Here are some highlights from the week here in Grangeville. We had some good times!
Sister
Sonenstahl and I were able to read to some elderly folks in this cute
little home after a fabulous district meeting on Friday. We read this
story about the meaning behind the gifts from the wisemen, but where as
the wisemen entered the stable, each of their gifts turned into a
"portion of themselves". So, the first wiseman's gold turned into a
hammer, representing his greed because he hammered his wealth out of the
poor. He worries that the hammer will hurt the child, it's too heavy to
leave there. But the angel Gabriel tells him he must leave his gift,
and leave it to heaven. So he leaves his hammer and goes out rejoicing.
The second wiseman's bottle of frankincense turns into a bottle of
vinegar, representing how bitter his education has made him, and how
miserable comparison has made him. He too doesn't want to leave his gift
for the child anymore, but is told by Gabriel that he must. So he does,
and leaves the stable with a smile. The final wiseman brings his myrrh,
which turns into a spear as he goes to give it to the Christ child.
Gabriel explains to him that the spear represents the war in his heart.
The wiseman has always fought and competed, and it's time for him to
leave that portion of himself at the feet of the baby. The wiseman
worries it'll hurt the child, but is also told he must let this go so he
can be free of the war in his heart. He leaves it, and all 3 wisemen
hug each other and feel great because their burdens have been lifted.
All 3 of those gifts were tied to the future, at a time when the Savior
would again have to bear a hammer, vinegar, and a spear, but the story
also says that those are things we must leave to heaven, our duty is to
remember.
This is a very long story when I read it out loud,
so forgive me for not having all the details. But it really made me
think about what gift I need to give to the Savior this year. New year's
is coming up fast, and Sister Dymock challenged us all to write a
"letter to Jesus" and give him a gift, or a portion of ourselves. I
definitely have a lot of weaknesses that I need to give to the
Savior.... but this year I've decided to give Him my warring heart too. I
want to be able to love everyone simply because they are human beings
too. So if you all get a moment to think this new year's eve, consider
what you want to give to Jesus Christ as a gift this year. It's kind of a
cool experience, and Heavenly Father always has a funny way of showing
you just the area you need to work on. ;)
ALSO THIS WEEK SISTER SONENSTAHL AND I TOTALLY GOT TO GO TO CHRISTMAS EVE MASS. Haha it was "midnight mass", only we did it at 7:30
because the little elderly nuns can't stay up that late. President
Dymock is the best for letting us go! We got some weird looks, like
"Hey, you're not on this team" kind of stuff. But we sang louder than
most of the Catholics so..... whatever. Haha there was a lot of standing
and sitting and chanting and singing and I was a little confused by the
end of it all. But it made me feel really grateful that I get to be a
part of the restored Gospel. That things in our church aren't just
rituals passed down, but that we are actually lead by the priesthood
authority of God. The contrast of our church in the morning, to mass at
night was a really unique experience.
Christmas was awesome!
We got a 2 hour nap, and beautiful breakfast, lots of fun little gifts,
dinner with the bishop, time to skype our families, and we even had time
for the only Christmas movie we have; Joy to the World. Haha it was a
good day.
Well, that's about all. Here are some pictures of
the Christmas festivities around here. I'll send more pics in another
email. I have some pretty good ones this week haha. Sister Sonenstahl
and I are already best friends, so it's a good time.
LOVE YOU ALL! Happy New Year :)
Sister Johnson
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