FAMILY ! Okay so this week! It was Christmasy! Life is exciting. Want to know how Sister McEwen and I used our treat money? Well she got her nails done and I put it towards my much-needed haircut. It was much appreciated. Danke!
(We sent the Advent Calendar above that we had made for Sis. Kate....Frohliche Weihnachten & pictures of family and friends and a note from them on most days but we also tucked in a little money early in the month for her and her companion to do something fun together. Later in the month we tucked in some money to use to perform a service so we'll wait to hear what they did with that!)
We had our Christmas conference! All of the missionaries in the Switzerland zones were there! And we also had a morning where it snowed and snowed here in Schaffhausen. It's mostly melted but it was pretty.
We had a BEAUTIFUL relief society dinner! It was so good to spend some time with the wonderful sisters in our branch. Hey did you know there's something smaller than a branch? Probably, but I didn't. It's called a group and Sister Kervinen (her beloved MTC companion from Finland) is serving in one in Brook. Or however you spell that place in Italy. It was a really fancy dinner that the relief society presidency made and they insisted that the sisters come. Very sweet of them.
Joe, thanks for the info! I'm so stoked for Kate. So glad her hard work has paid off!! (This refers to her friend, Kate Hansen, who made the US Olympic Team in the LUGE!)
Also, GUESS WHO CAME TO CHURCH?! M! You probably don't remember who that is. But we met her the night we lost our area book for a time and she was so good to us and we helped her feel better that day. She told us when we met her that she really liked us but she has her church and isn't all that interested in ours. But we became friends and she said she wanted to see us again and we were also to let her know if we found our area book because she was to check a bus for us.
She goes to church every week at her church, but this week and next week her church didn't have a normal service since they had something in the afternoon where they feed poor people. And they just did it yesterday and they're doing it next Sunday too which means she might come to church next Sunday too! I just really love her. I don't know what it is. You can just feel her goodness. We had a great meeting and I understood more and was able to really concentrate because I was just thinking the whole time, "What would I think of this if I were M?" And I was trying to interpret a few things during the meeting. The stake president was there and he spoke and he shared what he called the "alternative Christmas story" a.k.a. what's going on in the Book of Mormon when Christ comes to the other side of the world. And she was interested in that and we told her where to read it in the BOM so hopefully she does!
(FYI - Even though our church is really called "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint, we are often known as "Mormons" because of the Book of Mormon. Our church has a book of scripture which we believe to be the word of God (in addition to the New and Old Testaments). The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and is the record, written by prophets, of people who were warned by the Lord to leave Jerusalem shortly before the fall of the city to the Babylonians in 586 BC. These people traveled to the Americas and the BOM tells of them and their posterity. It ends in 421 AD when the people are destroyed through war. The Book of Mormon includes the telling of the visit that the Savior made to the Book of Mormon people after he rose from the dead. We believe that John 10:16 refers to these people. "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." We believe it contains precious truths that were lost from the Bible and thus teaching us the "fullness of the Gospel".)
And this morning I read some in the BOM (Book of Mormon, a.k.a. Das Buch Mormon) about Samuel the Lamanite where he foretells of the coming of Christ. And in chapter 13 Samuel the Lamanite is preaching to the Nephites and then he leaves because the Nephites had not been giving his message the time of day because they just wanted to hear that what they were doing was fine and that everything was going to be great even though they were being super wicked. Then the Lord tells Samuel to return to the Nephites, so he goes back, but they won't even let him inside the city. But he was probably just thinking, "Well God told me to come back here so I have to deliver my message somehow." So what does he do? He climbs up on their city wall and preaches some more. He does what God told him. But God probably didn't give him all the details. He probably didn't say, "Go back, and when they don't let you in climb up on the city wall and declare the truth." Samuel figured that out. So that's like us. We have some direction from the Lord, but sometimes we have to figure out how we will go about obeying his commandments.
I love you family!
P.S. Sorry I never remember to thank anyone for writing. But Aunt Janie and Uncle Randal continue to be rockstars, James is the best, and Liddy and Daddy and Mommy. And Phil is so nice for emailing me. And Courtney. Thanks, I love letters!
These pictures told me that sometimes they are outside of Schaffhausen in smaller villages and doing quite a bit of walking, which is great. Katie send several pictures of the beautifully tilled soil.
A little "secret santa" work going on here... Leaving treats on people's doors. Of course,
in Switzerland Santa does not bring gifts on Christmas morning; it is the "Christkindli"
who brings gifts on Christmas Eve.
Us baking for Christmas!
We baked in the church with the few young men and young women
that we have and the young women's president. We even made Mailanderli!
(FYI - Katie is familiar with Mailanderli because they are one of the many Swiss
Christmas cookies that we have made with her Swiss grandpa, my dad)
Me and my adorable Sis. Jämann who is totally CK material. She is a convert and never got married and she has the sisters over for dinner every other week. She keeps very busy and she's an artist and Sister McEwen and I both adore her. She was at the church working on the garden when we took this picture.
(FYI - CK - Celestial Kingdom- deserves a bit of an explanation. We believe that through the Atonement of
Jesus Christ all people will be resurrected. After we are resurrected, we will stand before the
Lord to be judged according to our desires and actions. In John 14:2 the Savior taught that
"in my Father's house are many mansions". The Celestial Kingdom is the highest degree of glory. It is
NOT only for members of our church on earth. But instead of just black or white, heaven or hell, we believe that the three degrees of glory will all be vastly more incredible than our life here on earth, each with their own degree of Glory.
Outer darkness (hell) is really for the worst of the worst.
Out and about in Schaffhausen.
Outer darkness (hell) is really for the worst of the worst.
Out and about in Schaffhausen.
Our Happy Swiss Missionary
No comments:
Post a Comment