Dear
Mom and everyone else,
Another week has come
and gone! Time is a fickle thing. Anyway, I love the Spirit of Christmas and
the happiness that is in the air! Even though it's darker and not as sunny and
sometimes that is kind of hard, I love the lights and atmosphere and how people
are much nicer and open when you talk to them. Something interesting happened
this week though that really made me think about Christmas and what it is
really supposed to be about, because a lot of people get stuck in the presents
and parties and commercialism. So here's the story. *Disclaimer* This is not a
reflection of any of the people involved or their choices, but something I have
noticed in society in general.
So last week was the
ward Christmas party and everyone was really excited for it and looking forward
to it for days. A lot of effort was put into it to make sure that everything
would be just right. The decorations were impeccable, the food was delicious,
and everything went smoothly. But something was missing. We had invited all of
the people we teach to come, but many of them couldn't make it because of work
or previous engagements. There was however, our nine year-old investigator who
really wanted to come, but her mom had to work and couldn't bring her so she
asked us to find her a ride (we're not allowed to bring anyone with us in the
mission cars). We didn't think it would be a problem though, we had all day to
find someone and there were plenty of great people who lived nearby who we
thought would love to bring her. Well, long story short, we tried and called all
day but we weren't able to find anyone and the hour of the party was getting
closer and closer. There were many reasons why the people couldn't- they didn't
answer the phone, or they weren't going to come, or they were too busy, or they
were going early so they could set up. Well it was almost time to leave for the
church and we called a few more people again to see if they couldn't go pick
her up and then go back to the church which would have been a slight
inconvenience but wasn't too far, and still no one was willing. Everyone was
too busy making sure the decorations and food was perfect for the party, and
when all was said and done, no one was willing to go get a nine year-old
investigator who just wanted to be there.
Like I said before,
this is not meant to chastise or call anyone out for choices or decisions made,
but it really made me stop and think. It broke my heart a little bit to see how
easy it is, even for us as members of the church, to get lost in appearances
and everything else and lose a little bit of the true Spirit of Christmas
amidst all of our preparations and plans. It was still a great party and a lot
of fun and I truly do love the members of this ward, but if anything it made me
realize that I am probably guilty of the same. How often am I in such a hurry
to get to my meetings and appointments that I don't stop and help those by the
way who are inwardly suffering and crying out for help? How often are we in
such a hurry to get to the end when it's most often the journey that brings the
reward? Not to be poetic or cliche because we all know there are already enough
cheesy people in the world, but it's still something to think about.
Anyway, I hope you are
all having a great week and getting into the proper Christmas Spirit! Lots of
love from Sonoma!
Hermana Burton
And just in case
anyone didn't get that the address had changed:
Hermana Carol Burton
888 W. Verano Ave.
Sonoma, CA 95476
Ugly sweater for the win!
