Feliz Navidad to my beloved family and friends!
I hope your holidays were filled with lots of love, laughter, and sunshine...because it was cold up here!!!! On Christmas it was 22 degrees outside and it hasn't been nearly that warm since. Sunday it was -1 in the morning and warmed up to a whopping 9 degrees by 2pm. Suffice it to say that all the socks and hand warmers that I received for Christmas are being put to good use!
So, on Christmas Day we opened presents and then went to Skype our families. It was really great getting to see them and talk to them for my first Christmas away from home! Then we went out to look for people. Hermana Lucas said it best, "Logan was a zombie town. Literally, if a zombie apocalypse happened I know exactly what I would look like. Not only because there were no people on the streets but also because the only ones looking for survivors would be missionaries. ". She is so hilarious and so right! Like it was the Walking Dead up in Logan (without the actual zombies of course unless you count the tired parents and children on sugar highs from the days festivities). Of course the only other people we found were the Assistants to our mission president, Elder Pregnolato (he's from Italy) and Elder Lawrence (he's from New Zealand)! Here's a picture of them:
We hadn't eaten yet and there was nothing else to do, so we decided to go eat with them at IHOP. Then we visited a family that Elder Pregnolato used to live with. They were super sweet and talked to us for a long time. For dinner we went to President's house and had a pizza making competition! That was really fun because all of the companionships who are assigned to USU, the Chinese Branch Elders, and us were there. We all were homeless for Christmas dinner so President and Sister Allred decided to adopt us. We ate, played games (Four to a Couch and Beanboozled, the one with the gross jelly beans), sang Christmas carols and then went home. It was an amazing day! Here are some of the pictures we took!
A bunch of us during Beanboozled!
Elder Maneekam and Hermana Bettey getting all excited for the game.
Hermana Hernandez was tired!
Then, Sunday we had church and Hermana Lucas and I spoke in Sacrament! My talk wasn't very long (I felt really bad because I talked fast because I was nervous and so Hermana Lucas had to take up more time, but it ended up working out because the Bishopric got to bear their testimonies on our topic of setting goals for the new year!)
So I will post it here in Spanish and English (for those of you who can't read Spanish haha).
So I've made it the end of my first transfer!! Crazy how time flies. We found out today if we are going to be moved tomorrow and.....I'm staying! I'm super excited that Hermana Lucas and I will be staying together!!! So happy!
So here's my talk!
Español:
Fijando Metas Celestiales
Cada año, después de Navidad, las persona empiezan a pensar sobre las cosas quieran cambiar en el próximo año. Cosas como ir a el gimnasio, dejar de comer dulces, perder peso, ahorrar dinero, cosas así. Conocemos el resultado usual!
¿Pero qué frecuencia hacemos resoluciones que nos traerá más cerca de nuestro Salvador, cerca del Evangelio, cerca de nuestro Padre Celestial? Y no me refiero solamente ir a la iglesia por una hora, pagar el diezmo pero no de corazón, o simplemente pasar por los mociones, del estudios de las escrituras. Me refiero realmente fijar metas para ayudarnos a alcanzar nuestra salvación. Y no solamente fijando la meta pero también trabajando para lograrlo cada día, no solos en enero y febrero. Élder M. Russell Ballard dijo, "Estoy plenamente convencido de que si no nos fijamos metas en nuestra vida ni aprendemos a dominar las técnicas del vivir para lograr nuestras metas, llegaremos a la vejez y miraremos hacia atrás en la vida y nos daremos cuenta de que habremos logrado tan sólo una pequeña porción de nuestro pleno potencial. Si llegamos a dominar los principios que tienen que ver con el establecimiento de metas, entonces podremos surtir una gran diferencia en los resultados que logremos en esta vida."
Yo sé que soy culpable de no cumplir mis metas de nuevo año y también cosas que quiero lograr en mi vida. Pero algo que e aprendido aquí en mi misión es que la manera que trabajamos reflejan nuestro amor y respeto para nuestro Padre Celestial y Su Plan para nosotros. Debemos fijar metas por medio de oración que son razonable, pero por también sean un desafío para ayudarnos a alcanzar nuestro máximo potencial. Les invito a escribir sus metas y pongan lasa donde las puedan ver cada día. Repasar las a menudo.
Nuestras metas no deben solamente ayudarnos a regresar a. U estro Oadre en el cielo, pero también para ayudar a otras personas. Predicad Mi Evangelio dice, "La medida fundamental del éxito no reside solamente en lograr metas, sino en el servicio que presta y en El Progreso de los demás." Esto no sólo aplica a los misioneros. Tenemos la responsabilidad a combatir el gozo que tenemos en esto Evangelio con todos de los hijos de Dios. Les invito hoy a orar y escudriñar sobre estas metas que ayudarán acercarse a nuestro Padre Celestial y ayudar otras personas hacen esto también. Se nos an dado las herramientas; La Santa Biblia, El Libro de Mornmon, el sacrificio y Expiación de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo, y esto comunidad de las personas que nos puedan ayudar en el camino; ahora necesitamos usarlas.
Yo sé que por medio de fijando metas celestiales podemos aprender las cosas necesitamos para regresar a nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo sé que Su Plan es perfecto y esta Evangelio puede ayudarnos venir a cerca de nuestro ejemplo perfecto, Jesucristo. Amo esta Evangelio con todo de mí corazón. Y comparto esto en el nombre de nuestro Salvador, Jesucristo. Amen.
English:
Setting Celestial Goals
Every year, after Christmas, people start to think about the things they want to change in the coming year. Things like to the gym, to stop eating sweets, to lose weight, to save more money, and thugs like that. We all know how those really turn out!
But how often do we make resolutions that will bring us closer to our Savior, closer to the Gospel, closer to our Heavenly Father? And I don't mean just going to church, paying tithing (begrudgingly), or going through the motions of studying the scriptures. I mean truly setting goals to help bring us our salvation. And not only just setting the goal, but working on it everyday, not just in January and February. Elder M. Russell Ballard said, “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”
I know that I am a culprit of not following through on my New Year's resolutions and even just the things I want to achieve in my life. But something I've learned here on my mission is that the way in which we work reflects our love and respect for our Heavenly Father and His plan for us. We should pear fully set goals that are achievable, but also challenging to help us reach our full potential. I invite you all to write down your goals a post them where you will see them everyday. Review them often.
Our goals should not only help us return to our Father in Heaven, but also to help others as well. In Preach My Gospel it says, "The ultimate measure of success is not in achieving goals alone but in the service you render and the progress of others." This not only applies to missionaries, but to every one of us. We have the responsibility to share the joy that we have in this gospel with every one of God's children. I invite you all today to pray and ponder on those goals or New Year's resolutions that will help you come closer to our Father in Heaven and that will help others do so as well. We have been given the tools; the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the sacrifice and Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, and this community of people who can help us along the way; now we just have to use them.
I know that through setting celestial goals we can learn the things that we need to return to our Heavenly Father. I know that His plan is perfect and this gospel can help us come closer to our perfect example, Jesus Christ. I love this gospel with all of my heart and I share these things with you in the name of of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
I invite you to set Celestial or Heaven-focused goals this year as well as the temporal ones (because we know we all still need those too!). I know that if we have Christ at the center of our lives that we can do all things through Him. I have seen miracles that Heavenly Father has blessed my life with in just this short amount of time being on a mission. I know that He loves each and every one of us so incredibly dearly and is waiting for us to turn to Him and ask, "How can I be better? How can I return home?" If we just humble ourselves enough to listen for the answers and them act upon them I know that He will bless us with more than we can ever possibly imagine.
I am so grateful for this mission, the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, to grow as a beloved daughter of God, and to share it all with you! Thank for your continued love and support for me and this important work that I am doing. It truly is God's work!
Happy New Year and Much Love!
Hermana Brown
Utah Logan Mission
179 E 800 N
Logan, UT 84321
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