boa festa

Wonderful thing for Tuesday, 6 January - Cristina. It is a marvelous thing to see that what we try to teach people, is vividly exemplified in the life of another person. As I've mentioned, we're having one-on-one visits with our GANS; yesterday evening we had the privilege of visiting with Cristina. As intimated in Alma 5:14, it is possible to see the image of Christ in another person's countenance. It is clear, as you speak with her and see her moving about, that she "exercises faith in the redemption of him who created (her)". I believe that she can "look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body...that she can "imagine to [herself] that [sh]e hear[s] the voice of the Lord, saying unto [her], in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth..." Can you see what a pleasure it was to talk with her? She is about to receive her masters degree; she teaches - and loves it - Primary (the children's organization in church); she works and studies hard, but she knows that her strength lies in the "simple things" (that we are always teaching about) - daily scripture study and prayer, regular attendance on Sunday to be uplifted, to uplift in turn, and most important to renew baptismal covenants by partaking of the Sacrament, and earnest and continual efforts to observe the commandments. She was open, cordial, humble...it is wonderful to see in her and in her life, the living testimony of the things that we teach! fun thing: A first in my life, a visit with La Befana. If you've seen my Facebook page, you've seen it. We had a little festa in church for those who wanted to come, with games, dancing, eating, and appunto, La Befana. The funnest thing about it just may have been the presence of a charismatic lady from Brazil and her daughter, friends of our dear Sorella Maria Jesus. This Brasiliana teaches dance and culture all over the world, according to MJ, and she taught us as well. She was so full of life and joy, you just had to join her in the dance. Fun! We both missed our oldest daughter Amy, who served her mission in Brazil, loves all things brazilian, and has much of the same enthusiasm.