There seems to be a common theme with missionaries this past week. People feel so busy preparing for Christmas that they don't seem to have time to meet with missionaries. That is really interesting because the purpose for our calling is to share the message of Christ who is the reason for Christmas. It doesn't seem that most people make that connection however.
We have been able to meet quite a few people by attending Ward Christmas parties. Tuesday and Thursday we had some nice visits with people attending their Christmas parties. We met one couple who had just moved in from Richfield and have not been active in the Church for some time. They moved into a great ward that has a great focus on those who need help coming into or returning to activity.
 Later on Tuesday we met with two sisters who live in the same home, one sister is single, the other has two children.
 We showed them the video "He Is The Gift" and then talked to one sister who is single and trying to decide whether to serve a service mission or go back to school.
Wednesday we had a very good District Meeting and then five senior couples attended a temple session. That is always a neat experience to be together in the temple. We had the opportunity to present the Christmas video to a family in our ward. They are a neat family without a father in the home and we try to stop in from time to time for encouragement and support.
We had two appointments on Thursday. One was an older couple who wanted to learn more about Family History. Ruth worked with the sister and I worked with the brother. I think the women accomplished more than the men did. We looked into the stories and pictures that had been entered on Family Search. We picked out a couple of people he wanted to know more about and found some interesting stories and events in the lives of his ancestors.

Friday I helped one of our people with transportation to the laundromat and then we visited a widow in the 1st ward and showed her the video and encouraged her to attend the ward Christmas party on Friday evening. In the afternoon taught an investigator along with our sisters about family history and the temple. She has a wonderful collection of family records and pictures. She is anxious to meet with us and see if she can find some ancestors for whom she can perform baptism.
We met with another sister who is moving, presented her the Christmas video and told her we would be back early next week to help her box up belongings as she is moving to Tooele with family.
Saturday was baptism day. We attended three ward baptisms for children of record and enjoyed meeting some of the families. Then we were able to attend the baptism for the sister we met with about family history on Friday. What a great baptism and great support from the ward.
We tried several other families without success but found one sister enjoying the warm December day on her front porch and encouraged her to attend meetings on Sunday.

Sunday could prove to be pivotal day in our Stake. We had met with the Stake Presidency as they outlined their vision for our missionary work in the Stake in view of having one set of sisters in our Stake. Sunday morning all the bishops and ward mission leaders were invited to attend the early morning training meeting. The Presidency expects 30 appointments per week for the sisters, at least 30 baptisms for 2015 and 30 of the 300 prospective elders to receive temple ordinances in the coming year. It was a great meeting, well attended and spiritually uplifting. We are confident that the work is going to roll on as never before. We are excited to be a part of this wonderful work!