short but sweet

Sorry guys! This'll be a short email because I spent 20.freaking.minutes uploading our christmas presentation to mom's google docs. but I think its totally worth it :) me and sister b took a few christmas songs "All I want for Christmas is You" "White Christmas" and "The Christmas song" and we did a missionary/baptism twist to it :) it was me and sister b who wrote it and put it all together! :)

 

love yall so much! Was  SO good skyping with the fam! I hope and I pray that yall took at least a few minutes in the holiday season to think about the real true reason of Christmas. The gifts, the lights, the wrappings, tinsels and trees are pale in the comparison of the gift that cant be bought or wrapped which is the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and I know He loves us with an imeasurable love that we cant understand.

 

Love yall!

 

Sister VerHoef

The Gifts of the Magi

hello family and friends! SO sorry for not sending group emails the past 2 weeks. with our conferencia de natal, it was SUPER correria with writing the music and practicing it, but I recorded it so Im anxious to share it with yall on christmas day! (btw, can we send videos through skype? is it possible?)

anyways, wanted to share with yall a special message if I can in the spirit of Christmas. Sometimes, I believe in the story of the birth of Christ we forget minor yet significant details that are in Matthew and Luke. One of these being the 3 wise men. At times we overlook their long and difficult journey to the Savior with their gifts of Frankincense, gold and myrrh. But these gifts are so much more than mere and interesting presents to give to the Christ child. 

1. Gold- for mary and joseph, gold would be very practical to use in the flight to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod and protect the baby Savior. However, as well, its sympolism is royalty- and adequately would be used as a present to the "King of Kings." 

2. Incense- incense is a sweet vegetable resin that was used in priesthood ordinances (Lev. 2:1) and was used to anoint priests. Which is a perfect representation of the priesthood of Jesus Christ as "An High Priest of good things to come" Heb 9:11

3. Myrrh- myrrh is a bitter substance used for medicinal purposes and also for the act of embalming a the time of burial. The symbolism of its medical uses could be used to represent the fact that Jesus Christ is the Great Physician and also the "bitterness" to represent the "bitter cup" he drank to pay for the price of our sins.

In addition these 3 Magis traveled an arduous journey months and months to find the baby Jesus through the deserts of Egypt, Arabia and Israel with sand, dustwinds, the unsupportable heat of the day on camels with the danger of thieves. 

My question/challenge to all of you is: how many miles in the desert are you willing to go for the Savior? How far are you willing to go? What are you willing to give Him? Are you willing to give your best to Him? What would be your best?

May we always remember the meaning of Christmas and do as Pres. Monson advises: 

"May we as the Wise Men, seek a bright particular star to guide us in our celebration of the Saviors birth." 

and remember, "First and forever there was just a little family, without toys or tinsel. With a baby--thats how Christmas began."

-Elder Holland

LOVE YOU ALL! merry christmas! feliz natal!

Late Miracles

K, so cant talk super long, had about 40 emails in my inbox but I wanted to let yall know about the late miracles that happened this week.

So okay... being STLs, me and sister b, weve been feeling the pressure to baptize LOGO (which means soon haha) and its been difficult. Instead of inviting and bringing people to church weve been dragging and pleading people to come to church...

-_-

shouldnt be this way yall, but faz o que, neh? 

anyways, weve been learning how to pray specifically for things in our daily prayers and we had been praying for:

1. three men

2. who live in our area

3. who would come to church with us

4. who are looking for the true church of Christ

well we had wanted to find these 3 elect men BEFORE sunday to take them to church ON sunday so that they could be baptized THIS sunday. We ended up (actually a member ended up) bringing ONE person to church (a young man named Guilherme) which was a miracle but the other 2 dudes??? 

left church a bit disheartened and started contacting people in the street. Me and sister b found 3 guys who are interested in the church and WANT to come to church this next week.

So it wasnt this sunday they came, but me and sister b have a new hope that theyll be there this sunday :)

keep us and these three guys in your prayers this week. We're needing them to REALLY COME!!!! 

LOVE YALL!!! pics next week :)