Sister Madison Coleman: Week 47

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!!!......and especially that you remembered the true importance of this holiday. Presents and Christmas trees are good, families are much better, but Jesus Christ is the reason we're celebrating. I hope you all went out of your way to show more love for people and to spread the light of Christ on this special day.

My Christmas was fantastic! I feel so blessed to be here during this special time of year. The night of Christmas Eve we had a party and gift exchange with a bunch of members. Something I thought was funny was that, instead of a bunch of desserts and stuff, they had a table full of fruit. Like, it was good, I'm a fan of fruit, but I was kind of like, guys, where's the chocolate at.

Afterwards, on Christmas day, we had a big barbecue with a family of members. I ate sheep meat, one of the favorites here in Rio Grande do Sul...it was pretty stinking good, actually. Afterwards we spent the day knocking on doors and singing Christmas hymns for people. That's what I call a good day.

As for Brazilian Christmas traditions, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. I love Brazil, you guys, don't get me wrong, but on Christmas day everyone just stayed inside their house drinking and listening to loud music- and not even Christmas music!

I hope you all took up on my challenge from last week, to invite some friends, neighbors, family members, etc. to go to church with you, come to an activity or family night, or to hear the message that the missionaries have to offer. If not, it's never too late. As we're going into the new year, I hope you've all been thinking about some goals you can make and some ways you can improve in the year to come. I'd like to invite all you to really think, study, and pray about some specific spiritual goals you can make to be a better disciple of Christ and a better member missionary. I love this quote from Elder Ballard about why setting goals is such a necessary thing:

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”