Dec 9th Snow!!

Hi everyone!
So, it finally snowed! I am so excited! It started on Saturday, and at first it was just kind of dust that didn't really stay, but Saturday night, it snowed a ton! And it's been snowing ever since! Ah, I'm so happy.
Although, we went to the temple today, and we decided to take a bunch of pictures, and it was like, 10 degrees out (actually I don't know...the lady handing out the clothes said it was 9 or something...). So, it's really cold out, and we were taking forever becuase we were taking pictures...haha, we got to the temple, and our faces and hands were all bright red. It was pretty funny.
So, the speaker for the Tuesday Night Devotional was Claudio R. M. Costa--ha, I actually remembered the name this time! He's a member of the presidency of the 70...he was such a great speaker! The thing that he focused the most on was planning, and I never really thought about how important planning can be....he told us the story of his conversion, and when the missionaries first came to his house, they taught once, then wrote down the information in the area book. After that, missionaries didn't look in the area book (or at least that section of it) for the next ten years! Finally, someone looked, and they went out to visit his family, and they got baptized. It was just such a great story, and he said you need to be THAT specific in your planning--even down to including time to read through the area book. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal to us, but it just might change someone's life!
Ah, so as zone leaders, Lundeen Elder and I get a list of the missionaries coming in this week....foreign missionaries sometimes arrive on Tuesday nights, and we have a Canadian in one of our new districts (I know, they totally don't count as foreign....haha) so we were waaay stoked to go get him and bring him to district devotional review....but he didn't come. It was kind of dissappointing, but we're looking forward to meeting him today, along with the rest of the new missionaries. Oh! And guess what!? So, the two new districts are going to Pocatello, Idaho and Everett, Washington! Ah, I'm totally telling the Washington Elders to say hi to you all for me if they go to Stanwood (that's in the Everett mission, right?). It's so crazy though! I mean, what are the odds?
So, I've been getting the letters and packages and stuff you've all been sending....thanks so much! Those totally make my day! It's so exciting to get mail! I think I say that in every email, but it's so true!
Oh my gosh, so we have a TRC appointment this Thursday (we have one every Thursday..). That's the Teaching Resource Center...it's where returned missionaries go and pretend to be investigators, and we get to practice teaching and speaking our mission language. I remember the first few times were waaay stressful, but then I realized that it's okay if I don't speak the language that well, I know it's just for practice....I've been so much more relaxed about them now! It is so much fun! It's like a little taste of what it's going to be like in Hungary! Oh. but, so this Thursday....every week up to now, we've done an intro in Hungarian, left to plan a lesson, then returned to teach in English....this week, it's all in Hungarian! Ah! I don't know if I'm more worried about speaking so they can understand, or being able to understand them....but, I'm not stressed. It kind of stinks though, because Lundeen Elder and I have to leave at 7:30, so we'll just have time to the teaching and everything, we won't be able to get the feedback.....Hopefully Sister Snow will make notes of the many things we need to work on...haha. Yeah, but we have to leave early because we have to meet with the new missionaries again and teach them about the rules and everything......should be pretty fun--both getting to know them, and also seeing if they're anything like I was those first few days....
So.....I get my second haircut today.....looking forward to that....It's way easier having shorter hair, it's just that my head doesn't stay as warm in the winter......ha, I guess that's what hats are for, right?
Oh, here's something for Bishop (and anyone else who maybe just needs a little boost) because I don't know if I'll have time to write a letter to you.....I'll definitely try, but just in case I don't get around to it, I know that the Lord only wants to bless us. I forget which scripture mastery it is (sorry Sister Willard...) but it talks about how we are not tempted above our ability to withstand, and then in 1 Nephi, he says that the Lord prepares a way for us to the things He has commanded us. I know that these two scriptures are so true! We will be able to overcome any obstacles we face in this life--even the ones that seem so overwhelming. The Lord is there to support us if we learn to just trust in Him and try to learn from those trials that we face. I hope that whatever trials you are now facing, you will be able to overcome--just remember, overcoming adversity should not be our only goal...we need to learn from our trials. I know that the Lord loves each and every one of us--that love is evident all around us, if we just take the time to look for it. That's another thing I've learned during these few weeks--there's a good and a bad to every situation, and how you are able to deal with trials in your life is largely based on your attitude and perspective. Always look for the good in everyone and everything, and I know that you will find it! The same is also true for the bad, but who wants to focus on that?!
Murray Elder