Dearest Family,
Merry Christmas to those of you I wasn't able to wish Merry Christmas
to, and Happy New Year. :) this will be a shorter email because we are
quite busy. We have volunteered for a lot of things this evening and
tomorrow. Haha Including singing, and taking tons of cupcakes to a
investigators birthday party. He's turning 8! :)
Speaking of said investigator. His name is Jose, he is the son of
Johanna :) who came to church yesterday! :) it was another adventure
of her telling us no, and me being quite persistent and stubborn. Haha
she came :) we arrived about 30mins late to church again. But 2.5hrs
is better than none. And she loved it :) plus she brought her son we
are also teaching, named Angel. He is 9 and is the smartest 9 year
old. He understands the things we teach him so well. He is always so
excited to tell us about what he has learned what he knows. He
understands baptism and always asks us when he can be baptized. He is
the driving force in his family. It's so cool! :) I love that kid. He
also told us he wants to be a missionary because it would be the 'best
thing to talk about Jesus all day'. Awesome kid. Anyway, they're doing
great. We're moving their date back so they can all be baptized
together but they're incredible. I hope I will be able to come for
their baptism if I'm not here. (Transfers are on the 6th).
I hope you are all thinking of some New Year resolutions. That's
something I will thinking about a ton between now and Thursday,
especially since we have new missionary training tomorrow and we get
to hear President Fenn speak :) always the best. So inspiring. I hope
you all read President Fenn's harvesters. (My mom gets them). They're
basically the best. But as you set New Years goals, remember that no
real progress or changes are made without the help of our Savior Jesus
Christ. He is the only one that makes change and progression possible.
As we celebrated Christmas this last week, (it feels like so long ago
already) I took a lot of time to ponder on my Savior and His birth. I
love Him with my whole soul. I am weak and still make many mistakes,
but my soul longs to be exactly who my Savior has provided the way for
me. He is the Son of God and yet he came in the humblest of
circumstances, and he was always humble. I read a scripture in the
bible the other day about when he was before the Pharisees and they
condemned Him to death. They then covered his eyes and spit upon him
and hit him and mocked him asking him to prophesy who had hit him. He
is the Son of God, all powerful, and yet, he said and did nothing. He
took the the beatings. That filled me with so much love for the
perfect example Jesus Christ set for us. I feel humbled and full of
gratitude that I have this opportunity to wear His name and be His
representative. I finished reading Jesus the Christ this week and in
there it says of Christ's disciples that after they endured abuse and
imprisonment that "they went out rejoicing that they were counted
worthy to suffer stripes and humiliation in defense of the Lord's
name". I of course don't hope these things to happen to me, however I
do want to come to a point in my discipleship that I can endure
whatever may come, rejoicing that I am worthy to defend Christ's name.
I love Jesus Christ. I know He is my Savior. I feel His live and His
peace fill me everyday. I feel His loving guidance. I have never done
anything better in my life than take His name upon me. I am incredibly
grateful for His birth that made the Atonement possible. I am grateful
for the continual opportunities I have had and still have to change
and grow and cast off the weaknesses and temptations I have, to
improve. I know He lives and I feel it deeper than I ever had. His
peace is real and it fills me in moments of stress and confusion.
I love all of you. I was wonderful to skype you. It made me kind of
homesick for that night. But I quickly snapped out of it when we went
back to work. I love you a lot. Fight the good fight.
Love,
Hermana Simmons
P.S. I'm not sure if I told you, but Hermana Hunsaker and I have a
moto....embrace the awkward and just do it. People already expect us
to do something weird, we're already knocking at their door or walking
up to them awkwardly. Might as well just roll with it. We are striving
to 'fear God more than man' in all our actions. It's great. Once you
just decide it doesn't matter you're doing it no matter the
awkwardness or uncomfortableness, it sets you free in a way. We have
seen miracles.
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