holidays

Thanksgiving was pleasant. We ate dinner with a large group of 4 or 5 families from our ward, including the Bishop, and then ate dessert with a few different families from the ward. Almost all the food was completely American, with the exception of a Peruvian dish of raw tilapia marinated in lime juice. It would not have been bad, except they dowsed it with cilantro, my least favorite. An American Thanksgiving gave me mixed feelings, and being on exchanges with English missionaries (my companion has been training other Elders in our District), it's hit me really hard that I am only in Arizona.

As if to contradict the feelings that I am so close to home, Christmas has swept our area in a comical way. Christmas has always been equated with cold and snow and such. The contrast of the Arizona Christmas flavor is large. The Christmas palm trees are lit up and the winter grass is getting greener every day. Many families have the over-sized inflatable Snow Globes in their yards to bring a bit of winter to the desert. I don't think I'll get used to this.

Exciting news is that the second and third Baptisms of my mission are scheduled for this Sunday directly after the Christmas Broadcast. The Yeomans are getting married on Saturday and baptized on Sunday to end their five-year investigation of the Church. This is another situation where I didn't have much involvement, but am just lucky.

On the other side, a family we started teaching last week seemed to be at conflict about how they feel about the Church. I got so distressed during our last lesson wishing I knew how to say what I felt. That not all churches are created equal. This is the only true church, with all the same truths as the church that existed in the Bible and during the time of Christ. That everybody has the flat-out right to know for themselves if it is true and they will know for sure, if they only ask. My testimony got stuck inside me because my mouth didn't know how to work and it was the most painfully frustrating feeling ever.

So to all the friends and family that read this, know that this church is undeniably the only church on the earth that has the power of God through a prophet who receives revelation. There is no doubt that Joseph Smith restored the exact same church that Christ himself established during His time on earth. As nice as other churches are, they are not true, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and there is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. I can't say the smallest part of what I feel, like Ammon, but I know this to be true.

Thanks for the letters, it's always nice to hear from you all. I try to write back as fast as I can, but handwriting letters is time consuming for me. I'm hoping to get hold of a type-writer to make responses faster. I think about you all as often as appropriate, and love you and miss you. Don't party too much this Holiday Season, and if you do, at least think about me once while you do it.

Love,

-Elder Sam Bostwick

P.S. As far as Christmas music is concerned, it is all approved, as long as the lyrics are not romantic. And of course, what good is Christmas music after Christmas....