Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Navidad Everyone!  Hope all is well on the home front.  Send my greetings from Santa Fe.  I Love Santa Fe, especially at Christmas:)  Glad everyone survived school now you all get a good break.  Thanks for all the love cookies, coats...We are doing our best to stay warm since we got snow this week. Down where we are it's all melted now but still we are grateful for it to feel a little more like Christmas!

Well, another week has gone by.  My goodness time sure does fly.  I had my first Zone Conference this week, and that sure was cool.  Hna Cope was in charge of the Talent show..so we ended up doing a lot! We sang...did a chin dance...wrote a 12 days of Christmas...we sure are glad all that was over.  We were running around like crazy all week.  Missionaries don't have time for stuff like that haha!

Anyways, My Mission President came out with this new program for all the missionaries to do.  Actually turns out to be a lot of the help and guidance I was looking for.  It is a packet compiled from a Mission in England of different behaviors attitudes etc...of a social missionary and honorable missionary and a consecrated missionary.  So of course the goal is to become a consecrated missionary.  Giving up more than is required.   The overall idea  though, is that we are Striving to overcome our weaknesses.  Because we all know we aren't perfect and never will be.  But we can turn our weaknesses into strengths through our Savior Jesus Christ.  Easier said than done....

Which is what this time of year is all about right! Jesus Christ. Sharing his love.  Looking at everyone as a child of God...which is what i am trying so hard to do.  But I really can tell when Heavenly Father is just trying to communicate His love to the people we talk to.  We decided to knock this particular street. The first trailor we knocked had a snow covered junkyard as the frontyard, and an older lady opened the door a crack to a dark cold trailor inside.  She said hello and told us she was just freezing away in her trailor alone.  She had pain in her eyes you could just see it.  She then went on to tell us how her and her Husband were hit by a drunk driver when she was 20 years old.  Her Husband was killed and she was left with a 10 month old baby...now her son is gone, doesn't care about her, she lives alone.  Has no money...so she has no heat and I don't think electricity either.  This lady has been through a lot...and she was so so so sad.  So we started to explain to her that she would be able to see her husband again...she didn't know she would.  I remember so distinctly knowing how much Heavenly Father wanted to share his love through us.  We really are His instruments it amazes me sometimes.  He just wants his Children to know how much they are loved.  So I know Evelyn received the greatest Christmas gift she could have asked for the other day, whether or not she recognizes that is another thing..but hopefully with time she will.

OH Navidad...so many reasons to be jolly right!!!  We've been singing our way along.  Caroling really does get us in the house these days haha.  What I want more than ever for Christmas is just someone to see the truth of the message we bring and the blessing of baptism.  It is so much harder than I thought it would be.  Some people just have their hearts so closed.  They are so set in their ways, yet there doesn't seem to be any rational justification to it.  I just want them to realize that the greatest Christmas gift they could ever ask for, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Recognizing and accepting the love our Savior extends to us...and the gift He was to the world.  Along with that, I have never been more grateful in my life for the Atonement...holy cow we would be so lost without it. 

Try to remember this Christmas in some way go and share the Love of Christ....whether its bringing cookies to our old neighbor on Longwood...or something like that...there is a Love you will share that many can't and in turn you will realize Heavenly Father gives it right back to you.  And Mom i know you are probably stressed about the presents for all the extended Family and making the mushrooms haha but just think of someone you could share the Love of Christ with and maybe you won't be so stressed:)

Well I love you all so much and hope you have a very Merry Christmas.  I am excited to talk to you.  I wish you were on so we could coordinate a time.  But I think since your not I will plan on calling around 6 your time.  Hopefully that is okay and it will give you something to do Christmas Night...and then I can tell you about my crazy Mexican Christmas:) 

I love you all so much and send my Christmas love.  I think Christmas day we are going to go sing at the nursing homes and share some Chrismtas Joy...the more I think of others...the less I will miss home I think.  I love you all so much.  I got the Christmas package and Thanks Grandma Goertzen and Anne and Mike Got yours too! Muchas Gracias Wohoo...Yummy Cookies!!!

Love you all!!! Feliz Navidad!!!!

Su Hermana Holanda