I'M CALLING YOU NEXT WEEK!

Dearest family and friends,

I rejoice with you at all the miracles that we are seeing! Heavenly Father is truly blessing us beyond measure! There are many struggles that you are facing as well, i see and feel that, but i know His hand is in it all and that all of it is blessings! Because he loves us, he wants us to have the necessary experiences to endow us with power to faithfully endure to the end. i know that the things you are experiencing now are part of that. I know that my experiences are, too.

I can't believe my mission will be celebrating Christmas this thursday! i can't believe it's that close!!! but i'm very excited to spend the day with my sweet, wonderful new companion teaching about Jesus Christ a week from tomorrow! Sister Fernando is SOOO COOOL! she knows why she's here and she loves the Lord. she wants to be obedient and helps me SO MUCH with Tagalog! She ROCKS! I am learning how much i don't know and how much i need to improve as she and i go thru the 12 week training program. it's an inspired program and so is PMG. what a powerful thing revelation is! I am so grateful for my companion who shows a great example to me, even though she is brand new. I really feel like she came pre-trained and I keep thanking Heavenly Father for that! I need all the support i can get, as i still have many weaknesses in the work. I can see how all of the things that we experience in full-time service will help us to prepare for the things that will happen later in life, including planning, reporting, and being responsible for others. We are always do0ing those things in our daily lives!

I am so excited to feel your Christmas spirit! It's weird and a little hard with no change in the weather here, but i think it helps me not to be too homesick. It helps me focus a little more on what Christmas should mean to us. I love that you are so good at giving and loving and being examples! You know how to focus on the Savior and the significance and blessing of his birth and life and all he did. thank you for your example to me!

I'M CALLING YOU NEXT WEEK! That is SO EXCITING! we don't have pday on monday because we have a combined pday and temple day on wednesday the 26th, so this is my last chance to email you before i call.
here's what we'll do... i'll email you like crazy before we skype. i'll skype you at 8pm here on my dec 26th, so it will be early on your dec 25th. is that okay? i'm not sure what time that is for you.

sorry, i spent so much time figuring that out, i can't say anything more because my time is up. tell aaron i'm SO GLAD he's okay and i'm going to print and read his email, rae that i'm so proud of her success this semester, lou that i need a pic of her sparkly whites and i love her mini-me guts, joseph that i love all he is growing to be and i can't wait to hear his voice change, and boo that she needs to keep spreading her girly incredible-ness all places!

dad, i love that you can fix ANYTHING and mom i love that you can make anything look/taste/smell GREAT! i love you all and we'll have a wonderful christmas chat very soon! hugs and kisses! no worries about that package ;)

love, your s richardson