Called to SNOW....I Mean Serve!!!: Week 54: The True Meaning of Christmas

Hey Family and Friends!<3

I hope you all have had a very Merry Christmas and continue to! Especially in Arizona with your warm and sunny weather! It has been an arctic wasteland here lately! But I am cool with it.....*bu dum cha*....it looks like we will be having a white Christmas!:D

So I decided to do a little something different today. I feel inspired to share a journal entry that really helped me understand the true meaning of Christmas this year. I hope you can feel the spirit as I share it and that it motivates you to share Christ's light with others.

December 10, 2016

This morning was one of those "miracle mornings" that we are often blessed with on missions. However, it was a tender mercy because we were given an answer to a "why?" question from Heavenly Father that can often be harder/more challenging to receive/understand. We unfortunately couldn't make it to the Holland Sisters' baptism because of the crazy snow and our lack of a car (members willing/wanting to drive in it-I don't blame them. We didn't even want to risk anything.) We felt bad because we wanted to be supportive sister training leaders and the zone leaders and Wyoming 3 elders were even going. But we prayed and we both received the answer, "Why are you asking me? You already know the answer." So we head off to door knock and head the opposite way because I felt like we should. And what do you know? There was a kind, young man that we were able to give a Christmas, Mormon.org card. Then, we had to make a pit stop at a gas station to use the restroom and had we gone the other way, we would've had to wait for a couple hours. We stopped at the gas station, used the bathroom, I bought 2 donuts ('cause why not?), gave the cashier a Christmas card, and then we headed on our way to door knock.

I happily ate, shared, and enjoyed my donuts. Meanwhile, a truck with a trailer happened to spray us with dirty slush (and A LOT of it). He didn't mean to, but it made me a little grumpy, and of course I happened to be the one standing closest to the road. But on we walk.......we ask one lady if we can help her shovel her snow and she politely declines because she's almost done. But we see a little ways on an old man who looked weary and was struggling to even pick up his shovel. From how little he had done, it looked like it would take him all morning to finish. We dodge traffic and run across the street to offer to help him. He gratefully and politely accepted and me and Sister Vera shoveled away. Well, as we were shoveling I could feel my Grandpa Rogers with me and that he was proud of me. I said a silent prayer in my head for my hands and wrists to not ache for the rest of the day due to my arthritis and shoveled on.

Well, the man happened to be 72 years old and his name was James (or Jim-he said for short). Just like grandpa. I felt so grateful in that moment for that experience and the joy I felt for serving that man. He told us that was only their 2nd winter living in that house and thanked us with a dozen, free eggs from their chickens. We told them we don't need/take pay or money, but they insisted on the eggs. Now I know why we didn't go to Holland. I got my "why?" And as I walked home to our apartment happily carrying the eggs, I prayed to thank God that my hands didn't even slightly hurt.

I hope that you all felt the spirit as you read that. I know the true meaning of Christmas is Christ and all he did for us while on the earth. Let's keep that service and love moving forward as we spread the light of Christ this Christmas season. Love you all! Merry Christmas!:)

Remember the church is true and I love you!

<3Sister Rogers<3

Michigan Lansing Mission