Is that true?
Dear Family and Friends,
Last night we were giving our district leader a ride home after an activity. He asked me, "Elder Sheffer, in Fresno I worked with Elder and Sister Jones. They told me that the Senior Couples only have two rules. One is that they have to take a nap every day. The other is they have to go on a date each week. Is that true?"
I told him, "No, we don't have to take a nap unless we want too."
We have tried hard to adhere to the young elders rules as much as possible. We do call or skype our family, we are using the internet often, and we don't care how many miles we put on our car. Lately we have split up a little. One goes to one ward and one to another to support our investigators, but that is rare. Other than those few things, we are pretty close to the young elders rules.
We don't have to worry about working through lunch, working on Preparation Day, staying out late, and going out early. We do those things quite a bit. The young Elders and Sisters aren't allowed to.
We do follow many rules. We leave our heater no higher than 68. We have our air conditioner no colder than 75. That is sometimes hard. Yesterday in the rain Sister Sheffer said, "Let's run into our cold cave for protection. We back each other out. I even videoed that once in the rain and put it on our Facebook page. Each Senior Mission is so different. The Mission President told us when we came that he doesn't worry about the Senior Missionaries. They have lived the gospel for a lifetime and can make their own rules. "Just make sure you get your studying in." he told us. In talking to other couples he told them something else. We hadn't been dating for almost a year when the President Gelwix told us he wants us to have a date night every week. He said if things are tight you could just spend a couple of hours. We are working on that. Going on a date isn't what missionaries do. We have gone to ward parties, the temple, and other functions. We do go watch investigators concerts or plays. If you count those kind of things we're not doing bad, especially in December. But, just to sit and watch a movie or go do some activity with just each other is super hard for us. There are just too many other valuable things that could be done.
Well, it is Christmas Eve today. This will be my fourth Christmas in the mission fields of California. Two of them with the same companion. Each one is so different. Today is Preparation day. We spent it getting ready for the week, we spent some time with Elders watching a Christmas video Brave, and we skyped with family. We visited Bert and Julie's home where they hosted the "Bethlehem Dinner". There was a lot of family there. We visited Merrill and Meg's where it is already Christmas Morning in Japan. And now we go to dinner with the young Elders to be their chaperone in a single mother's home. We have a couple of investigators to see, then we'll be back home. We aren't to visit members on Mondays, except this Christmas Eve. We were able to visit a family and help the father set up a trampoline. We think it came from Santa's sleigh unassembled so he needed some special help..
We have a lot of pictures. Sister Sheffer setting up for a Christmas Dinner; .Us at the Navtivity at the Temple in Fresno; Sister Sheffer by a tree we found that actually turns colors and looses its leaves in December; Us with Santa and Mrs. Claus; and a cake decorated like a hamburger.
Have a wonderful Christmas with your family. Teach your little one or your grand kids about the meaning of Christmas and the baby Jesus. Talk about Him and sing about Him. Let us not forget the Christ Child who became our Savior. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve Him in order for us to learn the true meaning of Christmas and of His teaching. (Elder Sheffer took this last part from our friends letter, Sister Cropper. It is so true)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Love you all.
Elder & Sister Sheffer
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