Christmas Eve

The Elders wanted a Christmas Eve Party for those investigators and new members who would be alone Christmas Eve. Those boys will do anything to make me bring food and I love doing it each time. I keep hoping that some other Senior Couple might have done the same for Tim and maybe in the future someone will have the chance to feed my grandkids when they serve missions. I feel like we can never do enough for these young warriors who are giving two years to the Lord. They always try to keep up their spirits and are ready and willing to talk to anybody. Even some of the people who are rude to them.

I have learned that there are only a few Elders who will automatically pitch in to help when it is needed, so I have to go back to being their "Moms" When I just come out and ask for help in general, most just act busy and vanish, so now I have to call them by name and say "Elder so and so would you please do what ever" and they will actually do it. I just have to be very specific. And I thought I was through raising children.

Shilpa got a new outfit from her Mother in India and came to show it off. This young woman has literally changed since her baptism. Before she never seemed to understand much, not only what we tried to teach her but about life in general. I really did not have much hope for her being a "permanent" member. I thought she would stop coming and that we would never hear from her again. The miracle that we have witnessed in Shilpa is that since receiving the Holy Ghost, she has been able to turn on some of her dormant brain cells. She actually was the top student in her Dutch class when they tested last week and now when we visit she asks great questions. She actually is understanding some of the doctrine and wants to share the gospel with the few friends she has made here and with her family in India. She has told her Mother all about the church and we were able to find the closest LDS chapel in India where she lives and now Mom goes to the chapel to have the Elders teach her. She has a baptism date set up and we pray she will go through with it. You just never know about people.

Our next step is to help Shilpa with her parenting skills of which she has none. Her son Shlok is getting way out of hand. He may be only six years old but he has his Mom wrapped around his little finger and is becoming more and more aggressive and destructive every time we see him. I really worry about the situation. Shilpa does not have the knowledge or the backbone to take control. She asks me all the time what she should do and when I suggest something she is too afraid to try. This problem is way over my head and I have suggested professional help for both of them and she is thinking about it. She had better do more than just think about it. If she waits any longer it may be too late.

We went to visit Joe this afternoon to bring him a warm cherry pie because he had told me that when he was in the U.S. years ago on one of his sailing trips that he had tasted American cherry pie and he loved it, so what else can you give a fella like Joe for Christmas anyway. He told us he was going to come this evening on his bike and was really looking forward to it. When he walked into the church tonight he had a friend with him. His friend had told Joe that he would pick him up on Christmas eve and bring him back to his house for a meal and some T.V. watching. Well they got their evenings mixed up so Joe insisted that he had to come and tell us that he could not stay. So we began talking with "the friend" and asked if he would like to stay and he agreed. They stayed the whole evening and talked Ben's ears off all night. Neither one of them was very eager to leave. Maybe Ben planted a seed so that he will let us teach him.

I have not played "Candy Land" for years but I got the chance with little Clarissa. She was very shy at first but finally warmed up to me and I loved having a little one on my lap for a change.
The Elders were being very sneaky in playing the game and for some reason Clarissa won a lot. I think they enjoyed the game as much as she did. Her mom is an investigator and is a widow and has found some real peace in her life since the Elders taught her how to pray.

John wore Ben's Santa hat all night and played "Shutes and Ladders" on the other side of the room and you should have heard him cheer when he won. Not a bad player for someone who had never seen the game before.

I think the evening was a success and the Elders enjoyed it as well. They were able to give a Christmas message and had some great conversations with the investigators.