Week 48: La Rosa/Pleasant View ¡Feliz Navidad!

¡Feliz Navidad!

This has been a special Christmas week llena con milagros!

☆We had a special Christmas mission conference. We celebrated Christ's birth by reading scriptures, bearing testimony, and even dressing up and "walking through Bethlehem." This transfer, we have been pondering on a gift we could give the Savior, which we wrote down on a piece of paper. Our mission president and His wife dressed up as Joseph and Mary, and as they held "baby Jesus," we each individually got to offer our gift to the Savior. It was a sweet moment. 

☆One night, we went to a teaching appointment and our friend was not home. We knew there was a reason we were there, so we knocked on the door next to our friend. As we were waiting for the door to open, across the apartment complex a young mom (Karina) was entering her apartment with her laundry. We called across the apartment complex and asked her if she would be interested in hearing a Christmas message. She said yes but she was busy. So I ran over to her as my companions were talking with the lady who answered the door and got her phone number. After we left the complex, we were standing outside deciding where to go next when a car pulled up. A man (Rigoberto) got out of the car and he accepted to hear a Christmas message right there on the spot! We testified of Christ from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. At the end he said he knew we were angels and that he is interested in learning more. Then we asked him where he lived and turns out Rigo is Karina's husband! So we have a FAMILY who is interested in learning about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for them! Especially because the La Rosa branch NEEDS families!

☆We went to the Newport Beach Temple with Dean (a recent covert from Pleasant View). He was able to be baptized for family members and be the baptizer as well!

☆On Christmas eve, we had two street lessons in a Mexican neighborhood! Which is definitely a miracle because Hispanics celebrate more on Christmas eve so everyone was cooking and having big family parties. But we were able to teach a mom and her daughter on the way back from the store as well as this lady named Fabiola who is Christian but DOENST HAVE A CHURCH TO GO TO!! So she's open to coming to our church. Sadly she couldn't come yesterday because she was sleeping after all-night Christmas eve party BUT we're meeting with her today! MILAGROOOO!!

☆We went Christmas caroling with all the sisters at a retirement home on Christmas Eve and had the sweetest, most appreciative audience. They were singing along with us and said we should be a professional singing group! We could feel the pure Spirit of Christmas. 

☆Lots of people reaching out to us! Tamales from members and friends, people inviting us to their family's Christmas dinners, and even a random guy at Walmart who came up to us and gave us a 20 dollar bill to go get lunch. Thank you to everyone who sent me packages, letters, emails, and texts! It meant the world! God definitely made sure we felt loved this Christmas!

 

Although I did miss my family, there's no place I'd rather be. Never before have I been able to celebrate Christmas like this. Completely and totally giving this day back to Him. And it has been the most joyful Christmas of my life. 

This Christmas season, it's been special to learn from the story of Christ's birth was we've shared it with others. One of my favorite parts has been learning about the Shephards. The angels appeared to these humble people first, declaring: "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord"(Luke 2:10-11).

Then these shephards were invited to come and be the first to receive a testimony that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, had been born. And once they had received their witnesses, they didn't just keep it to themselves. 

"And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child" (Luke 2:17).

Our personal testimonies are gifts from God. They are meant to be shared, just like the shephards did. Pure simple testimonies (sharing what we believe to be true by the witness of the spirit,without stories or thank yous) is what brings the spirit and allows others to gain their own testimonies of Jesus Christ. what  I invite each of you to share your pure simple testimony of Jesus Christ with someone this week! I promise you, as a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, that as you do this your own testimony of Jesus Christ will grow and the Lord will trust you with more opportunities to share the gospel. 

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I know, by study and prayer, that He chose to come into the world and completed His Divine Mission. He took my place, and paid the price for my salvation so one day I can return to live with my Father. I know that living His Gospel (faith, repentance, baptism, receivin the Holy Ghost, and keeping the commandments), which is made possible through the restored Church of Jesus Christ, brings joy and allows me to accept Christ's offering and use it to change! I love my Savior. He is my Friend. He is my Good Shephard. I have received a witness of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost, and I know that you can too! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

I love all of you! Have a great week!

Hermana Dudley

1.Familia call on La Navidad!

2.Dressed up to walk through "Bethlehem" (Hnas Amezquita, Garrick, Ayala, Garcia, y Rivero (mi nieta))

3. at the Newport Beach Temple! La natividad!

4.con mis compas in front of a Virgin Mary shrine on Nochebuena (Christmas eve)

5.the HB zone has been leaving a nativity piece at one of our friends Rossany (a single mom with two little girls). La nochebuena, we went to leave the pserebre and sing villancicos but she wasn't there lol. We still had fun though singing Regocijad Jesus Nació!

6.Cena la nochebuena con los Menendez. The made us papusas!

7.Hermana Perkins gave us tamales! It seriously made Hermana Amézquita's Navidad:))

8.Christmas eve fútbol. Only the missionaries and some single men showed up lol. Luis and some of the elders are pretty much professionals so we don't touch the ball very much BUT One of the Elders tripped me...so I got a free goal!

9.Caroling with las sisters at the retirement home

10.with mis compañeras en little Belén