Merry Christmas everyone!! :) I have received a few Christmas letters from people (thank you...so fun to see everything!!) and Sisar Hales and I have thoroughly enjoyed our Holiday time in Lappeenranta sharing about Jesus Christ. (Sisar Hales is such an awesome comp!) The ward here has been incredible and we have so many dinner appointments this Christmas. We are looking forward to seeing more and more of the Finnish Christmas traditions.
This week my ponderizing scripture is D&C 43:15-16 and I love how at the end it reminds us that all the power that is promised and the things taught from on high are all so that we can GIVE. We are here to give and serve.
This week we had a miracle on a bus that I will always remember and be so grateful for. We started talking to the man next to us with just our normal approach of wanting to share the Christmas video with him etc. and it continued till we realized he had a ton of connections to Carson City, NV (where my comp Sisar Hales is from!! What?!). The more we talked the more I felt like I knew this man. I later realized he was a man I met in Kerava. When I met him there he told us of how he had just returned from fighting in Iraq and he seemed to be having some very heavy post traumatic depression effects (obviously hadn't slept in days, blood-shot eyes, shaking, unable to make decisions). He approached us recognizing that we were church representatives and gave us his number, basically pleading for help and then walked away. We tried to give him a Book of Mormon and any help we could offer, but he wouldn't take it. We tried to call throughout the following week, but we were never able to get a hold of him and eventually had to move on. But now here he was right in front of us on the bus in Lappeenranta! He was in a much better mental state and also recognized the connection when I pointed it out. He went quiet and took the Book of Mormon with tears running down his cheeks. The spirit was so strong, and I am so grateful for this special tender moment when I could see so clearly the Lord's hand. This was a memorable reminder to me of how we are just tools in his hands. He couldn't meet because he was returning to Iraq before Christmas, but was so grateful for the Book of Mormon and talked of what a miracles this was.
I hope to remember the joy and peace it brought this man to just receive the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ! I hope especially this week we can all ponder what the Book of Mormon means to us and our understanding of our Savior. I hope the peace of Christ's birth fills your homes this week as well. I love you and am looking forward to skyping with you! :)
Merry Christmas!
-Sisar Clark
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