Letter: Dec. 6, 2021

 

Dear Friends and Family,

Transfers happened! I have a new companion named Sister Campa! She's great! She's probably going to finish her mission in this area, so she's been gung-ho about improving the apartment! I've been trying to help. It feels like a different apartment with all the weird junk we've been throwing out. And I managed to fix the vacuum! Took it all apart and found a belt had fallen out of place. Put it back on and the vacuum went from stinks to sucks. ;D 

Anyway, our area is getting better. Member lessons are starting to spike with Christmas, and we have been instructed to base them around light the world. Pretty fun. 

The people we are teaching are struggling to progress, but I'm hopeful that they will all come closer to Christ at their own pace. I also hope to find again soon. Sister Campa and I are going to go through former investigators. See if we can't find someone whose interested. And of course we are doing our best on Facebook. I'm trying to increase my discipline and get distracted less. It's a fairly boring task, but I imagine knocking doors was too. Different time, same struggle. :'D

About Christmas and Light the World, in one of our member lessons the dad talked about the commercialization of Christmas. We then talked about how Light the World is the church's kickback against that commercialized version of Christmas. I hadn't thought about it that way before. I've grown up hearing people complain about how commercial Christmas has become, but never talk about the solution. Now the church has tried to give us a solution. But the only way for Christmas to be special is for us to make it special. Light the World does all the thinking up ideas and figuring out what to do for us. But if we want to make Christmas more than what the consumer industry has made it, we have to do it ourselves. We have to reach out, give, love, serve, and remember Christ. No one can do it for us. We have to be Christian. And one can only be Christian if they choose to be.

So be unabashedly Christian this season! Talk of Christ, learn of Christ, but most importantly ACT like Christ. It will change everything. I promise. I'm trying to do it, and despite my constant falling short, just my trying is making Christmas feel special. 

Anyway, that's my invitation to you. Sending my love and prayers! And Merry Christmas!!!

Sincerely,

Emily Elise Shill

P.S. The kindest members ever gave us this nativity and mini Christmas tree with the decorations. Honest to goodness, I cried a little after putting it up. It's starting to feel like Christmas!

Under the tree are Marzipan pigs (a traditional German Christmas treat) given us by our ward mission leader.