Yule Tidings From Your Boy

My Christmas Table.

Vancouver Zone in the snow.

Yep, you guessed it, this past week was the next best week of my life.  Hot chocolate from the local coffee shops & everyone thinking about Jesus Christ makes for a good week.  We got snowed in a couple days this week... which means we just get to walk  whipped out a scarf this week to amp up the class of my outerwear with my trench coat.  I figure I will tell you a few miracles.  P.S.  It's getting harder and harder to email.  Let's throw a good miracle out there first:  Picture this! Friday night & all our appointments cancel!  It's 30 ish degrees I'm bundled in a trench coat / cardigan combo to try and stay warm and the whole city of Vancouver is pretty much shut down!  When it snows the north westerners have no idea how to react.  They shut down the schools!  But, not us missionaries!  We just threw the truck in 4 wheel ;).  After showing up at one of our appointments where no one answered...Elder Pabst & I looked at each other and started walking right towards the exact same door.  We knocked and a kind lady suffering from cancer opened the door and asked us "what message are you sharing tonight?"  She got a little more than she bargained for. Before you know it we had a return appointment.  The next door after that was answered by a lady striving to follow Christ.  When she heard about the BOM she told us she better start reading it ASAP.  It was pretty dang cool to see what happens when our lessons get cancel for the 3949495th time out here.  Church this Sunday  before church for a couple of hours and nobody answered... but uh... you get credit for trying right?  Because 6 investigators showed up to church and 6 less active members as well!  We felt like celebrities at church with all our peeps surrounding us.  We sang a little Christmas music for the hymns and we had quite the sacrament program.  A kind brother from the ward began to sing us a tune during his talk.  Amidst the belting out, he pretended to be Richard G. Scott (a former apostle) and walked away from the pulpit for a second to perhaps... find his character?  He then came back and changed his voice and began reading straight from his talk.  It was priceless!  We even had an infant cause a ruckus about either cheese balls or a Thomas the train engine toy during the administration of the sacrament.  I went down to Portland for a day exchange to visit with some of my former YSA ward friends.  One less active member we taught a year ago has progressed to the point where he has a calling and now is preparing to go the possibility of him serving, How cool is that?  Stay tuned for the upcoming Christmas card featuring Elders King  been on my mind lately... is... using faith to promise people blessings of living the gospel.  This week I committed to promising blessings the minute the spirit prompts me.  My companion did the same.  We thought to ourselves... if you believe in Joseph Smith... you believe the priesthood has been restored.  That means the power of Jesus Christ set us (missionaries) apart from the world and ordained us to preach the gospel and help people repent.  Part of that power is promising blessings or (prophesying).  Sounds churchy and big... but it works.  We promised a bunch of people this week if they came to church, read, prayed and took this seriously the power of the Savior would manifest to them.  Seems simple?  But think about that! That's the power of Jesus Christ working through us telling someone.  I'll report next week on all the people getting manifestations ;).  Have a swell week.  Merry Christmas.  Happy Hanakkuh.  Yuletide Joy.  Gay Happy Tidings.  The church is true.