Sister Thomas Meets Louisiana : Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Downtown New Orleans near the St. Louis Cathedral

Cute Sister Smeltz eats canned smoked oysters every Sunday. She's adorable, even if I think they taste nasty

Yum!

It was beautiful to be able to spend Christmas sharing His message. We were able to find people who were alone on Christmas and we stopped by to sing hymns and share scriptures. I think it will always be one of my favorite Christmases <3

Chalmette is poppin, Sister Smeltz is the kindest soul, and I am blessed to be sharing the greatest message of all time. Life is good :) The funny thing about serving a mission is that it is full of challenges, heartbreaks, and trials, but there is an overall feeling of joy. That joy can be hard to feel sometimes but it is always there as long as we stay anchored in Jesus Christ. (This is a lot like life). I've been blessed to feel a lot of that joy these last couple weeks as we celebrated Jesus' birth and the excitement of another year to serve Him.

Here are some of our adventures the last couple weeks:

· I did the Pepper Palace Challenge! (Flash bang hot sauce, supposedly the hottest in the world! Anyone who knows me knows how big of an accomplishment this is for me lol)

· We ate bugs at the insectarium in New Orleans

· We went Christmas caroling with our friends at the First Baptist Church

I hope y'all had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the new year. When I think about all of the good people I have in my life I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I am so thankful for each one of you and for the love, support, and prayers given. I think about y'all and am always praying for you. Keep smiling and when you don't know what to do, just move forward :)

"Courage isn't always grandiose. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, 'I'll try again tomorrow'." - Thomas s Monson

I love y'all!

Sister Thomas