It's true, Jim and I are officially homesick! I think there are two reasons for our official state of wishing we were home in the arms of our sweet family. The first is that it's Christmas, not just any Christmas, but our second one away from our family and we are just really feeling it more this year.
The second is that we ran out of humanitarian project money around the 1st of December for local area projects in both countries. This means that we have had a little more free time on our hands than we are used to and more time means more thinking and more thinking means more missing those little hugs around my neck and those sweet sloppy candy kisses that are so liberally shared. It means worrying from afar that Christmas will be wonderful for them all and somehow that silly song, "I'll be home for Christmas", keeps playing on the Mormon channel and every time it does I get a little teary eyed and remember "if only in my dreams..." Yep, it's official, we are homesick, but hopefully will abate in January.
Our new budget turns around the 1st of January. Jim has been doing all the year end budget reports, making sure our church card is balanced out to 0 and sending in completion histories on all of our finished up area projects. I have been painting. Still no word of when the church will be legal in Bosnia, but when it does, there sure is a nice little apartment waiting for missionaries to occupy! Jim says it's nicer than anything he ever stayed in when he was in Finland. I just wish there were a Michaels around,( I realize I'm not just writing to an American audience..Michaels is an amazing craft store in the U.S.) I could REALLY make it cute! Hummm, it's always good to have Jim around, he brings me down to earth, from my painting ladder, and reminds me that it's not my house.
We have a mission Christmas party tomorrow. The Elders are coming over this afternoon to make cinnamon rolls. They were assigned to bring something sweet and I told them I would help. I'm assigned to bring a crock pot of soup. It should be a fun party. We love to get together with all of the missionaries. I feel so bad for them this year. I'm not quite sure how things are working out this week at the mission office, but as of last Monday the post office was refusing to release Christmas packages for the missionaries. On Monday they were afraid that some of the packages that had come for missionaries had been sent back to the U.S. Others are just being held captive. I'll be careful not to wax political, but my heart goes out to these sweet young men and women. They are such wonderful servants of our Heavenly Father and it breaks my heart to think of them not getting their packages from home.
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| Our mission presidents twins and I taught the missionaries how to do the "Hokey Pokey". It was pretty fun to see all those missionaries "Shake it all about"! |
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| A few of our "Seniors" just chillin! |
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| We had a really nice dinner, played games, exchanged white elephant gifts, had a spiritual testimony meeting, took tons of pictures and left with our hearts and spirits lifted! |
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| Our Varazdin missionaries making cinnamon rolls in our apartment. |
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| Elder Bridge and Elder Marks were quick learners and did a great job! |
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| "Our Mission" |
1 comment:
I don't think I can read your blog without crying! We miss you a lot as well and we are already looking forward to sharing next Christmas with you!!!
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