Merry Christmas

Hey Family,
      Merry Christmas!!! How are you guys doing? How's your day been? So I've got some cool stuff to tell you. Tomorrow Elder Bednar is coming to talk to us! I'm so excited. We've watched a lot of his devotionals and he's awesome when he comes to the MTC. These past few days have been pretty cool. My friend Hipps Chōrō ate a dozen donuts in one sitting. That was cool. We also went to choir more than usual to prepare for Elder Bednar. Yesterday there was a mini blizzard for about 20 minutes and we got covered in snow. There was about 2ish inches. We also saw a quail when we were taking out the trash! It was crazy cool, it was the first time I saw one so I got excited and wanted to take a picture but we had to finish service. So that's why I didn't send a picture. We're gonna play some volleyball in a few hours so that'll be fun. My companion got a cool picture of me and zoomed in on my face a lot. Then he sent it to everyone. It's pretty awesome. I've started learning how to play the Ocarina. I can play a few songs from the Legend of Zelda, Derude Sandstorm, and Taylor Swift's you belong with me. We were singing in the hall and I just jumped in with my ocarina, making it up on the spot. And it worked. So that was cool. We also did a Skype with a Japanese member last night. It went super good. We talked about Christmas and the real reason for the season and i shared my favorite story about Jesus and then we ran out of time so we challenged him to share his on Facebook. And what's cool is he was thinking about doing that on that very morning! Revelation is real. So I thought I'd just let you know what my favorite story about Jesus is. Mt's found in John 8:2-11. It's the story when Jesus forgives the sinful woman. Jesus is teaching and some men bring him a woman who has committed adultery. They want to stone her but Jesus says something like, "let him that is without sin cast the first stone." And that's really cool because we all make mistakes and we shouldn't be so quick to judge because Jesus doesn't care, he always loves us. He doesn't just stop loving us because we mess up. He also says that He doesn't condemn us. He came to earth to save us. And then he says, "go thy way and sin no more." And that's really all he asks of us. To give up our sins and follow him. And that's enough for him. So I really like this story and I invite all of you listening back at home to find a story about Jesus and share it on Facebook. And then in just 1 or 2 sentences explain what it means to you. Merry Christmas everybody and just remember the reason for the season. He is the gift.
Love,  Tanner

Oh yeah! Did I not send pictures? Sorry. Yeah we got it and it was super awesome. Thank you so much for all of the packages, they're awesome. Also, can you please stop sending food? Not that it's not appreciated, it totally is. But we literally have a closet full of food now and an entire bed covered in snacks and so we can't keep up with it. You're pouring out blessings to the point where there's not enough room to receive it. It's awesome but we really can't handle it. Also, thank you for all the ties and notes, I was too excited to actually wait till Christmas so I read them all. Sorry. And Dad's tie is awesome by the way. I've worn it twice so far. In two days. Thanks Dad. I love you guys, Tanner