Sister Calianne Skinner: 12/24/24

 

Christmas Time is Here

Merry Christmas 大家 or 聖誕節快樂 big fam

Its getting pretty serious Christmas is in t minus very soon and I hope you all are soaking up every moment! As for me and my house (in Taiwan) it's a whole different vibe! There's Christmas decorations everywhere but very few nativites and there's parties and music but very few people understand the reason that this holiday is the most wonderful time of the year is Jesus Christ! Or rather they do but they know very little about why a little boy named Jesus was born 2000 years ago is the most happiest thing ever! And on top of all of that they have to work and go to school ON Christmas! But let me tell you about all of the best Christmas moments I have had in the past couple weeks!

🎵singing Silent Night in Chinese~ping an ye~and it was slowly sung and the spirit was there

🍪seeing Christmas Sugar cookies in the middle of a long finding session and going in and buying them while inviting the owner to church

🎅a whole bunch of elderly Chinese people decked in red and Santa Hats singing jingle bells!!

🎃did you know Christmas is actually national Pumpkin Pie day!? And this week when I just was feeling out of it we found a truck that sold pumpkin pie! Tender mercies are real!

🎁preparing small little gifts with our space heaters close to give to some missionaries in our zone! Service really is the best way! 

And then just seeing and recognizing so many miracles which let me tell you about one real fast:

For the past couple of transfers I have been asking everyone on the streets if they knew anyone who would be interested. To this point on my mission it has been to no avail! However PMG says no effort is wasted and this week we saw a manifestation of it in a different way! Through our friend named Evangeline! This week we challenged her to read the Book of Mormon and she agreed to read everyday for thirty minutes if she felt like it! We were not sure how that would go but when we followed up she said that she had been reading whenever she felt stressed and it was giving her a lot of peace! On Saturday when we called to church confirm her she said that she had sent one of the comforting verses to her friend and her friend had loved it! She too would be coming to church with Evangeline! And they both did! And they said that it was so comfortable and it did not feel like any other church they've ever gone to! And when the friend got home she told her boyfriend because she felt touched by all of it and wanted to spread it more! It was such a testament that even the little efforts in fulfilling our missionary purpose can work wonders!

So Christmas is weird and different but as I was flipping through my study journal from last year I found this amazing testimony that helped me remember what it all about it said something on the lines of

This Christmas Season I have learned that Chirtmas is not about clam chowder on the 24th of December and its not about dollar Store gifts on the 25th! Its not about caroling or eggnogg! Christmas is all about the greatest of all born in a stable, who came to live and die for you. And because of hi we can overcome every challenge! And every day I get to spread thay message on the street so what else could I need?

He love you and so do I !!

Sister Calianne Skinner 阮書涵姐妹

Ps drink some eggnogg for me!!

Pps I hvae to give a talk next week on the bom so send your thoughts my way on how your study of the book of mormon has helped you this year!