Christmas is Coming! Christmas is Coming!

As we get ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior, may we all strive to do as he taught and demonstrated throughout his ministry.  May we visit the sick and afflicted; lift up those who are feeling depressed, and minister to the needs of the flock.  In trying to do just that, we have been very busy visiting all of our members in this small branch of the church here in Siena.  Bonnie had a great idea for a Christmas memory for our members.  Our oldest daughter, Kristine, is a great bookmaker, and she makes these small books that are also ornaments that can be hung on a Christmas tree.  She made a special one for Darryl for his birthday in October.

We asked Kristine to make about 30 of these little book ornaments and bring them to us when she visited us in October.  She made some very beautiful ones that we have now been giving to our members as a token of our love and appreciation.  We have written a personal note in each one of them, and we have encouraged our members to continue the work of strengthening their own testimonies as they help build the branch here in this beautiful part of the Lord's vineyard.

We have had a great time visiting our members, and inviting those who are less active to come back and enjoy the fellowship of the Lord's church. 

We decided to hold our Christmas feast on Sunday this year, and make it a lunch that we could all enjoy together right after our three-hour block of meetings.  In addition, for the third year in a row now the small Siena branch has performed a live nativity.  We invite all our members and investigators to come and participate, as we act out the Nativity and sing together the hymns of the season.  We decided to do the live nativity activity right after our Christmas lunch. 

So, needless to say, Sunday, December 21, was a very busy day!!

The first hour of meetings did not start out very well, as there were only the six full time missionaries and 4 or 5 members.  However, as the day progressed, more and more members starting showing up, including a number of less active members and some friends and family of some of our members.  By the end of the block, we had eight less active members in attendance, and about 6 - 8 investigators, in addition to our faithful members.

We had a great lunch, starting off with crostini and other antipasti, followed by homemade lasagna and cannelloni.  Then we had roasted chicken and vegetables, followed by salad and fruit.  We capped off the lunch with scrumptious desserts, and everyone left the table filled with happy thoughts and much food.

Brother Natale taking his creations out of the oven

Simone, Darryl's 1st Counselor, donning his candy stripe apron and directing the creation of antipasti

Bianka, Moreno, Redi (hiding), Lorena and Sonia enjoying the feast

Eugenia, Enrique, Eole and Paolo doing the same

The whole group at the end of a great meal!

We then moved back into the chapel where we put on the live nativity.  For the third year in a row our sister missionaries have reprised the rolls of Joseph and Mary, with the taller sister performing flawlessly as Joseph.  Our members then filled in the other roles, and our two elders were, once again, wise men.

Sisters Remund and Salmond

Sharon and Bianka as beautiful angels

Mikki as our littlest shepherd, with his grandma

The shepherds make it to the manger

Our shepherds

Elder Johnson, Paolo and Elder Moa as our Wise Men

Brother Rotelli narrated the event, reading much from the sacred story as found in Luke.  At appropriate intervals throughout the play, everyone joined in singing the hymns of the season.  It was a touching display that brought the true meaning of Christmas into each of our hearts.

The entire cast

The cast and the choir (everyone)

They talked Darryl into getting out from behind the camera

On the following day, we had a special branch family night where we went to a rest home in Siena where one of our members is now living.  Since she couldn't come to our Christmas lunch and nativity play, we took some of that to her.  We sang a number of Christmas carols to Francesca and some of her friends on her floor.  She was happy to see us and we were happy to bring some Christmas spirit to the lives of these elderly folks, many of who have few if any visitors.

The sisters singing to Francesca 

Bonnie and the elders doing the same

A great FHE activity!

Today we had to drive to San Giovanni to inspect the apartments of the missionaries living there.  On the way back we drove through the beautiful Chianti region, which consists of rolling hills covered with vineyards and olive groves as far as the eye can see.  As we crested a hill we were greeted by a spectacular vision of pillars of light piercing through the clouds and descending to earth. 

What a great way to ring in Christmas Eve and remind us all that the greatest gift ever given by any father to any child was the great gift of a Savior that our Heavenly Father gave to all of us.  He gave us His Son, who brought light and hope into the world.  A Savior whose light burns brightly and shows us the way to life everlasting. 

It is our prayer that we will all walk toward the light, grasp it and never let go.  And as we do, may our light so shine that we too may be lights to the world as we help our brothers and sisters along the stony path of this earthly sojourn.

We wish all who might take a moment to read this blog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!