Monday, December 7, 2015

The Spirit of Christmas

Dear friends and family,

Christmas time is here! Main Street is decorated, the site is decorated, and we are practicing for another "Music and the Spoken Word" Christmas performance!! Everyone is in the Christmas spirit and I love it! I think the reason people love Christmas so much is because whether they are aware of it or not, they are saying Christ's name whenever the holiday comes around, and Christ brings goodness... So even just the mention of His name makes people happier!

Christmas in downtown Susquehanna
With her new companion, Sis. Robison
This week we visited Jennifer and her family. We shared a message about the true meaning and importance of Christmas-- what they each could do in the next week to be more like Jesus Christ, to help them remember why the holiday is so important. The kids also LOVE the song "I Am a Child of God." We sang it for them the last time we were there, and between visits, Jennifer's daughter, Katelyn, had found a Mormon Message of it on YouTube and had been listening to it. And we sang "I Am a Child of God".... 3 more times that night! I found the lyrics and all the kids squished on the couch around me singing their little hearts out! It doesn't matter where we are from, who we are or who we were, the knowledge that we are children of God is something that touches everyone.  

 We met with Tom twice this week and taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and especially how important Christ is in all of it...actually, He is the most important part of the plan because he makes it all possible! But on Friday we had our first baptism in the font at the site, for a little boy named Deken, whose family just recently became members. We were able to invite Tom to the baptism and he really liked it. He asked us if Deken's dad was the man baptizing him, and we said yes. He then asked who would "his dad," when he got baptized, which both just made us smile! He has such a good heart and we are trying to help him understand and learn everything he needs to know about the restored gospel and Jesus Christ that will allow him to become the person he wants to be.

We went to the Christmas devotional on Sunday night and invited our neighbors, Kris, Ronnie and Travis. They all really enjoyed it and we got to show them around the visitor center and watch the devotional on the big screen in the chapel. We committed them all to write down their thoughts and impressions from the devotional before we go see them again this week. I think the devotional was such a great reminder to us about Christmas, and what it is really about, and that's Christ! 

They found some miniature ponies while out finding!
At the Visitor's Center
We've been using the new Christmas initiative Mormon Messages, "A Savior is Born," and "A World Without a Savior," when we've been out finding (which if you haven't seen, you definitely have to check out on lds.org). It's been very sad how many people won't listen to a simple message about the true meaning of Christmas or don't know why they are really celebrating the holiday. It's so easy to get caught up in everything that comes with the season, but we have always remember to bring it back to Jesus Christ because He is the reason for the season! "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." All the joy that we feel during this Christmas season and every day, is because of Jesus Christ. All that is unfair about life is made up through the Atonement. The hope of living with God again comes through Jesus Christ.

Keep Him in mind as Christmas approaches! I love you all and hope you have another wonderful week! Hurrah for Israel!!

Love,
Sister Larsen


At a Zone Conference 
(a training meeting for missionaries serving relatively close to her area)



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