Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends!
We are happy to greet each of you. It is a most wonderful time of the year! We have finally made our way to Ohio. We are currently living in Dublin, Ohio. It's a beautiful little town north of Columbus.
Our experiences in the MTC were awesome, challenging and somewhat intimidating. One of the good parts was meeting the other senior couples who came from all walks of life. A couple from Manila, Utah, the Olsen's, were going to our same mission. They are serving for six months on the Ohio/Kentucky border. The challenging part was the fact that they taught us so much in a short period of time. Our poor old brains were spinning. The first week was lessons from Preach My Gospel. The second week was learning some of the duties we would later be doing. All of it was overwhelming. Right now I am in charge of the mission finances, entering referrals and baptisms, and sending in weekly reports. Jerry is working on the housing and cell phones. Each set of missionaries has a cell phone, so there are just as many cell phones as houses. We are learning so much right now. We feel as though we have a small grasp on the duties we are working at each day. Our mission has 170 missionaries. Keeping up with all their needs is a challenge.
On the way to Ohio we stopped in Nauvoo. We went to a few of the shops. It was a good time to go because we were almost the only ones there. We got a personal tour at every shop we went to. We went to the show at night. There was only one other family there. We stayed overnight and went to the Temple on Tuesday morning. It was one of the most beautiful temples we have ever seen or been in. We are so grateful for that experience.
We are finally in our "home." It is a one bedroom apartment. It is small, but clean and very close to our work. We have had a enjoyable time getting it all set up. The first two weeks were not so fun because we were living in a scary apartment about 35 miles from work. It took us about an hour morning and night through the traffic. The weather is quite moderate and has been raining-at least not snowing.
We are attending the Dublin Ward. The people are very nice and have really welcomed us. We hope to meet some good friends and become involved in the ward. We do miss our Hyde Park ward family. I still sit on the back row, but Merla and Kay are not there. They must be "non-attenders."
The missionaries are doing a great job here. They really rely on referrals to make their contacts. I have learned that when you send in a referral, a contact is made within 24 hours! It's so amazing how it works.
We love being here and serving in the Great Ohio Mission. The Gospel is true! We are thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in a stable to a sweet young mother who loved and nurtured Him through His entire life. His life was sacrificed for us that we might accept His atonement in our behalf.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We are thankful for our association with each of you. We hope to keep in touch. Our email is audrew@cvm-inc.com

Merry Christmas!!
Jerry and Audre