It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

I was going to title this post "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" but these are pictures we took this week, and the sun shining on a beautiful 65 degree day in December doesn't really scream Christmas to a girl who has spent every Christmas of her life in Utah.

I have to admit, we are not complaining about this weather one little bit.  It is, however, beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, in fact Christmas is alive and well in Sacramento.  Here are a few things we have been able to experience over the past few weeks.  

The Folsom Stake holds a live Nativity every year.  We live in the Folsom Stake and it has been fun to see how everyone gets together to make this happen.  It is held at the Temple and is a great missionary opportunity for people to bring non member family and friends to feel of the spirit and to see and understand that we really do believe in Jesus Christ.  Our missionaries were there every night and after each performance they would offer guests a Book of Mormon and/or a tour around the temple.  I think it was fun for them to participate in, and there were so many people attend that the Folsom Zone needed more help and we recruited some missionaries from neighboring zones to help.  I was blown away at the magnitude of the production and of the work and effort that went into it.  It was incredibly well done and more importantly, the spirit was in great abundance.  We had been so busy that I hadn't slowed down to really feel the spirit of Christmas much, and as I sat there and felt the spirit I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the Christmas season and the opportunity we have to celebrate the birth of the greatest Man who ever walked this earth.  I am grateful for the chance to slow down and just feel!

 A Jerusalem marketplace set up in the cultural hall where people waited for their turn to attend a performance of the Live Nativity. They had a performance every 30 minutes, four nights in a row.  I didn't get a solid number but someone told me they figured they had somewhere close to 6000 guests over the four nights

On the way from the church to the bottom of the hill where the Nativity took place they had several fields full of Shepherds watching their flocks.

 We were walked through this even larger and more authentic Jewish marketplace

Off to the side was the tent of the Wisemen

It's hard to capture the magnitude of the set, the cast, and the angel choir in a picture, but it was magnificent.

This is our Folsom Zone with some Roman Centurians, who luckily let them stay on the premises. They had a table with Book of Mormons to give away, and they even had a table with hot chocolate they were passing out.  It was a wonderful event. 

Also last weekend the Sacramento Stake held their 11th and final Nativity exhibit.  I have been to many of these over the years because I absolutely love Nativities and have a fairly large collection of them.  I have to say, I have never seen anything like this Nativity exhibit.  Every room was transformed and filled with Nativities and music and it was unbelievable.  Our missionaries also helped at this event and was a wonderful thing for them to be involved in.  This is the last year the Sacramento Stake will be doing this and I am sad about that, but so grateful we were here to experience it for ourselves.  

They also had a live nativity that the primary children put on in the cultural hall every hour, and on Sunday, the closing night, they had a big Christmas musical performance.  Unfortunately we couldn't stay for that, because we were moving on to the Elk Grove Stake where they had a performance of The Messiah by a Community Choir.  It, also was unbelievably well done and we were definitely feeling the Christmas spirit after last weekend.

If that is not enough, tis the season for ward parties.  We happened to be at the office on a Friday night and the sisters that go to that building came and told me I had to come and see the decorations for their ward party that night.  It was themed after How the Grinch Stole Christmas and I thought I had entered Whoville as I walked into the gym. 

I do have to say, I was a little disappointed when we were talking to some Elders about how amazing the decorations were and I mentioned that I bet they were have Roast Beast for dinner.  One of them looked at me and in all seriousness said "Sister Hymas, what is Roast Beast"?  After I picked my jaw up off the floor I asked him if he was serious, if he really didn't know about Roast Beast, that it's what the Grinch stole, and then carved at the end of the story, after he made his transformation from bad to good.  He said he had never read or heard the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he'd only seen the Jim Carrey movie.  He may be getting that story read to him by me before the holidays are over.  

Interestingly enough, our own Silva Valley Ward had our ward party this Thursday and the theme was also based on How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  This was their amazing interpretation of Whoville

Scott even got called up to be in the Whoville Chime Choir, a little to his chagrin, but he was a good sport.

I absolutely love the creativity of people, and the fact that they are so consecrated to share their gifts, time and talents with others.  

For the past two weeks we have had interviews with all of the missionaries in the mission.  It takes a full two weeks to get to every zone and interview each of the 132 missionaries that we have in the mission.  I love visiting with each of them individually, while the other companion is in with interviews with Scott.  I have been pleasantly surprised that not many of them are very homesick this time of year.  Of course, they miss home and their families, but they are all so happy to be missionaries at Christmas.  Most of them talk about how they love the spirit and the kindness that people feel during the Christmas season.  I was ready to bouy them all up, but they always end up bouying me up because of the spirit they bring with them.  

We did have some time to see a few visitors this week.  We were able to squeeze in a dinner with Karl and Leslie Anderson.  Karl and Scott worked together for many many years and he was in town checking on the new store.  It was fun to see them for a bit.  

As a side note, I love that we can walk out of a restaurant on December 13 and be fine in a sweater. Have I said enough times how much we love the weather here???

We also had our darling Sister Brown, she now goes by Jessica, back in town and we were thrilled to be able to visit with her and her dad for a bit on Friday.  We love our missionaries and are so grateful and blessed to be close enough for them to come back occasionally and visit.  

On a final and more serious note: I usually try to sanitize this blog a bit and only write about the wonderful, happy and positive things that go on in a mission, and there is plenty of that to write about.  And let's be honest, no one wants to hear about the hard things.  But there are some very hard things out here, and over the past few weeks we have seen our fair share of hard.  When missionaries struggle, we ache for them.  One thing I have realized out here is that many of our missionaries are fighting an unseen battle, and they give it all they've got and fight so hard, and sometimes, when they just can't fight anymore, it breaks my heart.  One afternoon this week it finally all hit me and I had a good long cry for these brave souls who try so hard and have an uphill battle to climb, and I cried for their good and loving families who only want the very best for them. I have come to understand that emotional issues are real, anxiety and depression are real, and what missionaries, and their families, and really, what we all need is love and compassion and acceptance, and never, ever any judging.  I love the quote by Ian McLaren: “Let us be kind, one to another, for most of us are fighting a hard battle.”. How we love our missionaries and pray for each of them and the battles they fight.