Hola y Feliz Navidad a todos...


Wow, we are already finishing up another year and Christmas is this week!!!  Thanks for answering the friend request of Vanessa on Facebook, and you can also accept the request of Mica Santero.  She`s in the Sarandi Grande branch.  I received your packages from the family, Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Rosie, as well as from Leah and Maren and the letter from Grandma Linda.  Thank you all for the packages and letters and for all of you that sent me an email this week.  I love you all!

We had a great mission Christmas conference and all felt the spirit and learned a lot from President Da Silva.  And about the phone call... you need to call me 3:00 pm Uruguay time which should be 10:00 am your time (but double check it just to be sure).  We are allowed to talk for 30-40 minutes (President really stressed the importance to keeping it under 40 minutes).  I`m really excited to hear your voices again.  I love you all.

We are coming to the end of another change here as well and on my birthday we receive the calls of changes for the next 6 weeks and it looks pretty probable that I will be changing areas and companions and it has been a great time here in Sarandi Grande and with Elder Jackson.  Thanks for all that you are doing to help the Lord in your own wards and houses and for your prayers, letters and support for a missionary over here in Uruguay. 

I hope that you are all thinking about what you are going to give Christ this Christmas.  President challenged us all as missionaries to give our heart or have a change of heart to better serve this year of 2011 and I extend that challenge to all of you.  I learned a lot about the change of heart in Alma 5 and encourage you all to study it as well.  The Lord gave us the greatest Christmas gift of all, A SAVIOR.

Today in the District meeting we were talking about how we can help the members participate in misisonary work more and we felt that there are a lot more members that would do more if only they were shown how they could do it.  Remember that every member is a missionary and I want to challenge you all to talk with your friends and families that aren`t members yet and each one of you invite one friend to come to church with you this Sunday and I promise you that you will see miracles.  You can also invite friends to come to your house to learn about what we believe and invite the missionaries to come and teach them in your own home (This is the best way to help people learn about the restored gospel and get baptized.).  I know that this is the Lord`s work and promise you that He will guide you to do great things in his work if only you have the desire and are willing to do things that may not be the most comfortable for you, for example, invite a friend to come to church with you.

He Lives.  Remember this especially when we celebrate his birth.  Let us remember when he lived again and what he did for us and let us share our testimony of Him with everyone.  I love you all and share my testimony that he lives and loves us.  Merry Christmas!!!

Until we talk on Christmas,
Elder Gardner