Cow for Christmas

P.S. I almost forgot the group picture taken of the zone to commemorate our buying the cow.

On Tue, Dec 11, 2018 at 4:00 PM Bryce Petersen <elderbrycepetersen@gmail.com> wrote:
Hello, everyone!

The holiday season continues to fill the stores with seasonal music, and the gifts are being given - even though all the snow which I had reported recently is now all gone again... Oh well, is still a special time of the year, truly a season of giving. Christmas is made a lot more important when one gives more than he receives, and one of the best type of gifts to give is one which cannot be repaid. For such a gift, me and the other missionaries in the Data Services zone did something similar to what we had done last year. Now, to provide a bit of context, the #LightTheWorld vending machines, allowing you to purchase something for someone else as a charitable donation, have been placed back in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Last year, the young elders of the zone had worked together to pitch in money to purchase a goat for someone in need. At the time, this was the most expensive thing in the machine; however, this year, the Church and organizations who had partnered to make this event possible were much more ambitious about what could be donated; the most expensive object we could buy (a school in a box, providing educational resources for a teacher and 40 students) cost $210. So, this year, I had organized those in the zone who were able to pitch in money to purchase a cow for $150. It is great to be able to pull together to accomplish something great; such things show how truly great people are! It is also amazing to see how many people stop by these machines during the evenings - the line is quite long, and so is the wait. To watch people give both their time and their money to help out like this is a great sight to behold!


Group picture taken of the zone to commemorate our buying the cow.

So, aside from that, things have been wonderful out here in the mission field. I love serving up where the zone actually gets some sunlight! There are still some issues with going to zone on Saturdays; missionaries have not been serving on Saturdays in that part of the building for quite a while now, and they still have not programmed the lights to turn on for us on such days. So, we have been trying to cope by turning on the night-light functions on our computers so that our eyes don't have to strain quite so much as we work. Still, that is something which needs to be worked out. For now, we can tolerate it - we just have to get up and walk around outside a bit every now and again (which is what the mission wants us to be doing anyway). The workload has also gone down, as it tends to do when the holidays come around. As a former missionary in the zone had put it, this is the time of year when people think more of spending time with their living families rather then seeking out their deceased families. Therefore, staying busy isn't always easy, and it is one of the zone's struggles. But, I have been working to find ways to help the missionaries to find things to do, and seeking out extra projects for them. There is still a ways to go, but I think that we can get there.

Speaking of extra things for us to do, around this Christmas season, we have been assigning elders to go out and do Christmas caroling at assisted living homes. Last Friday, I was assigned to go out and coordinate/participate in such an assignment. The place we had gone to was the home Brookdale, which I had gone to multiple times to assist with sacrament meetings. It was nice to be able to help them out in some other way, in that we sang for them. Some of us were more musically inclined than others, but I like to think that we had all sounded alright. There were not many guests who had come to watch us participate, but those who did were very happy that we had come for them. It makes me think, there are probably some of them who only get this visit for Christmas. I do hope that they have family who come and visit, especially at times like Christmas, though I know that, sadly, this is not always the case. That is why such an assignment is so important. It may not be a huge thing for us to visit and sing for them, but for some, it likely makes a world of difference.

I have also received a lot of cards from home. I would like to say right here, thank you so much for the support! I am happy to be able to hear from you around this holiday season! E-mails are definitely nice to receive, and I am grateful for and anticipate each one which I get from home; however, there is also something special about a physical Christmas card, which I am very grateful to receive whenever I get one. So, again, thanks so much!

Well, such are the happenings for me out here in the mission field. I am greatly blessed to be able to serve here, and to have your ongoing support. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season, and that you remember the true reason for the season.



From,

Elder Bryce Petersen



Challenge: I would like to begin this with a question: many people talk about the spirit of the Christmas season; what exactly is this spirit which makes the season so special? The season truly is special, though for some, it may be simply a time of year when traffic is more busy; for them, the commercialism which the corporate world participates in to cash in on the opportunities brought on by the holidays all but drowns out any "Christmas spirit". However, it does not have to be this way. This is because, as Dr. Seuss has taught us, "Christmas doesn't come from a store". Truly, this special season "means a little bit more". If we allow ourselves to focus more on the materialism of Christmas, then yes, Christmas truly is more show than substance, and "all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). (Of course, such celebrations are no sin, so long as they do not become the central focus of the season.) On the other hand, we can remember the whole reason why we have a Christmas season in the first place; we celebrate the mortal advent of our King and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we can remember this, we can have reason and encouragement to begin to live as He lived, and love as He loved. There are few times of the year which would be better opportunities to begin to adopt such a standard, or to at least make a conscious effort to live more in tune with such a celestial goal. Remember, even during this Christmas season, there are those who may not have food to feast upon, or friends and family to celebrate with, or gifts to give, or gifts to look forward to receiving; or any combination of these lacks. We know who these people are; this is a good chance to reach out to them, and help them to feel the same spirit as we do at this time of the year; this will help the "season of getting" turn into the "season of giving". To live as the Savior lived, we must also make it a point to edify ourselves religiously. What good does it do to remember the Savior's birth if it does not work to change us? If this is the case, then Christmas truly does have no meaning past the commercialism which cause some to hate it. So, what is it that makes Christmas so special? It is following the two great commandments - to love God, and to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:36-40). I challenge you to make a point of living both commandments more fully during this Christmas season - increase your love to your God, and to your fellow men. This is what will give the Christmas season substance as the Christian world celebrates the birth of our Savior.