Staying in Jersey City

Hola familia,

Ok first off: Im staying in JeRsEy CiTy!!! Yess!!! This place is the best. Ha so pumped to stay for another. This will be my first area staying more than three transfers and Jersey City is the bomb. Staying with Elder Bellavance as well which is super good. We get along, work super hard, and I know God is blessing me with fun companions because we are laughing pretty much every second. Its such a bonus to the work. We've got a million things to do but hey "too blessed to be stressed." We just laugh everything off. The zone is changing up a little so we will see who is coming in, but a lot of the ones who I am close with are staying so it will be another awesome transfer (just like them all!!) So this is the last transfer I will probably be a zone leader too. So Im going all in to the end. Not for sure but usually zone leaders get called for 4 transfers and then released and can get back to the streets workin'. Pumped for the transfer though. 

So Christmas season has started. In the mission it is crazy. Its sometimes called p-month just because there are so many activities in the mission and wards for Christmas and we are always just running around. We are not in our areas as much as usual but we are preaching the Gospel in different ways then just walking street. Its like Christmas day for three weeks straight. This week and next week probably the craziest of life!!! But hey its all good. 

We had Traditions with the Taggarts on Tuesday in the morning. They fed us tons of really good american food. It was a breakfast I haven't had in a while. French toast, sausage, fruit, bacon, juice, eggnog. We were there with zone 12 so I got to see Elder Drewes and Elder Beard there as well. We ate and then sang and the Taggarts prepared a little program with Scriptures and more singing and homemade hand bells. It was awesome. Nice way to start off the Christmas month.

Last night we had our massive NJMM spanish Christmas Fireside in Newark. It was super successful. Everyone is invited in pretty much all of NJ. There was probably about 300 people there. Each zone had their own part to preform. So our zone did Nephi 11:14-20 where an angel appears to Nephi. So we sang Noche de Luz. We practiced ONE time as a zone (us 7 in Spanish) and we couldn't stop laughing the whole time. We aren't the best singers. And miracle. I didn't have a costume until like 2 hours before this thing start. And I asked 1 member and she had something for me there at church. So super big blessing and the rest of the night was amazing. Sh--- came!!!!!! I got to see her again. The last time I saw her was almost a year ago. The M----s were there (ha it only like an 1 1/2 drive) Everything in Jersey is pretty close. So fun to see them all. Elder Class, Elder Lundquist, Elder Lopez, and Elder Drewes were there. Elder Vargas as well. He only has one more transfer left! Ha. It was nice to see everyone again.

We had mission leader council this last week. Elder Kacher from the Seventy was there. It was one of the most productive meetings I have ever been to. He didn;t come prepared with anything specific. We all discussed what the mission needed and then he had like 3 hours to answers everything. Very very effective. The biggest thing was changing our mentality and having more faith, and working better with wards and wards councils. There was a cool ladder of missionary work mentality that he brought up. The bottom is: 

• This is too hard, I cant do this. Then:
• This is hard but I can go through the motions. Then: 
• I can work hard. Then: 
• I can do this with the Lord's help. Then the top mindset which is the easiest:
•  The Lord can do this, I can be an instrument in his hands. 

It was all about following the spirit and trusting the Lord to do is work. We are just instruments in His hands. Very inspiring. 

Jesus came to church this last week again! He is going good. He always calls us just to talk and last night he asked us what chapter he should read. We had a cool miracle lesson. We stopped by on Thursday night and his whole family party was going on. But then everyone had to leave. So we got to teach him for about 20 min on the Word of Wisdom and now he is off coffee!!!! He is a stud. 

Things are going so good. I am glad you got to have a fun Christmas party with the office and learned how to cook! So cool! And the gingerbread house tradition lives on!!!! Sam, how was skiing? How is the park they set up?

Love,

 Elder Sumsion

SHOUTOUTS

Watts: Awesome Christmas package full of so good food and warm clothes!!! Thank you so much

Traditions with the Taggarts Zone breakfast

Turkey Bowl - in the snow