Week 6!!!

Hey hey heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!

SNOW IS HERE. It is not like Utah, it is so WET. Not powder at all. We went to church yesterday to dead looking grass and came home to TONS OF SNOW! It was so crazy, and I was so excited!!!!! I guess I haven't really said a ton about what it's like in Elgin. You have really nice new neighborhoods occasionally, but most of the time you have smaller homes that are split into apartments. BUT THERE ARE THE COOLEST HOUSES HERE! Like out of a Children's Christmas book from the 1800's... Some are painted really nice and others look like they came right out of a 4 year old girls playroom... like Pink and Purple CHECKERS AND IM NOT EVEN KIDDING. We see it all and it’s so fun!!!! One house we knocked on was pink, green, yellow, blue, purple, and orange pastel. You think I'm lying. But, the people weren't interested... hahah it's fine though. The streets here are all sorts of decked out with lights, I will take pictures this week!! 

We have taught people from ALL OVER THE WORLD this week. A woman from Puerto Rico, a man from Mexico, a man from Algeria, and K* from LAO! Yes we pray for the gift of tongues every 2 hours, but MIRACLES happen. I have learned this week that we tract not just to find people, but to show the Lord we are willing to work... because if you think about it we can't find the people who are looking for the gospel by ourselves and standing on everyone's porch sticking a card in the door… but Heavenly Father is the one behind everyone we find that wants the happy news, and we are blessed!! We have been tracting quite a bit... we knock on so many doors... sometimes it gets discouraging because we get rejected a lot, but ALWAYS at the end of the day, a miracle happens. One night this week we had been tracting and got turned away CONSTANTLY. That night we went to the church to make cookies for a lady in our ward whose mom passed away... (they fed us in the nursing home on thanksgiving for lunch) so while we were waiting, we had a phone call from her and she seemed to be happy and coping well, then we saw THE WHOLE M* FAMILY walk into the church for young women in excellence. The M* family is a part member family, the mom and daughter are members, but the dad said that he found God in another church. So E* (the mom) decided she was going to leave the church and support her husband because it might help their marriage... (things were pretty rough). A* (the dad) go baptized in some other church and a MIRACLE HAPPENED. We got a call from bishop that said he had talked to A* because he called him wanting to meet with him. In that meeting, A* said that he felt like something was holding him back while he was in line to be baptized but he decided to do it anyway... when he came up out of the water he felt this overwhelming peace and joy and forgiveness and his whole heart changed and said he knew he wanted to be a part of OUR CHURCH with his family!!!!!! I PASSED AWAY. He told the bishop that he wanted to take lessons with us! We met with the family and they were all just BEAMING. It was incredible. So we get to do the lessons with him!!! so within 10 minutes we saw R* doing well, the WHOLE M* family participating in a church activity, and THEN we got a call from a number we didn’t recognize... which was weird? We answered and it was a man we had been trying to get a hold of for like ever and he saw our card and called it!!!!!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENS EVER. So we set up an appointment with him and met with him yesterday! See... tracting brings blessings. ;)

The man who called us is name Y*... he is the one from Algeria. We scheduled to meet him at the Library and to have the bishop come to help translate as he speaks French. We found out that the library was CLOSED when we pulled up and so we had no other choice but to meet at McDonalds... yes I have now had a lesson at McDonalds. It was the weirdest experience ever. Y*'s English was very broken, but when we actually got into the lesson he looked at the bishop and said in French "I'm not looking for a new religion, I just want to meet people." the bishop translated what he had said and we were really set back about it because Sister Peterson saw him at church a few weeks ago, before I got here… He came with a friend I guess. We found out that he was Muslim, and I didn’t know anything about that but I know now that they don’t believe in Jesus Christ the same way we do... the language barrier made everything hard. I didn’t know what to say to teach while not offending him, I started shaking inside I was so nervous all of a sudden! Y* continued to kinda be defensive and using French and I looked down and saw a little Hispanic man who had pulled out a RESTORATION PAMPHLET and was listening to the whole thing!!!!!! IT WAS CRAZY! We talked to him afterward and he was telling us how he was a new convert and just happened to have that on him. He also told us a scripture that pertained to the questions Y* had, so if we ever meet with him again maybe we will be able to be better! The bishop was really impressed though that we were so patient and willing to stick with him. He told us more about what Y* was saying and has traveled so he is willing to help us! 

We have a ward Christmas Party coming up, things are super fun! We helped a family move this week, the ward is so awesome, and we have so many fun families that are willing to have us in their homes! Last night we had dinner with the Stevens family and we were able to watch the first Presidency's Christmas devotional!  I hope you were all able to watch it, if not I am sure it is online! My favorite part was when Douglas D. Holmes was talking about the gifts that the Savior gives us, " How strange would it be if we woke up early Christmas morning and surrounded the gifts we had been gazing at and waiting to open for WEEKS under the tree, talked about them, and then continued on with our day, never opening them." this is sometimes the case with the gifts that Savior has given us!! He had given us the GREATEST GIFT of the Atonement, and it really is okay when we make mistakes. We just have to make sure we open his present to us and use it! That gift to us has already been paid for in full, and it's up to us to open it. We should never feel bad or be intimidated from using it. That would be like talking about the gift and never opening it. 

I love the Christmas Theme this year of LIGHT THE WORLD. 

"I am the light of the world"

"YE are the light of the world."

 Keep letting your light shine and serving others! Keep an eye out for those in need, Pray as families to get guidance to one family or person in particular and serve them!! It will make Christmas time so much happier, because the happiness that our Heavenly Father can provide is so much GREATER than anything that could be in a box under a Christmas tree. Celebrate HIM :) I LOVE YOU ALL!! HAPPY B-DAY on the 1st to the Best Grandpa Jim ever, I LOVE YOU!!!

Love, Sister Bair :)