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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