Excerpts from my Journal

Hey There Everyone:

This week, I figured I'd just send all of you an excerpt from my journal since what most of you are probably curious about is Christmas and what it was like here. I wrote in detail (almost like a story) what Christmas was like here, and thought you all might enjoy it.

12-24-08"Tonight was probably the most amazing Christmas Eve I've ever had the opportunity to experience. Everything was pretty normal up until the Christmas Eve Devotional we had at 7pm. We got there about an hour early to make sure we got good seats (my district and I) and then we waited. About 15 minutes before each devotional begins, we sing prelude hymns (all the missionaries) together to get us in the mood to listen and appreciate what is said. During the singing of our final prelude hymn, Pres. Boone and his wife walked in, and suddenly the whole audience shot to their feet. I felt the spirit wash over me and completely envelop me, and I saw Elder Bednar's face briefly before some other missionaries could stand up and block my view. The whole meeting was so full of the spirit, and he felt so incredibly personal! He told us that there was no place he'd rather be then here at the MTC with his family on Christmas EVE. I so wish I could box up exactly what and how I felt, so that every time I open to this page in my journal, it could all come rushing back to me.

"Anyway, some of his family members got up and spoke briefly in their very friendly manner, and it felt just like he said he wanted it to... like a Christmas Eve Family Home Evening. He had missionaries read some scriptures for him while he talked about three traditional Christmas symbols (trees, lights, shepherds) and had us flipping through our scriptures non-stop. My pen was flying trying to record all the fabulous connections he made regarding the symbols, and I loved every single, solitary second of it. I honestly wished that he would keep going on into the night.

As a closing hymn, we sang "Silent Night" and in that moment, I decided that there was no place I'd rather be, than sitting at the feet of an apostle, singing Christmas carols with 2000 other missionaries. The only thing better would have been to have my family there. Then, as if things could've gotten any better, President Boone came to the pulpit and announced that we would all have the privilege of shaking Elder Bednar's hand! I don't think I could've received a better Christmas gift. He looked me right in the eyes, and I could feel, without a doubt, that Elder Bednar is called of God. It was a fabulous evening, full of the spirit.

"12-25-08"I don't think I could've asked for a better Christmas! Honestly, I was expecting them to not really do much special for us... in the spirit of sacrifice and serving. But the devotional last night was so unbelievably marvelous and then this morning they fed us breakfast, which was surprising because I thought they might just give us cereal so they didn't have to have people work on Christmas morning. After we ate, my district and I (and a few others) decided to go into the kitchen and sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to the cafeteria workers, who I always feel like are rather under-appreciated. That was probably one of the highlights of my morning. They were so excited and grateful to be appreciated. After breakfast, we went to our classroom, where one of our district members, Hermana Torres, had left us each a little gift of a bracelet, a picture of Christ, and a little candy. I was so touched that she had taken time on her p-day to hand-make these bracelets for us. Then, while we were admiring our gifts and talking about how excited we were to be in the MTC for Christmas, the zone leaders came in and brought us gifts the MTC presidency had sent for us! We each got a little Christmas sack filled with candy, a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD, a fancy scripture marker with all different colors of lead inside, and a beautiful little sack with a drawstring. Inside of it was a gorgeous pearl necklace! I was actually just wishing this morning that I had a pretty necklace to wear, and it was the perfect gift. I love it so much.

"This is such a fabulous holiday, and I feel so loved and encouraged and appreciated and supported. I've been sitting here waiting to see who would be here for our 10am Christmas morning devotional, and Elder Holland just walked in. I hope most of all, that he knows how much we appreciate and love him for being willing to share his Christmas with us.

""After Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke to us today, he stood up, blew us a kiss, wished us a Merry Christmas, and walked towards the door. We were a little disappointed I think, because we were all hoping he might shake our hands like Elder Bednar had, but we all got up anyway and began walking out. We went out the side door of the gym, and fluffy, white snowflakes were falling. I saw a little group of about 20 missionaries waiting and watching where Elder Holland would come out of the building to see if they could see him again, and I decided to join them. After a few minutes, sure enough, the door opened and out came Elder Holland and his wife and family who had come to be with him at the devotional. I peered around the edge of the group of elders, stepping into 6 inch deep snow in the process. He yelled over to us, in a joking tone, something about how we were 'crazy for standing out in the snow like that.' The truth was, I couldn't have cared less! We watched someone hold an umbrella over his wife to keep her dry while she walked around to the passenger side of a light blue sedan and got in. Elder Holland got into the driver's seat and he slowly pulled out and began inching up the road, rolling past all the missionaries hanging from the curb. He had his window down and his arm out, waving to each one of us as he passed. When he got to me, the car kept moving, but we made eye contact for a moment. As strange as it sounds, I felt as if he could see into the very depth of my being... as if he knew me for exactly who I was. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to pull the car over and offer to stay with us for lunch, and then after lunch, tell us that he couldn't bear to leave us, and stay with us a little longer. I felt so much like a little child... with only that pure, simple, wish. All I could do as he ever so briefly saw me, was smile, wave, and wish him a 'Merry Christmas' before his eyes moved onto the next person and the car continued to roll forward up the road. It was such a magical moment.

"I hope you all had a magical Merry Christmas as well.

Love,
Hermana Austin Hollenbaugh


Editor's note:
Austin asked me to add an "editor's note" to explain anything confusing in her letter this time. I thought I might just define some of the words/phrases she used first and :

devotional--speakers come and give a talk that is gospel related.
district--the other missionaries that are going to Houston with her
prelude hymn--religious songs that are played or sung BEFORE the actual meeting
Elder Bednar--one of the twelve apostles
President Boone--MTC president
Elder Holland--one of the twelve apostles
"full of the spirit"--she felt the warm feeling of God and Christ letting her know that the things she heard were true
p-day--personal day (the day of the week that the missionaries get to do a few things for themselves like send e-mail and have some personal time.)

Additionally, Austin describes how excited she was to see Elder Bednar and Elder Holland. Members of the church are discouraged from treating the general authorities of the church (prophet and apostles) as celebrities. However, they are apostles of the Lord and seeing and interacting with an apostle of God is exciting and I'm sure a very moving experience. I believe this feeling of closeness to the Lord is what Austin is trying to convey.
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