Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Sister Goss---W71: CHRISTMAS galore (Dec 28, 2020)

Week 71. That is absolutely crazy my friends. When was the last time I talked about what week I was on? 21? Hahaha... ;)

BUT OH MY GOODNESS MERRY CHRISTMAS!! How was your Christmas weekend everyone?? I hope it was wonderful and you felt the love of your Savior, family, and friends!! My Christmas was FANTASTIC. Yes, that deserves all caps. :)) It was so so so good! This whole week has been so good! On Tuesday we went to our mission President's house with the other missionaries in the Murrieta and Temecula zones and had a Christmas "party" you could say. It was the best ever!!! When we walked in, they had us go to the back room. They had crammed a bunch of chairs in one room and I noticed the lights were turned down a little. I sat down and before I knew it, they turned on their big-screen TV and started The Trial of Porter Rockwell, a movie they are extras in! :O I was so excited I could've jumped up and screamed. I love debate, church history, and movie nights with friends, so having all three of those as a combo on the mission?? Priceless. ;)) We also sang carols together, had musical numbers (ukulele skills come in handy...), white elephant gifts, Christmas stories, and food. Let me repeat: it was the best ever! I love the Watsons so much!!  

Lindsey, who was just baptized, told our trio about a service opportunity wrapping presents in the mall to raise money for the homeless shelter. We went the day before Christmas Eve and had so much fun we went again the next day! ;) The Temecula Promenade Mall was hoppin' and we got to have some really cool conversations with people as we wrapped their gifts for them. We also did a lot of caroling service this week in both zones; Christmas just isn't the same without some caroling. :)

 We spent Christmas Eve with our Bishop, his wife, their daughter, and the zone leaders. It was very sweet and super fun! We shared some traditions we do and I presented the symbolism behind the little things of Christmas (red and green colors, evergreen trees, candy canes, etc.). Christmas day we opened presents, played ultimate frisbee and Spontuneous with Temecula, played reverse charades and football with Murrieta, and went caroling again that night. And the day after Christmas was just as amazing! But totally unexpected. ;) Sister Hicken got a call that morning that one of her friends from Riverside was getting baptized that afternoon, so we drove to Riverside with permission from President! We went to the baptism, ASL class in-person, Ono's Hawaiin BBQ, and met some of my bestest missionary friends. <3<3<3 Huge miracle, amiright??

 Lastly, we met with two new amazing friends this week! Both are from missionaries who are originally from here but currently serving somewhere else. :) The first is Brianna and the second is *drumroll please* Mary!! ;) For those of you who don't know, I don't get called "Mary" here on my mission, but rather "Sister Goss." So to hear my name used so much after 16 months of not hearing it is pretty wacky... Haha! Both of them are awesome and so so willing to learn more and progress. I'm really, really excited to get to know them better! I am loving the people here! :) <3

 Well in a *long* nutshell, that has been my incredible week! I'm super excited for 2021; it holds so much I don't even know about haha! ;) As we say goodbye to 2020, don't forget the lessons we've learned or the experience we've gained. These are treasured times. I love you all so much; hope you had a Merry Christmas and enjoy the last couple days of 2020! Finish strong!!

 Love, Sister Goss

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