Dear Family!
Happy
almost Christmas! Only 1 week! And next week we will talk! and I will
see your beautiful faces! :) and it will be so wonderful :) We talked
with a member today and planned to Skype home next Wednesday at 3:00
(me) and 4:00 (Sister Kelly)! That makes it 8:00 in the morning on
Christmas morning for you all at home :) Hopefully that works out! We
are skyping from our Branch President's and District Presidency Member's
house so there will be lots of people for you to meet :)
SNOW!
The power went out. we showered and studied by candle light :)
This week was a lot of fun! It is starting to seem more and more like Christmas! There was snow that stuck to the ground and it was so pretty! People are starting to get into the Christmas spirit and will always smile when we say Merry Christmas! ;) People are also starting to decorate! We will hopefully buy a tree at some point soon!
The giant christmas tree in the parking lot :)
This week was also great because everything involving missionary work went so well! We met with great members! And, in maybe the highlight of my week, recieved 2 referrals from members that we have been working with!
SMORES!!!
We made smores on our stove!
It is so fun to see members share the gospel because
they have the precious opportunity to share their testimony with
someone that they love! One was from Paisa.
Teaching Sophia and her brother with Raisa this week :) and cute poses :)
We have been teaching her
granddaughter, and this week starting teaching her granddaughter's
friend! She is a cutie! They both came to church yesterday and guess who
taught primary! That's right, Sister Kelly and I! It was so fun! Katia
drew a picture for me, that was so cute! I'll take a picture and send it
next week :) Speaking of teaching Primary, this last Sunday was "Sister
Ford" day in church. I played the piano, spoke, and taught both hours
of Primary. I guess that happens sometimes in a small branch! The best
part is that I found out Saturday that I was speaking and Sunday that I
was playing the piano and speaking! Opa! But it all turned out really
well!
Oh
yeah, I totally forgot to mention this! SIster Kelly and I got stuck in
an elevator for an hour last night! We didn't get out until a maintence
man came! Freaky!!! :) We planned and took some pictures! It was so
dark and cold but we couldn't stop laughing :)
Our other investigator was from a less active that we have been working with, Valentina! We started teaching her son this week and it was so fun! We had been talking with Valentina and she had told us that her son was too tired to meet that day but then he came in and said, "Hey, I want to listen" and we started teaching him and it was so great! At the end of our lesson, he said that he wanted to keep learning. We invited him to be baptized and he said that it is possible! Pray for him, his name is Denise! He is really cool! It was sweet because as soon as Denise walked in, Valentina just started sobbing. She cried through the whole lesson and the whole time we were talking and saying goodbye, and as she helped me zip up my coat, and as she waited with us by the elevator. Sharing the gospel with those that we love will bring greater joy then we can understand! :) I promise that there is no greater joy then sharing the gospel! :)
Wishing a member in our branch happy birthday!
Opera house! Going there soon :) IN SUPER EXCITING NEWS...the 4 sisters here in Suvorovsky got permission
and then bought tickets to go see the Nutcracker ballet in the Odessa
Opera Theater on New Years Eve!!!!! :)
This graffiti says, "Mom, Dad, thanks for life! I love you" seriously... :)
This last
week I spoke in Church! I didn't have very much notice but I think it
went really well. This is basically what I said,
Good
Morning Brothers and Sisters! I am excited to talk today! I thought a
lot about what I wanted to say today and I came across a scripture in
3rd Nephi. It is from when Christ is visiting the American Continent and
teaching the people there! He finishes part of His teaching by saying.
"Therefore, I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father
in Heaven is perfect".
I thought about that a lot. How can we be perfect like they are? is that even possible? Then I read in Preach My Gospel, "The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ enables you to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior has shown the way. He has set the perfect example and He commands us to become as He is. Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into your life. Through the power of his atonement, you can achieve this goal."
So it is possible to become like Christ and to become perfect like He is. But this isn't a journey where the things that you do matter, but rather, who you are! You could read your scriptures everyday, go to church every week, pray, pay tithing, live the Word of Wisdom and so on, and although all those things are so important, alone they will not help you become like the Savior. You need to be humble, grateful, faithful, kind, happy, patient, and so on, just like he is. That is how we become like Him!
I thought about that a lot. How can we be perfect like they are? is that even possible? Then I read in Preach My Gospel, "The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ enables you to become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Savior has shown the way. He has set the perfect example and He commands us to become as He is. Learn of Him and seek to incorporate His attributes into your life. Through the power of his atonement, you can achieve this goal."
So it is possible to become like Christ and to become perfect like He is. But this isn't a journey where the things that you do matter, but rather, who you are! You could read your scriptures everyday, go to church every week, pray, pay tithing, live the Word of Wisdom and so on, and although all those things are so important, alone they will not help you become like the Savior. You need to be humble, grateful, faithful, kind, happy, patient, and so on, just like he is. That is how we become like Him!
Preach My Gospel
teaches us missionaries, "You need to be Christlike Missionaries, Not
just do missionary things". And that is also true for members of the
church. We need to be Christlike members of the church, Christlike Family members, and Christlike friends
not just do things that members of the Church do, that families should
do, that friends should do. In this quest to become perfect, who we are
is infinitely more important then what we do. But the things that we do
will change when we become the person that we should be.
So how can we
become perfect and like our Savior. Learn of Him! Read the scriptures
looking for attributes of Him! Apply those attributes in your life!
Also, pray for them, "Ask your Father in Heaven to bless you with these
attributes. You cannot develop them without His help. With a desire to
please God, recognize your weaknesses and be willing and anxious to
improve".
Although those
things are important, becoming perfect like Christ is only possible
through the Atonement. We all know that through the Atonement, we can
return to live with God and Jesus Christ again and that through the
Atonement we can be cleansed from sin. Repentance is only possible
through the Atonement, and repentance is how we can perfect ourselves to
become more perfect. Preach my Gospel teaches, "Bringing our lives in
line with God's will through repentance is a central purpose of our
lives. We can return to live with God the Father only through Christ's
mercy and we receive Christ's mercy only on conditions of repentance.
Even after we have accepted Christ and repented of our sins, we may fall
short and sin again. We should continually try to correct these transgressions. In addition, we should continually improve - to develop
Christlike qualities, to grow in knowledge, and to serve more
effectively. As we learn more about what the Savior expects of us, we
will want to show our love by obeying Him. Thus as we repent daily, we
will find that our lives will change and improve. Our hearts and our
behavior will become more Christlike. We will come to feel great joy in
repenting daily".
Not only is becoming perfect like Christ possible, but there
is no better time to start then now, this Christmas season! There is no
better gift to give the Savior, then the gift to become like Him and to
live a life that reflects your desire to follow Him! President Monson
said, "There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for
all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus
Christ. Because He came to Earth, we have a perfect example to follow.
As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in
our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example which, if
followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and
concern for others". I challenge each of you to rise to a new level of
commitment in becoming more like the Savior!
One of my favorite
Christmas songs says, in the 3rd verse, "And in dispair, I bowed my
head, "There is no peace on Earth", I said, "For hate is strong and
mocks the song, Of peace on Earth, good will to men".It continues, "Then
pealed the bells more loud and deep, God is not dead, nor doth he
sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with Peace on Earth, Good
will to men!" I know that as we try to become more like Christ, we can
bring peace and goodwill to the world that we live in! I know God lives!
I know his son Jesus Christ lives and that they love us! Let's dedicate
ourselves now to live a life that reflects our love for them!
Merry
Christmas to all! I love you all!
I can't wait for Christmas! I love being a missionary! Have a great week! Remember why we have this Holiday season!
Love,
Sister Ford
No comments:
Post a Comment