"Merry Christmas!"

 Hello all!

     Merry Christmas! I hope that you all had an amazing weekend and are enjoying time off from work/school/whatever and the extra freedom you have.

Florida in the winter - 80 degrees, sunny, and humid. And alligators :)

    These past few weeks have been a little dead in the YSA, since nobody is really here, but that's ok! Christmas Eve was fun - we walked around campus for 2 hours and then around downtown Gainesville for about 4 hours in the afternoon. Wait, did I mention that it was a chilly 80 degrees? Welcome to Florida! It was really fun to be out though and share a Christmas video (on our ipads) with people who looked down or needed something to brighten their day. :)

      We went caroling this past Friday and Saturday night. On Friday, we went outside a local mall to a Christmas lights display and caroled which was just really fun! We provided music for about 2 hours and there was always an audience of about 50 people listening the whole time. I was able to play my viola the whole time which was a blessing and just fun. Some days are hard as a missionary, but little things like going caroling make life good.

We went to Catholic mass Saturday afternoon in St. Augustine,  just because we could and it was very good. I was actually surprised that they sang all of the same hymns that we sing for Christmas.

Christmas Eve with the other elders

When you realize that this is what you'll be eating for the next month...

When it's your first time cutting up a turkey. And neither of us have ANY idea what we're doing.

Christmas morning on a mission! Kind of weird? Yes. Kind of fun? Yes.

      Christmas we woke up, opened presents under a picture of a Christmas tree. Is that a little sad? Maybe.

      We studied then went to church where we had a fun program singing for an hour. There were 8 missionaries there, the branch president, his wife and 2 kids, and 3 other people. The struggles of being in a college congregation during Christmas...

      Then I got to skype my family! It was really great to see them and talk. I really love them and wish that I'd spent more time with them back home. So spend time with your family! Do it! 

      We went to a member's house and had dinner, which was great, then acted out the nativity. We were at the home of the seminary and institute director (brilliant man, he's read every gospel related book ever) so it was a very accurate nativity - starting with the angel Gabriel speaking to Mary, them going and finding lodging in a cave (fun fact - around Bethlehem, most of the places that animals were kept and people slept in "inns" were caves. What do ya know? Jesus was almost certainly born among animals in a cave space.) Then the wise men coming (4 of them, not 3, because nowhere in the scriptures does it talk about 3 wise men) and so on. It was fun and I loved it.  Their son, Joseph, got home from his mission a few months ago and he's one of my best friends here in the branch. 

           

       Anyway, there it is!  Have a great New Year. 

Love you all!

          Elder McMullin

One more picture from today: Our zone playing "Capture the Flag" on campus.. because it is so empty!

                                                         Good Fun!