Hey, everyone!!
I am excited to share
some of the miracles and experiences that have taken place leading up to
Christmas!!
This week we were blessed
to have Christmas Conference with half of the overall mission. It was a great
time where we were able to get together and discuss our feelings of the Savior
as well as look at the year in review!
Also, I had to get a picture with my
Mission President as he and I were unified in our tie selection!!
This week we also had the
opportunity to go go Christmas Caroling to some of the elderly in the ward. I
have to say that this time was a little different than ever before. I never
knew that they had a whole other Jingle Bells song for those living down under! Needless to say, it really did fit the mood of a mid-summer Christmas just
around the corner.
For all those that read this, it would be worth it just once to use the Jingle Bells tune to these lyrics as well as looking at Skippy Red Toed Wallaby (Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer).
Furthermore, it seems
like the public bus system has even gotten into the spirit. We caught a picture
of Santa driving a bus in Sydney. It seems like he works two jobs!
Finally, as a flat we
took a couple Christmas pictures this morning. I thought I might share one or
two with you!! The first one is of Elder Olsen and Elder Shaffter,
and the
second one is Elder Vaughn and I!
Well, I have briefly shown
you the vast amounts of fun that one can have but I would like to share a
miracle that happened this week!! For the past nine months that I have been in
Greenwich, I have had the opportunity to contact a wide variety of people from
numerous countries. I had come to find that the Vietnamese people are some of
the hardest to teach the gospel to. They don't want religion in their lives and
often times will turn you away as soon as you mention the Savior. It is quite
easy to pick out and know where each person is from and even easier to avoid if
one really wanted to. For the past little while, I have been asking Heavenly
Father to help me find one Vietnamese person to teach. Time after time I have
been rejected and put down, until this week.
After contacting a man from China, I turned around and immediately said Hi to a girl that was walking right
towards me. She stopped and said Hi back and asked what I was doing. I told her
I was a missionary and that I taught others of God and Jesus Christ. She
immediately responded, "You know Jesus?" I told her what we do as
missionaries and she in turn told me that she had just moved and didn't have a
church to attend. She then told me about how she reads the Bible every night
and how she tries to apply what she learns into her daily life. Furthermore, she
told me that it seemed so hard to live among people that did not live by the
same standards set forth by the Bible. If that were not enough, she told me
that she was from Vietnam and that while living there she never believed in God
but when she came to Australia, she felt like she needed to learn about him more
and follow him. She wanted to learn more about God and Jesus Christ, and we will
be meeting her this week. The Lord answers prayers after all we can do. I
cannot tell you the size of my smile after I contacted her and after a prayer
to my Heavenly Father had been answered.
In conclusion, as it is
the Christmas season, I would invite everyone to reflect on the life of Christ
this week. As today marks 11 months on my mission, I have had the opportunity to
reflect on how I personally have grown closer to the Savior through these
amazing months. I have witnessed lives changes, hearts mended, and
relationships forged. While I speak of these things as I've seen them in the lives
of others, I can tell everyone confidently that those changes along with so many
others have happened in my own life. I am grateful for a loving Savior who can
take someone such as imperfect as myself and use me in this great work. I am
grateful for a loving Savior who truly loves everyone regardless of their past, present, or future circumstance. I am grateful for a loving Savior who
performed an infinite Atonement so that through him I can return back to my
Heavenly Father. I invite us each to reflect the impact the Savior has had
on us this year and throughout our lives.
Love,
Elder Wilde
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