Well, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I really enjoyed talking with my family. So good to hear their voices :)
Christmas Eve we got to spend with some members. We went with the Atwoods over to the Wambolt's (a part-member family) and had a feast of a dinner! It was so fun to be around all these families and join in their family traditions. At the end, Sister Maness and I harmonized in Silent Night a Capella. There was a wonderful spirit in the room. Christmas, we went to about 5 families homes throughout the day, from breakfast to dinner. My favorite though was at the Moomey's. They had invited a mother and son who are refugees from the Congo. They are so sweet and it was very touching to listen to the mom share all that she's been through. She had never heard of our church and shared that she had gone to the Jehovah Witness church back in the Congo. The Moomey's are actually from the Bay Area and had a picture of the Oakland temple so I shared that with her and talked to her about temples. She asked if there was any in Africa and I told her how they had actually just announced one being built in the Congo! She seemed excited. We had a wonderful dinner and got to share with them American traditions. The next day, we got a call from Brother Moomey saying she wanted to have the missionaries come by. Although they are not in our area, I was so happy to hear that wanted to learn more! You never know the impact of what you say can have on others! Don't be afraid to open your mouth.
The day after Christmas a special day for me as well. We got to go with Kelley Bartholomew's husband, Brad, to the Boise temple as he received his endowments. Normally we can only go to those that we taught and were baptized, but our mission president knew how much we had worked with him too to help him get back into church. It reminded me a lot of when I first went to the temple and was truly a miracle day. His sister even shared that she never thought she'd see her brother in the temple. You just never know. We can't give up on those we love. Sister Archuleta got to come up too and so it was a fun little reunion. I am looking forward to going to Brad and Kelly's sealing in the Salt Lake temple next October! This is what the work is about. Bringing families to the temple!
I am so grateful for the gospel and I am grateful for the things I learn. As I prepare for the new year, I have been thinking about goals and what this life is all about. In Alma 34:32-33, we read about how this is our "time to prepare to meet God" and that we should "not procrastinate the day of our repentance". This truly is our time to prepare. Something that Sister Maness and I are working on, is setting a new years goal to better prepare ourselves spiritually. Whether it's having more personal prayers, studying your scriptures more diligently, attending the temple more often, or simply giving religion a shot and attending church more or for the first time. It is so important that we learn about our Heavenly Father and our Brother Jesus Christ and strengthen our relationship with them now. There is a quote that "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is now"! Don't feel like it's too late to start or do better. The better time is now. A man shared about how he's been training to run a marathon for about 4 years and still has yet to even sign up for one. Although he knows he has failed on his goal of doing the marathon, he knows he has not failed completely because he still trains and so he has gotten faster every year and is still more prepared than the year before. Stay positive and know that even if you don't "succeed" this year, you are still better off than not having trying at all! Isn't that true in life every day?? I love that. We are not perfect and yet we can try every day to achieve that perfection. Think about what you'd like to improve or start on this year.
I love you all and hope you have an amazing and safe New Years!
Love,
Sister Wightman
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