MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS meus entes queridos!!! It definitely is the most wonderful time of the year!
Thanks
for all the Christmas letters by the way! My Zone Leader is getting
sick of me I think, haha. He said next to Elder Taylor in our mission, I
get the most letters. I am not sure if he is right, but I sure do have
the greatest family in the world. That I do know.Hahaha so thanks. You
guys are great! Letters help SO much, you have no idea.
Great week- we did a TON of street contacts as part
of a Zone Goal from Tuesday´s meeting. And... Lais was finally baptized.
Recap, for those of us who don't remember this little angel: Our zone
leaders gave us a reference- a girl who had been going to church in
their ward with her boyfriend who is a member there. This girl is
Julianna. Anyways, we passed by her house a lot, but she was never home.
She works all day every day. But, the girl who always answered the door
was her little sister, Lais. So, of course, we started teaching her. In
the beginning, she didn't feel ready to be baptized, but we kept
teaching her and following up with her progress. Anyways, after we
taught her the last lesson, she told us she had dreamed the night before
that she needed to be baptized and that the church was true. So, she
accepted baptism- and wanted to be baptized as soon as possible.( This
was about a month ago- more or less.) Her parents were fine with her
being baptized, but wanted her to wait a little longer, and for some
strange reason, she refused to tell them about her dream... Then she
stopped coming because of the work load at school. But 2 weeks ago she
called us and said, I want to come back. We took her to church and in
the meeting she said, ``I want to be baptized on Saturday, for my
birthday``. We were shocked. But, nevertheless, Saturday, on her
birthday, she was baptized and yesterday confirmed in sacrament meeting.
SO COOL!
Sister De Paula hit her 9 month mark on the mission
Saturday and I hit mine this Friday... so we took a few funny pictures. I
don't actually know why Sister Missionaries take the ``pregnant
photos``... and I swore I never would... but... we did. Ha don't freak
out. Yes, we are weird, but at least we recognize that right???
I read a message by Elder Holland that was written
to missionaries and armed forces and whatever other person that is away
from home on Christmas. He talked about his first Christmas away from
home, that it is one he will never forget because is was the first
unselfish Christmas of his life. It is in the Christmas without tinsel,
and trees, and trimmings and toys that we learn what Christmas is really
about, isn't it?
I was thinking about the Nativity skit that we do
every year....with Mary and Joseph, the shepards, and animals. I was
thinking about each role we assign all the cousins. When I was younger, I
was always Mary... my brothers shepherds... but we mixed and matched
until everyone had a part to play. This year I am not Mary. I am not a
shepherd, merely watching. I am not one of the wise- men either, giving
gifts or traveling from a far. As missionaries, we have one of the
coolest roles of them all, aside from the role of the savior and his
sweet mother- we get to be the angel. I never gave much thought to the
angel, and in all reality, always forgot about him when assigning
roles. But this year, I am the angel- bringing good tidings and great
joy to all the earth- the news of the birth of the savior of the world.
But its not because I wear a name tag, or because I am far from home.
It is because I am a member of the true church of our living savior.
You, too, are a member of that church. And whether you be on a mission,
in the army, over land, or sea; whether or not your are ``home for Christmas`` you have a message to share. Though our locations may vary,
our message is the same. You too, can be someone´s angel and declare
glad tidings of great joy. So my challenge to you this holiday season
and forever is to be ``an angel``. Share the gospel with someone this
week and this Christmas WILL become one you will never forget.
I love you all and am grateful for your support. May
we all remember why we celebrate this special day and do our best to
keep that memory in our hearts every day of the year. Be safe. Be good.
Be happy! I love you.
Love,
Sister M. Seal
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