Week 19

This weekend was awesome! On Friday we went to the church building with a few other zones and the mission office handed out all of our packages from home, along with a few other things from the mission. They made us cool mission t-shirts! It has the California bear and the Nor-Cal star with a map of our mission on it. When we got home to our apartment E. Amos and Choi opened their gifts already. E. George and I exercised our self control and waited 'til Christmas morning :)

Saturday night (Christmas eve) our zone gathered at a member's house and had a bonfire. We played games like the triangle game and the Green Glass Room and other riddles. We roasted marshmallows and hotdogs and starbursts. It was the best zone activity I've had so far... so fun. Good times.

Christmas morning I opened my package from home! One of the best things they sent were pictures from the family reunion and the family beginning of December. I also got a package from the Moab Single's Branch and the Stuckis! It was a good morning.

Both of our ward's cut their meetings to just sacrament meeting. In El Dorado Hills ward we had a neat experience. Manish, an Indian man I met while tracting a month ago, called us and asked if he could attend one of our meetings and bring a few of his family and friends. When I met him before we taught him the restoration and about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy and invited him to church. So yesterday he came with about ten family members and friends from India! I had the opportunity to sit with Manish and explain sacrament meeting, the sacrament and it's symbolism, and the priesthood. Somehow, you seem to learn and understand more about something when you teach it, and that's what happened to me. Manish and his family had already attended their temple that morning, but they enjoyed the music and the speakers and thanked us for the opportunity to worship Jesus Christ on this significant day of the year, when Christmas falls on a Sunday. He asked if they could have a prayer with us in the ancient language of Sanskrit. So we led them with Bro. Spicer, our ward mission leader, to an empty classroom where Manish explained some of their beliefs. Hindus believe that Jesus Christ is and "incarnation" of God, so just like we take different roles in our lives like son, father, friend, co-worker--God took the form of Jesus. So, they worship Jesus, along with other multiple gods. They led us in a prayer, or chant, in Sanskrit, that lasted maybe five minutes. I didn't understand anything, but it was pretty cool.

Most all of the Hindu and Muslim people I have met (there are many in Folsom) are the most kind and loving people. That is definitely the case with Manish. I love him like a brother.

After church Amos and I headed to a member's house to call our families! I got to call my parents in Highland, where they are visiting my Andrew Grandparents. It was so good to talk to them! There's a big difference between emailing them every week and actually talking with them on the phone. BTW, I didn't cry. All the other missionaries told me I would, but I didn't. Ha :)

Well, that's my Christmas weekend. I hope yours was just as wonderful! Love,

Chris

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Elder Chris Andrew

California Sacramento Mission

8267 Deseret Ave

Fair Oaks, CA 95628

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