Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 52

I love the Christmas season, and this Christmas has been so wonderful! :) Thank you to everyone who made it so special! :)

Tuesday was really fun because we went down to see my new member friend in Unur who is going to make us traditional Mongolian clothing. We met up with Sister Brezenski and Sister Gantsetseg and went to the fabric place. It's basically a huge store with little booths where there are fabric vendors. I was so stressed. Picking out fabric and making it coordinate and fitting it in my budget was stressful. More stressful than missionary training! But I bought some fabric that I really like. I can't remember now what it looks like, but I'm trying not to let it stress me out! haha We then got some well earned KFC. Our appointment for the night couldn't make it. Luckily, the fabric has been purchased and I can calm myself down. ha!

On Wednesday we visited a few people and it was great! We met with a sister who will get baptized in a few weeks. She taught US about faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. She is so prepared and excited for her baptism! :)

Thursday we taught English at the university all day - well, kinda. We taught from 10-12, then left for a Christmas party for the foreign staff at our school! :) It was a real party!!! Sister Hansen was there! We ate at a FANCY Chinese hot pot restaurant and I had 2 milkshakes. Is that overboard? It was just so good! After the lunch we went back to school. About 2 people came, but that was ok! We had a great time! Afterward we rushed home and ate a really quick dinner and then called the people we were supposed to meet, but they said that they couldn't meet. By then it was too late to schedule a different appointment so we just got some other stuff done - like studies! That's important! :)

Friday was such a happy day because we were supposed to teach English all day but two people came for the first 30 minutes, and NOBODY came the rest of the day. I caught up on some journaling and we played UNO and other fun games to pass the time. There's always plenty to do! That night, we had a baptism! A sweet little 8 year old got baptized! We had the opportunity to teach her, and the baptism was wonderful. She said the opening prayer at her own baptism! And her mom gave a beautiful talk and she cried as she bore her testimony after she was baptized. I loved every second. And I felt so blessed to be a part. She came up afterward and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I love this little girl! :)

Christmas Eve was Saturday! We did our weekly plan and baked while we planned - it was so fun! It got me in the Christmas spirit. Then we attended our ward Christmas party where they had a movie playing and I tried not to watch it. It was a youtube thing like Kid History or something like that. It was interesting. I heard that they had a Christmas program later, but we couldn't stay because we had to head to Unur for a baptism. The only problem was that we found out that the baptism was cancelled. We were already on our way so we just went down anyway. We acted out the nativity with the sisters from Unur and Songino! :) And ate pizza! And it was so happy! When we got home, we read Luke 2 and went to bed early. :)

Christmas day was absolutely magical. The Spirit of Christmas was definitely present! :) We woke up and had cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs for breakfast and then headed to the church where we had a district meeting followed by church services. My new favorite 8 year old received the the Holy Ghost. And that was a great gift! :) In the Gospel Principles class, we ate cupcakes and watched Christmas Mormon Messages! I felt so happy!! I love the one about a Russian shoemaker who sees Christ as he serves those around him. I have seen that in my life. As I serve and take the small opportunities to help others, I find myself closer to the Savior. The day got even better when we went home and carolers came and sang Silent Night. It truly sounded like angels. And I felt so loved. It was all topped off when we had a dinner party with my MTC group sisters! It was perfect! I made rolls and others made jello and turkey and potatoes and salad! It was JUST like home! :) I loved Christmas!!!!

But Christmas didn't end there! Because I got to Skype with my family! I was in heaven! I am so blessed!!! It was the fastest, but best, 40 minutes of my entire Season! And 8 months since we Skyped last! :) I love the Christmas season! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Mongolia is a beautiful place to be!! I love you all!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Bottorff