December 27, 2010
Whaddup doe? doe, like the deer - i don't know why, but that's what everybody says here. How's it going? That was great getting to talk you all on the phone just a few days ago. I still can't believe that was 2 hours, it barely felt like 1 to me. Can't wait to talk to you again in May. How was Christmas day in Orlando? Want to email a few pics of the cruise and D-World? Anything new since we last talked? It hasn't been long so I don't really have a whole lot to say this time.

Christmas was good. We squeezed in normal teaching when we could. Christmas Eve we had two dinners at two members houses. On Christmas morning we opened our presents and called you at the Rumbley's house, they're members in our branch. Sister Rumbley, aka 'Granny', is really the only active member of their family. But there's a ton of people in and out of that house, some are technically members/some aren't. And I'm still trying to figure out who is related to who and how that big family tree is set up. But really good really awesome people. There's a lot of potential there and we're always working on bringing them closer to Christ and getting them more involved somehow. We ended up having dinner there later on in the day after we did some teaching. We had ham, mac'n'cheese, turkey, potatoes, the usual. But something not so usual was thrown into the line-up. Ever heard of "chitlin"? Ha oh man. It's some serious Soul Food. It's boiled pig intestine. It smells like pooh. Tastes like it smells. I felt a little bold and had some. Super chewy, a little bit of hot sauce sort of softens the blow. I took a picture and wanted to email that, but I couldn't find a slot for my memory card on this computer. Just use your imagine, it sort of looks like a piece of chicken that's already been chewed up. Ha sorry if this is making anyone sick, just giving you a taste of D-Town.

I taught Elders Quorum yesterday at church. That's what happens at the Belle Isle Branch sometimes. Awesome members, but the size and attendance has room for improvement. When sacrament started yesterday it was us 4 Elders (another companionship in our area are part of the branch), the branch president and his family, a family of 9, and maybe two others. More people showed up eventually though. The Elders Quorum President asked me to give the lesson on two talks from President Monson from the October General Conference this year - "Charity Never Faileth" and "The Divine Gift of Gratitude". Check them out if you get a chance, there's something in those we all can really work on.

Yesterday at church we were talking with the Branch President and the Young Men's President, and the prez had a pretty sweet idea. I guess the Young Men's program is pretty much non-existent. And something families down here really need down here is a solid Priesthood holder in the home, which is tough when dads aren't always around. So the 4 of us missionaries are part of the Young Men's Program in the branch now. This Tuesday we're meeting with the young men's prez, Brother Black, and we're having a planning session - along with some pizza and a movie (church movie). We're going to plan out activities for the next month or so and start thinking of ways to pump up all the 12-18 yr old guys and their dads if possible. It's also a good way to get some of our investigators involved in the church. Elder Berger and I were talking about a few days ago how sweet it would be for the Rumbley Family if Marlin ( a 16 yr old kid in the family who was baptized but isn't active) got more into the church. So that's exciting.

For Pday today we're going to go to the inner-city down-town part of Detroit to do some sight-seeing and all that good stuff. So I'll try to take some good pics.

Well it's time to go. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and presents. Really, it's awesome just getting normal letters out here so Christmas present packages are a whole new level of excitement. It was good hearing from friends and family and seeing your guys' pics on christmas cards. It was cool taking a step back from the usual traditions of Christmas and focusing on Christ and the holiday's true meaning. Whether people really do understand Christ and all He did for us (I'm still working on understanding that completely), Christmas really testifies of Him and His spirit can be felt a little stronger and helps put everyone in a better mood (with the help of presents and fun activities) but without that Spirit it wouldn't be the same. That might not have come out as smoothly as I'd like. But Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from D-town! Love ya!