This week was Christmas week and it was another good week overall. We got to see the members quite a lot which was nice as it gave me the opportunity to get to know them a bit better so that was good. We finally had some dinner appointments haha, and just like the teaching appointments I mentioned in a previous email, they both came on one day haha. But it's all good, it was good food and it was filling.
At one of the dinner appointments we met with a member named Juan from Venezuela. I really wanted to go and see him as he's out here alone without his family and doesn't speak Polish so he cooked us a meal and we shared with him a spiritual thought. I shared with him how he can use the little time he has to read from the scriptures and have spiritual experiences each day, and also the importance of keeping a study journal where you can record the thoughts and impressions you receive. I shared an experience I had, where I looked back through my old study journal and saw something I'd written about why I was serving a mission and who I wanted to be in 2 years time. I simply wrote that I want to be a better version of myself and that I want to make the Lord proud. It gave me some much needed strength at that time, and being able to share this experience with Juan was so special and the spirit was so strong. I'm glad I get to share these experiences with others and hopefully make a difference in at least one persons life.
On Christmas Day we hosted a Christmas party and we planned so much stuff and made cookies and no one showed up haha, apart from one member who came and so we stayed and sang carols with him and played games haha.
On Boxing day we went caroling, and there was one experience that stood out to me and has been in my mind quite a bit since. We saw a man on a bench and we sang Silent Night to him, not thinking much of it. I sat next to him on the bench and shared with him the lyrics so he could sing along with us. Once we finished he started to cry, and he began to thank us for what we were doing. I don't understand much Polish but he said that he had lost his wife and kids, and didn't think that Christmas existed anymore, and so he was grateful for us simply singing a carol with him. It shows just how far a simple act of kindness can go, and the importance of love and care toward others.
Over the Christmas period something I thought a lot about is the Saviour's birth and his truly humble beginnings. In the Christ Child video, the very last image is the manger in which He was born, and this was really powerful to me. I thought a lot about it, I thought about His condescension and His humility and His love for his Father in Heaven. There was one scripture that came to mind as I thought about this and it's found in Matthew 8:20, and it says,
"And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
It just really struck me and reaffirmed to me the knowledge that the Saviour knows us individually and perfectly. He was born in a stable, He was a poor man and He was homeless. He can empathise with the poor and the needy because He too was poor as to the things of the world. He can empathise with the downtrodden because He too was "a man of sorrows ...acquainted with grief." He can empathise with those who are spat upon, and cast out and rejected, because He too was spat upon, and cast out and rejected. In Luke we learn that He was sent "to heal the broken hearted." He was sent to bind up our wounds, to offer refuge for the captive soul, and to help us on our way home. I know I speak about this a lot, but to me it's the most important thing I could talk about, so I hope I don't sound like a broken record haha. I just love my Saviour, and I really do stand all amazed at the love that He has for me.
Speak to you all soon, and have a lovely New Year!
Starszy Ashworth x
