December 15: What is Christmas like in the mission?

In downtown Morelia

First off: I have the best family and friends ever. I’m definitely convinced. I’ve been convinced my whole life, but now it’s like a more-sure-about-this-than-I’m-sure-I’m –alive type of thing. Haha but seriously! We always get mail the first Friday of the month, but these past couple months we have also gotten it two other times and the point of my story is: There has not been one opportunity to get mail in which I have not gotten MORE THAN ONE letter! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! It is sooooo awesome to have that support and to hear news from home. Whatever you send, however boring the news may seem to you, it’s so interesting and important to me. Or if you don’t want to write, just email or mail me a picture! Those are bomb.

 

No it's not snowing. My camera's dirty. Haha

You’ve all been asking me how we are going to celebrate Christmas. I can't stop celebrating Christmas all day every day! Even though it’s nothing like the rest of the Christmases I'm used to, it’s wonderful. It is so easy to talk to people on the streets when you just have to bear your testimony of Christmas. It is so great to be on the Lord’s errand at Christmastime. We got treated to a meeting with an APOSTOL! Serious Christmas present. The neighbors put up Christmas lights and we have a poinsettia (they’re called “Christmas Eves” here).  I thought it was gonna be hard not to be home at Christmas butin reality there is nothing better than sharing the Gospel at Christmastime. That’s not to say that whenever some leader who’s speaking to missionaries mentions out families, I don’t cry. I do. I miss you all. But it’s not a sad time, Christmastime. It’s the best time of the year because it is filled with hope. The hope Jesus Christ brought to the world is alive. He is alive .His love reigns. Maybe it doesn’t seem like it at times with all the sadness and ugliness in the world, but if we could only see the whole picture, we wouldn’t doubt it.

This week, I invite you all to decide how you can more fully turn yourself over to the Lord. There are so many things we can do. The one thing we can truly give God is our will. It’s nice to give of our time or our resources, and I’m not saying don’t do that, but those things are already His to take when He wants. The one thing that doesn’t already belong to Him is our will, our agency. So turn yourself over to Him this month and you will find a new perspective, a new life-substance, new revelation. Turn yourself over to Him and make a goal. Maybe it will be something that just occurred to you while reading this, but more likely it will be something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time but never just made it happen.