MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope that each and every one of you will have a wonderful Christmas this year. And don't forget to take a moment to reflect about why we really celebrate this time of year. I want each of you to know that I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He came to this earth so that each of us can have the hope to live with Him and with our Father in Heaven again, and so that when we make mistakes we can trust in Him, repent, and change. Because He was born, we all have the opportunity to be spiritually born again through Him!
This week has been a really good week. My companion and I keep working hard and we're starting to see some of the results! We were able to meet some new investigators, so that was really neat, and we're getting to know the area better and better every day. I have truly been able to see the Lord's Hand in all that we've done. I'm so grateful that He always takes care of us and keeps us from harm's way and sends wonderful angels in so many different forms and from both sides of the veil to take care of us and to help us.
We're currently working right now with a new member named Esmeralda and her family. She was baptized in March when they first opened up this area to sister missionaries. She is very humble and really truly amazing. The saddest thing is that she and her family are SUPER poor. She hasn't been able to come to church the last few Sundays because she's had to work because she's taking advantage of the Christmas season to make a little extra money. This last week they cut her water because she hasn't been able to pay for it, so she's had to go around basically begging for water. Can you imagine that? It's so hard to see her go through all that and then go and ask her to sacrifice more time to read her scriptures and go to church and everything, but at the same time it's so hard to see her suffering and KNOW that she really doesn't need to suffer, and that if she just did those things that Heavenly Father would fulfill His part of the promise and help her with the physical things.(Msh 2:41)
This week in Ward Council we spent a bunch of time talking about her and her family. We found out that there were a bunch of other people in the ward that were thinking of her and her situation and that they had been planning to go and take her various things this week so that their family could pass Christmas a little bit better. It was such a beautiful thing, especially knowing that the circumstances of those other members isn't a whole ton better, to see how willing they were to offer a little bit of what they have to give to a family that is so in need, even though they're not currently super active in the church or in the ward or anything. We're praying really hard that the members will follow through and that this will hopefully give her the boost she needs to know that Heavenly Father is aware of her and wants to help her in her situation.
We've also been able to spend this week preparing for and organizing a Christmas Talent Show/Ward mission night for this last Friday. It turned out really well! There were quite a few people that came and they seemed to really enjoy the talents (even though the majority of them were just singing hymns). We had hot chocolate and paneton (fruitcake) for dessert and I think everyone was pretty happy!
I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. The presents and traditions are super fun, but don't forget about the true meaning of all of this celebration!
Love you all!
Hermana Garner
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| Samantha's Companion |
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| Christmas at their apartment |
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| The Christmas tree at the church. |
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| Ward Christmas Activity |
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