Hark The Herald Angels Sing!

Dear Family and Friends,

What's happening?! I miss you all so much! I love you all as well. I'm

so excited I get to email all of you today. It's always so much fun to

email all the people I love every week. Makes me happy.

This week was good! We had a lot of success and saw a lot of miracles!

On Monday through Thursday, we went out with a member who was always

really nervous to do missionary work. He loved it! He had so much fun

doing missionary work and he really broke out of his shell! It was

awesome to watch happen! He's a crazy driver, though. So I was hoping

and praying we didn't get in a car wreck haha. I'm convinced he looked

at the road in front of him only 30 percent of the time we were

driving. Haha. He's a funny guy. He always says, "MAAAAAAN!" Then

snaps his finger when something goes wrong.

This last week we set three new baptism dates! Carlos, Wanda, and

Dave! We're so blessed to be serving here where the work is going so

well. It's sometimes hard being in East Texas, because you really

don't have anyone to talk to or interact with. All the Missionaries

are so far away so you never see them! Sometimes it can feel lonely,

but it sure does help me notice God's hand in my life more and truly

turn to Him!

Elder Parry and I jam out to the Pentatonix Christmas Album all the

time! Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is so fun to listen to! I just love

Christmas time so much! Everything is so great!

This week we went to this member's home. (By the way, East Texas has

some very interesting people... And that includes members). He invited

us over so we could share a message with him. We could not find his

house forever! We drove for 30 minutes trying to find his place! When

we finally found it, all of the lights were off... I was kind of

nervous, so we decided to call him to make sure he was home and okay

for us to still come. He said "Well if all the lights are off, then

it's not my house." At this point, Elder Parry was 100 percent sure it

was his house so it was weird to hear him say that. I was talking to

him on the phone, and I told him I'd get out of the car to go look at

the address. When I was getting out, he said "Oh! Elder! That's my

crazy neighbor's house! Get out of there fast, they will get out a gun

and shoot you!" At this point I freaked out, jumped in the car, and

drove away as fast as I could. My heart was racing. The member had

hung up on us, then called us back laughing because it WAS in fact his

house and he WAS in fact trying to scare me. He found it very

humorous. Haha. Not the best experience for me. Elder Parry was a

little freaked out to, because this member is kind of a creepy person

to begin with. Haha.

Driving in East Texas is scary sometimes! I've almost hit THREE deer

now! They are all over the place! I just have to be careful while

driving. They also have a wild hog problem out here. There are so many

wild hogs! They are scary too! So aggressive! Haha.

On Saturday, we went to lunch with a member in the Athens Ward. (He

drove all the way to Palestine to go with us to lunch). And it was a

lot of fun! His name is Tim Brewer. He's a crazy man, but he loves

musicals so I get along with him great! Haha. We went to a really good

Chinese Buffet. I love Chinese food! It was a lot of fun.

I'm excited for the Athens Ward Party this Saturday. Everyone is

wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. I've already got mine. ;)

I hope you all are having an amazing Christmas Season! Remember that

Christ is the ultimate gift! #ASaviorIsBorn

Love you all!

Elder Joshua Needles