Week 80: Christmas Disasters & Christmas Miracles

Y'all, it got COLD this week and I loved it! It definitely wasn't as cold as the rest of the country but humid cold is somethin' else. It'll be back in the 70's this week though.

This week I nearly burned our apartment down with an air fryer. But don't worry, I acted promptly, put out the fire in the sink, and was able to cook my chicken nuggets soon after.

We found out on Christmas Eve that one of our friends is in jail. I'm not gonna say who, but that was a bit of a downer for us. Hopefully she's out soon. She really is a good person (I think)

We met this lady named Amanda and she had so many questions for us including how someone goes about getting baptized. Whaaaatt??! It was really cool and she was super pumped about coming to church and meeting again. The day of our lesson her phone was dead and she didn't answer the door so we're not sure what happened. Pretty heartbreaking not gonna lie. Pray that we get back in contact with her!

This week we also miraculously got in contact with people who we've been trying to get in contact with for weeks. For instance, there was a media referral who I was about to stop teaching but I felt a prompting to give her one last call after we stopped by with no answer. She picked up the phone and was so excited to hear from us! We will hopefully be meeting with her this week. 

On the day before Christmas Eve we were trying our best to be productive in the cold and decided we would stop by someone who we haven't been able to reach for weeks. When we pulled up we saw someone else who we taught a lesson months ago but haven't been able to get in contact with ever since. He was helping his friend fix his car and we had the opportunity to testify of the Book of Mormon to them and set up another lesson!

Someone we invited to church had a panic attack and had to leave in the middle of it but a bunch of part-member families came so there were at least 10 non-members there!  

As I reflected on Christ's birth yesterday my heart as overwhelmed with gratitude for Him. Because of Him, I have the opportunity to repent and improve. Because of Him, death isn't the end. Because of Him, I can find comfort through the tribulations of this life. Because of Him, I can see my loved ones who have passed on and live with my family forever. Because of Him, I have the desire to do good and help others. Because of Him, I can have everlasting joy. I am so grateful for my Savior, who came to this world in such humble circumstances, gave us the perfect example to follow, and broke the bands of physical and spiritual death. His love is incomprehensible and I'm forever indebted to Him. 

I hope y'all had an amazing Christmas and had the opportunity to reflect on the glorious birth of our Savior. May we always remember Him. 

- Elder Christensen

Pictures

☆ Our little Christmas tree 

☆ Warming up with some hot cocoa

☆ A racoon we released with a member on Christmas

☆ Riding a little zip line at the park after handing out light the world cards