Small miracles

It's been a pretty good week. We've been trying some different approaches lately and they've worked out pretty well. For a while we've been going around to visit less actives and trying to help the ward figure out who's moved and who still lives in this ward. While doing this this week we came in contact with this one family who moved here about three months ago and haven't gotten in contact with any missionaries or members here. It was really neat because about a week before we met them one of the missionaries who baptized them saw them and was wondering if they had seen any missionaries around. Then we showed up, haha. It's amazing the small miracles we're able to be a part of.

Thanksgiving morning - helping put together Christmas boxes for the Salvation Army

Thanksgiving was really good. We went to a member's house and ate with them and two other member families. They all have a bunch of little kids that were running around everywhere so it was almost like being home for Thanksgiving, haha. We also made some little flier type things I drew up wishing people a "Happy Turkey Day" and went around handing those out to investigators, potentials, etc. We even went to a nursing home and handed some out there. 

Friday we started "the initiative" by handing out those 'He is the Gift' cards when we morning find people. People are a lot more open when we start talking to them about Christmas rather than about prophets or something. It's also been a nice change when we just invite people out to the big nativity event we're having here. It's apparently a really big thing they've been doing in this stake for a couple years now and we get to help out with it a couple times. It'll be pretty fun. 

It's been really nice to be able to just focus on Jesus Christ this season and to help others do that, too. So many people focus on the negative things happening in the world but don't do anything to change those things, even in their own lives. Change is hard and that's why I think so many people are so afraid to talk to us; because we invite people to change. Don't be afraid to change. Even if you're comfortable where you are, you can always be so much happier. One man we're teaching told us, "Why would you do all that work to get to the Celestial Kingdom when the other two are so nice?" We need to shoot for the top and strive to reach our FULL potential. Never settle for less. Even though it may be hard, you'll never regret it.

-Elder Carlson