It's always hard to be away from family during the holidays, so we tried to stay as busy as possible. Our week was filled with a sweet Christmas spirit, especially because of our feelings of deep gratitude for the birth of our Savior. What a gift his life and resurrection are to us. We went to church on Christmas morning. The International Ward met with the German Offenback 1st Branch, and we enjoyed the beautiful intermingling of languages as we sang, some people in German and some in English. The prayer on the bread was given in English, and the prayer on the water was said in German. Some women wore dresses, and others wore pant suits. Elder Teixeira spoke about the signs of Christ's birth, and choirs from both our ward and the branch performed. It was a beautiful and uplifting service.
Following the meeting, we were invited to the baptism of a man named Godfrey. He was baptized by one of our priests, as our Bishop likes to give our youth many leadership opportunities in preparing them for their missions. In fact, some are called as Ward Mission Leaders. What a special Christmas Sabbath Day!
After church we were invited over to Gilles and Larissa Francois' home for Christmas dinner. The table was beautifully set with decorations and a Raclette Grill. We had a most enjoyable meal with their sweet family and thoroughly enjoyed being with their cute three children, Thibault, Benoit, and Guillaum, who were patiently waiting for evening to come to open their presents under the tree.
Their desserts were so delicious. We brought almond sweet rolls (Susan Maughan's recipe). Yum!
The Raclette experience was so much fun that the next day we decided to try it at our place. Some previous wonderful missionary couple left it here to bless our lives.
A high point was being able to enjoy phone or Skype chats with our dear family for five hours. It was so wonderful to get to experience some of their Christmas fun. We love our family so dearly, just hearing their voices was the greatest Christmas gift. Our home ward sent us a large box of little gifts and thoughtful cards that we enjoyed opening. What fun! We are thankful for these contacts with home.
On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a delicious brunch with 35 other missionary friends. We had such a feast with egg casseroles, crepes, fruit bowls, and even a waffle bar. We enjoyed visiting with our friends and then we played a fun gift exchange game. We passed wrapped gifts to the left or right as The Night Before Christmas (revised edition) was read. You can find it here to play next Christmas: www.LetsCelebrateXmas.com
That afternoon several of us went over to the Church offices and watched It's a Wonderful Life. We had a candy exchange and enjoyed sharing treats for the movie.
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