Frohe Weihnachten!!!

It's a short one, but you probably know why (it's Christmas!!)! 

Wednesday, 19th:

We woke up, and S. Spratt had been awake for 30 minutes trying not to throw up. So I told her she was taking the day to recover from whatever it was she was feeling. We think it might've been a flu, but we're not positive on that.

We did manage to make it out of the house in the evening to help the Mohammadi kid with his homework, but after that S. Spratt had a major headache, so we went back home.

Thursday, 20th:

When we woke up, S. Spratt sat up, and immediately lay back down. She still felt lousy, so we took a second day for her to recover.

Luckily, she felt a little better in the afternoon, so we went to visit Evrika, one of our investigators. She's a sweet, young mom who's very interested in the standards of our church for her children, but she remembers being bullied for her religion growing up so she's not sure if she wants to commit to a religion, but rather just adopt a belief system/set of standards. She's also meeting with JWs, but she likes us better. ;)

Friday, 21st:

Christmas Conference!! It was so much fun, and so wonderful, and so spiritual! We had fun learning a traditional dance, singing songs, and wearing Trachten. I LOVED it!

Saturday, 22nd:

Dooring! For a while.

We called many people as a part of our STL duties.

Sunday, 23rd:

S. Spratt sang a Solo, and I accompanied! People came up to her afterwards and kept telling her how wonderfully she did, which is huge for this area because these people are BRUTALLY honest.

We went over to a spontaneous dinner appointment with Rafaela und Oliver Schmidl and fam. We ended up meeting their pet horses and baking Vanillekipferl. It was a lot of fun. :)

Monday, 24th:

We spent Christmas Eve at Familie Falke, where we had fondue and opened presents (well, we watched them open theirs and they gave us each a little bag with Lindt chocolates). We sang songs to wrap up the night, and then rushed home to make it home on time!

Tuesday, 25th:

We've spent the day at the Stringhams, where they had stockings and presents for each of us in the district (So E. Buss, E. Larson, S. Spratt, and I). It's been so sweet and chill! I've loved this Christmas, and I can't wait to Skype my family!

And this evening we will be at the Familie Hess.

Favorite new word: Wichteln - to Secret Santa, der Wichtel - an imp/dwarf/brownie/Secret Santa

Favorite funny story: While driving on our way to go by on someone from areabook with no number, S. Spratt sneezed herself into a headache. She literally sneezed so hard that she had a headache for the rest of the day. It was quite amusing. 

Favorite spiritual thought: I finished the challenge from President Nelson to read the whole Book of Mormon by the end of the year. Not only did my testimony grow so much, but as I finished it I felt the Spirit confirm to me the power of obeying and following the Prophet. I've heard of many people who said it was going to be too hard, and at one point I was so far behind that I was reading 9 chapters a day (as a missionary, I still managed to get that far behind!). But as I closed the Book after reading Moroni's final testimony, not only could I tell that my testimony of the Book of Mormon had grown, but also my testimony of living Prophets. I wish everyone the best as they finish it as well. And for anyone who didn't do it, you can always start with the new year, and finish it by Easter. ;)

Favorite quote of the week: "I hate you! But it's a Christlike hate." -Me, at E. Buss, because he sabotaged me in a card game.

TLDR: My comp was sick the first couple days, but we still managed to reach most of our weekly goals. Christmas time has been nice and busy, but also fun! No homesickness, but check in with me after the Skype call, lol.

Frohe Weihnachten!!

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Hamilton