Christmas is coming.......you'll hear from me on Wednesday!

So this week is extra GREAT! We get our Monday email, a quickie call on Tuesday, and our Christmas call on Wednesday! Couldn't ask for anything more for Christmas. Hallelujah!


Hi Family,

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

I kinda feel lazy and like not writing anything but I will. It will just be short. You'll hear from me on Wednesday, after all. This week was really pretty slow for missionary work. We had a bunch of meetings/stuff during the week and we didn't use the phone well last week so we had no set appointments. Many people are out of town or are working an extra amount to get the holidays off. So all that added up to us only being able to teach 10 lessons and finding no new investigators. I hate weeks like this because I don't feel satisfied even though I was always doing something. Plus, I haven't had any time to make gifts and write letters home. BUT we did see some awesome things this week. Alex Boye made it to our Christmas concert through a miracle. He flew here on the day that the airport closed, but somehow his flight opened up. Diane was overjoyed to go to early morning seminary when she found out about it (5:30am) so that's good. Comfort gave a talk in church for our Christmas program and it was incredible! It was better than anything I could have put together and mind you, she's been a member for less than a month. Dad might be the only one to understand/appreciate this, but she even closed "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." And she was quoting conference talks and everything. She ordered a scripture quad for Christmas. I offered to give her my scripture case from home. Just the regular size black one that covers my blue scriptures. If you could send it to me that'd be awesome! She and Diane are doing super well. We should be going to the temple with them on Jan. 4th. Ange and Curt and Jos and Marchelle (someone we taught, but was baptized the Sunday after Elder Vargas and I were doubled out) also went to the temple last week. I think it was first time for all of them. I was so happy to hear that! They loved it. 

Hey! I got the same score on my American Heritage final too! I feel better now about that. I hope you do too. It was almost silly how specific the questions were. Remember? I told you how I felt after I took it. It's like, "how many soldiers were remaining after the battle at Gettysburg and how is that number related to the economic success immediately after the civil war?" Jokes like that. It took me four hours too. I was about ready to pass out after it was over.

I did get all the packages I think. I didn't open two of them. I got the one with the doughnuts :) and the one with the candy and lights. And I got your letters. I also go the box with the wrapped gifts. I haven't opened the one from USPS priority mail and the one with the Amazon Prime tape. So I think I got everything. Speaking of Amazon Prime - does dad use it? I just signed up because I order enough things a year to make it worth it but I can just use his account to order stuff and I'll save $70. I haven't paid for it yet. I am still on the free trial.

I think I am good on shirts actually. I don't wear them to bed and I don't wear them really on p-days so the ones I did bring just sit in my drawers. plus I have acquired a few over the year.

So that's about it. I loved the doughnuts! That was a pleasant surprise :)

This week will be great. I'll call you on Tuesday, about 6pm? (8pm here) and then confirm what time to call on Wednesday.

Love you! I pray for you!

Tab 

p.s.  I knew that I should have opened the packages, but I practiced my self control just for the sake of getting better at it : )

Haha - I was up at that time (6 am). In the shower probably!

I'm glad Dad finally got my letter. The one to you wasn't even my letter to you! That will be on its way soon. I have to break the rules a little bit to get it finished. The last three preparation days we haven't had any spare time, annoyingly. Like today, we went to the mission home because our jingle with the Jeppson's got rescheduled to our p-day. UGH! oh well. We had a SUPER good mission Christmas conference. Alex Boye came and gave an amazing talk. I loved it. He's a quality guy. And I hung out with Elder Vargas and Elder Traasdahl and Elder Bell so that was nice!

I have to finish up making some gifts for Dad and Colby and Nate (ties) and think of something to make for you and the sisters, but I'll get it. I might be able to get them to you by New Years. But you'll like them!

assuming they haven't changed...

your cell 8013603585

home 8017654512

my old phone 8016916322

dads cell 8015921267
dad's work number 8014226537

regan 8018501796 

Christen's home phone 8012253423 coleman's cell is 8013606301

Mitchell's house 8012251579 and his t-mobile cell is 8014008190 

There - I don't forget these things.

He's full of Holiday Cheer.........and a baptism!

Sounds like he's full of holiday cheer! Another baptism.....SNOW.....and good work this week.

Hi Mom!

Ah man I missed Bishop! Next time he comes, tell him to call us - we'll go out to lunch or go out and teach or something like that. Can you imagine? Taking bishop Barnard on a team up to go teach my investigators... that would be so awesome. Haha!

So this week was pretty good. We didn't have that much time to go out and teach because of storms and our temple trip and other meetings. But we still did what we need to and I enjoyed it all. I went on exchange this week with Elder Morrill again and he is great as ever. He knows what he's doing. He knows a lot about everything haha. But he's a fantastic missionary! Elder Pabla handled things well (he had to run our area) and so I was happy to hear that it went well for him too. He helped Diane prepare for her baptism and she passed her interview and the baptism went well! Even though it snowed a lot on saturday night, we had a good turnout at church and so many people came to the baptism. Okai performed the baptism and it was his first time. He did everything right, but unfortunately the water level in the font was pretty low so he had a hard time. It took him three tries :) I think he was a little bit embarrassed, sadly. He shouldn't be!

We had a nice snow storm and it was awesome. I enjoy going out in the snow! Don't worry, we stayed warm. We did a lot of sidewalk shoveling at the church so I actually got really hot.

Good ole Elder Vargas and Elder Traasdahl. I saw Elder Traasdahl this week... it was a sweet experience. I hugged him for a couple minutes. I got a nice picture too. He's a fabulous guy. I miss those two.

Tell Nate happy birthday for me! I had no idea. I will get some balsamic chicken one of these days. I'll find it somewhere. I passed a super yummy smelling vietnamese restaurant in New York... but the rule is no eating in restaurants in new york so I had to pass it up :( They had Bon Mis! The place was called Boi, maybe you could look it up to see if it's any good. Cause if it's not, that would make me feel better. The new temple video is really good. 

I got two funny ties for Reese and Clark, really funny suede ties. Reese is actually on the computer right now so I am chatting with him. it's nice! Ok he's done. Question! Could you send me a couple pairs of pants in my christmas package? Ones that I already own. My black corduroy levis and I have a black pair of RVCA pants that are like jean material. You can include them in any package you already planned to send - no rush. Also, I do need new white shirts. 5 will be good. Cause mine are getting a little gross now. Have you already purchased some? I like any collar style. I'm not picky :) 

I'll be praying you do well on your tests! In turn you can pray for Lula, that she'll get baptized soon.

Tell Regan that I say I love her and that she should write me back that slime!

I am taking more pictures, I just forgot my camera today .... :?

Yes, I think I will still email next monday! I hope it snows. 

Thanks - I will have a good week! We are going to go sing today. Haha. 

Love you all!

Love,

Tab

Here's a portion of Tim's letter. I wanted to share it since it is such a good message for the season!

Hi Tab,

I hope you had a good week.  From what we can tell here, the cold weather has arrived in NJ.  I hope you are adapting quickly to winter weather and that you are staying warm. I read in President Jeppson's weekly letter that you and Elder Pabla were able to baptize Diane yesterday. That's really great! It's nice that she and her mom can be new members together — hopefully they will be able to help each other.

Before I forget, two people told me to say hi: Taz Murray and Bishop West's counselor from PG (younger guy with dark hair).  I guess Bishop Barnard was out seeing Joe last week, but didn't have an opportunity cross paths with you.

For a Christmas thought this week, I have a couple of things to share.  First are excerpts from Elder Uchtdorf's 2011 Christmas Devotional talk:

In his 2011 Christmas Devotional message, President Uchtdorf said that we, “like the Wise Men of old, should seek the Christ and lay before Him the most precious of gifts: a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We should offer Him our love. We should give Him our willingness to take upon ourselves His name and walk in the path of discipleship. We should promise to remember Him always, to emulate His example, and to go about doing good.”

President Uchtdorf’s  went on to say, “We cannot offer perfection, and the Savior does not expect it, but He does require that we bring as gifts our best efforts to move ourselves, one foot in front of the other, walking in the ways He has prepared and taught.”

President Uchtdorf concluded, “Of course, we do not need a Christmas holiday or Christmas traditions to remember Jesus Christ, the Savior. … May each Christmas season remind us to lift up our voices and fill our hearts with joy and gratitude that Christ the King has come! Christ lives! He is real. He is our Redeemer at Christmas and always.”

One of my favorite thoughts from Elder Neal A. Maxwell is that the only gift that we can give to God that is uniquely our to give is to surrender our will to Him. Elder Maxwell said it this way:

The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give! Consecration thus constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory!

Tab, I am proud of your efforts and service.  I'm sure you are a great missionary.  I hope that you are finding ways to have your individual will swallowed up in God's will. I hope you continue to have a wonderful Christmas season.

Love,

Dad

Love you too Dad!

Thanks for the thought. I hope you got my letter this week! New Jersey mail... I sent it a week ago. It should come today! 

Tab

Diane's Baptism (Her mom, Comfort was baptized 2 weeks ago)

Diane was baptized by Okai (in white on the right)

It snowed!

What a week! And it snowed. I know that made Tab happy. It will be exciting to see what happens this weekend with his other baptismal dates. Stay tuned......



Hey Mom and family!

So! 

This week was really good. Elder Pabla and I saw a lot of miracles. We prayed a lot for miracles, so it was good that we saw them. First, Comfort is doing really well as a new convert. Super solid. She wants to go to the temple, but we are having a little bit of a hard time 1) visiting her frequently enough to get anywhere quickly and 2) finding her ancestry in Africa. She doesn't even know her parents birthdays and doesn't know where to find them :/ so that's no good. But she can still go and do work for other people. Along with that, Diane asked us if she could be baptized this Saturday. So after a long discussion, we finally said yes. 

Really though, we were super excited when she said that. It is funny because we used the flirt-to-convert technique with a young man who goes to her school (we used him as a team-up... best idea ever) plus Sister Comfort (her mom) encouraged her like every day to join the church! Trust me, it was not coercion or even convincing. After two visits with Okai and many, many prayers, she asked us if she could be baptized. It is great! 

Then we also have Lula who is planning to be baptized this week. She already thinks she is a member, so that's good. We had to explain that she is not a member of the church until she is baptized and confirmed, so she agreed to that. She is being fellowshipped like none other thanks to our awesome ward. They love her. 

We also had 20 lessons this week! That is the standard for the mission, and I have not had 20 lessons since I left Trenton. In fact, I don't think this area (since it became an area) has ever reached 20 lessons. So that was quite the accomplishment. I don't feel like we did much differently. We just met more people while they were home and they let us in! 

We had a couple more miracles but the most pressing on my mind is the fact that it snowed yesterday. I couldn't have been more happy about that. It's about time! Sadly it snowed about one inch and then it rained last night so now it is all ice. 

We're still working with Daphney and Michael... pray for them! We had a really good lesson with Michael yesterday where we set things straight and I hope it makes a difference. He keeps all our commitments but he isn't experiencing conversion... so that's not good. We're still trying to see Daphney again.

Not much news for me. Could you send me David Weekes email address? I have some good news for them. To all my golf buddies, you can tell them that I made a sega melt yesterday. It's a good sandwich. 

I got your package! I am actually wearing the pants right now. They look appropriate enough to work in, especially when I wear a big coat that covers the back pockets, haha. Dad might disagree with that, but oh well. 

Thanks for the letter! Sorry I had to be short today. I hope everyone is well! I got a nice letter from Regan last week... I don't remember if I wrote back. I'll check. Anyway - 

Love you all,

Tab!

A beautiful sight!

I'm a little behind in getting this out. I guess that's what happens during the holidays! It was another great week thanks to more surprise emails and pictures. Monday came and went and nothing from Tab. On Wednesday afternoon I checked my email while sitting at a traffic light. Up popped 8 of them! I literally had to pull over in a parking lot so I could look at them all. The BEST feeling ever! Along with the emails were a few pictures. I have to say that one of them was the most BEAUTIFUL thing I've ever seen. I laughed, and smiled, then maybe I shed a little tear. I love seeing him with the people of New Jersey. His love for them is obvious - it shows on his face. He continues to share the gospel message and bring many unto Christ. And he continues to bless us and bring us so much JOY! It doesn't matter if there isn't one Christmas present under the tree this year, THAT alone would be enough for me.

Hi Mom!

Thanks for the packages! I didn't get to email on Monday because the computers were down, but I'm on now for the next hour and a half or so. We ate at the Taber-Kewene family's house (with Bro Barnard) on Thursday, and then at the Gustave's house on Friday. I haven't really mentioned much about either of those families, but the TK's are like a Utah family basically and the Gustave's are straight out of Newark. The food was great! Lots of fun. We love them both. 

The gloves were great! They match my new jacket, haha. Oh, for another Christmas gift, could you send me two new white tall tees from GenX? I think 2XL tall is what I usually get :) I think I'm good on other colors. And I think I want my brown corduroy krew pants now. I know I sent them back but I change my mind! Other than that, you could send a few t-shirts I own but I think I'm fine. I would still like a new pair of grey corduroys (they're warm) 34x34 levis.

Well, I don't have much news from the week really. Other than the baptism, which went really well. It was the first time Comfort had been in water above her knees! I had no idea. Our investigator Lula is getting friendshipped super well so she should also be baptized soon. She already thinks she's joined the church! We have a few other people out there who might also get baptized. We started teaching Daphney again after losing contact for a couple weeks! I've been communicating with recent converts from Trenton who are also doing really well. Johnson and Ange are considering, more than before at least, serving missions! Johnson is going out with the missionaries a lot! That's great news, and Jos is doing well too. : )

Other than that, I don't have much news! We're doing well. Thanks for everything! It sounds like you are too. Stay in school! haha

Love,

Tab

Hi Dad! 

We didn't get to email on Monday, but today I am on for a little while so that I can send a few emails and wish you a happy birthday!

Thanks for your letter. I will look at familysearch.org and I will also try to find some material to help you understand Isaiah. There is a book in the church library called "Understanding Isaiah" - I took a look at the back page and I don't know if it will exactly help but it may. I'll look at it again.

This week I received [indirect] advice from President Jeppson to try reading Jesus the Christ. I went on an exchange with an older missionary who was in the same position as me, pertaining to valuable and meaningful scripture study and how he hadn't had one in a while, and he told me that President Jeppson suggested reading Jesus the Christ for further learning in the scriptures. I am also considering reading the Old Testament at least for a little bit of my studies. Hopefully that will help me to have enlightening and exciting studies again, like I used to have. 

I'll do what I can to help Elder Pabla! We've been getting along pretty well lately. I don't have any major concerns... he works hard and he is obedient. He's a good missionary. He reminds me of my MTC companion, Elder Price. 

I guess I could say I'm somewhere in the middle of obedience ceasing to be an irritant and exact obedience being my quest. We have a new zone goal that I know will help me a lot: always remembering the Savior. We have great zone leaders. And a great mission president!

I love you too. Sorry I don't have much for your birthday. I would have a letter but I didn't finish it on Monday. So it will come in about a week. I hope you have a fantastic day! You can know that I will be working hard with you in mind. But mostly Jesus Christ! Haha

Love,

Tab

Here's Comfort's baptism and a picture of my main man Esa and I on thanksgiving!

 Comfort's baptism

My main man Esa and I on Thanksgiving!

(a beautiful sight!)