Merry CHRISTmas :)

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I am so excited for this week! President has really been asking us to share the new Christmas video that the church put out as much as possible. And also there's kind of a little..."competition" going on in the mission with sharing the video. Well, I want to be careful how I use the word 'competition' because the Missionary handbook says that there should be no "competitions" as to avoid getting too competitive. But anywho, the APs promised that whichever zone shares it the most will get some sort of prize haha. But regardless of the prize that's obviously not why we are sharing it. So Sister Levefre and Sister Veater and I have made it a goal to share the video 100 times this week. And I believe that we can do it. It's definitely more than possible. And I know that by exercising out faith in this way that we will see miracles come from it. 

Also sorry if this email is kind of short this week. But I know people are busy with Christmas and such so I hope whoever takes the time to read this email will find that it will help them to focus on the whole purpose of why we celebrate Christmas. So I hope I'll make it worth your while to read. 

I am so grateful for this Christmas season. This is my first Christmas on my mission and it will be my only Christmas on my mission and I am so excited to celebrate this wonderful holiday as a full time servant of the Lord. And so I am sure that you have all seen the new Christmas videos that the church out out called #ASaviorIsBorn. And at the end of the video it says'

"More than 2000 years ago God sent Jesus Christ, our Savior." And then it invites us to "Discover why." Why did Jesus Christ come? To perform the Atonement. And there have been a few times that we have shared this video with people and they tell me "oh, I already know why Jesus came." But I am a living witness that one can, not only discover it once, but then rediscover and then rediscover and then discover all over again the beauty and majesty of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We must continually strive to understand the Atonement more and more. You don't ever just stop learning about it. President Uchtdorf said;

"...we must never lose our sense of awe and profound gratitude for the eternal sacrifice of the Son of God. The Savior’s Atonement cannot become commonplace in our teaching, in our conversation, or in our hearts. It is sacred and holy..."(President Uchtdorf: The Gift of Grace April 2015)

Elder Holland stated it perfectly when he said;

"Maybe the purchasing and the making and the wrapping and the decorating should be separated, if only slightly, from the more quiet, personal moments when we consider the meaning of the Baby (and his birth) who prompts the giving of such gifts. 

I, like you, need to remember the very plain scene, even the poverty, of a night devoid of tinsel or wrapping or goods of this world. Only when we see that single, sacred, unadorned object of our devotion—the Babe of Bethlehem—will we know why the giving of gifts is so appropriate." 

So what makes Christmas so exciting? The fact that we celebrate that FINALLY the Savior of the World had been born into mortality. The One whom prophets had testified would come to save men from their sins and sorrows, the One who had been prophesied of since the beginning of the world. FINALLY this precious little baby came into the world to eventually grow up and do what only He could do--that is--preform the Atonement. 

WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET, THAT THE ENTIRE PURPOSE FOR CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IS BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST CAME INTO THE WORLD TO EVENTUALLY ONE DAY PERFORM THE ATONEMENT AND TO SAVE US ALL. 

It wasn't until yesterday that I watched the video for like the hundredth time or so, that I listened to the words that were quoted from Isaiah and Luke. And the part in the video where it says 

"For unto you, is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord."

And when I heard that 'For unto you.' Part, I felt as though those little children were talking directly to me. The video continues by saying, 

"...Fear not: for, I bring you good tidings of great joy,...

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 210-11)

For unto me, a Savior was born. It was for me that He came. It was for me that He suffered. It was for me that He died. And so it was for you too. 

The reason why we celebrate Christmas is because He finally came to save us. Our Savior had finally come and would eventually grow up and perform the Atonement for us. I thank my merciful and loving Heavenly Father for loving me enough to send Him for me. And for you. And for all of us. 

Please, please, if there is one thing I could ask for this Christmas it would be for anyone, everyone, to remember Him and what He did. And to give back to him the gift of obedience to His commandments. After all that is all He asks of us, in exchange for Eternal Life with Him. 

"But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees or tinsel. With a baby--that’s how Christmas began."

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!”

I love this gospel. I love my Savior. And I love my Heavenly Father. This gospel is true.

Love you all!! Merry CHRISTmas!!

Until next week! 

~Sister Amy Callaway~