Merry CHRISTmas! 🎄

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

What a beautiful day! It is a lovely 70 degrees here in the desert in Southern California. Also, it was so good to be able to Skype my family today! What a blessing that we get to do that twice a year as missionaries. I love my family soooo much. The next time I see them face to face will be at the airport!

Okay so I am LOVING my new area. It was super hard to say bye to the Onaga Trail ward and everyone there (there were definitely tears), but I know it’s inspired that I am here. I am in the Shadow Hills ward in the Palm Desert Zone (the city we are in is called Indio) and things are going really well here. Also I just LOVE my new companion Sister Losee. She is so kind and humble, and I learn so much just from being around her. I feel very at peace with her which is refreshing! I love her already!

Fun facts about the area:

- 95% gated communities (and they are GATED, we’re talkin security guards at every entrance) (there has got to be someone famous that lives here, will someone please google that for me thanks)

- wealthiest area in the mission (I think I mentioned that last week) (SERIOUSLY IT IS SO NICE HERE)

- I have ROOMMATES ️ (Hermanas) (this is the first time I have had roommates on my mission)

- there is a gym in our apt complex so I can get a good workout every morning!

- it reminds me of a Utah ward (ie lots of blond moms with blogs and instagram-worthy homes, plus lots of kids)

- a member of our ward (Brother Romano) was Josh Grobans vocal teacher and apparently he is good friends with Barbra Streisand

- the work is going really well

- we have two people on date for baptism, one next Sunday (Brother Brown), and the other is on January 13th (Brother Ricketson)

- everyone is super nice

- there is a ZOO in our zone

- there is grass here (there was definitely not grass in Yucca Valley, just dirt)

- that’s all I can think of

Wow that was a lot of fun facts

Anyway, I am so happy to be a missionary at this time of year. What a wonderful opportunity it is to focus on Christ and celebrate his birth, and to bring others to the knowledge of the truth and to help them to feel of Christ’s peace and joy. I heard something cool yesterday, that if you break up the word “Christmas” into Christ-mas, and “mas” means “more” in Spanish, then it means “more Christ”! And that is exactly what we need in the world, more of a focus on Jesus Christ. More of a focus on spreading His love. I came across a BEAUTIFUL scripture the other day:

1 John 4:7-9

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

I absolutely love those verses! Let us love one another, for God IS love, and that is why He sent His Son into the world, because HE LOVES US. And through Jesus Christ, we can really truly live and experience joy. I invite you all to remember Jesus Christ today. Every day, but today especially. Remember that he came here and lived and died for YOU, because he loves you. He knows your name. He suffered for you. Remember Him today by loving others. Reach out and help someone else. Refrain from saying something unkind. Serve someone who might be going through a hard time. Smile and give someone a hug. I know that God IS love, and that’s why Jesus Christ was born. So we can feel the joy of His love ALWAYS. Let us love one another! It’s never to late to #LightTheWorld!

Well I hope you all have a very merry Christmas today! Eat lots of food and love everyone. And remember to put more of Christ in your life. LOVE YOU ALL! Feliz navidad!

Sister Carina Brown

California Redlands Mission

Discover.mormon.org