  means this... and thats not what you are saying." so i love it becuase I feeli liek i am learning more as i teach. and have to help fully explain things. I know the meaning behind these things, but you dont realize that you do until you are tested.  Its a great experience! I love IT!!  

Monday was so wonderful! we had a good Preparation day and then guess what i came home!! AND THERE WAS THE CAROLING KIT!! It was so  amazing! and i loved it!! i just love it so much!!!  and so.. we lined up for a family to go caroling with us every night this week! ITS GOING TO BE AMAZING!! we went last week with Sister Smalley and her kids. have i said I love her yet? but it was so much fun! (see picture) She had made the tutu for a 5K she did (and dressed up) and so she made us wear it. it was fun taking turns and seeing all the people stare at us. haha 

I love caroling, so much.  I love singing! recently i heard or read something somewhere that was talking about the voice. and how it really is the only instrument that comes right from the soul, and there is so much power and conviction that comes from a singer or voices that doesnt always come through other instruments.  I was thinking about this as we were singing to many of Cristas (Smalley) neighbors.  That area of town was where the great tornado began. and so many of her immediate neighbors cant live in their homes because they have no roofs or its unstable, so we were singing to others in that area who were home.  And there was one lady who came to the door in her nighty and rollers in her hair, and she just started bawling. She told us how grateful she was for us to come and stop by her house.  Little Liam smalley asked her "why are you crying?" and she said "becasue i am so happy! , dont you ever cry when you are so happy?" and he just said "no" -haha it was funny. but touching to see that in some small way i accomplished my purpose that night.  In some small way we helped those who were struggling feel better. 

ON friday we had the most wonderful Zone Conference ever! i feel like everyone i go to is 123879234 times better than the last one. I love it!  I love Presidents preaching. intense like a baptist preacher but with all the right doctrine. I record him, so you can all hear his wonderful sermons someday, and i can learn from them after my mission :) -thinkin ahead- :) ...  

have i told you how much i love President Fenn? He is just so AWESOME!! i love him! its wonderful. and i am SO SOOO SOOOO grateful that i get to serve under his direction. - also, he is hilarious. - that is all...

All i want to do is watch white christmas with bing crosby and frank sinatra and watch the secene where they sing the song "snow" snow.. Snow.. SNOWW.. SNOOW!!   let me tell ya! it is a winter wonderland over here. and SO beautiful! there are so many trees and they all get outlined with this beautiful white sparkly fuzz. All the White makes me so happy! and this gives us so many opportunities to serve! SNOW SHOVELING! - good thing i lived in Idaho for a while so i have a wink of an idea how to even do that.. haha 

Transfer calls came. I will not be transferred. I will be staying here and will serve as the senior companion.. dun dun dhun....  Sister Coburn will be my new companion, and I know next to nothing about her, ive heard the name and thats all. :)  

Sister Payne is really sad to leave, This is where she was born and raised and now she is going to the big bad world of Wheaton,IL. Its really close to where i was serving. Sister Pankretz and I had friends serving in that area and we would go on p-days to hang with them. so i go to tell her a little about her area, and how different it will be.  Wheaton is a City compared to this place. It will be good for her, but a hard change, Its like leaving home again. Ive been telling her that everything she knows is going to be thrown out the window.  which is true. it will. it happened to me, so i hope she adjusts well.  It has been hard for her to say goodbye to everyone. so another 7 weeks for me in stinkin pekin. (not because i dont like it here, because it actually stinks, the air always stinks here!  haha)  

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE PACKAGES!!! WOOT!!! 

So many came this week. It was amazing! I love it! -"ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!" And i just got the count down on saturday night and so i opened three and now will open two everyday. Thank you so much. I love it SO so much! I started crying when i realized some of the treasures found in the envelopes!  thank you family! i love you so much!  The lamannas sent me a christmas package - so nice of them. Love them! Laurie is lookin good!! - love friends!

Ok this is by far the longest letter ever. you're welcome :) haha just kidding. 

thank you so much! i love you! I know the church is true! 

Sister O'Neil