Scrooge

Family,

First I'll answer your questions.

1) I received one package from you guys last week (everything's been eaten), and two (one from the Roses and one from the Mathovs/YW) yesterday. Good to know there are more on the way. So far they have had all my favorite things, so thank you so much (ke kmal mesaul).

2) If you could actually call at 9:30 or 10, that would be better. We have plans during the day.

Moving on.

Interestingly enough, December is the time when people want to hear about Christ the least. There is this thing called Bethlehem that is put on by a few churches (not ours) in the area. Different organizations put together a choir (schools, churches, groups of friends, families, whatever) and they sing and I guess there's food and stuff. Anyway, it's a real nuisance. It goes all week long (last week), so no one is home for their appointments, or we couldn't schedule anything because they wanted to go there. It was kind of a slow week.

The branch was also putting on a Christmas party. These are usually a huge hit with investigators and less-actives. The day for the party came, Friday, and we still hadn't heard anything about it. We called around but couldn't contact anyone. Finally we talked to someone in the YW presidency who told us it had been canceled. Keep in mind that they announced it in church the Sunday prior. At some point in the week, someone realized nothing had been planned, and decided to cancel the party - without telling any of the members or the missionaries. It was then our job to talk to everyone we had invited and uninvite them. The other elders went to the church to turn people away. Very frustrating - especially since no one said anything about it at church on Sunday. They just acted like nothing happened.

We are supposed to drive 1000 miles/month or less. We've driven less than 700 and are out of money - and our gas tank is empty. Looks like a change will have to be made in the office. We aren't sure what we're going to do. We still have a week until support money comes. The same goes for me. I was under the impression that my money for the transfer would come today (since that's what my companion told me). Turns out it doesn't come until next week. Luckily I have some food left from last week and I got those two packages yesterday.

Despite all of this negativity, we did manage to have a baptism. We were supposed to have two, but one has to meet with the mission president first. This woman, Ungilbung, was getting really excited. She put a ton of thought into every detail of the baptism - especially the hymns. Afterward, she came to Elder Stanley and I individually and thanked us and told us how happy she was. Very cool.

Just some pictures from the baptism we had on Saturday. The woman (Ungilbung Sechalboi) is the one who was baptized, and the man (John Thing) baptized her.

I told you a little about the Branch President's step-daughter who said she was done talking to us. We visited her a few days ago, and she told us how much she missed meeting with us. So we had a lesson, and re-committed her to be baptized. She accepted for January 16th. I'll let you know how it goes.

We have another baptism happening this coming Saturday. This is our golden investigator. We've had to really rush to teach her all the lessons before her baptism, and we'll just barely make it. We had to teach her the Law of Chastity on Sunday, and we were not looking forward to it because she has two younger sisters (11 and 8) who always sit in on the lessons. We decided to split up. I took Meilany (the one being baptized) and taught her while Elder Stanley taught about the Sabbath to the rest of the family on the other side of the room. The man that we brought with us sat in between. It went well I thought. We talked about the program with her last night and gave her a list of people to choose from (who will baptize her, etc). She'll tell us tomorrow.

The Branch President's wife invited us to their house for Christmas, which is great. Unfortunately it's at a really awkward time. We had things planned as a zone, and we're not sure how it's going to work yet. Luckily she makes great food.

The language is coming. I'm learning pretty quickly I think. One lady I was talking to asked how long I've been here, and when I told her she was really surprised. She said I spoke really well. That made me feel pretty good. It's just hard when none of the missionaries really speak, and the language materials (which were written by missionaries who didn't speak the language) are very basic. I've just had to memorize and memorize, and spend a lot of time in the Palaun/English dictionary (which is actually pretty unreliable). It's been a good time.

Next time someone decides to send me a package, my favorite pens are G-2 ultra-fine point, black.

Time for me to go, but thanks for everything. I'm having a good time, and praying for all of you.

Merry Christmas,

Elder Barlow