He is the reason for the season!

Hello, world! Merry Christmas!!

I can't even believe that Christmas is already here- the time is just slipping through my fingers!

So much has happened this past week; it seems like much more than 8 days when I last emailed!

Firstly, my previous companion is now HOME! It was such an honor to be her last companion on the mission and I am so immensely grateful for all that I was able to learn from her. She is such an inspiration to me of the kind of hardworking, patient, fun missionary that I want to be!

Sister Boss left me on Tuesday of last week (holy cow, 1 week ago!) and 2 days later I picked up my new companion, Sister Men! She is a brand new missionary, straight from the MTC and she is awesome! She is so spunky and full of energy, but so kind and genuine! I love her so much already!

The 2 days that I was companionless, I was still in McMinnville, but I was in a trio with the spanish sisters, Hermana Plowman and Hermana Kilpack. It was really fun but also kinda weird! I don't know ANY spanish, so in lessons I would just sit there and try to look like I was paying attention, but slowly falling asleep on the inside because I couldn't say a word. But it was great! I learned a lot from them and I got to know them pretty well in just the couple days I was with them!

I also celebrated an anniversary this past week...6 months!! WHAT?!? I'm officially 1/3 of the way done with my mission and it hurts my heart. It's crazy to look back at the person I used to be when I left home, and the person that I am today. I have learned so so much, especially about the Book of Mormon and the gospel, and my testimonies of the principles that I teach every day have grown tenfold!

I can't fully put into words the gratitude I have for the gospel in my life...now that I have the opportunity to study it each day and my companion and I teach it to those who don't have it...I know that I could never live without the gospel in my life. It is just too important!

The blessings we can receive and the lessons we can learn far outreach the sacrifices.

The past couple days have been a little hard- no one wants to have lessons with the missionaries during the holidays!! I felt bad that Sister Men hasn't been able to teach many lessons the first week of her mission. Yesterday we didn't have a single thing planned, so when we weren't eating or studying, we were walking! We estimated that we walked about 7ish miles yesterday and it was super fun! It gave us plenty of time to talk and get to know each other. It was such a blessing though that most of the time we walked, it wasn't raining!

A Christmas miracle!!

Lesson of the Week: Everything will work out!!

I tend to stress myself out when things don't go as planned or when we don't have things planned, and we've seen a lot of that this past week! Sometimes missionary work is just harder than other times and these past couple days I've had a lot of feelings of inadequacy.

With a lot of prayer and study, I've felt a lot better. Yesterday morning, even though we didn't have a single thing planned, I had a lot of peace.

I know that it is only the gospel that can give us lasting peace and comfort. It gives me joy beyond description and I'm so thankful for the gospel in my life!

Thank you for all your love and support! I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and keep in your minds and hearts the true gift of Christmas- our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He truly is the reason for the season. I know that as we learn of Him, our faith will continue to grow, as will our desire to be better people and disciples of Jesus Christ.

I am so thankful to be here in Oregon, serving the people and teaching about Jesus Christ. I love this work!

Merry Christmas! Send me a quick email or letter and tell me about how your faith grew this Christmas season! 

Love you all!

Sister McCown