Hi Everybody,\
That's
a old song by the way (the subject line of this email). We are missing
everybody and all the concerts and programs in school and Church, and
we're trying to make up for not being there by playing Christmas music
all the time and eating tons of fudge and turtles and caramels and other
stuff....Oh dear! But on Friday morning, we can say we'll be home for
next Christmas. But we're finding plenty of things to do to keep us
busy which is nice. Yesterday afternoon we helped with a Stake YSA
project at the home of a family whose father has ALS and Lyme disease
and the after effects of a massive bacterial infection as a result of
some really bad dental work that was done nearly 4 years ago. He's
pretty much bedridden and they are trying to make the house more
conductive to his condition. He's the first baptism we ever saw here in
NY that I think we wrote about months ago....was baptized in the pond
by their house. He's trying to get his health under control enough to
be able to attend the temple and have their family sealed. We're also
doing some work for and with Valerie, the investigator who attends our
Institute in Owego. When we go there, it also includes many serious
Gospel discussions and we feel the Spirit strongly when we give
testimony of a loving Heavenly Father and His Son. The things we do
with our special-needs ysa and her mom is ongoing. Her mother just
found that she is too sick for the surgery that would hopefully remove
the cancer and will again go through the chemo and added radiation. The
prognosis is not good at all. As we work with people, we surely see
the peace that pervades the lives of those who have knowledge of the
restored Gospel and the Plan of Salvation and the belief that the
sealing power binds families together through eternity. We had our last
Institute in Owego last week for a couple of weeks and we will miss
that but will have a couple of classes there before the Cornell kids
come back. We went to the Owego Ward Christmas party Friday night. We
love this ward!! They are about the size of a branch because a couple
of years ago when Lockheed closed their plant, many of the ward members
had to move to find other jobs. But they NEVER use size as an excuse to
not care for each other or to have activities that bless the lives of
others. They have about 6-8 scouts in the ward but nearly 40 attend
because they've invited their non-member friends to attend and they are
welcomed with open arms. The baptism of a whole family there a couple
of weeks ago came through activity in the scouting program.
New
paragraph! Sorry to just run on. Last week was also a week of taking
people to the airports around so they can go home for Christmas. We
have 3 regional airports and a major airport within about an hour from
here. Anyway, Cornell is pretty deserted (which is nice because we can
actually find a parking place when we go up there), and we'll miss our
YSA because that's where the fun is. We combined with the ward today
(we actually even sang in the ward choir for the Christmas program
today) and will do that for the next 4 weeks. Only 3 hours of Church
today.....wow! Last weeks performance of the choir of those two
selections from the Messiah for the Community Christmas program would
have made Handel proud. And we actually sang most of the notes!
Now
for a weather report.....just what you wanted to hear. We got our
first sunshine in 3 weeks today......for all of 2 or 3 minutes. This
will be a VERY long winter. We may have to go find one of those fake
sunshine lamps that people say really work! It's the blue sky we miss.
In fact last week, we got a picture from a couple who are students here
but home in Utah for the holidays and they took a picture of Timp just
at sundown (it even looks like they were standing in our front yard) and
the sun is absolutely gorgeous. So if anybody sees a cool "sun" photo
op..................We went out to get in our car the other morning to a
layer of ice all over the cars. Haven't had the experience of
chiseling ice off our windshield since our Iowa days! Not a lot of snow
on the ground yet and we even had a bit of a thaw last Monday so we
hiked back up to Tagganeuk Falls. But now it's cold again and the
Farmer's Almanac says to watch out! Blah!!! All this unpredictable
weather makes for the passing of colds around a given....especially with
all the hugging we do. Consequently Dad has got the bug but is now
getting over it. I don't supposed it will do any good to cross my
fingers. We used his cold this week as an excuse to watch a couple of
Christmas movies at night. By the way, it gets dark here before 5:00.
Not sure we could ever live in Alaska! We had a great Zone Conference
this last week in Owego too. These young missionaries are just the best
of the best (probably as good as Carlee and Cade....maybe). We were
instructed on being an instrument in the Lord's hands and also had a
time to ponder our patriarchal blessings as a guide to what Heavenly
Father's will is for us. The Spirit was strong!
For
all of you counting the days until Christmas, it's almost time! The
people here are taking good care of us....will eat with the missionaries
and a couple of families from the ward for an early Christmas Eve
dinner and then it sounds like we get to facetime the family Christmas
party "program." Hallelujah, Hallelujan, Hal----le-e-e-e-lujah!!!! Do
you know where the costumes are? I think in a big bag somewhere in the
garage......somewhere?? Sometime that night we'll either watch It's a
Wonderful Life or the Christmas Story.....or both. We'll hope to be
able to be part of your skype to the missionary kids and the Sisters are
going to skype their families from here on Christmas day so it will be a
fun day. We've had invitations for Christmas dinner but want to stay
home so we can be here if we can see of talk to the missionaries in Wyo
and Minn and here as well. When is it we have to start thinking about
New Year's Resolutions????
Merry
Christmas and MUCH LOVE to all of you. It's hard to be away from you
all this year but know that we are blessed by being here as are Carlee
and Cade. He truly is The Gift. We know that beyond doubt....that
Heavenly Father, the giver of all good gifts, gave us His Only Begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. How much they must love us!!!
Will be talking to you all in a few days! XOXOXOXOXOXO
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