All you need is a Mustard Seed: T'was a VERY Merry Christmas!

Oh boy, this week was incredible. Talk about miracles and family and the sweet Spirit of the Savior. It was great.

Christmas time to me is the best time of the year. Yes, it's the most special season because of family and the hustle and bustle of the holiday, but mostly because of the spirit it brings. It's a spirit of giving and of remembering the reason we're all here, The Son. We can't forget it. We must not forget it. That belief needs to radiate from our hearts every day of every year. I invite you all to make Christmas a daily thing to continue to give and to love because that's how it should be.

We loved this week. Hermana Davis and I just cherished every minute of it. We saw some pretty amazing miracles that have just given us more love for the work, which we didn't think was possible, and an increased desire to continue to do His will and not our own.

Christmas was incredible. We had a mission wide conference on the 22nd and the whole mission was in one building celebrating the birth of our dear Savior. President Crane and his wife (temple president and matron) were there and they gave us some really good instruction on reading and applying the scriptures to ourselves. President Hall and his wife also spoke and it was so good. The mission choir sang and we had various musical numbers that really brought the Spirit. It was the best. Christmas on the mission is the BEST. There's nothing like it. We also got to watch a movie! President Hall let us watch the new Disney movie, Inside Out! It was so cute and all the missionaries were laughing so hard. It was the first movie we have seen out on the mission in about 15 months! It was great! We then had a feast from the members around the Sugar Land area. We had cheesy potatoes, salad, tri-tip, chicken, sausage, brownies, rolls, bacon-wrapped asparagus. It was the best feast ever. I was SO FULL! We also had a talent show, a gift exchange and a mission slideshow! It was so awesome! We had a lot of fun and got the gifts from our parents! Such a joyful day!

Christmas was the best. We got to talk to our families. I missed hearing their voice and seeing their faces so much! My brother's voice has completely changed and that was the biggest shock of the year. Ha, ha. He's so different! My sister's belly is basically ready and we're excited to welcome baby Graham into the family! Mom is looking so good. I love my queen. Dad is still my sweet humble Father and I love him so much! Greg, the bro-in-law is super excited to be a dad! Grandma is letting her hair get white. That was different to see, but she's good. I miss her sweet soul. Can't wait to hug these folks. I'm so grateful to be a part of an eternal family sealed by our Heavenly Father. What a great blessing that is! We laughed, we cried and we said see you later. I love them and I love their support. Couldn't do it without them. They're every piece of my heart.

We also went caroling on Christmas Day. That was so fun. We visited a lot of families and gave them some gifts. They appreciated the generosity so much. For some, it was their fist time being caroled to! I couldn't believe that and I was so glad that we went. (:

We also taught our sweet investigator, Russhine, this week and her 13-year-old niece, Dulce! They loved our lesson on faith and invited us back and asked us to prepare a lesson on baptism. I've actually never had an investigator ask me to prepare for a specific lesson, but it was so cool. We went back and it was powerful. Russhine started crying and they felt the Spirit so strong! Hermana Davis felt the Spirit and invited them to be baptized and they both said yes! It was really amazing. They both came to church yesterday and loved it. We also invited them to come watch a baptism after church. Our elders were having one and they came and loved it, too! We were laughing, feeling the Spirit and having a good time. I love those two! Russhine seems to be progressing really well. She's made so many friends in the ward and after the classes she stands up and says, "Okay, next class!" ... yesterday was her second time at church! She's already a member! We want this so bad for her because we know the happiness that it can bring her in her life! Pray for her!

We also met someone else on the street the other day and we talked to him. He told us he was atheist ... and we still taught him. He said he was looking for his headphones and we offered to pray for him to find them. He said, "I don't believe in God" ... and we said, "That's okay. We can still pray because we know He will listen." So we prayed a simple prayer that he would find his headphones and we left. The next day we saw him with his headphones in and Hermana Davis says "HEY! Looks like you found your headphones!" He said "Yeah, actually just after you left, I found them." And we both smiled and said "God's there. He loves you." He didn't say anything but we know that it touched him, even if it was in a really small way.

SUCH A GREAT WEEK!

I was studying about the Atonement this week and I have something I wanted to share. If someone approached you on the street and asked you what is the Atonement of Jesus Christ, what would you tell them?

Yes, that was a tough question for me, too, but I studied and was taught about It and I figured out It's four things.

SAVE-REDEEM-GRACE-HEAL

SAVE- Because of the Resurrection, Christ can save us from death meaning we'll ALL return to God, but where we go once we're there depends on our actions in this life.

REDEEM- Through the Atonement and the Sacrament, we can be redeemed of our sins only on condition of faith, repentance, baptism and the Holy Ghost.

GRACE- Christ can give us His grace, which is a divine means of help so we can overcome trial and come even closer unto him.

HEAL- Through his Atonement, and the fact that he suffered for EVERYTHING, He knows how to heal us, if we will let him.

I invite you all to come unto Christ more this new year. Set goals and write them upon your heart so that they don't just become a three-week goal and then fade away. Make goals that will allow you to become better disciples of our Savior.

I love you all!

Sister Sanchez