A MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS--continued

Christmas Day we attended church for an hour between 9 and 10.  I love having Christmas fall on a Sunday.  I love being greeted with wishes for a Merry Christmas.   This year it was "Joyeux Noël."  All the missionaries gathered after lunch.  We began by viewing the First Presidency Christmas Devotional which the missionaries hadn't had a chance to see.  When the missionaries joined in singing "Silent Night"  with the broadcast I thought they sounded like a choir of angels and I loved looking at their sweet, sincere faces.  They want so much to serve the Lord and it was a privilege to be celebrating this Christmas with them.

After the devotional the missionaries had planned a talent show.  Each district performed a number and then whoever wanted to could share a talent.

Some of the districts:







































Some who volunteered:



Some who were volunteered by others:     







The Idahoans and the Canadiens

















Among the highlights were:

Sister Gastaldi singing songs from her native French Guiana in French Creole and


the Tahitians sharing a Tahitian Christmas song with their beautiful harmonies.  

After no more volunteers and no one else could be coerced into performing and the talent show ended we had a picnic outside.




The evening concluded with the missionaries exchanging gifts and a visit from Pere Noël bringing gifts for each missionary by way of Vanuatu.


         Our tallest elder got a princess crown and Elder Ursenbach seems pleased.

The missionaries loved their new shirts, mission video, mission cookbook, and m and m's.

After all the festivities were over Elder Glade and I returned to our apartment to open the gifts we gave to each other.

I'm so grateful to have had the experience of a Christmas as a missionary.  Grateful for the gift of the Savior, his teachings, his example, and his atoning sacrifice.  Grateful to have an opportunity to show Heavenly Father our love and gratitude by serving a full time mission.

Festival of Lights at Place de Cocotiers

A MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS

A MISSIONARY CHRISTMAS

This year our Christmas celebration began with a fireside concert by the youth in our stake. They had been rehearsing for months to prepare and their music was "incroyable."  We have many talented musicians in our stake here and I was impressed that so many youth were willing to sacrifice so much of their time to be able to perform so beautifully.  There were important people from the community who attended as well as members and investigators.

Our ward Christmas party was a celebration with a lively emcee, sweet singing by the primary children, games, music, impromptu performances, a haka, karaoke, dancing, joking, laughing, and, as always, lots of food. The party lasted for hours and everyone seemed to whole-heartedly enjoy every minute of it.

We had the young adults come to our apartment for a Christmas Dinner.  They come for family home evening, but we have never fed them dinner before.  We had chicken fajitas. They loved the crepes (tortillas) and the carrot cake.

Each of the four nights before Christmas we took four different groups of elders and sisters to sing and talk to the people visiting the light festival at the Place de Cocotiers, the center square in Noumea.  Crowds gathered to listen to them and the Mayor of Noumea said she loved having them sing.

We spent several hours Christmas Eve day and Christmas Day with all the missionaries in New Caledonia.  Christmas Eve day there were games and a Hawaiian luau themed dinner.

                       

Continued. . .