It's the most wonderful time of the
yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. so I have never really been all that big into the Christmas
holiday and all of the hype that goes along with it, but this year
something has changed. I just love it! It is so bad. My various
companionships and I have been singing Christmas songs since I came
out on my mission, and now we can finally sing them without the shame
haha. Alright mi familia y mis amigos, yo te queiro mucho! I am just
so full of love for everyone that I can't help but just to say it all
of the time. Sorry if that's a little uncomfortable, but it is what it
is. This week has been a blast... of freezing cold wind and rain. I
don't know what happened to the Houston that I've come to know and
accept, but it is freaking cold and I can't handle it. What am I
saying, of course I can handle it, but it's shocking for sure.

So some fun things that happened this week are we got to go to the temple
and it was so good, as always, but the best part was something that
happened to another missionary. So while we are waiting to do a
session, I hear a man talking about how he is from San Diego,
California. So I turn around and I introduce myself and tell him that
I too am from California. I then ask him why he's here in Houston and
he proceeds to tell me that there is a missionary from his home ward
who is serving in the Houston South mission. Apparently his dad wasn't
a member, but he got baptized a year ago and now he had come out to
Houston to receive his endowments and then immediately afterwards to
have him and his family sealed for time and all eternity. I was in
shock. I had never heard of anything so touching. I could just imagine
how that Elder must be feeling now that he and his family would be
able to take part in the wonderful blessing of an eternal family that
he had been promising others for the past year. I felt the spirit so
strongly and I started to cry. I was so grateful that I was able to be
there for a part of that special moment for their family. An eternal
family really is the greatest gift we can receive in this life and I
am so happy for all of the people who get baptized because they are on
the road to creating their own. On that same note, something else that
happened was this past saturday I was able to go back to College
Station to attend the baptism of one of the girls we were teaching.
She was so happy that she was practically glowing. Ahhhh there is no
experience that can replace seeing someone radiate joy because they
have made a sacred covenant with their Heavenly Father and in turn
have been made completely clean. It is amazing.

So the spiritual thought I have for the week has to do with a
scripture that I found in James 3:9-10. "Therewith we bless God, even
the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the
similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be." The reason why
I bring this up, is because something that I have always struggled
with is saying idle words, that I may or may not mean, but that could
hurt someone else. Most of the time I do it for the sake of a joke,
but I've come to realize that that doesn't justify it. In that
scripture it says we curse men who are made in the similitude of God.
We are children of a loving Heavenly Father and therefore brothers and
sisters and we should speak to one another as such. I heard a quote
that says something along the lines of 'the worst thing we could do is
make a person forget their divine nature". Words are capable of doing
just that. With words we can break, wound, depress and hurt. "These
things ought not so to be". In the same way though, words are capable
of building, healing, uplifting and inspiring. In that same chapter of
James there is a promise, "...if any man offend not in word, the same
is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body." As we
perfect our communication and speach with one another, we too can
become perfect. That is so awesome! Anyways, just a thought. When you
feel like cursing at someone who cut you off, or yelling at your
neighbor, or ridiculing someone who is different, say a kind word
instead and you both will be edified. I hope you all have a wonderful
wonderful week!

Love, Sister Williams