Merry Christmas

We were able to talk to Dereck today for an hour. What a happy day for us! He is doing great and sounds very positive. He kept saying how much he loves the people there. The ward really seems to have taken to the missionaries and they take such great care of them. He loves to see the growth and change in people as they take to the gospel. He said that the native american people are such a spiritual people and he loves them. He was able to go sledding yesterday and had a blast. They have about two feet of snow in Flagstaff. One of the missionaries in the apartment is from Carlsbad CA and has never had a white Christmas so Dereck said that the missionary was freaking out. He also said that this missionary has less weeks left in his mission than he has months. :( There are four missionaries in the apartment and they each did a family tradition. Dereck's tradition was reindeer food...he made it from the maple and brown sugar oatmeal that he eats for breakfast, as they had no glitter! Some of the other traditions was not to open their stockings until Christmas night (no one followed that tradition, they were too excited), another was to read Luke 2 before they opened their presents. He said that was pretty neat. He said to tell everyone thanks for all of their support. He was excited to tell us about a surprise 12 days of Christmas from someone in Centerville. He didn't know who it was for 11 of the days, but he finally found out that it was from a wonderful family who adopted him throughout his wrestling days...thanks Mama Winger!! He knows he is loved by many and is (and so are we) grateful for all of the great people in his life. He knows that he is doing what he should be doing and has grown closer to the Savior. We are all grateful for this season and for the opportunity it provides for us to reflect on the blessings we have and for the Savior. Here is our gift from Dereck this Christmas -- I hope you can all pull it up!