December 16, 2013

Dear Family,

It has been a week of great blessing. We finally seem to be getting into the swing of things and I am just loving serving in the Rock Creek Ward. Have I said much about Sister Peterson, the Relief Society president? She is seriously one of the most wonderful people. She is changing my mission. I have no doubt that she plays an inspired role in my life as part of my growth as a missionary and as a person. She is a convert to the church and has been through A LOT of things. She has been through the refiner's fire more than once in her life! And she emanates the Light of Christ in such a powerful, powerful way. You cannot help but love her.

This week we had a great lesson with Lachelle. She is another one who has been through her fair share and more of trials in life. Sister Peterson was there for the lesson. And it's actually kind of funny. I couldn't find my name tag that morning and so we ended up being about 10 minutes late to Lachelle's lesson. (I found my back up tag and then I later found my normal tag in a drawer that it is usually in.) It turned out that Sister Peterson showed her around the church while waiting for us, and she was teaching Lachelle about the articles of faith when we got there. I think our lateness had a purpose behind it. Sister Peterson is so good for Lachelle. During this lesson, Lachelle opened up to us more than ever before, mostly because of the connection she has made with Sister Peterson. We were able to bear pure testimony of Jesus Christ, the Atonement, and how the gospel is real and how it has blessed our lives. God has put Lachelle on a path that is bringing her right back to Him. She is one of the most wonderful people, yet she struggles to see her divine potential. We see it, and we are trying so hard to help her to be able to see it. I am so excited for the blessings that wait in store for Lachelle and her sons as they learn more of Jesus Christ, who I know to be the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I tesitfy that he loves us adn that he is who He says He is. We met a guy this week who said he believed that Christ was a good man, but that He was not the son of God. He was only a good role model. We met a man that lived right next to him who is atheist and thinks that the accounts of miracles in the Bible are just made up stories that are meant to give people something to believe in, that they are not "realistic." I just want everyone to know that Jesus Christ really is the Son of God, that He does lives, and that miracles do happen, because God is real! Things don't just happen because of luck or coincidence. God is in our lives more than we know. He loves us immensely, and He wants us to return to live with Him.

This weekend we had our missionary Christmas party, which I absolutely loved. It was a little piece of feeling at home. The power of the missionaries is great! We had a white elephant gift exchange, lots of dessert, musical numbers performed by all of us, and some very inspirational talks from President and Sister Eaton. I felt so blessed and content. And even though I miss Christmas at home terribly, I am so grateful to be able to serve the Lord this Christmas as a full-time missionary! So before we left for the Christmas party I had been carrying a lot of stuff out to the car. When we got back from the Christmas party, I opened the back door and all this stuff fell out-frustrating! As I was picking up the papers and binder and stuff I found my wallet on the ground too. But it was soaking wet. My wallet had fallen on the ground before the Christmas party, had gotten rained on for a couple of hours, and then all the stuff fell out of the car so I could find it on the ground. It was one of those moments where I knew Heavenly father was watching out for me. There are no coincidences.

Something else great that happened was that Jim and Laura went on a church tour! Jim is really progressing! But unfortunately Laura might have to lose her other leg. She already lost one and now the other one has bad circulation, too. SHe is hoping she can last til Christmas. We are trying to get them to church, but it's hard for Laura. But I think Jim is really starting to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit is changing his heart. We have been working with him off and on for at least 4 months! I hope that we can really help him to come to understand who God is and what that means for him.

Yesterday in church I felt like there was a theme I kept hearing, the importance of inviting people to do things. This is something I need to improve on. Sometimes I let my doubts and fears guide me rather than my knowledge of the things that bring us happiness. If we want someone to do something, we just need to invite them! So I want to invite everyone to read the Book of Mormon. It will change your life, whether you have read it already or not. Read it again, or keep reading it. I promise that with time and understanding it will change your life. The Spirit of God resides in it's pages, in the stories it tells, and in the promises it gives us. I know it is true, not because of what men tell me, but because of the Spirit, or the Holy Ghost. Moroni 10: 5 tells us, "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." Men certainly cannot tell us what is true or not for sure, but God, who is all knowing and who loves us, really can. I also want to invite you to go to lds.org/biblevidoes and watch a couple of those short clips about the life of Jesus Christ and His disciples. I LOVE these videos. They will bring the Spirit of Christ into Christmas for you.

I love you all so much. I am thinking about you! I hope you are having a fantastic Christmas season. It's a great time of year. Merry Christmas!

Love,

Sister Mecate