First, I want to start with the words from the video, He is the Gift:
He is the Gift
The first gift was not wrapped, had no bow, wasn´t purchased online, or in a store. The first gift of Christmas was a simple gift, a sacred gift. It wasn´t gold, or frankincense, or myrrh. It was a gift of love, and life, and peace, and hope. Given by a father, to all his children. And so loved you, and you, and every single one of us. He gave His son. He is the Christ, He is Christmas, He is the gift. This Christmas season, discover the gift, embrace the gift. John 3:16
I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. It is hard being away from home for Christmas, but I am also thankful because I have never though about Christ and His birth this much during the Christmas season. I feel so blessed to solely focus on my Savior and all that He has done for me. I know that He lives, even after He died for every single one of us upon the cross of Calvary. I know taht as He suffered and bled from every pore, He saw each and every one of our faces. He knows how we feel no matter what we are going through. There have definitely been two or three tough days on my mission so far, but everytime I start to doubt, I think of my Savior Jesus Christ which gives me hope and strength to continue pushing forward. I know that through Him, we can feel clean and forgiven of our sins. Because of Him, we can be resurrected and live in eternal glory with our Heavenly Father. This is a gift promised to each and every one of us if we just do the best we can to be like Him. I know that He paid the price for all of us and His grace is sufficient for everyone on this earth. He was a man without sin in the midst of a sinful world, yet was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and be an example for all of His brothers and sisters. He came to the earth to experience all the natural conditions of mortality, was tempted 3 times by Satan, and still never gave into temptation to those things of the natural man. Christ had all the power in the world, but he didn´t use this power for personal gratification. He used it to serve others. I know that when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He had the agency to say no. But while on earth, He chose to only do the will of His father. He was betrayed by His followers and sentenced to death, yet on the cross as He hung there, He asked our Father in Heaven to ¨forgive them for they know no what they do.¨ After His resurrection, His own people would ask ¨What are these wounds in thy hands?¨, the Lord would answer:¨Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.¨ His vicarious sacrifice was truly love-inspired. We have all sinned and ¨come short of the glory of God,¨ but Christ makes up the difference for us. He loves every single one of us and because of His grace and mercy, we can be happy in this troubled world. Though I am miles and miles away from my family this Christmas, I am still so so happy because I know that through Jesus Christ, I will be able to live with them for all eternity. I love my family. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I am more than grateful to have the opportunity to share His gospel and share this hope with the people of Neuquén for the following 16 months. I know that He is the Redeemer of the world, and a light which cannot be hid in darkness. He is the Son of God. He is love, life, peace, and hope. He is Christmas, He is the gift.
Christmas is only 3 days away and I invite all of you to think of this question during this Holiday season: What will you give to Christ this Christmas season? Matthew 25:40 says: Verily I sayunto you, In
I hope you all have an incredible Christmas and take the time to think a little more about all of the blessings we have been given. On Christmas Day, look around at all those you love and be grateful :) Mom, Dad, Toshy, Britt, and Torb, I can´t wait to talk to you this week. I love you guys so much.
Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad.
xoxo
Hermana Van Boerum
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