The True Spirit of Christmas

This week's letter will be short, because I'm not very prepared this week, and they've started asking missionaries to really focus on keeping their email time shorter.  They have extended it from 1 hour to 2 though, so I'll still have plenty of time to email as long as I'm more prepared than I am this week!

We had interviews with President Snow this week!  We have them every 3 months, and It's always so great to be able to meet with him!  He's a great man, and always has a lot of good advice!  

Exchanges this week were really good!  For those of you who don't know, exchanges are where you essentially switch companions for 24 hours.  It's a great chance to learn from other missionaries and to mix up the day to day routine a little bit.  On this exchange I was actually in an area that has a car, which is something I no longer take for granted! All of you people driving cars instead of riding bikes or walking, take a moment to be thankful for it this holiday season!  

I've been thinking a lot this last week about what the true spirit of Christmas is.  I think President Monson said it best when he said that "All we need to do to find the true spirit of Christmas is remove the last syllable, and it becomes the spirit of Christ."  I've been loving being able to focus more on the savior at this time of year, and I always love to see everyone else be just a little bit kinder and a little bit more generous. 

I'll be sure to be more prepared next week so that I can write a longer letter!  I love you all!

Have a blessed week!
Elder Excell

Q&A - 12/7/151.) Is the bleach in the bottle to kill the cockroaches or to clean up after the kill? (This made us laugh!!) --The bleach is for the kill, haha.  Probably not the most humane response, but I've never felt an overabundance of empathy for cockroaches.

2.) We loved your thoughts on learning to be happy in the moment instead of waiting for the next big thing! What are some of the simple pleasures you took time to enjoy this week? --I love the sunsets in Las Vegas!  I've been appreciating the cold a lot too!  On exchanges this week, I was in an area with a car!  That is something I hope I never take for granted again! haha.