Live Righteously

Hey Everybody! Wow, I got a feeling you'd experience this at some time during your mission, Ma and Pa. I'm glad you're safe, we'll all keep you in our prayers. As far as Christmas calls go, presidents given the ok to talk to all family, so we don't have to worry about that. Be it group skype or conference call, lets get this figured out before I get on to email next monday. I'll have to find a members house to check it at since the libraries will most definitely be closed. Just let me know what phone number I need to call or what skype I need to call. Thanks a bunch! I got Brian's package the other day and opened it up! Thanks Hermano, I also received the 2 from heather, one with goodies in a tin, and the other with a wrapped present, the goodies went in the fridge and the present under the tree. an OYM is an open your mouth. When you talk to a nonmember that you've never talked to before and share a quick gospel message.

Its been a pretty good week in vancouver. We've been meeting with all our buddies. Oscar is on fire. We left a Libro de Mormon for his mom, and she had already started reading it before we came back to teach her for the first time. He also came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed it. We kind of had a road block this past weekend because Elder Judd got the flu. We had some pretty important appointments to get to so we arranged an exchange so I was able to go out and see some of our people. Luckily he was all better by sunday morning. Aside from a little bit of stomach pain.

Raul and Perla, a new couple we've been teaching, are progressing pretty well. They've been reading out of the book of mormon and really enjoying it. The next step is to get them out to church, they didn't make it this past sunday.

I don't know if you heard about the shooting in connecticut. I think it was fitting that our priesthood lesson yesterday was out of the "Ensenanzas de los Presidentes de la Iglesia: George Albert Smith" manual, last chapter "Righteous Living in Perilous Times" The class made me think back to a scripture I'd read recently. With a little bit of investigative work I found it. It is in Romans twelth chapter twenty-first verse, where it says,

21 Be not overcome of evil, but ^aovercome evil with good.

The best thing we can do in the "Perilous Times" we live in is live righteously. In so doing, we overcome evil with good. Just adding to the thousands of reasons to be a full time servant of the Lord in this time. I'm so glad to be on a mission right now. Its the best blessing I could ever have. Especially during Christmas time, when theres such an increased energy to the work. It is His work, I know its true. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to talking to you next Tuesday.

-Elder Derek S. Partridge