January 7, 2009

Hello to All,

First off, I love you all. Thank you for being so good to me. Christmas was great. Maybe some of you don't know exactly what Santa brought me in his bright red bag(all with a matching scripture), so I will fill you in a bit:

Ear Muffs: Stylish and used FREQUENTLY
Beef Jerky: I can hardly describe my joy.
Shoes: they fit AND they look nice
Peanut M&M's: You cannot find these in England, though with all the chocolate, they aren't really missed. I do love them, though.
Scarf: Also used frequently
Jelly Belly's: Also another rare commodity in England, and greatly loved.
Ties: Brown and blue seem to be in fashion lately. Very nice!
Joseph Smith CD's: I love the Prophet Joseph!
... And much much more.
Thank you to all those who contributed

Another present received that many may have not seen was a book of pictures of the Liljenquist Family. This is a prize and treasure. I love it and view it often.

Of course the greatest present was to talk to each one of you!

It sounds like everyone and everything is still staying busy in Utah. I don't know how everyone keeps up with it all. You will have to let me know of all of the great movies that you saw when I get back.
During the holidays, we visited many people, and were able to spend more time at their house and do some things that we don't get to do during the rest of the year. That was fun for the time, but I don't know if I would really enjoy it often.

I haven't heard much from Elder Weidmann in Liverpool, but I saw him at Zone Conferences, and he looked great. He is a great missionary, so I am sure he is going just fine. Elder Rawlings and I continue to become better friends. We are pretty different, but have the most important similarities. We are both missionaries, and we both love the gospel. I don't see us staying together next transfer, usually just because Elder Rawlings moves around a lot, but I am not sure what is going to happen. Anything can happen.

Last P-day and this P-day we went to this amazing store where there are nice suits on sale. You get a really good sale if you can match up trousers with a jacket, but they do have some matches that are fairly cheap. They are really nice, and much cheaper than home. Today I bought some double cuffed shirts that I might send home. If they were white, I would use them, but they are quite a variety of colors. If I send them home, I imagine that they will be worn, but I couldn't really expect much different. I also bought two suits, that I will not be using on my mission. I will bring them home. Thank you Grandpa for Christmas money!

Funny story(kind of): Yesterday I left the iron on all day. No worries, nothing happened. But it is a scary thought.

Our investigators aren't progressing very quickly right now. We need to get some solid new ones, but the work has been slow. I would go into detail with each of them, but I have to go.

Quick spiritual thought: I was reading 2 Nephi 4, which is always a good chapter, and I was touched by a couple of verses. Nephi exclaims that he has been very blessed by the Lord, with great knowledge and many visions. He then wonders how he could then yield to sin, after having that great knowledge. I wonder that often, but I am comforted by Nephi's other scriptures. He knows his weaknesses, which are probably very small, and calls on the Lord to deliver him from temptations and the devil. I really like Nephi's humility and acknowledgement of his need to improve. I then love his dependance on the Lord. May we all pray like Nephi to overcome our individual weaknesses.

Thank you for loving me despite my weaknesses.

I love you and pray for you,

Elder Davies