Sister Winters - December 19, 2011 Christmastiiiiiiiiiiime is heeeeeeeeere!

I'm very, very excited for Christmas. We got our schedule - it looks like we'll be watching a couple Christmas movies (hopefully It's A Wonderful Life!), watching the Syssel/MoTab broadcast, watching Music and the Spoken Word, having a devotional, and having sacrament meeting with a general authority! Can't wait. Oh, and we also get to write our families on Christmas, so you can expect a couple of letters from me this week! Hooray. The snow is finally starting to stick here, so it's even starting to look like Christmas - pretty fun! You asked about the music - still a little bit of a lack of Christmas music, but I watched the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast this past week and it was awesome! I especially loved listening to Jane Seymour recite the Christmas story - it reminded me of watching The Scarlet Pimpernel. :) Oh, Daniel and I were also able to bring in the Christmas spirit by SINGING IN DEVOTIONAL this past Sunday! It was so much fun to sing with him - I didn't even get very nervous (although both of our hands were really tingly and we couldn't feel anything afterwards)! It was a little weird to be performing with my voice as opposed to piano or violin, but it was great. And SO wonderful to be doing it with Daniel! When the person conducting announced that we were brother and sister you could just hear the titters throughout the whole audience - so fun. Oh, and it's been a huge confidence boost afterwards, too - people will literally yell at me across courtyards to tell me that I did an amazing job at the fireside! This past week I hit a little hump with Chinese, so don't worry - the pride and humility is equalling itself out. :) One more thing about the fireside - they sang "A Child's Prayer" for the opening song - Daniel and I were singing our family's harmonies when everyone was singing together. I LOVED it! It was like singing with the whole family again. I love you all so much.

So no more funny service moments this week, but I do have a story that's somewhat related. There's a new gym at the MTC that's opened up, so my companion and I went over there to check it out. It was pretty nice - a bunch of machines with TVs that play church movies and conference talks. Well, I went to wipe it down with some spray and paper towels that they had, and guess what? It was the POISON stuff! Again, kills AIDS and every other virus you can think of, and you're supposed to wash yourself for 15-20 minutes if it gets in contact with your skin at all! I'm pretty sure that the MTC staff doesn't read the labels, because there's no way that we should be handling that stuff without gloves.

Shout-out to Anna - happy birthday this week, my friend! You're awesome and I love you.

A couple of you have mentioned that I haven't talked about my companion lately. Don't worry - I love her more than ever. I wrote this little entry in my journal last week that'll hopefully give you a better idea of what she's like and why she's so loveable. Disclaimer: she would have me tell you that she's really not as crazy as she seems in this, but these are indeed direct quotes:

"My companion really likes clothes. Loves shopping, loves clothes, and as she walways says, she goes with 'quantity over quality,' because she easily tires of her outfirst. It's been fun to see her on a mission as she's already gotten sick of her clothes, so not she puts together more... unusual... outfits. She knows that she looks a little unorthodox, so she's compensated by making som hilarious descriptions/personalities associated with some of her more original ones. Here are som of my favorites:
-*Middle part with two small braids going back/ruffly blouse*: "Jiemei, I look like such a medieval princess right now."
-*Bright yellow cardigan/bright red skirt*: "Man, you need condiments with that? Get your ketchup and mustard right here!"
-*Pink blouse, pencil skirt, and red scarf with white polka dots:* "Jiemei, be honest with me - do I look too much like a stewardess right now?"
-*Same outfit:* "Well, I feel like a Disneyland museum tour guide right now. 'Hey everyone, you can call me Minnie! *wink*"
-*Blue denim blouse/Indian wap skirt with crazy fish patterns on it:* "I feel like a 40-year-old woman in New Mexico who's obsessed with Southwestern art..."

She's SO funny! She always says the most bizarre/awesome things. One more example: we were walking outside and it was super gray and misty, and she said, "Man, it's like dementor weather out here..." So you can pretty much rest assured that I'm having the time of my life with her. I really hope we're companions in the field.

Okay, last thought and then I have to go. Sorry that it's a little bit of a repeat - I promise I have some more different ideas about it. Anyway, it's more about losing yourself. I think one of the ways to lose yourself is to focus on the moment - you can't focus on the future (even things like leaving the MTC or your future investigators too much) and be focused on the NOW simultaneously. And you need to focus on the now in order to really show people that you love them and to teach them effectively. Now this doesn't mean that I don't have to plan like the rest of the misssionaries - I know that planning is indeed central to the whole mission process, but I'm really trying to focus on the now. So Mom, you asked me if I'm getting antsy about the MTC and want to leave - my answer is that I'm trying not to. :) I'm really trying to focus on what I can do now, on making every day my best. Because it's when I do that that my future will be awesome, because I'll be prepared to be the best that I can be by doing my best every day. I was talking with a couple of the sisters the other day and we talked about some of our "perfect moments" we've had - whether it be doing something really amazingly fun like a surprise trip to NYC or whether it's doing something you love, like talking to your friends and your family. Well, all of these perfect moments had something in common - they all came from just focusing on that moment. In order to make my mission the best that it can be, I'm going to try and better focus on every moment! One last thing about this, then I really have to go - the Savior talks about this as well. I was reading His Sermon on the Mount today (love it), and He tells us not to take any thought for the morrow. I didn't really notice that before - I think that instead of meaning for us not to plan our future, He meant for us to focus on the now, so that we can enjoy the beauties of life now, and be better equipped for the future.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, and I love Him. I'm so grateful to be able to wear His name for the next year and a half and to take this time to celebrate His birth and His entire life. I love Him and I love all of you - Merry Christmas!

Love,
Sister Winters

PS - I came up with a sprirtual analogy that's totally general authority status. It'll have to wait until next time.