EMAIL - December 21, 2011 Buon Natale!

Buon giorno tutti! Happy week of Christmas! It has most certainly been a good week here. Nothing to out of the ordinary. I now have two more investigators, Maurizio and Ottavio, and now I'm having the opportunity to play an investigator for the Anziani in our district. That's an interesting experience. It's a big learning experience to be on the other side. I sang in sacrament meeting with the 5 other sorelle this Sunday. That was fun. And I sang in the choir last night at the devotional. I love singing. Especially here. One of my favorite things is when we sing Called to Serve in the devotionals. That song is cool.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me some Christmas love this week! Dan and Teri! Thank you so much for the package! And the great letter. I was touched. And Grandma and Grandpa! Thanks for your package too! I wasn't sure if I was supposed to unwrap it yet, so I decided to save it for Christmas. It's sitting underneath my little mini tree in my room. Mom! I DID get your Christmas packages! All of them! And you didn't get my snail mail? Interesting... I don't think there was anything too important in there... And thanks Tam for the package too! Those cards were so cute and I love my headband. And who wrote a message with the sidewalk chalk?! If that was someone I know, you know you said Merry Christmas in French, right? haha. And I loved how it was right under the sign that said "Please do not write on sidewalks..." oooohh My family is the greatest. :) Did you watch Music and the Spoken word on Sunday! It was amazing! I was watching for Calli and Sarah in the dancing part, because it was taken from the Christmas Concert, but I couldn't see them. Were they in it?

I feel like I am able to think so much more clearly here. The spirit here is a big factor in that. It's amazing how much it helps me learn things and to realize things I never did before. There have been things I've been learning in our italian classes that, in the two years I took italian, never made sense. And here they click like it was so easy all along. I've also been thinking a lot about Christmas and how great it really is. L. Whitney Clayton and his wife came and spoke to us last night. They both talked a lot about gifts. One gift I'm grateful for, and one that I'm recently really realizing the grand importance of, is the Atonement. The Gift of the Atonement. It is a gift to us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in him perisheth not, but shall have eternal life." (I memorized that one in italian, so the english translation may be a bit off, but you get the idea... haha). God loves us SO much. He wants us to become like Him and return to Him, and we can only do that by coming to this earth, receiving a mortal body, and gaining experience and growing here. But in order to do that, man had to be taken out of the presence of God, which occurred when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit. The ONLY way to return to our Father in Heaven is through Jesus Christ. John 4:6 - "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." He was the only one that could take upon the sins of the earth. Only recently am I really comprehending what that really meant, what sacrifice was paid, the pain and suffering that occurred, how Christ was the only one that could do it, how God had to watch His son go through that. I think of how Christ willingly accepted to go through this in the beginning, how we knew what would happen, how we accepted the plan...because of all this, we are here on this earth. And we have a chance to be happy for eternity, to live with our families for eternity, to receive all of the blessings of our dear Father in Heaven, and it's all because of our Savior Jesus Christ. But we have to accept him. I hope everyone this Christmas season will really think about that. About what Christ really did for us. It amazes me. Don't take it for granted. I know I have most of my life, and I am determined to never forget again. The Atonement is a gift. It is the greatest gift in the history of the world! The Claytons, last night, talked a lot about the angel that visited the shepherds and how that was the best missionary scripture: "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." This message is for ALL people. I am blessed to have the opportunity and to experience the joy of sharing this message with the people of Italy for the next 17 months. But everyone of us knows someone that needs to hear this message. So, I encourage everyone that is reading this that knows this good news to share this message of our Savior's love and sacrifice with someone you care about. I will do my best from here in the MTC. It is the greatest gift you can give to anyone. And I promise if you do you will be blessed and they will be blessed. Remember this season the birth of Christ, our Savior, our loving brother. The greatest gift the world has ever known. As one of my favorite hymns puts it: "Born that man no more may die; Born to raise the Sons of Earth, Born to give them second birth." Reflect on that line, and really think about what it means to you. I know my Savior lives! I know that He loves me and He knows me. I am eternally grateful for Him and his sacrifice.

Vi voglio bene, tutti! E Buon Natale!

 

Sorella Forbes