Christ's Hands

Vesel Božič!

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year! It's even better when there's snow, but it's great without snow as well.

Lots of wonderful things have happened recently. I think that the Lord works in small ways to bring about good things. For example, last night we were leaving a Christmas treat and a document called The Living Christ for a friend of ours. They weren't home, so we stood at the door to write a quick note. It probably looked a little funny because I was trying to balance a plate of cookies and a few bags while dictating a note in broken Slovene to Sister Squires, and waving my arm around my head like a crazy person every thrity seconds or so to keep the light on. In the dim light of a streetlight as we walked away, we saw a man puting a tennis racket into his car. So we stopped to chat with him about tennis. We talked with him just a few minutes and it felt like a little tender mercy to me, because I have learned to really love tennis. About 800 meters down the road was the miracle.

We walked away and down another street and just as we wre crossing a busy intersection, another man was shuffling by. We had Christmas treats in our hands, so we offered them to him only to learn that he was partially blind and trying to find his way back to the city center, hence the slow shuffling walk. The series of events - writing a note, talking about tennis, and then walking down the street enabled us to be at that intersection at precisely the same time as this kind man who needed help and to walk with him to center. It was really neat! I believe that the Lord was literally guiding our footsteps so that we could be in the right place at the right time. I believe that God will guide each of us as we seek to be led and he will give us opportunities to be Christ's hands.

As I've asked people on the streets about what Christmas means to them, I've often heard the response that "it's just another day and we should have Christ in our hearts all year round." I love Christmas and all that it represents and I hope that we can all carry the spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of Christ, in our hearts all year long.

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He lives and I know that He loves us. I know that He loves you. Shine His light everywhere you go!

Z ljubeznijo,

Sestra Brown

Grateful for Jesus Christ!

Hey mom! We basically have no snow. It's really disappointing. I would GLADLY be shoveling snow with you if I could, but good job! 

The Christmas program was....well, it's over haha. I had such bad stage fright. But people were saying that they loved it and felt the spirit, so that's what matters. It was good! I'm just glad it's over. 

I am staying in maribor! And training a new missionary again! Sister Crosby is staying in Kranj and training there as well, so that leaves Sister Kanell and Jennings to serve together in Ljubljana. So I'm happy to be staying in Maribor!

Ask Cory the name of his grandmother who lives in Slovenia! I really want to know! 

Aunt Sabrina looks really cute in that hat! Good job with that. Tell them I love them and give them big hugs from me! I love you, mom!

I love you! I love the Lord! I believe that the Lord has given us commandments so that He can bless us and help us to reach our divine potential and I know that His blessings and promises are sure and certain. I feel especially grateful for Jesus Christ. He understands and knows what we experience. He is the true way to light and happiness and He invites us to come to him. Choose to come to him and experience the joy he has offered. 

I love you! 

Love, Steph

Make the Better Choice

Hi mom!

This week in a nutshell was FANTASTIC. A really good week and a really good time. I don't think I have ever been happier on my mission than I am right now here in Maribor.

I have two miracles to share this week. On Tuesday, a cute thirty year old woman just randomly walked into our English class. We were ecstatic because we'd just been sitting there, whistling a jolly tune, and twiddling our thumbs while we waited (and hoped) that people would come. She told us that she had been walking past the church Monday evening and heard singing coming from inside. She had really wanted to come inside because she loves to sing, but had been afraid. Then she noticed the poster in the window, advertising free English lessons and decided to come back on Tuesday. She told us that she has searched through lots of different churches and religions, trying to find something that felt right. What a miracle! What a sincere, open-hearted, and honest person! We were able to teach her about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on Saturday and the spirit was so strong. The Lord is preparing people to hear the message of the restoration all around us and he will place them in our paths if we are willing to have courage, take action, and invite! Invite people to experience the joy that you have experienced in living the gospel!

We began our LightTheWorld campaign on December 1 and Sister Jennings and I were on a mission to give away a copy of the Book of Mormon. We were tracting and it was around 7:30 pm. It was pitch black (it gets completely dark at like 4:30 these days). We came to what seemed to be the last house on the road and then it continued on into foresty land.

But for some reason, we kept walking along the road a ways. We stumbled upon a driveway to the right and a house hidden way back against the hill and very dark. I'm totally afraid of the dark, so I was incredibly grateful for Sister Jenning's flashlight. We knocked on this door to find a sweet family who invited us in, allowed us to sing Sveta Noč for them and then asked us questions until we had taught them all about the restoration of Christ's gospel to the earth and The Book of Mormon, which testifies of Jesus Christ and teaches his gospel. He was SO excited to read!

It was so neat to see the Lord bless us in our desire to help light the world. I have such a testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that we can have our hearts changed through the power of His atonement. I have felt the relief and unburdening that come as we desire to change and turn to Him, and repent. I've learned that we won't just automatically be changed just because we want to, but that when we show the Lord our sincere desire, He will place opportunities in our path where we can choose "the better part." He will give us opportunities to either be selfish or to be selfless, mean or kind, judgmental or filled with love. And He will encourage us to make the better choice. The more often we make the better choice, the easier it is to make it the next time, and the more our hearts change. I love you! Don't forget to light someone's world today!