An Instrument in His Hands: 2014

Bula Vinaka!

I hope everyone had a LOVELY Christmas! We sure did! I feel like SOOO much happened this week!

One of our greatest Christmas presents was to be able to see Sanjalini baptized! We are SO proud of her. It's been a treat to be able watch her learn and grown! We love her so. I know that she will continue to be a strong member and learn and grow in the Gospel. I also know she will be a light and example to her family.

Christmas was so different here but it was just wonderful! We spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day visiting those we teach and also some of the members. We took around plenty brownies and it was fun to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Christmas day we had a fun Zone gathering and all played games and did a White Elephant Gift exchange. Then we ATE SO MUCH FOOD. All day. Lovo, Lovo, and more LOVO. Which is delicious so it's all happy. We just didn't eat for a few days after that. One of my favorite things we did on Christmas was to spend time with the Khannas. A very generous and kind family had decided to do a Secret Santa thing for them! It was fun to watch their faces as they opened probably some of their first ever Christmas presents. A little love goes a long way and can touch SO many lives. And my other favorite part about Christmas is being able to Skype Home! :) I'm a lucky girl to have such a fantastic family!

This year Sister Bauro and I had so many "Christmas Miracles!" Once we started looking for them, they were popping up left and right. That's how miracles and blessings work eh? We just have to look for them!

· My hands were full and I was trying to open the door single handed. The key dropped which is a big problem and a serious pain in the neck. But as I looked closer it had miraculously gotten caught on one tiny wire and we could easily pull it back out.

· Our car battery died as we were sitting in the AC while wrapping our brownie plates. When we went back later to try one last time. It started!

· There was a beautiful light over the Ocean.

· I FOUND MY beloved PMG! :)

· And many many more.

I also went on exchanges twice this week. I learned something so wonderful from one of the Sisters. So I'll share her wisdom with you......

We were talking about being Instruments in His Hands. And about how sometimes we are probably just a pain. Sometimes we are rusty instruments. Sometimes we are dull and ineffective at our job. Sometimes we just need to be cleaned up. But now is the time. NOW is the time to sharpen up. To clean off the rust and dirt and be ready to get to work. That's what missions are all about. We all come here as semi-rusty ineffective instruments. He doesn't expect us to be perfect. But He does expect us to do our best. To use this opportunity and this time to become better, more fine tuned instruments! Then, we can better serve our Savior for the rest of our lives! What a BLESSING! :)

Happy New Year!

Loloma Levu,

Sista Matheson :)