Not a lot of questions this week. I missed Christmas at home, it sounds like it was a blast. I am glad that Kaden got the mission pins but, I don't know why he got anything else besides NZ, I mean he will probably only wear the NZ one because it is the coolest. I wish I could have skyped but it was definitely great being able to call home. It is awesome about prince Tyler, I am sure that he loves that you guys call him that, thanks for keeping that alive for me even when I am on the other side of the world.
My Week:
I missed Christmas back home but man it was a great Christmas here. Christmas Eve was probably what I missed the most, I did open my pajamas just like normal though. Christmas Day however was great. It was a perfect summer day, definitely not the same as a white Christmas but I can't complain :)
We started the day with opening the presents in my Christmas package from home. It was awesome but it made me miss home a bit. Then we went to a Secret Santa meeting with the zone. I had Sister Williams. She is a Tongan sister from Sacramento, California. I got her a bright red cowboy hat that looked like the one from Toy Story 2. It was pretty much the same as Jessie's hat. It was a pretty good present and I think she liked it, I also got her a cheap little necklace. There was a 10 dollar limit, so no one could really go all out. Some of the best presents were: a used light saber, a Pentecostal tie, awesome Bob Marley lava lava and tons of other stuff. It was so fun just having a time to not always be serious with the zone. It was a great start to the day.
We went to dinner at the bishop's house. Bishop Lang, he is a white guy that married a Tongan women so it was a mix of white people food and Islander food. We even had mashed potatoes and taro - that never happens! This was the first time I have had both in one meal. We had both puaka and turkey. It was the first time I have had turkey since I reported. It was definitely a welcome change and it was way fun hanging out with the Lang family. I could barely force some of the food down though because I have never been so full in my life. The point where you are so full that every breath hurts is a real thing - this is the first time I have reached that point.
Something I have realized here is that Christmas is very different. It is not just the weather, I mean summer during Christmas is weird but it is more than that. The kids here aren't upset if they don't get what they want, it almost doesn't matter to them if they get anything at all. The closest thing I can compare it to would be Thanksgiving. For the people here it is more about family and food. Not so much about the presents. It was a great Kiwi Christmas and I can't wait until next year and it was great to see what really matters to the people here. I love it.
I love you guys,
Elder Summers