Two Christmas Events

We enjoyed our Christmas Devotional with all the temple workers. It is the one time a year that the temple can pull everyone who serves in the temple into a single meeting. We were pleasantly surprised by how lovely and enjoyable it was. The head gardener at the temple was responsible for decorating the chapel of a nearby stake. It was very different from anything I have seen in the states. He had the whole temple lot to pull from and there were many, many flowers and greens in the front of the chapel and at the back on the stage in the cultural hall. I do not have any photos, of course, but it was impressive and made the chapel feel very festive. They also had a choir that obviously had some professional talent. They did several numbers and there were solos as well. It was wonderful. My favorite part was the talks. I was surprised that each one was concise and I gleaned some important concepts. I was taking notes. I should do that more. It helps me concentrate. What I wrote down may not be exactly what was said. I will share some of the ideas I wrote down:

1. If we understand the temple we will live what we learn there.
2. We need to adopt the culture of the temple.
3. One worker (Eme Vera) explained that when the temple was built here, she and her husband wanted to return to Guayaquil where they had been born. They made it happen, found a small house very near the temple and made attending and serving in the temple an important focus of their family life. She said it has helped her family feel peace, find additional strength and understand the atonement more clearly. She said we should learn from our Heavenly Parents in the temple just as children learn from their parents in the home.
4. President Groberg talked of his childhood home. He said he was the 7th child with lots of brothers and sisters older than he was and also lots that were younger. John H. Groberg (The Other Side of Heaven) is one of his older brothers. He said it was the tradition in their home that his mother read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. He said many years later in his own home he invited his mother to read again and worried that she would not be able to see the words. He found that she had the entire chapter memorized.

It was a meeting we were very glad we attended. Unfortunately, we do not feel that way after every meeting we attend. (Probably more a reflection on us than on the meetings.)

Last Monday was our turn to present a Family Home Evening for the Senior Temple Missionaries, President and Sister Groberg and the family that manages our building. We were determined not to have a lecture type lesson. So, Grandpa wanted to show the PEF movie and I wanted to do a craft. We made Nativity scenes with some printed figures and watched the videos while coloring and cutting and pasting.  I think most enjoyed the diversion and they did like the refreshments. We had hot chocolate, cornflake cookies, toffee bars and cinnamon sugared almonds.

Christmas is coming very quickly. Enjoy, appreciate your loved ones, and remember the wonderful gifts for us from our Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ.

Love, Lewis and Jeri