December 23, 2012

Dear Mom,

ya i dint even know there was a name for us talking and sharing stories on christmas eve. but i cant deny that we do it every year. and i love it. i got the package yesterday and i loved all that stuf inside it. i really like the tie that you sent me too. i have a name for it that is an inside joke between elder fogle and i. (elder fogle is the one thta lives in sugar city. he also took my spot as district leader in Raleigh. he is one of my favorite elders. you will probably never meet him though) i loved the video that you put together. and where on earth was that i jump place? that looked like a blast! i thought it was way funny when dad jumped in the foam pit and had to try and swim out. that was hillarious. it was crazy seeing everyone from home and i could practically feel like i was at gramdmas house when i was just watching everyone talk. it looks like taybree has really gotten into the hair cutting thing. something that i thought was wierd was that it looks like all the boy cousins are going through puberty. because it seems like everyones voices has dropped. what the world? i've gotten over the trunkieness factor of the mission for the most part. but now i have a different struggle. i told dad about it, and im calling it my "Funk." i think its just me subconsciously missing Raleigh. i think that while im in an area, i don't see how good things are. i kinda miss Raleigh and the District that i was in there. even if i had to correct missionaries there, i still miss it. i think though, i will end up missiong this place a lot too. mainly because its already seemed like an amazing place. right now we re teaching 2 good sized families and they are both on the way towards baptism. they are amazing. the ward here is great too. i don't think that elder mortensen and i have actually eaten at our own house for dinner since i have been here. which is ironic because the members here are really charitable and they give us so many left overs. which is great because then we don't have to go shopping for nearly as much stuff. elder mortensen is a fantastic missionary. he is such an example to me of how a charitable person looks like. which is such a huge blessing for me because i have been striving to me more and more loving towards other people. and when i saw love i mean, really love them. that is something i've decided i want to come home with. the thing for me is though, love is so hard for me to feel for others. i can do things that are nice for others, but its kinda difficult for me to be able to sincerely say to myself that i genuinely feel a tender and real love for anyone i see at any time. it may seem like an impossible feet, but if i have learned something one my mission, its that the atonement changes people. i have learned that from experiences in myself that you are well aware of, but it is the focus of missionary work. i love how i have gained such a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. even if i don't live it 100% all the time, i love how it is something that i can always fall back on and get the help and love i need from him how loves me and wants to help me.
 i want to make sure that i tell you that i love you. you are the greatest mom in the whole wide world. i cant think of anyone that could do a better job at being a mom than you. since ive been striving to become more loving, ive often thought of you as my example. i can hardly think of anyone that has loved me more than you. i love you.
-LOVE ELDER MASULONIS