The other day I realized that all my BYU friends were going home for Christmas...and that when they go back, I'll be going back too. It hadn't really registered until then that I'm actually going back, I really haven't thought about it that much. I prayed for my friends last week, with finals and everything. Gosh I hate finals. Only one finals week left for me...but it'll be a doozy, the worst one.
I've been making TONS of phone calls for the campaign. They give me a Verizon phone to make the phone calls with, but we odn't have reception out here so I make most of my phone calls in the K-Mart parking in my car. It gets so cold doing it and I always want to end a little early and just do more the next day. But here's the thing...it's the same with running, exercising, or other things where you want to end a little early. It's so easy to end a little early or to make excuses for not doing something, but that's what's interesting about discipline...it's tough! But it feels really good going to the end, toughening it out, and accomplishing your goals.
Next Sunday is my last Sunday in the singles ward here. I'm going to miss it. A lot of fun people and it's been kind of like being a missionary again. Last week I gave a talk and taught 2 lessons, takes me back to my good ole missionary days.
Peter Jackson is doing the Hobbit! He's actually doing 2 movies, which will come out in 2010 and 2011. He hasn't said if he wants to direct it, but he is an executive producer. Gosh I'm excited for those movies! Christmas time! I love it! Coolness in the air, the smell of firewood, snow, and pine trees. Christmas cookies, Christmas movies like Claymation Christmas, A Christmas Carol, A Year without a Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, Jack Frost, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, A Very Brady Christmas, Miracle on 34th street, Disney Christmas videos, etc. And then Christmas songs in Church. My favorites are the First Noel, Away in a Manger, Silent Night, Do You Hear What I Hear, and Angels We have Heard on High. It's Christmas! It's Christ, it's family, it's tradititions, it's everything.
My friend Honorable Moses died in Uganda. Captain Frank emailed me and said he was killed in an accident. It hurts to hear that. He was a fun kid to be around and ambitious to become a politician, that's why I called him Honorable Moses. When I'd go to the Crane School in Mukono, I would sit by Moses and we'd chat and joke around. Even though he was only 12, he knew a lot about Ugandan politics and quite a bit about American politics, we would talk a lot about politics and such. Once, when I was teaching a class about geography, I asked lots of questions about what language the people spoke in the different countries and he was able to answer many of the questions. I noticed that these kids liked talking about the world. They liked feeling a part of the bigger world. The whole time I was there he'd costantly say that he wanted me to try out the sugar cane because it was the best. One day I didn't see him at school and learned that the students who didn't have the required school materials had to leave and couldn't come back until they had them. I ran into him on the way home, he took me his home and gave me sugar cane. His home was very small and it was just obvious that his family was very poor. But Moses was always smiling and optimistic. Good kid.
He's on my right side, in the blue sweater.
That's him in the front in the blue sweater.
In the center in red.
Honorable Moses
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