CHRISTmas

IT'S CHRISTMAS! Okay, well, almost. That's been our excuse to get into people's houses this week, so it's just Christmas for 2 weeks according to us missionaries. :) 

This last week has been quite an adventure. We taught heaps of lessons and saw a lot of miracles. We were able to find new investigators, stop teaching some of the investigators that aren't prepared to accept the Gospel at this time. We were able to meet some less active members and figure out why they aren't coming to church, and we were able to work with some active members and take them out to meet our investigators. This seems like a pretty vague email, right? Normally I'm better at writing emails in detail, but this week that's not what I wanted to focus on. I just want to tell you how we brought the Spirit of Christ into Christmas. 

Last Tuesday we put the Spirit of Christ back into Christmas by inviting others to share the best gift they could. We have a new investigator named Bruce and as soon as we taught the Restoration and he accepted to be baptized, we handed him TWO Books of Mormon. One for him, and one for someone else. The Book of Mormon is one of the greatest gifts we could ever give or receive, and we want him to experience that joy. He gave us the name of one of

his friends, and we went over right away and delivered it. :)

On Wednesday we brought Christ back into Christmas by going and visiting part-member families. When we went and visited them, we shared the videos found at Christmas.Mormon.org and talked about what it means for us to have a Savior and who Jesus Christ is to each one of us personally. 

Thursday we found Christ in Christmas when we met with Terry. He's been confused on whether or not he's supposed to continue meeting with us. So we all knelt together as Terry prayed for an answer and then we sat there for 10 minutes as he waited. Then he felt he received his answer, he closed his prayer, and he told us he's ready to prepare to be baptized in February. He realized who Christ was to him and decided to give his family the best present he could by setting this example for them.

Friday we brought Christmas to the Woden Hospital. We, along with the Elders and members of our ward, went and sang carols to various floors of the hospital. I have to say it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my mission. An especially precious moment to me was when we sang to E.A. She's a quadriplegic and has a tube in her throat so she couldn't talk, but she cried as we sang and then when we asked her if we could come back she cried and blinked 3 times (signalling a yes). That was probably the best part for me. 

Saturday we felt Christ in Christmas as we sang Christmas Carols to a less active member. She's been pretty hard on missionaries in the past and doesn't like you bringing up church, but after we sang we brought up church and she said, "Yes Sisters! No matter what! 27 December you'll see me there!" Christmas miracles happen.

Sunday was just full of CHRISTmas! The whole block of church meetings was centered on Christ and the Atonement, the true gift! Then after church we went and combined with all of the other churches in Queanbeyan, and put on a live nativity trail! We sang as angels and it was so great to watch everyone come together with our common love for the Savior. 

Monday was our annual Christmas Conference in Sydney! The whole mission got together and we talked of our love for the Savior and what gifts we could give him as missionaries. It was the best! I love being a missionary and I love Christmas. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me. 

I hope you can feel the love I have for Christmas and the love I have for this work. Merry Christmas!

Love,

 Sister Danielle Laree Stott

Australians LOVE Sheep, so Merry Christmas Aussie Style. ;) Zoom in- you can see the missionaries at the bottom.

There is an Elder Stott in the mission from Logan, UT. We did some family history detection and we're actually cousins not super far back. Woo for family! So here's an extra picture. Merry Christmas from the Australia Sydney South Stotts. :)