I didn't get around to making a post last week. We were extremely busy at the temple this week and then Christmas came and went so here it is Sunday night again.
This is the first Christmas that I have REALLY been away from home and my family--ever! After Larry and I got married we started sharing Christmas with our families doing an every other year thing if necessary. Even then we would be able to be in Utah-or Nevada by the day after Christmas or the few days before Christmas. This year was very different. I was able to FaceTime with my family while they were all together for our traditional Christmas Breakfast so that was good. At various times during the day I was able to talk with families individually. Larry was able to talk to all of his kids that day also.
For dinner we kind of invited ourselves to Keith's house (his is bigger than our tiny apartment) for dinner and also invited the Fry's. Larry prepared prime rib and I made a home made apple pie. Debbie made funeral potatoes and the Fry's brought salad. We really enjoyed the meal and then played Tenzi afterwards. We came home and watched a movie. I didn't have as hard of a time as I thought I might being away from family.
This morning I thought about what I would post in my blog tonight and really had no idea other than report of Christmas but I need to talk about the busyness of the temple this week. We were open Tuesday and Wednesday and were inundated with people either being married or sealed after having been married. I love when the temple is so busy with living ordinances because we get to help quite a bit. The temple was also busy because the temple will be closed for three weeks. After being closed on Thursday and Friday, the temple was open again on Saturday and just like the other two days this week, we were very busy. All sessions on Saturday were full which is really a great thing to see. Now we have a break for three weeks.
Tonight we were invited to Keith's house for dinner since they had invited the sister missionaries to dinner. What a choice experience that was. Sister Latu and Sister Kurusawa are their names. Sister Latu is from Salt Lake and Sister Kurusawa is from Japan. We asked them a little about themselves and this is Sister Kurusawa's story. She is 28 years old (looks like she is 19). She was working in Japan and just felt she needed to do more with her life. She moved to California and then to Utah (Provo), went to school to learn English and work. She was called on her mission from there. She hasn't seen her family for 4 years. At one point when Larry was speaking to her in Japanese she shed a few tears. We asked her if she was ok and she said she just got thinking that if it hadn't been for missionaries in Japan, she wouldn't be here on this mission. She wouldn't have the gospel in her life and she is so thankful for it. What a special spirit she brought to this dinner. I felt a little bad for her in that her English isn't really good yet (she has only been on her mission 3 months) so some of the conversation and jokes she didn't really understand. We tried to help her understand as we went along. Sister Latu is going to be leaving for home in January so it was fun to talk to her too. We already knew her because she lived across from us a few months ago.
As we sat at the table with these sweet sisters, my thoughts went to my daughter, Michelle, who was far from home for a year and a half while serving our Heavenly Father. What a sacrifice it is for these young people and what a strong testimony they have. My prayer for them is that they always remember the feelings they have while serving and let the Holy Ghost continue to guide their lives when they return to life outside of the mission. Our advice to them tonight was to attend the temple regularly and remember the covenants they have made, and when looking for an eternal companion make sure their values and goals are at least as high as theirs are.
For not having much to say tonight, I think I have gone on long enough. Next week we are leaving for a week of island hopping--first to Kauai and then to Maui. I'll report on that trip when I blog again.
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