Best Christmas Ever 🎄 PART 2

We also celebrated Elder Tidwell's birthday.... 21! Welcome to the
club! We also just had the best week ever with a Christmas Eve
breakfast with my old college station zone before it split. There was
a lot of other fun stuff we did. I just loved it. We had the best
Christmas ever, going to church twice! I was able to speak in
Sacrament about the birth of Jesus Christ from the Book of Mormon--all
in Spanish! Woohoo. Not even hard anymore. I'm so grateful for the
help of the Holy Ghost... We also opened our presents together as a
district. I love them. Look who came to church! The Fairs. ❤️
Love always, Hermana Sheirbon

Best Christmas Ever 🎄 (Christmas conference)

Dear everyone,

Christmas conference was the best this year. I'm gonna go ahead and
quote my daughter:

"We had a goal as a mission to have 600 convert baptisms this year,
which is really high for our mission. We are going to end the year
around 550 baptisms (which is still the second highest in the history
of the mission.) We came to Christmas Conference a little sad that we
hadn't met our goal. President talked to us about the story of Nephi
in the Book of Mormon. Nephi thinks he has failed when he goes back to
Jerusalem to get the plates. He tries offering his family's wealth to
Laban, but Laban takes it and does not give him the plates. He does
not obtain the plates in the way he thought he would, he gets the
plates because he comes back to find Laban drunk and is able to kill
him and put on his clothing. President pointed out to us that Laban
was probably drunk because he was celebrating his new wealth. So far
this year, 260 of those new converts have taken family names to the
temple to perform proxy baptisms. On average each has taken 2.33
names. The new converts did 606 baptisms. 606 people on the other side
of the veil have had the opportunity to accept those baptisms.
President talked to us about how the work we do here leads to work we
cannot see. Those new converts will share the restored gospel with
their friends, they will raise their kids in the gospel, they will go
on missions, and they will continue to go to the temple. The work will
keep moving forward!"

---Look at all my beautiful best friends ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Feliz Navidad 🎄

I just want to express my gratitude for the birth of The Savior, Jesus
Christ. He is everything! He is my best friend. Yesterday was really
special because when I first came to this area on June 8th, I met a
lady here who had been reactivated by the hermanas before me, yet her
husband wasn't really wanting to come back to church and they really
didn't want to baptize their son. Well, through a lot of prayers and
visits and friendship, the husband has come to church a few times now
and their son was baptized yesterday! Also, they want to get sealed.
It was such a special day to see their whole family there. It was one
of my favorite parts of the mission. Michael, their little son, was
just so excited. That's the joy that Christ brings. When we choose to
follow him, we can be happy. We had the best district meeting ever
this Friday all about baptism and why it's important, and I never
understood why before. I really didn't. I thought it was like you left
your sins in the water and that was it, but it cleans you because of
the atonement of Jesus Christ and the promise you make with him when
you're baptized. It's like a contract. We promise Him we will be
humble, have a contrite spirit, a broken heart, we have repented (and
will continue to, are willing to take upon us the name of Jesus
Christ, and serve Him to the end.... and in return, He promises us a
remission of our sins, to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost, to
be happy, and have eternal life. The way we sign this contract is the
specific way Jesus Christ has shown us; by baptism by immersion, by
the proper authority, at the correct age. Because Christ is our
exemplar and this is what he did. Of course we are going to fail. I do
often. That's why we go to church each week to renew our "contract",
or covenant of baptism. We can start new each week. Isn't that
awesome? It isn't the water exactly that makes us clean. It's what we
promise to do that makes us clean, and the atonement. I am so grateful
for Jesus Christ and all he's done for us! I love you all dearly. ❤️
Have the best Christmas ever!

Love, Hermana Sheirbon

The contract

Elder Tidwell and us

  Valerie left for her mission!

My comp is a cat

Yogurtland cause Froylan IS getting baptized!!

😂

DM with the best

Christmas party selfies

Michael's Baptism

Pretending I have glasses

Our tree 🎄

I have a Christmas present for you 📘

Hi everyone, 

I have a lot to say today. Please follow every word carefully. This one's for you. 😘

We have seen such awesome miracles this week. We have come back into contact with some of our previous investigators who we'd had to drop earlier, such as one named Rigo, from El Salvador 🇸🇻 . He is in his sixties and is one of the kindest people I have ever met. We came to find out that he had been reading The Book of Mormon the entire time we had left him and now is in Omni! It was amazing.

I know I haven't written much on my mission, but  I want to testify to all of you that The Book of Mormon is true. The Lord Jesus Christ himself has testified of its truthfulness: "And he [speaking of Joseph Smith] has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true." (D&C 17:6) 

Though hearing this may go against everything you've ever known, I promise you as a representative of Jesus Christ that if you open the Book and study it earnestly- everything it contains, pray, and ask if it is true, you will gain a witness of its truthfulness and that it has been written for our day and preserved for this special time. It was translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith by the power of God. God has always and will always use prophets to carry out His work. (Amos 3:7) Because of this, it is an evidence that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored in its entirety. Jesus, when he was here, established a perfect church with 12 apostles, and gave them the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19), so that they could have the priesthood authority to receive revelation (communication directly with God) and guide the entire church throughout the whole world.. so that we might have PERFECT unity (Ephesians 4) throughout all the earth. Even when one of them had died, the other 11 prayed to find out who should replace him (Acts 1:24-26). It is necessary that the Church of Jesus Christ is the way Christ himself established it. I promise you that today, the same exact Church has been restored and there is a living prophet and 12 living apostles of Jesus Christ, who are led by Him. They guide His church. He is one person, he has one way, one gospel, one church. 

There are great churches that teach amazing principles, and are filled with wonderful people. This is because the principles they teach contain truths taken from the original church of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost testifies of ALL truth. (John 5:32) As you come to know the Book of Mormon is true as well as all the goodness you already know, you will be able to piece together the fullness of the gospel and know as well that what I have shared here is the absolute most important message one can possibly understand. Everything depends on your willingness to find out that this is the ultimate message of peace and happiness. I promise you the Book of Mormon will light your life.  

For example, easily the most important concept in all of time, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, is explained clearer than ever by the prophet Alma: 

" 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me." (Alma 7:11-13) 

Christ not only took upon himself our sins (and therefore our death) , but also our afflictions, temptations, pains, sicknesses, infirmities... everything. He saw YOUR face when he suffered all of these things for you; every problem like this you've ever passed through. All so that He would know "how to succor [you] according to [your] infirmities." (AKA so that he can help you NOW, today. With everything.)  And as for your sins, he did it so that he could "blot out [your] transgressions according to the power of his deliverance".  How will you let him help you? How is it that we accept this sacrifice He made for us? 

I promise you that you can know. I can read the Bible and pray, asking earnestly to know if it is true, and receive the witness of the Holy Ghost that it is (because it is), and from there, to which church do I turn? (???) Because I don't know if you've noticed lately how many churches are using the Bible... (rightfully so). Heavenly Father knew you would need a way to know where to go, so he has provided you with the Book of Mormon to make it absolutely clear. Read, pray, and know exactly where to go. {Side tangent... because it 🙂DOES 🙂matter where we go. We have been commanded to partake of the bread and the cup. (Luke 22) Weekly. (Acts 20:7) We have also been commanded to be baptized. (John 3:5) Etc. Etc.} His arm is outstretched towards you. I invite you, even if it goes against everything you've ever thought to be right, to begin a study of the Book of Mormon between you and the pages, and your Heavenly Father, not involving anything else. "It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." (BOM intro) 

I love you all. ☺️ Message me with your address so I can send you a Book of Mormon for Christmas 🎄 and your life can be filled with the joy this message brings. 📘❤️

Love, Hermana Sheirbon