Merry Christmas!

So, as a mother, one of the things that I thought might be hard sending a missionary out
would be missing holidays with them, and wondering if they would be
 okay missing those holidays with us.

I don't know how Jaden will feel today as he misses
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day traditions,

but reading his letter this week, I'm glad to know he is
experiencing what Christmas is all about.

I usually don't share his letters, but I thought it was appropriate
 to share part of his letter from this week.

	Dec 22 (2 days ago)
This week was once again pretty swell. We have two more Elders serving in my area now!.. Its great to have them here. (Just because they were new this week I got out of speaking in Sacrament meeting this week!) As for missionary work, its kind of been the same old same old. We had a great lesson with (name has been removed to protect the innocent!) this week though. We had him read a part of Alma 12, about the Fall of Adam. He understood it so perfectly, and even said "This is just my thought, but I don't think Adam was being punished by being kicked out of Eden. I think it was a blessing." Elder Suman and I knew exactly where to turn, and had him read 2 Nephi 2:22-25. (He) just laughed and said "Its my thought!" We will continue teaching him, even though right now he still isn't sure God exists. He did get us some earmuffs as a Christmas gift, which just made me so happy for his kind act. This week seemed to be full of them. One day (my companion) and I were walking to the Church, and had about 10 minutes before we would get there. A man who comes to our free English class passed by and pulled over and offered us a ride. Once again, I was just happy and felt so much love. Another night, while we were tracting an apartment building, and kind woman opened her door, saw us, and said "Just a moment." She disappeared from view, and when she came back she had a bag of dok, or rice bread. (Its really chewy and normally you have it in soup or a saucy dish). She then talked to us for about forty minutes and just told us how grateful she was to us because every person needs to hear about God. In Korea, giving gifts is huge. We asked her if in return for giving us the dok we could give her a Book of Mormon, and I think we almost brought her to tears. Once again, I felt so much love. Last night, us, the new Elders, and the Sisters, went to a train station and carroled. The Sisters made a big sign that said "Merry Christmas" and we just sang and sang for an hour or so. Some people just stopped to listen, others just smiled as they passed by. One kind lady passed by, and a few minutes later came back with loaves of bread and cookies for us. I loved the spirit of love I felt as I sang hymns in a foriegn language to people I don't know. So this week was quite good. I hope you all can have an excellent week in finding ways to show love for others. Have a Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Roskelley
 

 I feel so grateful that others are taking care of and watching out for

Jaden as he serves the Lord.  The acts of kindness were simple,

but they obviously made a huge impact on Jaden this week.

Last week, Jaden sent a couple of pictures out showing how he was

getting into the Christmas spirit by decorating his apartment 

and building a snowman.

I think the snowman looks like a Sumo Wrestler!

  Jaden said in a letter to his brother that he might have an opportunity to play Santa at

their ward party.  Last night when I got home from a family party,

I checked my e-mail and found that the ward mission leader had

sent an e-mail with some pictures of Jaden playing Santa!

He said he was the best Caucasian he knew who could fill the role!

 (The sister and little girl are the ward mission leader's family.)

 

 

I'm sure Jaden enjoyed it!

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

It looks like it's been a good one for Elder Roskelley!
P.S.--I can't wait to talk to him tomorrow night!!!!

Nice Surprise!

So, I woke up to a nice surprise this morning!

A young man from Korea had e-mailed me these pictures of

Jaden and his companion shoveling snow!

And, of course, Jaden is doing it WITHOUT his coat!

Some things never change.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share.

It was fun to hear from someone who Jaden is probably serving in some way.

First Baptism

 Yesterday, I had the opportunity to give a report on Jaden's mission in Sacrament meeting.

One of the speakers had a family emergency, so they filled in with the parents of those serving from our ward.  I reported that I thought Jaden was a little discouraged because a couple of baptisms that had been scheduled fell through.
What I didn't know was that just the day before

(Sunday in Korea, Saturday in the USA) Jaden had the opportunity to baptize

a 72 year old gentleman that the sister missionaries have been teaching.

Jaden's companion is the District Leader, so when he was interviewing this brother,

the man told Jaden's companion that he wanted the "big, tall one" to baptize him!

Jaden was shocked because he can barely talk to him, but of course, he was willing

and was grateful for the experience.  Jaden said this man is a very kind person.

The group picture is a bit blurry, but it's all of the ward minus a family of seven 

that was out of town that day. I think they're going to be a great support to this new member.

 The last picture is the city Jaden is serving in.

 He said the city is probably about five times bigger than what is shown here.

Other than the baptism, Jaden and his companion are teaching two brothers right now.

They taught a lesson to the younger brother on Monday night, and when

they got home, the mother called to see if they could come back the next night.

Of course they said yes, and when they went back on Tuesday night, 

the older brother also was taught.  Jaden seems to think it's promising.

His letter sounded very positive and upbeat this week.

I think being able to see the change in the lives of those he's serving 

is making a change in his own life.

Makes me happy!