White Christmas

January 03, 2021

White Christmas

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

How is everyone?! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas!!! We had snow, sunshine and rain all in one week and I’m grateful Heavenly Father gave me somewhat of a “white Christmas”! It truly was a great week here in Kirkland and my one and only Christmas as a missionary was really special.

Our week was so busy with last minute efforts to “Light the World” and help investigators and members get ready for Christmas. We wore our Santa hats around all week long and talked to tons of people! President Beardall kindly gave us a Christmas present this past week of the ability to go tracting! What a sweet gift right? …..no hahaha. It was the coldest week of the year and my hands were numb coming home every night from knocking in the cold. BUT it was still really fun and fulfilling to be out in less than ideal circumstances sharing the message of the Savior’s birth with others. I know I am in good company. Between the hermanas and 3 sets of portuguese speaking elders in my zone, we have our area down like a science and have met some awesome spanish speaking people that want to meet with us! We are trying lots of different contacting methods and we are seeing the work progress.

Christmas 2020 was something I will never forget! I had such a blast and kept ourselves so busy that I barely had time to miss celebrating at home with my family. Between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I made a few batches of cookies and had quite a few plates of cookies and candy canes to hand out to investigators and members all around Kirkland and Redmond (just like every other missionary did on Christmas haha). It was awesome. We spent the day driving around in the pouring rain in our Rav4 that is now named “The Sleigh”. To end our day, we feasted on some ham and potatoes from English members and a collection of tamales and other spanish specialties that our friends had given us out of gratitude for the cookies and notes. It was so yummy and we laughed all night long enjoying all of our food and treats. Between talking to my family and friends, being out serving others and opening some gifts, I felt so loved by so many people but especially felt the love of my Savior. Focusing on turning outward instead of inward during the holidays was a highlight of my mission.

For a quick spiritual thought I would love to share a quote that my dad sent me today as I’ ve been preparing to give a training to my zone on “Faith in Jesus Christ” this coming Tuesday. The quote reads:

“The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue-- it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know.”

I had to read this one a few times to really understand it. I came to realize that Heavenly Father is not worried about the amount of faith or knowledge that we have accumulated. He is not trying to judge our mortal success on the size of our testimonies. Instead our Heavenly Father is encouraging us to willingly exercise all of the faith we have when given an opportunity. Everyone needs to demonstrate integrity and act on our imperfect faith to better become like our perfect Savior. As all of you begin 2021 this coming week, I hope all of us can attain a renewed focus on not just increasing our faith in Christ but actively and honestly demonstrating it on a daily basis. Face the future with faith!

Thank you for reading another rambling letter from me and for the constant support I receive from you all! I have felt so loved by so many this past holiday season. I wouldn’t be here without you!! Happy 2021 everyone! There is so much good in store for us this coming year.

Sending love from cold Seattle!!!

Difícil es bueno.

Xoxoxoxo Hermana Christensen