Sean McAlister Called to Serve: A great Christmas week

A very busy Christmas week for Elder McAlister with lots of ward and mission activities. We got to Skype with him on Christmas day for about 40 minutes, and he sounded and looked great.

He liked his Christmas package, and has already eaten a good bit of the food that was sent. On top of all the holiday activity, he found out he will be getting a new companion, his 8th while in Chile and fresh out of the MTC. He will be training this time, and seems excited about it.

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Well Christmas came and went really fast, but it was really awesome to talk to you guys, and I really had a good time. I wish we could have talked a little bit more, but that’s okay I loved the little time we had. I really hope that you guys had a good Christmas and I hope Sabrina got a visit from Santa. Sounds like you guys had a busy week and it really looks like you guys got some snow finally. I really hoped that everyone had a great holiday. I am sure it is weird just having Sabrina in the house and Brooke and Todd in Oklahoma, it was a different Christmas for you guys. I am glad everyone is doing well and I hope that Todd can do well on the test so that you guys can return to Utah. I hope that Tillie gets better and that’s a bummer for her. I can’t wait to see what the basement looks like when you guys finish, it sounds like it coming along! Jessica and Derek! You guys ate orange rolls without me! How rude haha!

Well this week we had a ton of activities and we all ended up going to Chillan for a conference and there was about 280 missionaries there. It was really cool and every zone did a sketch or sang a song about Christmas, but it was an awesome activity. President and his family was there even his kids came to visit the mission and it was fun. It was really fun to see all the missionaries that I have gotten to know through my mission and it was crazy. We had a ton of food and a lot of treats! They made a video for the mission and it was really good. It really focused on getting married in the temple so it was kind of weird for a mission video, but it still was good. Then we got to hear a message from a member of the Quorum of the Seventy, but I don’t know him. But it was a really good activity.

This week we also sang in the hospital and we had one of the Elders dress up as Santa Claus. It was a really good activity and people really seemed to like it. We ended up singing for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. So by the end we started sing really bad and really off tune. We were also giving out some gifts to little kids and there seemed to get happy when Santa came around giving them some gifts.

We also ended up going to the church for a different activity and we played some dodge ball and basketball and soccer. Really I only played dodge and I was so happy because I can still throw pretty fast and hard. It was a good long activity and after that I got to talk to you guy on Skype and that was really fun. It really made my Christmas and this time you guys appeared really clear on the screen and we didn’t have that many problems.

We had cambios and I will be training a new missionary. I don’t know who it is yet! Tomorrow we have a conference and we get to meet our new comps and I well probably be getting a Latino but I am not sure. But as we say here in the mission I will be having my first son. But Elder Mills is leaving and he is going out to Tome. I am pretty happy with cambios and I am really excited to be training a new missionary. CRAZY!!!

We are really working on just finding and working with less active members. We are still working with Thomas but he is going to take a long time to convert him, and we are letting him read the Book of Mormon really good. Other than that we are really focused on finding people and that has been just a struggle in all Concepcion.

I hope that you have a good week and it was great talking to you guys and I really can’t believe next time is the last time we are talking on Skype. I hope that you have a good and safe week and I want you guys to know that I love you!

Love you guys!

Elder McAlister

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Spiritual thought time! I am sticking with Christmas thought for one more week, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said the following"

"While the Christmas season is typically a time for looking back and celebrating the birth of our Lord, it seems to me that it should also be a time of looking to the future. Let us look forward. Let us prepare for that blessed day when He will come again. Let us be as wise as those ancients who watched for His coming."

This really sums up what we should be doing all the time, not just at Christmas time, preparing for when Christ comes again, but Christmas is a great reminder to us each year. The message of Christ is after all the "Gospel" or the "Good News".

Until next week, have a very Happy New Year! Enjoy a bunch of pictures from this weeks email from Elder McAlister....