Dear beloved ones,
Tuesday
was my half birthday and all of the missionaries met in Richmond
(Henrico/Short Pump) to celebrate me....okay, for the Christmas Mission
Conference. People gave short talks on attributes of Christ and there
were a billion musical numbers. It took over an hour to feed all 250
missionaries, and then the meeting resumed. We had two investigators
drive us there and back. On the way home, I just slept in the car
because I was exhausted! Sister Olsen and I sang in a group of Sisters
and then she played piano for a group of Elders. (I helped turn the
pages!)
At the Conference, the Area Authority Elder Lansing
spoke about the decade of decisions. He said that our missions will help
us prepare to make important decisions in the future. It hit me really
hard that I will hit 20 next June! I remember my 10th birthday!
#camptensalotofhaha. My life has changed so much since then, and I can't
imagine how different I'll be when I turn 30. I hope that in 10 years
the habits I'm building now will pay off!
Kayla!!! She came with us to dinner at the RS President's
home. We talked about Prophets and gave her a conference address from
President Monson. On the drive home, she told us that she wants to be
baptized!!!! I AM SO HAPPY!
We also had a few sad moments with saying goodbye to
Christy and Alex. I hope that they'll be receptive to missionaries when
they return late January/early February! I made Christy pinky-promise
to meet with Sisters:) Transfer calls are Sunday the 29th, so I guess I'll find out whether or not I'll be here for that!
Stafford is a suburb, so they're aren't a lot of
centralized locations for street contacting. In other areas, like
Richmond and Fredericksburg, missionaries do "walk and talk" on Saturday
afternoons. They spend a few hours walking around parks and busy
streets trying to meet people. Sister Olsen and I decided to try it in
the middle of the Aventine Apartments complex. It was really successful!
We met a few potential investigators for ourselves, for the YSA
Sisters, and for the Hermanas! It definitely helped that it was 75
degrees outside! It's about 60 today, but it's raining like crazy.
Sunday
was the fabulous Accokeek Ward Christmas Service! Sister Olsen and I
sang in the choir and it was a lot of fun. The conductor, Sister
Fellows, is AMAZING! Her husband died a few years ago (similar situation
to Katherine Adams) and she has the faith to move mountains. And the
voice of Karen Carpenter. (It doesn't sound like Karen's, but it's that
good.) We sang "O Come O Come Emmanuel" which is now one of my
favorites:)
I love you all more than words:) Thank you for all
of your letters and emails! I got the sweetest card from Grandma Kelsey
this week! Shout out to the Nephites! Also, I forgot to mention last
week: Congratulations to one of my best friends, Jenna Marsden, for
getting married in the Manti Temple!!! Her sister Kim was also married
about a week later:) I'm super happy for both of them! What beautiful
ladies:)
President Monson said, "This joyful season brings to all of us a
measure of happiness that corresponds to the degree to which we have
turned our minds, feelings, and actions to the Savior, whose birth we
celebrate."
I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior! I know that
we celebrate His birth because of His life. Christ lived a perfect life
and performed a perfect Atonement so that we could return to live with
our Father and to live like our Father. God has a plan for our lives. He
loves us so much that He gave us His Son! I know that if we spend our
Christmas truly celebrating Christ, then we will come to understand His
grace and love for us. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've been
blessed with to share His love with His children. I miss my family, but I
have so much family here, too! The good news of the Gospel is that
Christ lives still.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Sister Crandall
No comments:
Post a Comment