Christmas Spirit

December 16th

It's been a fun week, and we're definitely getting into the Christmas spirit.

We started the week off by having second Thanksgiving as a district on Monday. It was pretty much a district Potluck. I tried pickled watermelon for the first time. It was pretty much just like eating a pickle.

I think I mentioned last week how we've been working on a little project to get Christmas cards to some less actives. We got the cards all made up and then went on a grand adventure to find these members homes. That turned out to be easier said then done! Sometimes the way the blocs (apartment buildings) are setup, they are really hard to find. Plus it didn't help that part of the time we were out there it was starting to get dark. We made the effort though. We've decided that since we have a Christmas activity coming up this weekend that we are going to make a bunch of phone calls instead and invite less actives to come. I hope we will have some success that way.

We were able to do some service this week at the same place we normally go to. I can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but it's this small organization that helps homeless people and offers little programs for kids to help keep them off the street, give them a good meal, and help them with homework and such. This week, we helped them organize a bunch of books that had been donated. We then helped some of the kids make these really cool snowflakes. That was a lot of fun. It was really simple, but as I've said before, sometimes those simple things really do make all the difference.

Friday was our zone conference/Christmas shin dig. I always love having those conferences. It's so fun just to see everyone and to be uplifted all together. We played some games, had a mission slideshow, and heard some great messages. With some of the things that were discussed, I found myself thinking about the beginning of the mission and some of the trials I went through. I was really hard on myself. I was going through the days beating myself up because I didn't match this perfect image that I had created in my mind that I needed to be. I still had great experiences, and I'm grateful for that trial, because even though I sometimes saw myself as a failure, I continually felt God's love for me. There were seriously times where I wondered why I could feel His love and comfort so strongly when I wasn't even do a good job in my service. I'm okay bringing up these things because I no longer feel those discouraging feelings. I haven't for some time. Not that I never have discouraging moments, but I don't beat myself up anymore. It's something I overcame with the Lord's help. Also, I think there's something that can be gained from this experience. One of those things is that God sees people, including ourselves, in a different way than we see them. Where we may see failure, He may see success. Where we may have a tendency to judge others, He only has love. My view of success has definitely changed since my mission started. Heavenly Father takes joy in our little improvements. He loves us because we are His children. I'm reminded of a devotional by Brad Wilcox (His Grace is Sufficient) in which he compares the gift of the Atonement with a mother paying for piano lessons for her child (this was actually something brought up at the conference as well). One thing he says is:

In all of these cases there should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

Heavenly Father has patience with us because He knows what we are capable of becoming. He sees us in terms of eternity while many times we just see ourselves in the here and now. I guess my point is, don't be too hard on yourself. You are doing better than you think you are. Heavenly Father and the enabling grace and power of the Atonement will help shape and mold you to become even as He is. My second point: Read the devotional by Brad Wilcox. It is amazing and can be found here: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1966

Saturday night we had a musical program with the branch. It was fun singing with the members and we had one of our English student come. She's starting to show some interest in the church. I'm hoping we will be able to start giving her the discussions. We also had a new English student this week who also showed some interest in learning more. Hopefully things will progress in that regard.

I can't believe Christmas is next week! I'm so excited. I'm pretty sure we're going to do something as a district to celebrate. I am so grateful for this time of year. I love everything about it. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father and his Only Begotten Son. I'm grateful for the willingness of Christ to atone for us. Because of that great sacrifice, we can attain all that the Father has.

I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season.

Cu mare drag,

Sora Adams


These pictures are of a castle that we got to go and see this week.  The ground was frozen and slippery and we had trouble walking up the hill to see everything.  It was well worth it.