Christmas Phone Call

Well, this brings us all up to date now!! :)

We got to chat with Skylar today for almost an hour. We tried to Skype with him, but the internet he was using wasn't strong enough to sustain the connection. Schade... oh well. We still had a lovely time chatting with him! He's doing great! He sends his love to everyone, especially those that write him! *Wink wink nudge nudge.* He is still in Blackburn, and is now training Elder S[h]andor from Slovakia who just arrived on Tuesday. He is also still with Elder Stubbs from Australia, but they aren't sure how long their trio will last. They have a couple baptisms coming up in the next few weeks and they are staying busy teaching. He says his street contacting is easy-peasy lemon-squeezy now, but bus contacting is still a struggle... Brits aren't too fond of people trying to talk to them on the bus, but since he rides the bus a couple hours a day, it would just be wasted time if he didn't try to open his mouth. He loves the Blackburn Ward, even though the area isn't as receptive as his others. He's sick of people making comments about his name (apparently, some people don't believe that his last name is actually Blackburn when he first meets them). His shoes are worn out... I think he called them mini-refrigerators... and he is all around FREEZING. He's been sick the last couple weeks, and going out and working in the rain and snow has only made it worse, but he's zipped up his man suit and his still working hard. We told him to take better care of himself! The buses aren't running today though, so they have to walk about 2 hrs back home from the member's house they were visiting...

Moral of the story: it's still hard work to be a missionary, but he is learning A TON and loving the experience... even the hard parts! And he loves all of you! Happy Christmas!

-Dana