Merry Christmas!

Hello world,

 

Guess what?  It's Christmas in four days.  I'm pretty sure I'm about 20 million times more excited to Skype my family than anyone has ever been for anything . . . Well that may be an exaggeration, but really.  So this week has been good.  Sometimes I feel sorry for myself and think that I miss the snow and that we don't have enough investigators, but really, life is good.  We just had some unfortunate experiences this week.  I feel so much sorrow for the sins of the world.  There are so many sad people with hard lives.  And we spend all our time working so hard to help them and they just don't realize that it will help.  We tell people that the gospel will change their lives, but so often they don't make it a priority.  This week a really cranky lady chased us down the street and told us to never go back to #30, which is our investigator Jill who is set for baptism.  She said we are harassing her.  So we called her and asked if she wanted to still meet with us and she said no and wouldn't say why.  So that was really sad.

 

But we have been tracting a lot to find new investigators and no one seems to like us very much.  But we keep at it!  Our program in sacrament meeting was so fun!  The choir sang and Sister Jones had me sing the middle verse of Oh Holy Night as a solo.  I just love music, especially Christmas music!  We had so much fun hiking the mountain with the Bellblock Sisters.  We got about half way up, but that was an accomplishment.  It's a big mountain! 

 

I'm so grateful for good examples!  All the other missionaries here are just wonderful!  We had a district service project, spreading mulch and we had the best time.  I am getting so excited for the missionary Christmas Conference.  I'm a little nervous to sing for all of them, but I'm really glad I get to.  We have a Christmas tree, which is wonderful!  We found it under the stairs in our flat!  This week I've been studying and thinking about the reality of Christ.  Even though sometimes people don't obey him, or forget about him, or reject him doesn't mean he's not real.  Someday we all stand before him.  Even when the wicked world turns away from him and say that they don't like Christmas or that religion doesn't matter, Christ was still born and religion still matters.  I'm so grateful for my testimony of Christ that keeps me grounded!  I'm grateful for his never-ending love and his perfect example.  I'm grateful that I can spend every day serving him and working to become more like him!  I love him and I know that he is real!  Having a testimony is such a blessing!!!  I love being engaged in the work of salvation even when it's hard.  Hard things make us stretch and grow. 

 

Sorry this is so short.  I spent too much time sending pictures!

 

Love,

 

Sister Clarissa Johnson

 

This is a close-up of Clarissa's carpet. Isn't it something?

Hiking Mt. Taranaki