My Heart is in Texas: Merry Christmas

Spanish is gettin a move on!

So guess what?!?! Things are in the works to get a Spanish Branch started here! We are starting off with a Spanish Group with a Group Leader that will meet at the same time as the English ward in the Relief Society Room. When we get everyone to come more regularly we will be able to have a branch.

President wants us to talk with the members about having Eternal Families and the importance of them. That as they sacrifice by not working on Sundays, which could even mean getting new jobs or being unemployed, that the Lord will bless their families. And he wants us to talk to them about this! So keep us in your prayers as we try to be lovingly bold with the members... especially in my broken spanish!

Definition of Loving the Gospel

Had our first Restoration lesson with Talon and it was Amazing! We talked about the temple and him serving a mission and he is all for it! He has come to church the past two weeks AND early morning seminary! And he comes like an hour early to every meeting so he doesn't miss anything. He is loving every minute of it!

He has been such a great example to me of the excitement and love we should have towards the gospel! It is so true! We should be jumping at the chance to learn and grow just as he his! The English Sisters will now be teaching him the lessons but I'm happy that I will still get to see him at mutual and church.

Feliz Navidad!

We had an awesome mission conference. It was amazing having soooo many missionaries there! It was crazy though because I hardly knew any of them, all the ones I know have gone home already. It's so weird. I just kept saying that over and over again. And then the missionaries who leave this transfer gave their dying testimonies and then I realized that the next time they do this, I'll be up there giving my testimony! I almost died!!!! I don't want to go home!... (Sorry mom and dad)

President Mortensen read the Christmas story to us and I followed in Spanish. As he was reading I realized that to give birth in Spanish is "dar a luz". The literal translation meaning, "to give a light."

He truly was a light unto the world! With his birth he brought from Hope, Love, and LIGHT! Look to him! :)

Sister Mortensen gave an awesome talk at the conference about part of a Christmas song that says, "Let every heart prepare his room" and then posed the question,

What if EVERY heart prepared room for the Savior?

How awesome would that be! We talked about how we can submit our will to the Lord just as Mary did. As we call upon the Lord in mighty prayer we will be able to do so, we can ask how to bend our will to His.

I loved the scriptures she shared with us in how Nephi's testimony grew as he wrote the scriptures. How he came to know the Savior more and strengthened his relationship. How can we do that in our own lives? What is the next step we can take to know him more?

1Nephi 1: 19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

1 Nephi 10: 6 Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer

2 Nephi 33: 6 I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

I know that as we do so we will find greater joy and happiness. I love this time of year to think about the birth of our loving Savior. I am grateful for him! I love you so much!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

Hermana Loo