Sister Applegate: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like CHRISTMAS!

Hi Family and Friends!

Okay, so it's really not looking a TON like Christmas, or feeling like it without snow and such, but we're getting there! Thank you for everyone sending the family Christmas cards, and for Grandma and Frank sending the 12 Days of Christmas package, we are loving it!! One of those Christmas cards was from Aunt Jenni and Uncle Jeff and it's double-sided, but on one side Jeff is wearing a New York Yankees hat so it's taped on my wall with that side not showing. Haha. Nice try!!! ;) Red Sox all the way!

Happy birthday to Dad and Aunt Marla this Wednesday!!!! Woot woot! Hope they are both wonderful!! :)

This week was CRAZY! So exhausting. So Sister Richardson got transferred so we had to go to Macon on Tuesday, then we had to go to Douglas on Thursday, then we had to go BACK to Macon on Saturday for our Christmas Conference--we are EXHAUSTED! So much traveling. But all of the meetings were great! Sister Richardson got transferred over the border into Alabama and my new companion is....drum roll...Sister Thomas! She is from Roy, Utah and has been out on her mission for a while. Like, she goes home in 5 weeks kind of a while. I'm killing her off! (Missionary terminology is a little different, you're born in your first area, you die in your last, etc) SO I'm killing Sister Thomas off by being her last companion in the mission field and she is dying in Hazlehurst. So yeah. That's fun. We'll make it fun, but this means I have to get another new companion in a few weeks and that unless they white-wash Hazlehurst I will be here a minimum of 6 months-crazy! Elder Holt got transferred to Waynesboro where Sister Richardson and I both served and the other day (since elders replaced us) I was thinking to myself and was like "Oh my gosh he's sleeping in my bed!" Ahahahahaha. Sounds so bad. But that's what happens when you white-wash an area! I also found out Evelyn who we taught a couple of times there, she AND her husband AND her kids are all getting baptized soon!!! Sister Taylor and I found them and started teaching that was the greatest news ever!!!! You really don't know who's lives you might impact. I wanted to cry I was so happy.

Also, Elder Harris who served in Waynesboro while I was there was transferred to Baxley, so he's serving in this branch with me. Reunions are so fun!

Okay, so this week was pretty cool investigator-wise. We were driving to see some people on Wednesday morning and things fell through and I didn't want to go see Joey because I was planning to see him the next day, but the Spirit told me to go see him so we did. And I'm so glad we did!!!! I thought maybe we'd just read from the Book of Mormon with him but while we were praying before going into the nursing home where he's at right now I had the thought to teach the Plan of Salvation. So we did. It was a good lesson, nothing that seemed to special to me but at the end he started crying and I asked him what was wrong and he was like "I feel good. I haven't felt good in a long time, but right now I feel good." It was one of the coolest moments ever. He kept talking to me and he said things I needed to hear so bad and then I started crying and it was like a bawl fest... haha. Joey is awesome though. He's hesitant about coming to church because of his poor health, but we're still going to try. He might be able to come to the Branch Christmas Social this Saturday, so pray for that! :)

ALSO! Charlene is back on date!!! Her baptism is being planned for December 27th, which is still so close to Christmas and for us it will be a "White Christmas"--I'm so excited!! Seeing people dressed in white as they prepare to go down into the waters of baptism is pretty much the most amazing thing that could ever happen in my life. I love being a part of people's lives as they move towards baptism and progress afterwards. Plus, if she's baptized on the 27th, she will be confirmed on the 28th, which I believe is the day I was confirmed.... If I'm right I was baptized and confirmed on December 28, 2002 so Charlene and I can share the day! Exciting! :)

We had some good Plan of Salvation lessons with Dasia and Rachelle this week, and they are doing well. But I have to tell y'all about our Christmas Conference that was on Saturday! Hahaha. So. Elder Giddons of the Seventy came and spoke, but he had to leave after lunch. Good thing... 'cause President Cottle said if he had stayed other funny stuff probably wouldn't have happened. President Fussell is the newest counselor to the mission presidency and he is HILARIOUS! Oh my gosh. He can play the piano and just make it a comedy! So we sang Christmas songs with him playing, and it was so much fun. President Cottle had four missionaries and some senior couple missionaries that are fairly recent converts to the Church bear their testimonies and share how the gospel has changed their lives. Well, President Fussell's wife happens to be a convert, and she too is pretty stinkin hilarious. She gets up there and the first thing she says about how joining the Church changed her life is that she's no longer an "International pole dancer." No one knew how to react... President McCoy bust up laughing and all us missionaries are wondering if we should laugh or what.... Then she gave the story--President Fussell served his mission in Japan and they have airline connections so they fly to Japan quite frequently. Once upon a time, going through customs, they had already written their reason for going to Japan but they were being asked again and they were annoyed so when they asked President Fussell he was like "My wife is an international pole dancer." Hahahahahahaha. Oh my gosh.... I can't believe he really said that! But he did, and she got him back by embarrassing him in front of all of us. Hahahahaha. It was so funny. We had a great time. They gave all the missionaries a little goody bag, a picture of Christ with our "mission culture" written on it, and a cool temple recommend holder for Christmas. Pictures to follow! It was a good conference and since we were in Macon we got to go to Panda Express for dinner, so that was pretty sweet. Worth missing the Hazlehurst Christmas parade I guess...

President Cottle just told us that another MISSION-WIDE (that doesn't happen, usually we're always split) is going to happen in January! One of the Twelve Apostles is coming, and also a member of the Seventy!!! Names haven't been announced, but oh I can't wait!!! Being on a mission is so cool :)

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves back home, getting ready for this wonderful Christmas season! Watch #HeistheGift, read a Christmas story, find someone to serve! This truly is the most WONDERFUL time of the year! I can't wait to Skype family and meet my first nephew in less than TEN DAYS!! I hope you all have the most blessed week!!! Love you!!!!

All my love,

Sister Kaylee Applegate

Transfer day....