Happy to New Year to one and all!  2014 starts tomorrow full of new opportunities to learn and grow.  We just returned from a "new member" lesson with a Marshallese brother who has been taking the missionary lessons for over 30 years off and on.  All 6 of his children are members of the church but he just never felt the time was right for him to join the church.  Two of his children are in my Sunday School class and when we had gone to their home before he was not receptive.  To state that he was friendly would have been the understatement of the year.  He is a changed man.  His heart has softened and he wants to learn as much as he can about the gospel.  His wife speaks no English and is extremely shy so their 20 year old daughter translates for us to her. It continues to impress me how clean the Marshallese people are in their homes.  I was thrilled to see the 2 little granddaughters playing with toys!!  We have always assumed that all children have toys of some sort but that has not been the case in many Marshallese homes.   I'm not quite sure if it's because they can't afford them or they just don't feel that they are important.  We had a wonderful Christmas with Amy's family and returned rejuvenated and ready to hit it hard for the next 7-8 weeks.  We miss all of our children and grandchildren so it has been such a blessing to be close to Amy's family, especially for the holidays.  I almost feel guilty and don't want to tell the other senior missionaries that we are going to visit family when they do not have any family close by to see.  Everyone here loves hot chocolate so we made 200 "Candy  Cane Cocoa Dippers" to give as gifts.  We put the "dippers" in with cocoa packages and they were well received.  When we went to Amy's we took supplies and their kids made them to give to family and friends.  Amy made nativity costumes this year and 14 Wise grandchildren acted out the Christmas story from the scriptures while G-pa Wise read.  (That's Alph's Dad.)  Our Bea, who's almost 4, took her role as Mary very seriously and cuddled that baby doll just as tenderly as she would have a newborn babe.  Simon wanted to be the innkeeper because he knew what the innkeeper said, "There's NO ROOM here."  He firmly said his lines with great gusto.  Whenever I hear the innkeepers lines, I think of Neal Maxwell's popular quote, "Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus."  My friend, Cindy, made me a Christmas ornament one year with that quote on it and I keep it around all year to remind me not to make room for Him just at Christmas but all year around.  On Christmas Day we opened presents very slowly.  I know that may be hard to imagine with 5 kiddos but Amy and Alph feel very strongly about really enjoying the gifts and expressing appreciation for them.  The grandchildren had bought us gifts from the Dollar Store which they picked out personally for Hana and Hapa.   Last year Melissa and other children sent us lots of little gifts to put under our tree and it was such fun opening one a day.  We have enjoyed using all the gifts and we are saving the "hand warmers" for our trip home.  Hopefully, we won't need to use them!!  Christmas evening Alph's brother, Brig and family, came for supper and we had a family talent show.  Amy said it was the "Wises 1st Annual Christmas Day Talent Show."  John and I did a song rewritten by Julie Andrews to the tune of "My Favorite Things" but was called "Ode to the Old".  It was a smashing success but the kids had no idea what Pollident   or dentures were.  Loretta Broker and I did that song many years ago at Villa Marie Nursing Home and won a talent contest.  We taught the older kids how to play "Spoons" and played "Catch Me' with the twinners.  It is so wonderful to kneel in family prayer and express our gratitude for all our blessings.  All the grandkids love to do "Sure Love Ya" in our circle.  Thanks Cananns for sharing that lovely tradition with us so many years ago.  We are having four other seniors missionaries over to play "Spoons" and "Dominos" this evening and then we are going to crash a New Year Even's party at the Tongan Ward.  How grateful I am for all the blessing and challenges of the past year!!  2014 will be much different for us than 2013 but hopefully we will be able to continue to grow and learn in the Gospel and have many opportunities for service.  We are going to Hawaii for a week at the end of our mission (thanks to our children) so if any of you have been there and know of "must see" places, please let us know.  We miss you all and look forward to renewing our friendships and making new ones in 2014.