"I speak English...isjdsosnsodjfossjdjdi" - random lady on the street

Feliz Navidad my friends! I hope you all are partying hard this week, celebrating Jesus' birth. I hope you're living up the hot chocolate kind of Christmas, cause my Christmas has been more filled with hot wind in my face. So be it, cause it's already been one of my favorite Christmases of all time. Well, I'm having a giant Christmas party with all the hermanas in my zone today, so I don't have any time to write, so we'll stick with the shpiritual shpeel for today.

We were in our Christmas multizone conference and our mission presidents wife was talking, and she asked all of us "what gifts have you received from the Lord this year?" Right in that moment, I immediately felt a rush of gratitude for every blessing I've seen this year. I thought back to little me in Maryland, one year ago, and to all the blessings, miracles, trials, tender mercies, prayers answered, learning experiences, people met, mental breakdowns, moments where I saw God's hand in my life, tears of joy and of sadness, and every other thing that girl has seen since then. It would quite literally be impossible to count all the blessings I've received this year. I'm a changed person. I've watched people change before my eyes. I've watched as God has worked miracles. I've seen a whole lot of CHANGE in the last year. And I think that change is the greatest gift I've received this year. The "glad tidings of great joy" that are made possible because of that baby born in that stable on that day in Bethlehem. He makes change possible. We just have to put it all into His hands, and He will make of us more than we can ever make of ourselves. At the beginning of this year, I don't think I wanted to change. I figured I was "all set" (as those Bostonians would say). I knew about the gospel, I was a pretty good person, and I was on a mission, and that was pretty good for me. But now? I've changed. I hope to never be "all set" again in my life. Because, because of Him, change is possible. And not just possible, it's encouraged. It's a gift. It's free to us. Because of that baby born in that stable on that day in Bethlehem. This Christmas, I can testify more firmly than I've ever been able to in my life, that Jesus truly is the Living Christ. My Messiah. My Savior. My Redeemer. My Best Friend. My Change Maker and Change Giver. And with Him and His gifts and mercy and grace and love, I'm all set for life.

Hope you guys have such a great week and the merriest Christmas! Don't forget to love your neighbor and love Jesus a little more this week.

Love you all so much! 

- hermana allen