okay there is SO much to catch up on... so bear with me.. I hope I do a good job...
To start off with our first Sunday here in duvall was CRAZY! We spoke in sacrament, and We were asked to teach relief society as well. It was a hectic day and quite a welcome to the ward... We were asked to teach in RS about how we keep Christ the center of Christmas... Mom we stole the star box idea that you used while we were growing up and we made a square box ha ha... but it was covered in pictures of Christ... We passed it around RS and had all the women "given a gift to Christ" for the year 2015 :) It was really awesome to hear what all the women want to give to our savior this year.
So a member gave us a baby Christmas tree... that thing was very full of ornaments ha ha it was fun to decorate it though... i attached a picture (actually you all get a lot of pictures this week ;) ) So it turns out that Sister Miller has a tradition of getting Christmas oranges in her stocking just like we do! For her, an orange was the only present they got in the Ukrainian orphanage. It really meant a lot to her. they got a big orange and a few small candies in a box. As she grew up the big orange made her think of Christ and how he does so much to "fill us" and how little he asks of us (little candy surrounding) She shared this in her talk... and said that Christ was her big orange... Our ward cannot get over that... they bring it up in every conversation now ha ha.
Oh another fun thing that happened this week... We made sushi! I had Sushi for the very first time. Salmon California rolls (No shellfish)... honestly they were good... but bland. It was weird to think that I was eating raw fish... but I didn't get sick... so oh well ;) It was a fun adventure.
I taught Sister Miller to Crochet this last week. She and I made two small lap blankets for the people we had Christmas eve dinner, and Christmas dinner with. It was fun but stressful... I don't recommend 48 hrs. to make two lap blankets....
Oh we got to make cookies with a family in the ward to deliver around town. While we were there they showed us their sons Christmas present... A tiny turtle! Their son loves turtles but the Mom did not want a big one so they researched and found the smallest turtle they could.. It was TINY! That was fun.
Christmas Eve we went caroling with missionaries and had a good time. We found a house that reminded me of Chevy Chase's Christmas... basically it looked like it had been thrown up on by lights.... and blow up figures....
Christmas eve was sooooo much fun! We had dinner with a family called the seamons. They made us a "traditional" English Breakfast with Yorkshire pudding and all.. IT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD! Not gluten free... but SO GOOD! It is on my list to find a way to make gluten free yorkshire pudding! That night we got to do a live nativity with them... but it was different. They had us draw a story out of a hat from the Bible and Book of Mormon that had to do with the birth of the savior... so not just Luke ch.2 My companion and I pulled 3 Nephi Ch. 1 out of the hat. This is where Non Believers doubt the coming of Christ and set a day and time in which all the believers would be killed if the signs of Christ's birth did not come to pass. A prophet named Nephi prays mightily to the Lord and asks him to save his people. The Lord comes to him and tells him to fear not, and that his son will be born that evening. As the sun went down sure enough it did not get dark, and a new star appeared in the sky! The sign was fulfilled and the believers lived! So to act it out we read the story in a little script we wrote.. and then at the end of the story we talked about how Angels rejoiced at the coming of the savior. Sister Seamons (Womens house we were at) turned on a cello and violin Silent Night piece and I got to Dance... REALLY DANCE! It felt so good... I am sure that I was still rusty but I didn't care... It felt so good to dance again and to dance as though I were one of the Angels that witnessed the birth of our Savior. It felt so good..
After the Nativity... Elves came and brought our Christmas eve present of... PAJAMAS! ha ha Even though I celebrated Christmas eve with a different family, I still got my pajamas... but these pajamas are farm pants... ha ha Sister Seamons made us farm pajamas so we could always remember Duvall Washington! ha ha Oh and we go mission shirts that Say High Expectations and Washington Seattle mission on the back, and have WSM on the front in the shape of the temple! so cool
So I was spoiled this Christmas! Thank you all for the cards, gifts, and love! It was an awesome Christmas! Apparently it's obvious that I get super cold ha ha I was given two blankets for Christmas... One was a crochet blanket that I admired at a ladies house. She is not a member of the church and we went over to provide service for her. I told her that her work was beautiful. We dropped a plate of cookies by for some Christmas cheer, and she told us to wait a second... she went inside and came back with the blanket and told me that after I left she kept thinking that she wanted me to have it and was hoping we would come by again! So SWEET!
Christmas day was great! We got to skype our families and my companion even got to skype her family in Ukraine! We played games, ate food, and then visited members! It was a great day!
The day after Christmas my companion decided we should rag curl our hair... oh big mistake I looked like Shirley temple! I tried to brush it out.... oh bigger mistake... my hair was HUGE!!! I attached pics. Never Doing that again ha ha
So i attached some pics of duvall... there is a broken down wagon as the welcome sign to duvall ha ha... boonies....
oh fun/not so fun adventure of the week... my companion and I did not get to go to church this week. She woke up on Saturday with an allergic reaction to something but decided that it was not too bad and did not worry about it... Well Sunday morning she woke up and her mouth was three times the normal size, she could not close it, and she had hives all over her body. So... We went to urgent care... She had to get Epinephrine, benadryll, prednizone. Oh my poor companion.. She was NOT a happy camper... but now everything is back to normal and she is fine. She let me attach a picture ha ha so no worries... i had permission.
So we had a member and missionary fireside last night and I got to see JILL! and BLANCA and TIFFANY! Oh I was so happy i almost cried! I love those women so much! i can't wait to see them again in January!
Oh it was a good week! can't wait for 2015!!! Good things to come!
I love you all!
Love always
Sister Jenn Franzen
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