It's gonna be a WHITE Christmas

HELLOOOOO!!!!! Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii hello. I just get so excited to write you all. Woo!!!

It has been an amazing week full of miracles! (If I had a dollar for every time a missionary said that. It's true though, lots of miracles!!!) The biggest miracle was that we set up a Light the World stand on Saturday and it was a HUGE success! We were so grateful that the Lord made it happen because we were so stoked about it. Here's the story:

So we got word that there was a big Light the World poster in our area and we wanted it so we could set up a stand and hand out pass along cards! And the more we thought about the idea, the more we LOVED it, and we knew there was a reason that God placed this idea in our brains. So we were thinking about places where we could set it up, because there is no downtown Fontana or anything, and we thought of D.I.! Deseret Industries. Which is basically the downtown of Fontana, okay. It's kind of like how every TV show sitcom has a "hangout spot", well Fontana,s hangout spot is DI. Tons of cool (LDS) people work there and everyone knows everyone and it's the coolest. We do service there every week and it is so fun.

So! We go to DI, and we find one of the managers named Dennis, and we tell him our idea (which was: we want to set up a light the world stand here and have signs that say "I love you mom" that people can take a picture with and send/post for their mom, because the way of the day was 'Jesus cared for his mother and so can you'. So we want people to participate in the initiative and also give out pass along cards so they can learn more if they want.) and Dennis (who is a really nice guy) shoots it down. He's like "we can't have a stand, we can't have a table, nope nope". So the answer was no. And were like ahhhh whyyyyy. So we go to countless other stores and they all say no or tell us this crazy process we have to go through and we were like um no. We even went to city hall! No luck anywhere. (At this point you may notice that we are like Nephi going to get the plates and having no luck)

So we go back to DI on Friday because we felt soooo good about having it there, and there was a different manager there named Aaron. So we told him our idea, and he LOVED it! He was all for it! We were like what! So he told us "I love it. Talk to Dennis tomorrow because he is scheduled to work and see what he says." And were like ahhhh Dennis okayyy. So the next day (Saturday), we go into DI with all of our supplies, ready to face Dennis and bracing ourselves for rejection. But here's the miracle: Dennis wasn't there. He was nowhere to be found! And he didn't show up all day, even though he was scheduled. And we had no idea why. So Aaron was there and he was like "yeah go for it woo yay yay" and we set up the stand and it was AMAZING! The Lord prepared a way for us! We still have no idea why Dennis wasn't there, but we are so grateful haha. Miracle. I will attach pictures of
the stand! It was so fun!

Now for the explanation on the subject of this email: Addy, Sarah, AND Ray are all getting baptized this Saturday the 24th!!! WOOOOOOO!!! What better way to celebrate Christmas than by making a covenant with Christ?! And these are all separate people with completely different stories, and they have all been taking the lessons for a looong time. It is seriously the coolest thing. I feel so blessed to be a part of it! The Lord really is hastening his work! So, white Christmas, white baptism suits, you get it. Amazing!!! It's going to be an amazing Christmas!

I invite you all to think of what gift you can give to the Savior this Christmas season. It is all about Him! Think of something you can change each day to come closer to Him. The Light the World initiative is still happening, so participate! Let's continue to light the world! You are each individual lights and can be a light on someone's pathway to the Savior.

I love you all SO much and I hope you have an AMAZING Christmas!!!

Ps. My p-day will probably be on Wednesday next week! Just FYI!

Sister Carina Brown
California Redlands Mission
Discover.mormon.org