The REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!

 Hello friends!

Welcome back to another week here in Tumauini!!

 

Transfers came and went and I will enjoy another transfer here in Tumauini with Sister Nacar! Prayers really are answered!!

 

The day we got the transfer news, Sister Nacar and I were so excited. Both of us feel like our work here in Tumauini is not done yet. We have people to teach here and lives to touch. I am so excited to spend Christmas here too! I really do love the ward and I love the people we teach. I know I will have to transfer eventually, but for now—I am grateful to have one more month!!

 

This week was a good week! It was especially good because it was my Mom’s birthday! A highlight of my week for sure was being able to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday! Plus….I hit my 7-month mark as a missionary on the same day as my mom’s birthday! I am so grateful for the wonderful opportunity to be a missionary and grow closer to my Savior. I am so blessed!

 

Another fun thing for this week is Christmas is in full swing here in the Philippines! All of the kids had their Christmas parties at school, and we had a ward Christmas party! The ward Christmas party was great! Of course, it ran on Philippines Standard Time and started an hour and a half late. But it was a good time! We had the whole Astudillo family show up, which was amazing! There were lots of games and talents, and of course, we had spaghetti because it is a must at all Filipino celebrations!

 

Overall, it helped me get excited for Christmas and it was such a blessing to have some of our interested friends come! I loved watching the ward include them and help them all feel loved!

 

We saw a lot of miracles of course! I will share with you my favorite ones:

 

One of our members brought a little girl with them to church two weeks ago, of course, we promptly visited her and started teaching her. This week we were able to find her parents too and start teaching them! It was so amazing! They welcomed us into their home and were so receptive to the message. Then on Sunday, the mom and daughter came to church!! It was a complete miracle. It is a testimony to me that God helps us find people who are ready. We are really excited to keep teaching this family and help them come closer to Christ! Please pray for the Salvador family.

 

I am going to share another miracle because I love them so much. This one started kind of tragic: One of our interested friends fell down the stairs and hurt her ankle pretty badly. We went to teach them and found out what had happened. But the miracle was that we were able to have some people from our ward and the Elders come to give her a blessing. It was a beautiful way to bring the spirit into their home and show the love that God has for all of his children through the power of the priesthood. But of course, please pray for Sister Nicole that her ankle can be healed.

 

Last miracle—I promise! On Sunday, we invited all our friends to come to church, of course! But as we were at the church, we received text after text stating that each of our friends could not make it. Sister Nacar and I were so disappointed. Not only because we wanted our friends to come, but also because we had set a goal for people coming to church, and it looked as if we were not going to reach our goal (not the end of the world, but disappointing). BUT…10 minutes before church, friend after friend showed up! We ended up having a lot of friends come that we weren't planning on coming, and we reached our goal! It was a miracle, and we are so excited to continue helping these friends come closer to Christ! 

 

Overall, it was a great week! I got a little sick this week so that was a challenge, but nothing can stop the work from progressing! Another challenge is that we have to move two of our friends on baptism date. They are still pretty young, so the rule is they have to come to church for three months before they can be baptized. We are a little disappointed, but it is also a win because that means we can visit them often and help them build a relationship with their Savior for the next 3 months! So really it is a win!

 

For my spiritual thought, I wanted to share something from a conference talk that I got to study this week. It is called: “Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus” by Robert M. Daines.

 

In the talk, he encourages us to look for who Jesus Christ is in the scriptures. He encouraged us to look for God’s love and Jesus’s love. He encouraged, “Try writing down every time He praises or heals or eats with an outsider, and you will run low on ink before you leave Luke.” As I saw this, my heart leaped in loving recognition, and I began to feel that He might love me. President Nelson taught, “The more you learn about the Savior, the easier it will be to trust in His mercy, His infinite love. And the more you will trust and love your Heavenly Father.”

 

I loved this. I decided to try his invitation but include the Book of Mormon too. I grabbed a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon and started highlighting all the names/references to Christ. I also highlighted all the times that I saw Christ’s love. I have loved my personal study as I study both the Bible and Book of Mormon looking for ways that teach us who Christ is. I promise that it is true. The more we learn about Christ, the more we see His love. It is impossible to not read the scriptures and not see a loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus is the reason for the season. We celebrate Christmas because He came to this earth and loved us enough to die for us. I want to invite all of you to read the scriptures and look for God’s and Jesus’s love. It is there. Christ knows us individually. He loves us individually. I know this is true.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week celebrating Jesus as we all prepare for Christmas! I am excited to continue remembering Jesus. Even far away in the Philippines, where it is hot, and a very different Christmas than I am used to, there is still a reason to celebrate. The climate, traditions, and usually festivities don’t need to be the same for it to be Christmas. The important thing is that Christ came. And because Christ came, we can find joy in this life and in the life to come. We can have hope. 

 

I love Jesus with all my heart. I love this gospel. I love Christmas. 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

 

Merry Christmas!

The Church is True, God loves you,

Be happy, Be brave, Be smart,

Love,

Sister Miller