Sister Sophia Osmond: Christmas Cookies

Dear Family,

THIS WEEK: I am going to make a list of questions we can talk about on Christmas. & You can make a list too! :) We are going to pack as much as we can into 40 minutes. .

Words can not describe how excited I am to see you guys! I'm sorry if my letters have not included my EXTREME excitement.. I've just been really little family-sick. I love you guys more than anything! We have a problem: we are way too close as a family. haha I notice that when I am talking to other missionaries, I just talk about my family like they are my best friends- i know they love their family too but being here has made me realize that i love all of you, your individual quirks and the phrases you say and the memories we have together and the trips we've taken and the jokes galore!! Just saying. :)

Sister Prestwich is so sweet. She has been so kind and I know she is meant to be my companion. We will be friends after this. I've really had to take charge on being punctual and feel like I'm pulling sometimes. She is so humble, last night after I told her that I would really appreciate her help she said, I need to be helping you more, we need to be equally yoked, I know you are tired sometimes and I just want to apologize... wow. I told her that she was so kind and I've learned a lot from her love for God and others.

The advent calendar has been a HUGE LIGHT amidst the difficult times we have face throughout December. I am beyond grateful for such a present and I now know how those Elders felt in Florida when we gave them Christmas presents with attached scriptures. I thought I knew, but I didn't. Now I understand. :)

I will cherish this Christmas for the rest of my life because it's been really hard.

& I've gained an appreciation for the Atonement of Jesus Christ on such a deep level.

He is my best friend.

I could not do this if I did not know it is true.

I absolutley do know that the gospel is true! I know that Christ lives! I want everyone to experience the healing that comes from allowing Him to help you.

& Anyone who has sacrificed anything for this gospel will say the same thing.

I know this because of my 1) Desire to know for myself 2) The action I've taken because of it & 3) The fruits, The undeniable experiences I have had, The love, comfort and motivation to press forward I have felt! -Matthew 7:20- and this is the pattern that everyone can follow to receive His guidance.

We saw a lot of miracles this week after we faced a lot of opposition. The Mom of a family I really love slammed the door super hard in our face and yelled at us so loud I thought her next door neighbors were going to come out. I had felt really good about going to see her so I didn't regret going, but my heart stung that she would yell at us and tell us to go away because of something she had told other sisters missionaries about that we were unaware of.

Something that shocked me was the way I was able to handle this because I understand the Atonement a lot better now. I was able to have that sting removed from me and replaced with love for her and her hard situation.

Wow- My heart was transformed. That's the only way I can describe it.

Nicole told us that she doesn't want to learn anymore- with her baptism a week away. :(

We need to meet with her as soon as we can and resolve her concerns. This seems to happen a lot. The hardest thing is that people DON'T CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN the opposition with the good ahead!

I know I have seen this in my own life too. Something to be aware of.

Even her daughter Ebony, who we are helping prepare for the temple in January has faced major trials and we told her yesterday...

"This is because you are preparing for the temple."

She responded, "I did not even think about that."

In the Book of Mormon we read during the wars of the people whose opponents gained advantage over them simply because the people "Hadn't supposed they would...[fill in the blank]." interesting, huh? This blew my mind! OPPOSITION is real.

I would just like to invite everyone to step back and examine your life from a bird's eye view. :)

It's amazing the things you will discover.

Why do you think you are facing opposition? What is that opposition trying to stop you from accomplishing?

OK... SO HERE'S A FUN MIRACLE STORY!

Rosa is a hispanic lady who owns a Mexican Bakery in Sheboygan.

Their family doesn't attend church, but her son Frank has been preparing for a mission and comes to church alone.

We saw a hispanic lady walking down the street so we grabbed a spanish Book of Mormon and gave her a He is the Gift card and asked her if she had ever heard of El Libro de Mormon. She told us she had to go to work and didn't want to be late.

So we walked down the street with this Spanish Book of Mormon in my bag. Wouldn't you know it... we walked right past Rosa's bakery. I looked over and...

DING!! This is Rosa's place! I had never met her.. so we walked in and said, "Are you Rosa?" She smiled and said that she was. She didn't know there were "girl missionaries" in Sheboygan. She was a little unimpressed at our ability to speak her language so I whipped out my, "Camaron que se duerme se lo lleva la coriente." and her face lit up! She said, "That's funny!!"

I read 2 Nephi 32:3 from the Spanish Book of Mormon. She was so surprised that we had one in our bag. I was too because we never do!!

We invited her to the Relief Society cookie exchange and told her that everyone would be fighting for the galetas she would make because of her baking skills.

She has not been to church in a very long time so was a little hesitant, but her excitment exceeded it! We told her we could help her make them!!

So here are the pictures of us with Rosa at her little bakery on 15th street. We laughed, she taught us some Spanish, and she put on some classic Christmas music for all of us to listen too!

Have a wonderful week! & travel safe!! I'm so excited for you all to be in Wales!!

Steadfast & Immovable in Christ!

Love,

Sister Osmond