Hello everyone!
How are you all doing? How was your Christmas? Christmas here is definitely very unique because its not really celebrated in Mongolia. A few people will wear Santa hats and that's about it. Not going to lie, I felt a little down about the lack of celebrations but I also have the most amazing companion ever and together we made the most of it. And to top it off, so many people reached out in loving waysp that made it all the more special. For example, everyone at church greeted us warmly with shouts of Merry Christmas! And they planned the primary program for that sacrament meeting, so it was a Christmas joy to hear all the littles sing "I am a Child of God" and bear their testimonies. My favorite was a little kid who, in his simple yet powerful testimony, exclaimed "I believe in God.. I believe in God....Amen!"
Another Christmas miracle that touched me was from our English students. Oftentimes I don't know how much of an impact we have on the students, especially because they only show up to class here and there and we are just teaching the community. We try to cater to their needs as much as possible but there's still so much room for doubt and uncertainty that we are actually helping them. Yesterday, after our class, the students excited told us to follow them and then they pulled out sweetly wrapped gifts for each of the teachers (there's six of us teaching so it was a lot of thought and efflrt on their part). They touched my heart so much because they took the time and money and planning out of their day to get us gifts to celebrate our culture's holiday because they knew how much it meant to us. My heart is so warmed by their compassion and they inspire me to care more for the people around me.
On Christmas Eve, we had Zone Conference and that was the coolest experience of my entire life. The trainings were divinely inspired and everyone did a fantastic job training us. It was also spiritually rejuvenating and I felt like I had just watched General Conference because the spirit was so strong. Also, since our mission is so small, most of the missionaries in Mongolia were there, so 9 out of the 12 people from my MTC district were there. It was so exciting to see everyone again and hear about their experiences as well. Our Mission President also planned an amazing Christmas feast for lunch at this really fancy hotel. We had all kinds of food from sushi to chips and salsa to pizza and so much more. I tried ox tongue and it actually tastes pretty good. One Elder brought this really spicy chemical and each of the missionaries and Mission President tried it. We all started gagging and coughing from the heat. I think everyone around us thought we were crazy because its not everyday that you see 50 white missionaries torturing each other with spicy chemicals in a fancy hotel in the middle of Mongolia.
We also had a Christmas Musical Devotional put on by our church that night and we got to invite all of our English students and investigators to it. Most of the musical numbers were put on by us missionaries and the spirit was so strong. Many nonmembers afterwords thanked us for the experience so it was a good missionary opportunity!
Christmas itself was interesting. After church, our dinner plans canceled so we had absolutely nothing to do on Christmas. We were feeling a little bummed out until we thought "What would Christ do?" Then we said a quick prayer that we could find someone to serve and began walking around the city. We couldn't proselyte but we could offer to help people. We offered to help people 10 times (we offered help to one person twice on accident haha) and were rejected every single time, kindly thankfully. We walked around for about 2 hours and by the end, we weren't quite sure what to think. Then we were talking about the lessons we could learn from the experience. I felt the Spirit testify so strongly to me that our experience on Christmas was to help us experience Christ's life as he went around seeking to serve and teach others. We were not persecuted or cast out like He was, but the experience really helped me to connect with my Savior and I have developed an even stronger testimony of Him. I know that He lives and that He died for each of us. I know that He is our light and our greatest gift. He has felt our pains and can comfort us with open arms if we simply turn to Him. I love my Savior!
Also, I experienced so many Gift of Tongues moments this week! We did an exchange last Wednesday and we had set up a lot of plans with many of our investigators. And since I was leading the area, I had to be the one to start the conversations and contact everyone, which was really difficult and scary. However, whenever I had moments of doubt or confusion, the Spirit would prompt me to say something. And I realized that there was so much I knew how to say, I was just forgetting everything I knew! All of those moments were so helpful too because they helped me connect personally with our investigators and show them that I genuinely care about them even though I haven't spoken to them as much as my companion has. I had about 4 of these moments this week alone and it felt so good to be able to talk more openly with the people here and understand them better. It was such a blessing.
I hope and pray that all of you had a wonderful Christmas, even if the circumstances were a little different this year. I care about all of you and want you to remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ care about each of you as well. I was reading in 3 Nephi 9 when Christ is speaking to the Nephites before He visits them. Verse 14 says:
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
I love that Christ is always reaching out to us. He wants to lift us and help us if we turn to Him. We can turn to Him by becoming more like Him and by learning about Him through the scriptures. I invite you reach out to one person this week and serve them every day in some small way. I promise that doing so will bless your life!
Love,
Sister Potter
No comments:
Post a Comment