Allison Jo Glanzer: I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT! WOOT!

Let me set the scene this morning. I hear the voices of Sis. Donald on the phone, 15 minutes before we are due to get up. The lighting in the room seems like a very wintery light. The alarm goes off, and I roll out of bed to my knees and have my morning prayer. I groggily leave our room. Sis. Donald tells us to call the zone leaders to know our new assignment. I am still in the same apartment with Sis. Da Luz as my companion, but we knew that, First 12 Weeks! I am now in the East One Zone, and my assignment is Beehive House (Brigham Young's house). Our p-days are now Tuesdays. I HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT! WOOT! Square is great, but I really wanted to have one of the different ones! Our new roommates are both German sisters, as well as out new district leader. It was snowing outside while we were told the news. It felt like Christmas. And this snow is staying.

Friday was the first day of the lights, and it was fun. By Saturday it was old. This will be a long Christmas season. An elder in the MTC had told us that they started putting up the lights in August. The people that put the lights up are paid workers on the square. I do not envy that job. They are pretty neat, but I think the ones that go up on my house are the most beautiful ever. Temple Square is a grand elaborate beauty, and should be for a place with such wonderful history and meaning. I am not too into grandly beautiful things. But it was very fun to watch the process of it all being put up. You leave the tabernacle one night the next morning there is decorations hanging from the balcony! Speaking of the tabernacle, with the dome shaped roof, the snow slides off at high speeds and can hit people! Oh my! It was fun to watch. No one got hit, but just the chunks of ice falling. There is a little warning sign.

This whole day felt like I was getting ready to go to a Christmas concert in the high school. With our p-day schedule like the traditional p-day, it runs the same way, studies in the morning, free to do what ever that is acceptable to mission standard, then return to work at 7pm, because that's when all the people come!

Even though our schedule is set back an hour, we still have Sacrament meeting and Relief Society at the same time! Yay! Sacrifice brings great blessings.

The Family that we ate dinner with was the Andrews. They were very friendly and nice. They have 4 kids, 9, 7, 4,and 1. Boy girl boy girl. The 7-year-old girl just loved us! They feed us a good meal, and this made me very excited for when I get to go outbound and interact with members more!

We have some extra assignments during Christmas; Sing Smile Find. This is where we sing Christmas hymns for about 30 minutes. Some sisters don't sing and talk to the people watching us. Christus, where we control traffic and one of three companionships bears their testimonies of Jesus and gives a little more info about exiting the location, but we are still able contact people and share with them. Being at the bottom of the ramp it the best. We have sisters at theaters, and four sisters running God's Plan for His Family, as well as one set at the temple model, then you have the usual desk assignments and others.

After the first Sing Smile Find, a guy came up to me, it was Elder Wilson! He was one of the elders that taught Daisy for two weeks before she was baptized, except now he is Scott. He has been home for about three weeks. He saw my name tag and recognized my name! Joey Hodges also found me, like she said she would! This was all the first day of the lights! Sis da Luz and I also had a lot of success too as missionaries with 31 missionary contacts. We got four new investigators and gave four copies of the Book of Mormon! Yonder local missionaries, we will be sending them too you!

I will say, again and again, personal study is so great! You know those things that you have been told or heard all the time and kind of accepted it? The majority of them have a scripture somewhere to support it! Such as this time being the last dispensation of the fullness of time, its sight scripture is in Corinthians 1:10! Who knew? I do now!

A tough thing about telling everyone all the time about Light the World is to try not to sound like I am campaigning. Because it is really cool and I would like everyone to be excited about it, but too much can run over the spirit trying to enter into the hearts of the people. But with this theme there are so many way to connect it to the lights on temple square, Christ, the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and even for someone to take home a brand new Book of Mormon! But I need to do it in away that I don't overwhelm people with all the information and be able to invite the Holy Ghost! Tricky but little by little, I know that I will find the best way for each individual; this is why we do role-plays.

It has been snowing all day here, or maybe I actually just moved to a different part of Washington. Ha!

This is where I am needed, and we really do need sisters here. You wouldn't believe how crazily we need sister to cover things and get to their assignments on time! With this next transfer we are getting 20 new sisters and about 15-20 returning from outbound mission.

I invite you all to really take the time and do the Light the World challenge, religious or not, doing good is always needed, and I promise all ya'll that your goodness and kindness will be returned someway back to you. Go and do! This theme and idea is truly inspired.

Christmas is coming, so how will you make it a good one for yourself and others?

Sister Allison Jo Glanzer, Eastern Washington, north central, two hours north of Wenatchee, 20 minutes from Canada, the dry side.