Sunday

It's December - I LOVE this time of year!  We thoroughly enjoyed the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this evening - SO good!  Does anyone else think the Tabernacle Choir just keeps getting better?  Beautiful music!  Then we watched "Silent Night" online on BYUTV.  Then my beautiful mother and I skyped - LOVE her!  We always have such a nice visit.

Yes, tis the season for Christmas music.  I've been asked to sing next week in Oxnard 2nd Ward (where we used to attend), so I went to a practice for that this morning.  This week I'll go to an extra Ventura 1st Ward choir practice on Tuesday -- we are singing at the ward party on Saturday. 

The bishop read a letter from our stake president in sacrament meeting today.  We learned that we will have an apostle and a member of the seventy at our stake conference in January.  Maybe we are getting a new stake president - although that was not announced.  They didn't say who was coming, in case schedules get changed and that apostle may not be able to come after all.  Exciting! 

Shawntele stayed for Relief Society today!  Hurray!  And she liked it (I knew she would :)  Did I mention that she was promised that if she would attend all three of the Sunday meetings, she would be able to quit smoking?  She looked so pretty today - I posted her picture on my previous segment.  Love her!  She also committed to attend a baptism being held Thursday night.  This particular baptism is coming shortly after a wedding -- which had to take place first!  The wedding was rather small and private, but I think they will get a big turnout for the baptism.  I LOVE this ward and all the missionary work that goes on in it -- there are so many converts in this ward, and there are investigators at church every week. It is awesome! 

Oh, and the Los Angeles Temple president and his wife, President and Sister Huff, were at our meeting today.  They are a sweet couple. 

It was such a great meeting today, and I was wishing Kim was there to hear the special testimonies that were born.  We were planning to pick her and her kids up again this week, but she called to say that would not be necessary -- that her friend would bring them to the last two hours of the block.  However, that never happened.  I had a voicemail after church saying that her ride never showed up.  She said she would call me tonight, but I never heard from her.  I think tomorrow we need to drop by her friend's place, where she is staying, and see how things are going for her. She is in such a rough spot.  We pray for her every day.  She and the kids are living with a friend.  Not the Belisles - another friend.  Not a very big place.  Don't know how things are going - it surely can't last much longer, her staying there.  It is hard to keep in touch because she doesn't have a phone.  She called to leave me a message on another neighbor's phone.  I wish there was more we could do to help, but this is something she is going to have to work through.  Our loving bishop and relief society president have helped her a great deal -- the next "moves" are up to her.  Tough!

I may read this in the morning and wish I'd been a little more clear-minded while I was writing :) 

Good night!