Monday, December 23, 2013

Letter 8 - Hey family and friends!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! I can't believe it's Christmas. Crazy crazy! My favorite part of this holiday compared to others past is that this Christmas is dedicated solely and ENTIRELY on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love my Savior with all my heart. This Christmas season, not only are we celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but we are celebrating the LIFE THAT HE LIVED. Because of the Savior, forgiveness is possible, peace can be enjoyed, and eternal life is WITHIN REACH. Because of my Savior, I am who I am, where I am, and I am continuing to become something amazing with Him on my side. So grateful for Him. In the next couple of days, I hope you all have an AMAZING experience - spending time with the people you love most, while remembering the true reason for the season. And please know that I love you and am praying for you all :)
So for Christmas our mission is doing a 4 Gospels, POGP, and D&C read-a-thon! So excited! It takes about 24-26 hours I guess so we are doing it all day Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, all day New Years Eve, and New Years Day morning. SO EXCITED!!!!! This is going to be so great.
Some of you heard about the major ice storm Ontario has had. People were advised to stay in their homes and have candles and flashlights at the ready because of possible power outage. We were told that church would most likely be cancelled the next day because of it. That night Toronto had a major storm with three inches of pure ice layering the streets and everything else. Power went out, cars are everywhere, things were really scary. Please pray for them. Thankfully, the prayers of us here in London were answered and the storm missed us! So we had church, and K..., D...., C...., F..., I..., and K... all came to church! Also, a girl in our ward brought her friend to church with her. He loved it so much that he wants to be baptized, he wants every article and piece of information to read about our church possible, he is willing to keep the Word of Wisdom, and he hopes to come next week and bring his mom and her boyfriend with him! Wow. I love church. The gospel is so true.
We met with a girl named C.... this week. She met with the missionaries like 9 years ago, but she had some concerns and kind of left it at that for a while. She invited us over, and we taught her the Restoration. She is amazing! She is so spiritually in tune - I felt like she was teaching us much more than we were teaching her regarding the beauty of this message. We shared the account of the First Vision, and she started crying. She said, "The Holy Spirit hit me so hard just then. Wow. That must mean that it is true." She accepted a baptismal date, and she was excited for the next time we were planning on coming! WOOPEE! I Love C.... We stopped by the next day, and she felt bad because she only read one chapter of the Book of Mormon the night before. Haha we told her that was AWESOME!! So proud of her.
We went to the C....'s house this week to teach C.... (8) and C.... (14) - they are D....'s children. While there, N.... (17) came home. We had met him a bunch of times before, but for some reason we never asked him if he would like to join. So we asked, and he said yes! We taught them the restoration and he was so intrigued. We gave him the Book of Mormon and the Restoration pamphlet. I guess that night, his girlfriend came over and caught him reading the pamphlet. She said it freaked her out because that was NOT something N.... would do. WAY TO GO N.....!!!! This family is one day going to be sealed for time and all eternity :)
Our ward had a giant Christmas party Saturday night. We combined with the 3rd ward, and let me tell ya, it was a party. SO MANY PEOPLE CAME!!! Pretty much, everyone in the town was invited. Members, nonmembers, less-actives.... everyone came. We were planning on staying only for an hour, but we began talking with many people - nonmembers - who were really impressed with the event and the people that they wanted to learn more about our church! We stayed a little bit longer than an hour haha. It really did go so well. We are so sad though, we found out that C...., N...., C...., and K.... C.... were all waiting at their house for their ride to come, but no one picked them up. They were so excited to come, and so distraught that no one picked them up that they didn't want to come to church the next day - they said they don't want to be a part of this anymore. Please pray that they will forgive us! All will be well :) I Know it!
President Scott shared this poem with us and I absolutely loved it! I especially thought Sister Price would enjoy this :)
I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
For I might misunderstand you and the high advise you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

Well I love you all. Thank you so much for the support and prayers. I am happy. I am not as cold as I thought I was going to be at this time. I love my companion. I LOVE God's Plan for His children. I love this work. I am learning so much each and everyday. Have a Merry Christmas and I will talk to you in a couple of days Family!!!
Love,
Sister Bodine

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