Merry Merry Christmas!!! December 9, 2014

Good day everyone!

This week has been crazy crazy crazy! But I guess that's every week on the mission. haha.

We have been seeing so many miracles! We have been using He is the Gift to find and teach people and it has been amazing! It has been helping everyone to get into the spirit of Christmas!! If you haven't seen that video, go to lds.org and watch it!! This Christmas season has been a wonderful one. We have been helping people to focus on the true meaning of Christmas which is Jesus Christ. The whole world, whether they know it or not, is focused on the Savior during this season. It's amazing! 

We have been meeting with a family named the Kokas recently. They are a part-member family and they are wonderful!! The wife is not a member and they have two 15 year-old sons that haven't been active in a while. We have built such a wonderful relationship with them! We taught them how to play Speed and we've been having tournaments every time we go over, followed by a lesson of course. Haha! I love how creative we have gotten about the work here. Our mission president wants us to get as creative as possible during this Christmas season and we've been trying our best! 
We've also done a lot of Christmas caroling! We go to downtown Palo Alto at least twice a week and sing Christmas carols while inviting people to come to the Creche exhibit. I just love the feeling that is in the air. Palo Alto at Christmas time is gorgeous. We went to the Creche the other night and it is beautiful! It's a wonderful and cultural way to feel the love of Christ!

On Sunday, we had combined meetings with two other wards in the stake and we had an excellent program. It was a musical testimony meeting! Everyone was welcome to come up and share their testimony followed by their favorite Christmas hymn, and then the whole congregation would sing that song. It was so spiritual and awesome! I really developed a love for the song "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". I love the peace and hope the Christmas season brings into the lives of all people. 

The best part about Christmas is that we're celebrating the Savior; not only His humble birth, but His whole life, His death and sacrifice for us, and His resurrection. I think that we should pause not only during the Christmas season but every day to think about what the Savior means to us individually. And then we can think about what gift we'll give to Him. There's so much we can do to show our gratitude for the Savior, especially at this time of year. What gift can YOU give to Christ this year?

I'm just filled with love and so much joy. Things are getting crazy now as I am approaching my last week in the mission field. There are so many different emotions that I'm feeling, but I continually find comfort in the scriptures and personal prayer. The Lord is so wonderful and merciful and He loves me and you. 

Ofa Atu

Ote Alofa Ia te Oe

Sister Julie Catherine Harris