M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S !
We have had a lot of blessings this wonderful week of December!
We met some really awesome people on Monday while we were tracting, so much so, that my companion who doesn't particularly like talking to strangers said that it was her tender mercy for that day!!! Flash forward to Saturday, I really felt like we needed to see some of those people again that night. So we drove to the neighborhood and knocked on the door of a man named Nick who had told us he and his wife were in between churches. He laughed when he opened the door and said, "You're back already!" Yep :) he told us he looked us up on Wikipedia and and was "comfortable" with where he was at... too bad we don't take that for an answer. We kept talking and eventually his wife came and joined us and we got a return appointment with them! We then remembered this lady who said she was busy because she was making meatloaf and to try back another time and knocked on her door. She had met missionaries at the place she had worked and enjoyed their company, and after briefly talking about the Restoration, she said we could come back as well! "Meatloaf lady" as we called her, is named Kat :) Please pray for these people!
You may wonder how I know that? Don't worry I don't speak from experience! We were knocking on doors and met this Catholic man named Nicholas. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. We talked to him about our beliefs and ended up giving a Book of Mormon. He said, "Will you do me one favor?" Uh, I never know how to respond to this anymore...haha he asked if we could raise the alcohol limit in Utah...I guess he missed the fact that we were not from Utah, and then proceeded to tell us this random law about Indiana haha
We also were able to participate in zone caroling where all of us missionaries sang Christmas songs on the back of a trailer and sang while 4 missionaries sprinted from house to house letting people know we were out there. This one lady sprinted across the street and knocked on the door across the street to let all this kids having a Christmas party come and listen to us :)
I feel like tracting is all we do sometimes, but it sure gives some funny stories, here are 2 more for you!
#1 We knock on door, man answers, "Hi! We are the missionaries in the area!.."
man: "Ooh, you're THE missionaries, huh?"
us *a little taken aback*: Uh, yeah, we are with the Church of Jesus Christ..."
Yeah, this sassy man wasn't very interested....we got a good laugh out of it though.
#2 We knock on door, we hear "hold on one minute" from inside, so we wait and this man throws open the door and with a bunch of dollar bills in his hand looks shocked. He starts laughing and says, "You're not Papa Johns!"
us: "Nope, we are the missionaries! :)" we talked to him a little while, I don't think he ever quite got over how surprised he was that we weren't the pizza delivery guy. I wish I could video some things and show them to you!
As I have been pondering the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, I read in the Book of Mormon the story of a group of people who were anxiously awaiting His birth. You see, 5 years earlier, a prophet had said "Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God" the people were very wicked at this time and remembered this great prophecy. They began to mock the believers saying, "Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain." They made "a great uproar throughout the land" and the Saints at that time began to be "very sorrowful" and worried that their sign would not come. However, "they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain." But then, the unthinkable happened, " it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet." Needless to say, things were getting a little urgent. Nephi, a very faithful servant "went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day;" And after praying all day, he received a glorious answer in response to his faith, "Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets." What a glorious answer!
As I reflected on this passage, and the miracle of Jesus Christ's birth, I found a deeper meaning to this story. You see, because Jesus Christ was born that day, all of those people literally had their lives saved, and just the same with us, because Jesus Christ came into the world, we too, will not suffer physical and spiritual death if we come unto Him. Look at all the blessings that come into our lives because He lived! We can repent, we can forgive, we can see our loved ones who have passed on, and the list could go on for miles. I invite each of you to reflect on the blessings you have received in your life because Jesus Christ lived, and ask yourself, "what can I give back to Him?"
Serving with a Smile,
Sister Bradley
1. This elderly lady needed help decorating her tree :)
2. "The stocking were hung by {their desks} with care" :)
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