Hey Everyone!

Wow it's been an INTENSE week! so much going on, so much to write about! here it goes...

As you all know I am staying in Lacombe here and training a new missionary! Her name is sister Milburn and she's from Bonnie Lake Washington, just outside Seattle! It's so crazy how we grew up only a couple hours away from each other, had the same temple growing up, we're the same age and she went to BYU too. she's really nice and sooooo excited to do missionary work! i just love her! she's so fun and likes to talk! the members are just loving her and everyone is being so nice and loving to me. I just feel the missionary work booming!

So Wednesday we woke up early at 5:30 and drove into Edmonton. We had great weather and went to the riverbend stake centre where the Edmonton temple is under construction for the trainer meeting. It was great and I picked up sister Milburn! the sisters then went out for lunch at red robin for sister Thomas who was the only sister going home. I just had a feeling we should get sister Milburn a winter jacket and boots instead of waiting till pday and president agreed and thankgoodness we did! the NEXT day we had a huge snow fall and it got down to -26 during the days this week. I was so nervous to drive but took it slow and we are still in one piece! We went to dinner at the stake president's house that night and invited Anne with us to dinner and then went to the Addiction Recovery meeting with her. Anne is doing fabulous! she's gone 8 days without smoking and her Baptism is a go for this Sunday i'm SOOOOOOo excited!!!!

Thursday we found out that our district has been changed so we are meeting only every two weeks with the senior couple in Stettler and a companionship from red deer. so we didn't have district meeting but we taught anne, some member lessons really trying to get more referrals and went to the farmers market in lacombe. they had a huge Santa Claus parade in the snow and then a moonlight midnight shopping day where all the shops were open till late and the farmers market was at the convention centre. we went around talking to people and i hope something comes out of the contacts we made! we also did a little tracting and found a guy who wants us to come back! I'll keep you updated!

Friday was our planning and we also met with our investigator Stephen the french speaking guy from Quebec. i found out he's twenty six and he read from the book of Mormon. We had sister cuff come because she served her mission in France and the spirit was so strong as sister milbu
rn asked him to be baptized! he said it was a big question but that he would continue to pray to know if the book of Mormon was true ! we are really excited for him.

This weekend was stake conference and we had a visiting general authority of the first quorum of the seventy come elder Johnson? he was GREAT! and Anne loved it! we also heard from the temple president and our mission president. the spirit was so strong. The general authority recounted a story about his daughter saying that she had bought her daughters some beautiful jewelery boxes for Christmas and a smaller one for their cousin. when she showed the little girls the small one they just started balling their eyes out because they wanted it so bad. he related it to how our heavenly father has greater things then we could even imagine waiting for us! i loved it.

Emails were changed to today because we volunteered at the festival of trees in red deer and set up garland and decorated trees! it was intense! and so fun. really got me into the Christmas spirit!

well this is all for now. I'm glad you are all doing well and hope to hear from you really soon.

lots of love!

sister Wotherspoon