Hermana Cassie Joan Gray: I looked at the Skype screen and what did I see??

Hello Family and Friends!

I am really excited that it is the Christmas season and that I will soon have the chance to see all your beautiful faces on the computer screen! :)

We have some fun plans for Christmas.. We are going to spend Christmas eve at the Feickert's (an older couple in the ward)... they are a hoot. I have a feeling we will be playing some type of games with them. Then Christmas morning our Mission President is doing a mission wide phone call to have a devotional! Which is pretty neat. Christmas we will be spending with the Maher family, the bishop, and we will have a BLAST! We are already smack talking about kicking trash in games. ;) I am excited to SKYPE you this Christmas. :) I can't wait to see you and talk to you. Be prepared.. haha.

Mom, Thanks for the package... the Oreos may already be gone... haha. Whoops... ;) I love them what can I say??

Well this week was SUPER wonderful! We had lots of fun, especially getting closer and closer to Christmas. Truly getting into the Christmas spirit.

We started off the week with exchanges. It was my first time being on an exchange and having a companion that spoke Spanish! Whoot whoot. Hermana Valdez and I stayed together and Sister Randall came with us. We spent most of our day trying potentials and former investigators. It was really fun because we are doing a bracelet game to ask for referrals and I ended up getting a Dr. Pepper from Sister Randall! :) yes, that's the spirit! haha. We had the chance to teach Jackie, a potential investigator we met at the Manteo Tree lighting. She was super interested... also made me for awkward moments. We'd passed by earlier at our appointment time and she wasn't there so we left a note... then we pulled in later thinking she'd be home... she was... but she had JUST gotten home so it was really awkward because she hadn't even gotten our note yet. But welcome to the life of the awkward missionary.. :)

I also had a blonde moment... our sister training leader asked us "Blanca means white right??" And so I am like "yeah, Blanca means white..." then I am like "wait... no Blanca is Hispanic, she's not white" (we'd just been talking about our former investigator). So welcome to my life. :)

This week we also had the Christmas Conference as a mission. We drove up to VA Beach to have it. We watched "the Polar Express" and then had a chirstmas musical session in the chapel. it was fun and I loved seeing all the Hermanas. It was a little sad too because it was our last time together as Hermanas. :( The others all leave in a week... and the ones leaving in January leave in 2 weeks. It was fun and sad to be there..

We did all perform as Hermanas though. We sang "cantan santos angeles" and Hermana Johnson even did a little marocka to add to the Spanish flavor. It was a really fun time. The musical performances weren't as good as last Christmas but they still were very special. :)

We also drove to Va beach again on Saturday to get our car state inspection. . it stunk because our car is registered in VA so we had to drive all the way there. haha. But it was nice because we got ourselves a chipotle burrito. We waited for about and hour and a half there and it was fun because the manager ended up talking to us for a while. He is acutally a member who is really less active. He was hilarious because he kept saying how he was surprised the East hadn't made us into rebels yet. But in the end we had a good conversation with him and invited him to watch the He is the Gift video. He was really kind. Then when we were checking out he told us that it was 'no charge'. So kind of him.

We ended up hitting a lot of traffic on the way home.. good times in the car. I learned a LOT about Hermana Johnson and Hermana Valdez. haha. We have too much fun together. I am going to be sad when they leave.

Overall this week was super great! Sorry my mind is really scattered... we just had a really awkward situation happen at the library... So my mind is off track now and can't focus too much.. There is creepers in this world--all I have to say.

This week I am extremely grateful for the time I have had to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. It was neat to have President Baker give us a blessing as a mission. He promised us peace through this season, a clearer understanding of the significance of the Christ child and much more.

I am truly grateful for the peace that I have felt as I have had the opportunity to repeatedly testify of the Love of our Savior. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know that He lived. He died for us. This time of the year is for us to reflect on the significance of the birth of the Christ child... a child who changed the world.

I hope you all know how much I love you, and How much I love the gospel. I am grateful to spend this time as a missionary and to have the opportunity to bring other families together for eternity.

I love you very much!

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

I'll see you on Christmas,

Hermana Gray