Christmas Week 2008

Our Christmas week has been very busy with some great highlights. I feel sort of guilty because my volunteer work this week was so fun that it shouldn’t be called work. I got to play underwater Santa at the aquarium for Breakfast with Santa. It was crazy to fit myself into a wet suit, a large fake fat belly, thick red pants, a Santa jacket, and funny boots over the flippers. The head stuff was the worse. I had to manage a bushy full white beard and mustache with a regulator mouthpiece in the middle of all that hair. The red cap had built in long stringy white hair and my mask held it all in place. As I entered the water the wig hair covered my face such that I couldn’t see well at all and the hair in my mouthpiece drove me nuts…but when I would brush back the offending white wisps and look at all the children huddled up against the glass Ahhing and Ohhing about Santa’s arrival is was all worth it. They were so excited and jumping around. Parents were going crazy taking pictures and the kids couldn’t get enough of the “wet” Santa. It was a great way to serve and I look forward next year to the pain of dressing, but the joy of seeing those kids faces.

It was a calm Christmas eve with just Don, Danica, and Dave for a wonderful dinner. Mom surprised me with a slue of great gifts that we can do together. Particularly a new camera, a hefty bike rack, and a dreamed for scuba vacation to Bonaire in March and her patience with me for another year. I couldn’t ask for more. Then on Christmas Day we bounced back and forth between the McDonald’s and our place with some fun games, stupendous food, and a happy call with Austin. It was a great Christmas.

We have had a missionary weekend in honor of your nearly completed mission. Last night we had Steve and his wife over for dinner with 4 missionaries and Tiana and Preston. I will be baptizing him in a couple of hours and feel like a little kid so excited about helping this good man into the church. I hope his wife comes to the service. I think you will enjoy meeting him. Then in Sunday School class one of the investigators was asking some very pointed but good questions about “How do you know this is the true church?” His wife just got baptized in September and he is trying to understand the gospel. Mom and Tiana talked to him for about an hour after Sunday School and mom said Tiana was great in bearing testimony to him. Church felt particularly good today with the sweet taste of missionary work.