Monday, December 28, 2015

Week 69 - Joyeux Noël!


Hello everybody! 

I'm going to be honest I don't really have the desire to write out everything we did this week plus I just saw you (well, mostly Mom Dad and Erik) on Friday so... It's gonna be quick. 

Before Christmas we just did finding. Comme d'habs. 

Christmas was really good! We spent Christmas Eve in Lille with our district. We had a raclette fête and played loup-garou (basically Mafia but with werewolves) and ping pong and just had a good time. 




That evening in Valenciennes we were with some really awesome members and they fed us really well! It was very French haha we got there at 7 and got home at 11. And we were eating pretty much the whole time, except for a little break we took to play a few rounds of Uno before the cheese course and dessert. I love the French. 


Christmas Day we got up late and opened presents. I made Soeur Sabando make us empanadas with paté. Then we went to an amis' for lunch and then Skyped. It was a good day. 




And that's the important stuff! 

This is too short and I wanted to share this story last week but had already written too much so I'll share it this week. It's from a Christmas Liahona from a few years ago and for some reason I love it. So. Enjoy. 

"When I was a member of our district presidency, I helped coordinate an activity in which the members of our district donated toys to poor children living in the city of Soacha, Colombia. We had a wonderful response from all the members. Not all the gifts were new, but most were in good condition. As we finished loading the gifts on the buses that would take us to the city, a young girl came up to me with a plastic ball that had been heavily used and was scratched. I held the ball in my hand, wondering who would have donated such a beat-up ball. With some disdain I tossed it under the seat. When we arrived, our youth began singing Christmas hymns. Their music, along with their Christmas hats, attracted a large group of children. When we started handing out the gifts, those children called other children. Soon we had given out all our gifts. When we were about to leave, I saw a boy about eight years old running toward us, holding his little brother by the hand. When they arrived, the older boy said, “We came for our gifts.” His innocence left me without words and touched my heart. I explained to him that the gifts were gone. He responded, “It doesn’t matter if my gift isn’t here, but my little brother’s must be here.” Then I thought of the ball I had tossed under my seat. I told the boys I did have one more gift but that it was a humble one. “It doesn’t matter what it is,” he said. “That is the one.” I got on the bus and found the ball. When I gave it to the little boy, his joy overflowed. Jumping with gratitude, he said, “A ball! That is the present I asked the Christ child to bring me.” He continued to dance around happily as he and his older brother went away with their treasured gift. I quietly stood there and wept as a warm feeling of peace and gratitude enveloped me. The concern and selfless care the older brother gave to his younger brother touched me, and I silently hoped that I would be as eager to bless others as the older boy was to bless his brother. As the boys happily walked away, I was reminded of the Savior’s love for us. He did not even forget a little boy on a mountainside who had asked for a simple ball for Christmas."

Love you all! Thanks for everything you do!

Soeur Hansen



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