Mission Christmas Round 2
Wow, I can't believe that we have already passed our second Christmas in Spain! Where did 2025 go?!? More importantly, having now spent our last Christmas here in Spain, where has our mission gone?!? This week has been a blur for us. Between getting caught up after zone conferences, and preparing to be out for Christmas, and Brenda being asked to play for a baptism, Monday and Tuesday were really full, fast, and furious. We knew that we were going to have a ton of people over for Christmas Eve, and so we had to get a ton done on the home front as well. Through it all the calls of "our heat/hot water doesn't work" together with "we don't have any money" don't seem to slow down. We even had one apartment where the gas was turned off because they ignored a notice to get their gas line inspected. (great timing..."ah Spain") We were grateful that we still have a hotline to call for such things.
On Christmas Eve, we had 17 people over for soups and sides. It was sweet to have the young missionaries. 2 of the sisters were almost in tears after Brenda invited them. (I could have taken that a couple of different ways, but I prefer to see them as happy tears!) We also had our mission doctors over along with a brother-in-law. Then, at the last minute, there were two recent converts who didn't have anywhere else to go, so we invited them as well. It turned out the be a fun evening. The soups were yummy, the company fun, and we ended up doing the white elephant game only we had bought all the presents. Two of the gifts were a Spiderman pen and a Disney Princess pen. It played out exactly how we wanted it to as well. One of the Elders picked the Spiderman pen, and so, the new member guy (Vicente) thought that the other pen-shaped package would be a good pick...Princesses! The funny thing was that one of the sister missionaries tried to trade with him, and he refused to give it up saying "I love Disney!" Lots of laughs, and fun. We finished up with reading from 3 Ne 1 and Luke 2. Great night.
The Office Elders got together and decided to buy us a "Caga Tio". These are logs that have a face painted on one end. The tradition is that during December, the kids beat the log with a stick reciting a poem that talks about how the log is supposed to poop presents for Christmas. On Christmas Eve a blanket is placed over the back end of the log, and then on Christmas morning there are gifts under the blanket. I had no intention of bringing one of these dumb things home, but now I kind of have to because the elders were so excited to gift it to us. You are supposed to name the log, and so we decided to name it "Flash Parker the Present Pooper". The funny thing was that after we went to bed, Santa must work with pooping logs as well as with reindeer! He put a napkin over the back end of the log with a bag of cookies and a big chocolate Turron, so Flash came through!
On Christmas morning we kind of slept in, but still needed to get up early because we had invited them all back for breakfast. The missionaries all came back, which was sweet. It is always wonderful to be around these wonderful young disciples of Christ. One of the hopes that we had before coming on our mission was that we would get to spend time with these wonderful missionaries. That has been a real blessing for us.
The day after Christmas was the "Day of Revelation". This is a day when the missionaries are to stay at home, fast, and try to come closer to the Savior through pondering, reading, and answering questions about who they want to become. Brenda and I decided to go to the office to do our pondering as we figured it would be deserted. We also wanted to make sure that someone would be there in case more packages got delivered. Turns out, that the office elders had the same idea, and it turns out that the day after Christmas is a Spain holiday, so no packages would be delivered anyway. It was still a very quiet time, and a great time to do some true introspection.
Saturday was P-day so we did the normal P-day ritual of cleaning, shopping, and doing laundry. Of course, it also brought very sad news of the passing of President Jeffery R. Holland. To Brenda and her family he was known as "Uncle Jeff", and we all loved him dearly. I am grateful to have been able to work with him when I was in the assignment meetings and I have wonderful memories of our time together. He truly was a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. He was also a dear, loving uncle and we will all miss him very much. Jared pointed out to us that he passed away on Jared and Michelle's anniversary, which was significant because he is the one that sealed them in the temple. I do not believe that many of the other Brethren have given more talks that have impacted people's lives so deeply. He had a gift of being able to speak with power while connecting to those who would hear. In my own case, his talk at the October 1999 General Conference about the Savior being a "High Priest of Good Things to Come" is the talk that got me through my difficult time in Korea with the Air Force. I listened to it over and over and it still holds a special place in my heart. Thank You Uncle Jeff! We know that you are rejoicing with sweet Aunt Pat on the other side of the veil.
We are grateful to be here in Spain in the Lord's work to spread the good news of the Gospel and Eternal families with the good people of Spain. It is certainly a message worth sharing! Even though we miss our sweet family, we know we're where we need to be. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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