Are you as excited for Christmas as I am?!?! I don't think so! I am so pumped!! Sister Howard and I are so excited for this week. We made it packed with people to see and places to go to bring the spirit of Christ into everyone's home this Christmas season. I am going caroling on Tuesday evening to some investigators and Less Active members homes with the Elders and a couple members in our ward. On Wednesday I have 2 meal appointments with members and then going to a different religious Christmas celebration. A member of the ward was invited and is bringing all 6 of us missionaries to the event. On Thursday I will be opening presents early in the morning and then off to 3 meal appointments through out the day. I will be Skyping you at 3:00 my time!!! Friday I am going on a normal exchange for 24 hours. I will go to Corning with another sister and my companion will stay here in Horseheads. I miss those! So I am excited for that! Saturday John is getting baptized!!! YAY!!!! He is so ready too. We have been able to feel the spirit so strong at our lessons with him these past 3 weeks. We are very glad that we put off his first baptismal date, because he has gained so much more of a testimony than what he had before. It is also a very sweet Christmas gift to his wife. She's been waiting for this day for years! This week is going to be awesome!!!!
Shout out to the Sundance Ward, Thanks for all of the letters you sent me!!! And thanks to my little sunbeam class! I got your sweet letters too!
On Sunday we were in second hour of church and talking about how we have seen Christ in our lives and sharing experiences from Christmas' in the past. Well there was this one woman, her name is Sister B. She wanted to share an experience that she had the other day. She said that, "the sister missionaries helped her this week so much and they had no idea they even did it". This was on Thursday. Sister Howard and I felt as though we should go outside and walk up and down the streets near our apartment and talk with as many people as we could. Praying that we could spread a little cheer around town. We even made cards with candy canes to give to people as they walked by. (it was freezing out so we had to knock on doors to give them away. No one would be out walking on the side walk in that weather... Except missionaries) Along the way, we would wave to every single car that drove by and smiled really big in hopes that they would wave back. We got EVERYONE to wave back! Well, we had no idea, but Sister B. was sitting inside a McDonalds looking out the window and feeling really down from a hard experience that she had gone through. She then spotted us walking down the road and started sobbing as she saw how we waved to absolute strangers just as Christ would. It was then during class on Sunday that we had seen our prayer answered. We did help someone feel the love of Christ that day and bring joy again into their life. FOLLOW A PROMPTING! Even if it makes you go out of your way into the cold!
I am so thankful for our Zone Conference on Tuesday. I really felt the spirit, and I took away so much from it. I was called to share my testimony of our Heavenly Father, because I have come to really know Him. I am so thankful for the constant reminder that Heavenly Father loves me and is watching over me. I reread my Patriarchal Blessing and that is where I came to truly know that He knows exactly who I am. I know that all those who put that conference together were really inspired to know what to do, because we all truly needed it. I know that in the past couple weeks I've had a rough time, but I KNOW that it was the Lord teaching me how to see the good in hard situations.
I had the most amazing personal study this morning. I did a Preach My Gospel "personal study" in the Christ Like Attribute section. I read from Mosiah and Alma to think about how the sons of Mosiah wanted to teach the Lamanites.
Alma 17
10: "And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted".
11: "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls".
The Lord says that we need to be patient in our afflictions, because we will have many of them. But, in doing so, we will be able to be that example that will draw others closer to Christ. Now, my favorite part of my study was when I read through Alma 26: 27-37. These missionaries went through the same things that we all face throughout our missions. They felt a little depressed, but were still comforted by the help of God, and kept going. They taught in houses, in streets, on hills, in synagogues, and all while being mocked and spit upon. But they still found joy in finding just one soul. They found joy by looking at the fruits of their labors.
In the 9 months I have been out, I have seen the fruits of my labors. I referred to the quote by President Hinckley "Many of you think you are failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort it is not sufficient. We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do". I have seen so many good things happen on my mission so far. I am so thankful for how much I am learning as well.
I have a VERY powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. I KNOW that it is true. So is the church.
-Love,
Sister Keller
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