Week 13: December 15, 2015

Good morning y'all,

       This last week went by super quick, also transfers are this
week.  We found out who is going where last night.  I'm staying in the
Jax beach area but my companion Elder Mann is going more south to the
outskirts of Jacksonville.  So that means I get a new companion, Elder
Bangerder (I think that is how it is spelled) is coming to the
beaches.  I don't know much about him, I just know he is an amazing
singer.  So this should be fun.

       With Christmas being next week it was starting to feel like
winter time and the cold season.  I was dead wrong, it was nice and
cold last week, but this week it has been hot and humid.  I don't
understand how it can be December but still in the 80s.  But that's
Florida I guess, but I have been loving the overcast because then it
looks more like home.  Besides all that I am loving it down here,
there has been so much good stuff happening.

      So this last week I had an awesome experience, the first was
this last Thursday the whole mission, about 200 missionaries, got
together for a Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun, each zone did a
performance.  The zone I'm in, Jax east, did Felix navidad.  It might
not have been the best singing in the world but it was a ton of fun to
do.  There where other zones who did skits and songs and it was so
much fun.  But then after dinner and the performance, we had a
devotional where there where some Nice songs and then the president of
the mission spake.  It was so awesome to be in that room, you could
feel the spirit so strong when President Craig was speaking.  He was
talking about how we can relate the birth of Christ into our lives.
When Mary and Joseph where looking for a place to have Jesus be born.
And nobody would let them in, the same is in these days.  There aren't
many people who want to let Jesus in. This time of year, Christmas is
so commercialized, so it is on us to let Jesus into our lives during
this season.  This is why I love this season, we have so many
opportunities this season to bring Christ into our lives and our
friends and family as well.

I love you all and hope y'all have a great Christmas season,  I'll
talk to y'all next week,

Elder Guinup