MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
OUR SKYPE WITH EMILY WAS SO AWESOME!!
BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!!
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Beans and platanos for days. One of the Chubs new nicknames is beans
As we walked to this house I said to sis. polanco..."voy a Narnia"....she DIED laughing so we had to take a picture
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Dear family and friends,
MERRY CHRISTMAS! And Happy New Year!!!:) I hope that each of you had such a spiritual Christmas and so much joy and many smiles. I know I did. It was such a privilege and a blessing to be on my mission, serving the Lord at this Christmas time! Christmas was different here in Vancouver. Vancouver changed for Christmas. Instead of hundreds of cars passing every minute..there were few people out on the streets. Hermana Polanco and I took special note of that because that meant that everyone was home with their families...finally. Instead of gray and rainy, the sun was shining and the radiant blue skies finally filled the heavens!
Christmas Eve Dinner with Del Castillo family
Hermana Hoth & Hermana Polanco with Del Castillo fam
Christmas!
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We had a full day of service and finding on Christmas. It was amazing to talk to people and share my Savior with them on this special day. There was a feeling of love and peace in the air. To be honest, I don't think I have ever had a Christmas quite like this one..and never will again. It was so special to be a representative of Jesus Christ...to do what He did with His life...minister, serve, and teach! He gave us His everything...and so I feel so blessed to be able to use this time to give Him my everything!
One of my favorite things that I've realized this Christmas is that Christmas isn't just the best time to think of our Savior...but our whole lives is the best time to think of the Savior. We have this whole life to learn of Him, become like Him, gain testimonies, and live according to those testimonies. This is our time to become perfected in Christ. I love that God sent His Son so we don't have to be perfect, but that through Him we can one day be perfect. This sacred time on my mission, I have felt so close to God. I have felt His love in great abundance.
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This talk by Elder Christofferson has made such a difference in my life. I hope all of you will be able to apply it!
"Some years ago I heard a radio interview featuring Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Anglican archbishop in South Africa. He had just published a book with his daughter about the reconciliation that had taken place in South Africa following apartheid. Basically the book’s message is that there is good in all people. During the interview the host
asked a perceptive, inspired question of Bishop Tutu: “Have you found that your relationship to God has changed as you’ve grown older?” Bishop Tutu paused and then said, “Yes. I am learning to shut up more in the presence of God.” He recalled that when he prayed in his earlier years, he did so with a list of requests and solicitudes. He would approach heaven with what he called “a kind of shopping list. But now, he said, “I think [I am] trying to grow in just being there. Like when you sit in front of afire in winter, you are just there in front of the fire, and you don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.”
I think that is a lovely metaphor—just sit with the Lord and let Him warm you like a fire in winter. You don’t have to be perfect or the greatest person who ever graced the earth or the best of anything to be with Him."I love this! I want to share two of the Christmas miracles we saw this week..one I was able to share with my sweet family on Christmas!
1- We got on the bus Christmas day to make our way to the Sky train. I sat myself next to a girl who was sitting alone on the bus and asked her how she was. She immediately burst into tears. I comforted her and asked her what was wrong. She had no idea...she just felt completely sad and discouraged. I asked if I could say a prayer with her and she gladly agreed. That moment was so special for me as I prayed for Briana, even though she doesn't believe much in God, I know she felt His love and comfort that sunny Christmas day. When we got off the bus she gave me a huge hug and ran to grab another bus. I will always remember that moment and I pray that down the road she will too. I hope she remembers that she can turn to God and that she will pray to Him.
2- It was Christmas Eve and we felt so prompted to go to Holly street. So Hermana Polanco and I make our way over to Burnaby and start knocking doors. As we start, it just doesn't feel right. So we walk back the way we came remembering a house that we passed. On our way back, we felt prompted to go down a different street and knock on doors. We choose one house and just as Sister Polanco was knocking I said to her, "Sister, there is a latino family here." The door opens and we meet Kevin and Maria. They are from Honduras and invite us in to share a Christmas message. Maria's daughter walks out and I was like "HEY! I know you!!!!!" Her name is Mariela and one of my first exchanges in my mission I taught her with Sister Lewis and Williamson. Since then, she had moved with her two daughters in with her mom and brother, Kevin. It was such a testimony to me that God knows exactly where all of His children are. It was such a blessing to me that on Christmas Eve we were able to find a miracle as we followed the Spirit! We will be going back this week to teach them!!:):)
CHRISTMAS
The members here have been such angels. We have felt so loved and so blessed to serve them and be served by them!! They fed us and gave us so many presents...and the best of all they have loved us so much! I am grateful for all of you and for your prayers and love. I pray that you will all be able to look back at this year with joy in your hearts. I pray that you will be able to start this new year with a greater desire to serve and follow God. I know God lives and that His love is always there. I know that we can talk to our Father in Heaven through prayer! Please pray to Him! He wants to speak with you! Love, Hermana Hoth
Edwin and Hermana Flores
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Little Turkey
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