I Got An Awesome Christmas Present

     There's so much I wish I could say right now that I can't because there's a lot of interesting things happening right now that I can't talk about, but luckily for you guys there's also a lot of interesting things I can talk about, so enjoy those. 

      Something I neglected to say on my last email is that I legitimately accidentally ran into my cousin and got to talk with him which was so much fun because it had been over 3 years since I'd last seen him. Me and my comp had stopped at a church building to use the bathroom and I checked out the cultural hall to see what was happening and sure enough they were setting up for the return party of a missionary in my cousins mission. Then I asked the returned missionary if they knew my cousin and sure enough they did and told me he would be coming to the party, which was so exciting and crazy. I hadn't communicated with him directly in years and had no idea where in the world he was so it was crazy to accidentally run into him. I love that guy and it really was so great to see and talk with him. 

       I got to see a small miracle this week that I think was pretty cool. It's been freezing here, everyday my toes and hands are just absolutely frozen. Anyways, one day this week on exchanges an Elder forgot his gloves, so I decided to give him one of my pairs. I have 2 pairs of gloves, I have a really nice pair and a really thin pair. I decided that I would give him the really nice pair and keep the thin ones for myself. I absolutely froze that night. My toes were numb, my ears were cold, my nose was frozen. Every part of me was freezing, except my hands. Somehow my hands stayed warm for all those hours outside, which doesn't make logical sense. I learned that the saying is true, the more that you give the more that you recieve. I don't believe if I'd given him the thin gloves that my hands would've been as warm as they were because I was so very cold that night and I know that God blesses those who sacrifice their wants for others. 

      I survived my first Christmas on the mission! It was actually pretty nice. I didn't really feel all that homesick. It would've been really nice to have been home, but it wasn't so bad being away from home. The only time I really got homesick on Christmas was when I opened the gifts that people sent to me, it was just so lonely. I really do appreciate everything that I was given though, anytime anyone gives thought and effort for me, especially when I'm not around, I really appreciate it. I will say, my favorite gift that I got was an In-N-Out onesie. It just fits my personality so perfectly and it's awesome. 

      Other than that, I'm still struggling with my companion and it's only gotten worse. I'm not going to go into more detail at the moment, but I'm finally taking the action needed for things to change because it's just been rather miserable recently, but I'm doing well. Even though it hasn't been fun, depression has not been an issue and I'm feeling God's love for me and I'm being guided by him. 

                 I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, Elder Blacker