Hey mom!!
I love hearing you guys are great missionaries! Especially you as you go and visit a lot of people. I know that everyone appreciates your efforts! You're a great example to me of Christlike love! And speaking of missionaries, I actually do think I have met that one missionary's cousin! That's pretty crazy! Small world! And also one of the elders from Hermana Carter's district in the CCM is currently serving in the spring garden ward! His name is Elder Ritchie. Again, such a small world...
This week there were many things we did to help get us in the Christmas spirit!! The major thing being service!!
We had the chance to go down to the Chico stake center 3 times this week to help those affected by Camp Fire. The first two days we were giving children toys. There were STACKS of toys! Our job was to go around with the kids and help them pick out 5 toys. It was so cool!! They were all so humble and excited, but also not greedy wanting everything. This one eight year old I was helping out was like "it's so nice that you guys are doing this" and my heart just melted. Like these kids have nothing, so it was so much fun to be able to help brighten their Christmas!
The second day we actually skipped our Mission Christmas Devotional. At first I was super sad about that... like I was looking forward to playing in it, and to just be uplifted by the spirit and hear about Christmas. It never gets old :) So we were getting ready to go to that, but then President Ward said that they needed more volunteers to help out, so the missionaries in the Chico zone stayed. But as I changed back into service clothes and thought about it, the service is what would really get me in the Christmas spirit. Cause that is what Christmas is about! The devotional would have been something to help fill me spiritually, but through service I was able to help fill others, which in turn helped fill me! So while I was sad to miss that, the service was where we needed to be, and I could really feel that!
Then for the third day of service, we got up and headed back to Chico and handed out stockings to families. It was again so fun to see how grateful these people were and to help brighten their Christmas! Many of these people literally have nothing. Some were living out of their cars cause they were trying to find a home, but everything is getting taken up or is super expensive. So to be able to give someone a sock full of candy and gift cards was really a fun thing to do!
Between the three days, we had 18 hours of service! it was so awesome to do that! It really has been an unforgettable Christmas because of that! And it's not even Christmas yet!
But besides service, we also got to have some lessons with some awesome people! One of which being Isabel! We did not get the chance to see her last week, so it was fun to see her again! She is so sweet! She has so much love for us and a great desire to learn! She also knows so much already!! She is super awesome though! And she said that she would teach us how to make slime, so I'm hype for that!
We also got to teach Esperanza! She is so cool! She is so willing to learn and has had some great spiritual experiences in the past. She is from El Salvador and knows no English, so we get to do those lessons all in Spanish which I love! But we had a lesson with her this past week, and she opened up so much and there was such a strong spirit there! We are excited to go back!
So with a mixture of service and sharing my testimony of Christ, I have been able to be well prepared for Christmas!! I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I have to continue to share my testimony and love with others every day!
And now for a funny story... I need to be better at remembering these.. But Hermana Carter's mom sent us matching Christmas dresses, which was super sweet of her! They had lovely reindeer all over them and they looked pretty funny. We wore them to church and everyone got a kick out of them! I'll send a picture :)
I hope you have a Merry Christmas!! Love and Miss you so much!! I can't wait to talk with you tomorrow!
Kiley
Hermana Atkinson
Kiley
Hermana Atkinson
Comments
Post a Comment