I'm not sure why we are having such a hard time keeping up on our writing on the blog. It has been several weeks since we have visited and we will try to catch up. I hope we can, however, we don't seem to catch up on our sleep. ha ha The first thing I would like to share is #ASaviorIsBorn. If you haven't seen this little film I invite you to visit. It is wonderful. We heard that over 600 children tried out for the parts.
The Christmas Season is here and being here in the mission field we see and understand the real meaning of Christmas and we don't have TV or Stores to temp us in any other way. If only it were possible to live this way all the time. We do have to know what is going on in the world, but here we can go days without seeing or hearing of the terrible things that are happening in the world. Our Savior's birth is what matters, and his atonement for each of us. This last Friday we had our "Christmas Walk" here in Old Nauvoo. Elder Horlacher was in the Nativity as a shepherd. The Nativity was 20 mins. with 10 mins in between. We had 5 showings with a packed house. Over 100 for each show and we still had people waiting. It was beautiful and the spirit was very strong. At 5:00 pm we had the tree lighting, the Hamilton High School Choir and the Warsaw High School Choir and Jazz Band preformed, the Mission Choir and all missionaries sang. Then we had 3 wagons all decorated in lights taking the guests to the downtown to see the Nativity, Caroling on the streets with big fire barrels, the Family Living Center where they could get warm by a real fire and have hot chocolate, cookies, cheese and crackers, veg. and dip, and then taking them back to the parking lot to get their cars. They also walked down to the Browning Gun, Print Shop, Post Office, and the Tin Shop where stories and singing were going on. People couldn't believe the mission would go to this much work for one night. They would ask if we couldn't do it at least one more night because they knew of people who couldn't come Friday and could come Saturday. They, most everyone I talked to, said they will come next year, that it was a wonderful way to start Christmas. We will be doing the Miracle of Christmas Dec. 19th and 20th, this is a community Concert Celebrating the Savior's Birth . So we still have a lot of practice, etc, to keep us plenty busy.
As we ponder the happening of the World and Country I found this Scripture and Quote, D & C 59:23, "But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." This quote is from Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith: "There is no cure for the ills of the world except the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our hope for peace, for temporal and spiritual prosperity, and for an eventual inheritance in the Kingdom of God is found only in and through the restored gospel. There is no work that any of us can engage in that is as important as preaching the gospel and building up the Church and Kingdom of God on earth" (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, p. 273.) Remember we are all missionaries and we must stay strong and always stand for what we know to be true and right, even if we stand alone . I meet a family from Australia, they had 2 daughters and one son. They were here to the USA for a month and stopped here in Nauvoo for several days. When members come we ask if there is anything we might do to help them with their missionary work. We invited the children to talk to their friends and share the gospel with them. The mother shared that the 17 year old daughter didn't have any friends at school because she was a Mormon. The young girl was beautiful, she said, "Its ok, I'm ok with no friends, I have my family and I know the church is true." Sometimes we really do have to stand alone in our belief, except we know we are never alone, even when we sometimes feel alone, because we know that Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ is always there. Its hard to think the world is so against those who believe in Jesus Christ. But we know Satan is working harder than ever on those who dare stand up for what they believe. Satan has to know that he can not win, even when he has success with a few.
The Nativity at the Visitor Center is very beautiful. Elder Horlacher and myself have been working there more now. It is quite now, so when we have guests we are able to spend more time with them and answer many questions.
The little School decorated out side. And inside is Noah's Ark. It is made of weeds. It is the cutest thing. A missionary made it some years ago. It has started to fall apart. What a sad day it will be when it is no more.
Enjoy the season, we are so grateful for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ and for each of you, for your love and support. May our Father in Heavens choicest blessings be yours..
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