Decmber 9th 2014

I'm very surprised at the lack of snow, especially after comparing it to last winter! The wind is still very icy, but we're staying pretty warm. Our investigator John is feeling pretty welcome in the ward! He's progressing well - this week he gave up all his cigarettes and is reading the Book of Mormon every night. I wish ALL our investigators were as golden as he is, but sadly it isn't so. One interesting thing that happened this week was when a less active member contacted us asking for help decorating and packaging cookies. She runs a custom-made cookie shop that ships anywhere. Target decided to order 8,000 cookies from her that needed to be shipped the next week! Ordinarily I'd probably be against spending our time decorating cookies for 5 hours, but our service allowed us to get to know the member more and find a way to come back! The Lord definitely provides very unique opportunities for us missionaries to work with people. This is the best time of the year where we can contemplate the immense significance of the Savior of the World being born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. :) Even though I'm away from home, I'm so excited for the Christmas season. Love, - Elder Jared Richardson