December 24-A California Christmas

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Merry Christmas!! This week was great! Elder Whitchurch was sick most of the week so we haven't been able to go out and find as much this week but we definitely have felt the Christmas spirit

We had a couple interesting lessons with the our Brazilian family. They were confused why people dressed up for church and thought everyone was fake, then they started asking questions about the word of wisdom and they don't understand why God "picks and chooses a few bad things" when there are plenty of addicting substances, as always though we testified of the book of Mormon and how all questions can be answered if they read and pray about it. The next time we came over we finished the plan of salvation and they had a hard time understanding it. The father feels like religion is a personal thing and nothing from the outside like church can change him. We testified boldly of church and the importance of the sacrament, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith and told him that if he didn't want us coming over we would stop. He got kind of emotional and told us that he doesn't want us to stop coming over and that everything is going to take time for him and that he wants to read the Book of Mormon but it will take some time. We decided to take a break for a while and let him read. We did go over and Carol to them with other members which was awesome, although it was simple, they could see we have genuine love for them. I do love this family. I love this family probably more than anyone I've met on this mission and my heart hurts when they don't keep the commitments. We have fasted and prayed hard all week for them, and we just want them to feel the true joy that comes from being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost. Everyone pray for this family!

That's about all that happened this week. We went caroling a couple times and it was awesome to see how touched people get by a simple gesture. I have loved the Christmas time and serving others. 

I have felt closer to my Savior this Christmas than ever before. I love him. A couple weeks ago I read these scriptures In Mosiah that really struck me. 

Mosiah 14:3-53 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

I am so grateful that I get to share the good news, that Christ lives and that he payed the price for all sins. I know that through through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost we can live in the Kingdom of God. There is no other way except Christ. He is the reason for the season! I have been healed though his atonement. Although this mission has not been easy, people rarely want to listen to us, I do it because I know that there are those who need to be healed through his love and sacrifice. I testify that he is Love's pure light.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Elder Judd




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