It's weird thinking about 24 hours ago Elder Lanning picked up the phone
and put it on speaker, and hearing Dad's voice say, "Elder, hello?" Hah
that was great.
It was super good to talk to you guys!
Especially that little guy Dane. He must've known we were running out of
time so he woke up to get a few words in. But I'm glad to hear
everyone's doing well, and was loving Christmas.
But just to be brief, Christmas Eve was great. We made a bunch of
cookies and passed by some members and investigators to give them some
Christmas Spirit. That was super fun, because some people were just so
happy to see someone knocking on their door with 4 cookies in hand.
(We're thinking we might start tracting like that) Then we had a little
ward concert for an hour, and spent the rest of the night at the 1st
Counselor in the Bishopric's home.
Then! On Christmas morning, Elder Rasmussen, Olsen, Lanning and I
woke up and opened our 'presents', drank some Eggnog, and then drove
over to the Schurmans for breakfast. That was fun. Then we got to talk
to our families on the phone at Cedrics house, and then continued
passing by members in the ward. It was super fun. We got to have dinner
at Sister Ashby's home, who's an active member from Haiti.
So it was a wonderful Christmas. A couple of moments this week made
me frustrated, just because of higher expectations for myself, and not
being able to be that 'perfect missionary'. I don't know why, but it was
bothering me this week. But that led me to think about Christ, and the
meaning of his birth. He came into the world, not just to erase our
sins, but for us to come unto Him in every aspect. Even in our natural
shortcomings. The fact that He came, and He lived and died for us
brought comfort to me that really does not come from any other source.
I'm really grateful for those experiences that bring me closer to our
Heavenly Father and His Son. I'm beginning to realize that not about how
wonderful or amazing of a missionary we can be, but more just how much
do we rely on Christ, and love Him, and in turn love our neighbors. And I
know that it's because of His Atonement that we can overcome these
weaknesses, that we can overcome ourselves and become more like our
Brother.
Thanks for everything. Thanks for being such a wonderful family.
Love,
Elder Murphy
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