Happy New Years!

Goood morning!

You will never guess what the temperature is outside!! It's like -4 right now, and yesterday it got up to 0 C. I know that's a little extreme to be excited about this, but I kid you not I was walking in just a suit coat the other day. It's crazy how acclimatized you get! It's supposed to stay this warm for the next week or so and then I;m sure it'll plummet again. Yeah Mom this Winter is supposed to be pretty chilly. It wasn't this cold last year.

This week was sweet! Christmas was awesome, I miss you guys! It was good to talk to you and also Bailey and Tyler! :) It definitely made my day. We have a sweet family!

Christmas Eve was good, just the normal Pday and then we were at the Macdonalds (in the Bishopric, not fast food) for the rest of the night. It was nice to have somewhere to go despite the famine of members in the land.

Christmas morning we went to Bishop Shipley's house, it was so nice to watch people open presents. I don't meant that sarcastically either haha it was honestly nice to be apart of that part of Christmas. They fed us a BOMB breakfast, we talked, and then we drove to Sherwood Park for calls home! After calls we had dinner with the Robinsons and then talked for a long while. Then we came home and spent the rest of the night there! It was a good day.

We drove out to St. Paul on Thursday morning for the outlying areas ZTM. Cherry Grove, Vermilion, and Lloydminster all drove in it was sweet! The meeting went well, and then we followed Cherry Grove home. They live like 3.5 hours out of Edmonton. It was beautiful. They live on top of a hill overlooking the huge countryside. Cherry Grove was apparently pretty much settled by mormons, and and so most of the town is LDS. Actually it's not a town it's a "hamlet" haha. I saw a moose! The first one in Canada! I was pretty psyched to be completely honest.

We had a slow week otherwise! A grand total of 3 lessons! Haha it was the worst week of my mission numbers-wise. But we were still pretty busy so it's all good. Most of the ward comes back into town this week so it should pick up soon!

New Years Eve will be a straight up party! With me and Elder Coe :) Haha we're supposed to be in at 6pm no exceptions so we'll probably watch Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration and eat junk food. Woohoo! I'd like to say I'll stay up until Midnight, because we are allowed.....but I don't really think I will haha it doesn't have as much appeal when you can only stare at the clock and celebrate when 12:00 comes. Last year Elder Wood and I went to bed at like 7pm haha.

So I played the piano in Sacrament Meeting for the first time in my life yesterday! We had another combined YSA church and there were actually quite a few people there. Easily enough to make a ward. Anyways our ward hosted and nobody else could play so they asked me last week if I would and I did! It was sweet. I still can't play the organ though so that's my goal when I get home!

Hey Mom Gramma's package still hasn't come.....maybe she wrote the wrong address on it? I have no clue. I'm going to buy the shoes today!

Alright I think that's all.....you're all the best! I'm excited for my black year to end! I have spent the entire year of 2012 as a missionary! I'm pretty great I know. Anyways we are going five-pin bowling today! I'm excited I've never been. Have a good week!

Love you guys,

Elder Read