have some time to spare (sorry my missionary/busy friends)
Hello one and all! It is freezing here! But that's okay!
It is transfer once again here in the blessed land of England! I feel
like it was transfers just yesterday! But nope! It has been a whole
six weeks!!
Now I know that you are all anxiously waiting for the news of what is
going to happen, well here it is. (Brace yourselves:)
Unfortunately, my wild, crazy, fun, Brazilian companion, sister Vizaco
will be leaving (apparently she has a crazy habit of moving every two
transfers to a new area and always gets a new companion in between! )
She gets to go to the wonderful area of South End! Just across the
ocean from where I was born as a missionary in England😪FYI it has the
longest pier I. The world (or so I have been told.) I will really miss
her!! She taught me so much! Thanks Sis!
And for little old me, I will stay here in Stevenage for the rest of
my time here in England! I love it here! And for Christmas as well!
Even better!
As for my new companion, you all know as much as I do about her,
accept that I know she will be straight out of the MTC! Guys, I'm
getting a greenie! Yay greenie fire 💚🐲🔥 !! I have always wanted to
train but I am so nervous 😩 and on my last transfer! I never thought
it would happen! I am so excited but so nervous at the same time! I
couldn't sleep last night, and once I finally did get to sleep, I woke
up early and just laid in bed, being nervous to have a brand new
missionary under my wing.
It will be so much fun! I am so excited!!!😆
Now for the really important message of my email today. Christmas 🎄!
I am so blessed to be a missionary during the best time of year! And I
have never caught the Christmas spirit so intensely until this year!
In England they role out Christmas stuff almost before Halloween is
done, and at first I thought this was terrible. NO CHRISTMAS UNTIL
AFTER THANKSGIVING! But this year I almost forgot about thanksgiving
(no worries a member fed us a delicious feast of thanksgiving last
Thursday, so I remembered eventually ;) My companion started to sing
Christmas songs early too, which I used to hate hearing any time
accept for after the last Thursday in November to the 25 of December.
However I started singing along as well.
But the miracle was, that this transfer for many different reasons I
had a lot of time on my hands where I couldn't go out and do the
normal missionary things. So as any missionary does when they get
bored, they start to read church magazines. I had a ton of ensigns
downloaded on my iPad so I started with the brand new one for this
December. The one with all the Christmas stories. And I thought, hey!
That's a swell idea! I'll read all the December ensigns that I have
downloaded! So I did. And you want to know what I learned? Hope!
I learned that Christmas is not about the money 💰 , or the gifts 🎁,
or even the time of year. Christmas is basically hope. It is a time of
year where most people remember to be kind to one another and look
outside themselves, when miracles happen, and when people can look
around, see these and feel that there is still hope for this world.
That there are still good people who are trying to make there little
place on this earth a better place for those around them.
And of course, Christmas is a time when we remember why we celebrate.
Jesus Christ! We get to remember why we are here and the plan that God
has for us, that is possible because a baby was born! It is about the
people we love and care about and what we can do for them to show our
love.
From a ton of the Christmas stories I have read, there is a scripture
that kept being brought up. We all think that the Savior is such and
amazing person, and he is. And we think that the things he did were so
incredible, and they were. But a lot of the time we feel overwhelmed
by the need to repay or give back or to be like him. But this
Scripture settles it all.
Christ says,
"... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew
25:40
Service. Our efforts are all that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
require of us. To try, try to be more like him!
And that is why I love the Christmas initiative the church has put out
for this year. #LightTheWorld! Through our service, we can light the
world with the light of Christ that shines through us! And they even
have a simple advent calendar of service ideas you can choose from to
serve every day! In 25 Ways. Over 25 Days! I would invite you all to
go to Mormon.org and watch the video and download the advent calendar
and participate in this wonderful way to celebrate Christ's birth. It
will change your world!
I love you all and am so excited for this wonderful time of year and
this wonderful time to be serving God and his children!!
Until next week!! ;)
Sister Lisa Haynie!
No comments:
Post a Comment