First Tim Tam Slam, First visit to Drumheller

This week we were able to attend the play, "Savior of the World" down in Cardston.  It was really nice--put on by local people from that town.  The next morning we went to a district meeting there and had a great meeting with that district.  Elder Dial gave great training, and we role-played teaching someone about repentance from the pamphlets.  I was able to role play with Elder Thompson, who did a great job.  I was a little dusty--so I need to practice up! After the meeting, Elder Dial served us our first Tim Tam with hot chocolate!  This is a little chocolate caramel bar, and you bite off the opposite corners of it, dip it in the hot chocolate, suck up the hot chocolate through it which melts it a bit, and then you eat it!  It was yummy!  We had heard about these 'Tim Tam Slams' before--so it was fun to experience it!
We had a busy week just preparing for the transfer this week.  On Friday we had our meeting for our new trainers.  We have 12 elders and 2 sisters all training our new missionaries coming in.  We also have 6 Visa Waiters coming as well, so they will all be in 3-leg companionships and serve there until their visas come.  Our visa waiters have been great.  We wish we could keep them!  This week, between taking Visa Waiters to the airport, picking up our new missionaries, and taking all of our departing missionaries out, we will have gone to the airport 8 times!  Three of our visa waiters have had to be at the airport at 4:30 in the morning!  That gets a bit crazy for us.  Last night (Sunday) we drove one to the airport to be there at 10:00.  After getting him all checked in and on his way we got home and into bed about 11:30, and then Steve had to get up at 4:00 to take another one to the airport...I volunteered to stay home and sleep--ha ha!  Tomorrow morning he will be taking another elder to the airport at 4:30 a.m. as well.  Then at 2:00 all of our new missionaries from the MTC will be arriving!
It is always so exciting.
Last night we were also able to attend the Calgary South (or new Fish Creek Stake) Christmas Choir Festival.  It was amazing--so much talent.  Singers, pianists, cellists, flutists, drummers-- it was really a great night filled with wonderful Christmas music.  We really enjoyed it.  And we loved looking up and seeing two of our elders singing in the choir!  Elder Todd and Elder King.  I love that!
This week will be an incredibly busy week with transfers, and then on Saturday we are having our southern Christmas social for our missionaries in the southern zones--about 100 of them!  We will be serving a wonderful lunch (ham, potatoes, salads, desserts) for them, and then having a devotional.  All of our office couples are helping to put on this function--they are doing most of it.  They are the best.  No one knows how much work goes on in a mission office.  We are so grateful for all of our senior couples that serve so willingly.  We don't know what we would do without them.  Then we will hold another social for our zones in Calgary on Tuesday night the 22nd.  I keep praying that I will be strengthened to make it through everything that will go on this week.  Transfer week is always a happy and sad week--welcoming new ones in, and saying good bye to the old ones.  I hate the good-bye part.  The longer you are with them, the harder it becomes.
This is our first Christmas season on our mission, and we haven't really known what to expect.  For the most part, it is just the same--the work keeps going and going and going!  We know our missionaries are excited to make their Christmas phone calls to their families.  And some of them are a bit sad to be transferred right before Christmas, as they have grown to love their areas and the people in them.  But we have felt the Lord's hand in the transfer process and we hope they will too.

District meeting with our Cardston district

Our first Tim Tam Slam!

We got the Christmas tree put up in the mission home!

On Sunday we had our first visit to Drumheller- which is about
1 hour 40 minutes from Calgary.  It is known for its dinosaur artifacts and museum.  We spoke in the branch there on Sunday morning.  It is a town of about 8000 people.