Priscilla Preaches: 'Twas the Pday Before Christmas

Sister Missionaries at the Zone Conference in Topsham, Maine

'Twas the P-Day Before Christmas and throughout the world
Missionaries were anxiously sharing the word.
Preparing by shopping and cleaning their places,
And writing home letters, bringing smiles to faces.
Two particular sisters, serving in Maine,
Worked hard to stay warm, even harder to stay sane.
For Christmas was coming and just the week prior
They were busy working hard, like oxen in the mire.
So here is the tale of Sisters Daughety and Wright
Their daily adventures from morning to night.

A P-Day ago, after writing their letters
As a district they caroled and dawned ugly sweaters.
So last P-Day we had a district P-Day where we wore ugly sweaters. I got my sweater (more like sweat shirt) a week before at Goodwill for $6 and I love it because it's Rudolph. I love Rudolph, he's my favorite animated Christmas movie. Well, maybe besides Charlie Brown. Anyway, we all wore our ugly sweaters and fulfilled my lifelong dream of eating spaghetti with maple syrup and candy on top like Elf. I was honestly really excited but was so disappointed. 0/10, would not recommend spaghetti with syrup and candy. Especially if it's cold. Don't do it. I think everyone was disappointed by how it was though. We cheered up when we went caroling at a rehab center where one of our investigators was staying. She really enjoyed having 11 missionaries come and sing to her. And the rehab center workers enjoyed it so much too that they had us carol up and down the halls for all the patients which was sweet. Monday was a good day.

"Ugly sweaters but adorable faces"

Tuesday and Wednesday we worked really hard
Searching for people, handing pass a long cards.
Tuesday and Wednesday were normal proselyting days as we searched for less active members in our area. A lot of them had moved from the addresses we had recorded but we were able to give the current residents ”A Savior is Born” cards. We really tried to share the video with them on the spot but giving them the card to explore the website is good too. We also saw our investigator who is getting baptized this Saturday and finished putting together her program! We are so excited for her as she starts to make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father!

Thursday was a zone conference focused on Christ
Celebrating his birth and his atoning sacrifice.
Tis not just the holiday that excited the mission
For conference is where we learned the 2016 vision.
Zone conference in Topsham, Maine was super powerful. President and Sister Stoker and President and Sister Hawkes gave some powerful talks on the life of Christ and why we need Him in our lives and in our hearts. We were also really excited to see the 2016 mission vision! It honestly shocks me to realize we are going into the 2016 because I had always written the entire year off because I knew I would be on the mission for that time so to see it happen really confuses me. But in a good way! Anyway, the mission vision is encouraging us to work a lot more with members which I know definitely will makes a positive improvement in the missionary efforts here. And conference is always a good time to catch up with fellow missionaries, especially former companions which Sister Daughety has a bajillion of. Speaking of Sister Daughety she was super cool in sharing her talent of poetry writing at zone conference for the talent show. The talent show itself was so good! Christmas as a missionary is just so cool!

The sisters that night made sure to get eight hours of slumber
For Friday night they performed a comedic musical number.
The ward laughed and giggled for their song was fire.
Literally, the firemen came, I am not a liar.
Friday was the ward variety show which Sister Daughety and I were asked to perform in (which was clearly more important than a certain franchise's seventh movie release). Technically both sets of missionaries were asked to perform but the elders didn't get something together. Sister Daughety and I realized we had talents in song parody writing so we wrote a song/comedy performance to the tune of "Up on the Rooftop" for New England missionaries. So sing a long and imagine it in our awkward glory:

Up to the doorstep
By Sister Daughety and Sister Wright (copyWright)

Going to the doorstep beneath the stars
Trying to avoid getting hit by cars
It's only three in the afternoon
Why is everything dark so soon?

Ho Ho Ho -
Sister Daughety: Your countenance glows
      Sister Wright: Oh, that's so sweet, but I think it's my reflective gear.
      Sister Daughety: No, it's definitely the spirit
Ho Ho Ho -
Sister Daughety: Oh! Let's sing Let It Go-
    Sister Wright: NO! We are NOT doing that! That is overdone and this is a church function!
    Sister Daughety: Alright fine, I'll let it go.
Up to the doorstep tap tap tap
Oh-
Sister Wright: We're sorry we disturbed your nap... Why is he asleep, it's four o'clock?
     Sister Daughety: Its New England, once the sun goes down the sidewalks roll up and go to               sleep. There's nothing to do.
      Sister Wright: Yeah I guess not.

We love New England don't get us wrong
But we've been outside too long
We can't feel our toes or face
We press on keeping up the pace
      *holds up picture of Elder Pace*
      Us: Get it, Elder Pace. Like Elder Pace? It's a pun.

Ho Ho Ho -
Sister Wright: Oh boy more snow...
      Sister Daughety: You sound so excited
      Sister Wright: No I'm not, where I'm from there is no snow
       Sister Daughety: Yeah, so that makes you more excited
       Sister Wright: No...
Ho Ho Ho -
Sister Wright: MY FINGERS FROZE. AND YOU KNOW WHY?
       Sister Daughety: Why?
       Sister Wright: BECAUSE IT'S SNOWING.
       Sister Daughety: Sorry about that. Frozen fingers to match your blisters. Awful.
Up to the doorstep click click click
Rejected once again as the clock goes tick

Sister Wright: Ok I don't want to sound like a downer but our song is kinda sad.
Sister Daughety: Well yeah, this is all really sad. I mean, we get rejected, we get frozen, we can't even sing Frozen.
Sister Wright: Ok we are never singing Frozen, let that go.
Sister Daughety: Alright fine, that song never bothered me anyway
Sister Wright: And two, we have happy things to sing about. We should sing the happy things
Sister Daughety: Yeah sure, let's bring the spirit in and sing about the happy things.
Sister Wright: Let's do it

We love the lord and so we try
To invite you to discover why
He loves you dearly can't you see?
The reason behind the Christmas tree
Ho Ho Ho - faith will grow
Ho Ho Ho - through wind and snow
Up to the doorstep knock knock knock
Be sure we're in by nine o'clock
*checks watch* it's 8:50. Alright well by everyone!

The ward loved it and we have since had to do two encore performances for families. It's just good to know at least Sister Daughety and I aren't the only ones who think we're hilarious. And after the variety show while we were helping clean up some plastic wrap was left on a stove in the kitchen and the church building smoked up and the alarms went off. That was great. Fire trucks came and everything. That was fun.

Saturday, Las Vegas wasn't the place to be
It was at the Bernatche's setting up the tree
Sister Daughety and I have been trying to make an effort to find opportunities for service because we don't have a regularly scheduled service activity so we ask whenever we can. At coordination meeting we noticed the Bernatche's didn't have their Christmas stuff up so we volunteered to set up the tree to being the Christmas spirit in and it was really fun to set up an actual tree (not that the felt tree wasn't fun). Plus BYU lost so. We also "heart attacked" with paper snowflakes the door of a couple we're visiting. It was a good day for service

The week ended and the sabbath was a true delight
As the sisters went about sharing Christ's light
Yesterday/Sunday was really quite an awesome day! The sacrament service was really powerful. We had the bishopric and relief society president speak and it wasn't necessarily on Christmas but on Christ and can I just say, wow. After church Sister Daughety and I made an effort to be outside our apartment and we were blessed with setting up two return appointments in under five minutes. It was so cool (also literally cold)! It is awesome to see how the spirit of Christmas softens people's hearts and opens them up to the gospel.

This Christmas season has definitely helped me understand why we need a savior and why we even celebrate this holiday: Because our Heavenly Father loves us he has given us a second chance, and that second chance is made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If you haven't had the chance already, visit Christmas.Mormon.org and watch "The World Without a Savior" video, it has a powerful message with gorgeous animation and teaches better than I can the need for a Savior.

And that was the week of the sisters in Brewer.
Excited for Friday, worries couldn't be fewer.
Like the angels on high that first Christmas morn,
Declaring the news that a Savior is Born.

So be nice to the elders and sisters nearby.

Give them a chance to share and discover why.

Merry Christmas to all of you! May we all have a loving and blessed holiday!

Love,

Sister Wright

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

"We lack places to hang a vinyl cling nativity so it's on our bathroom mirror"

"Sister Daughety made me art with her super fancy colored pencils and this is the result"

"Spreading out the decorations spreads out the Christmas cheer throughout the apartment. We also lack available outlets so the lights are hanging on the wall in the bedroom."