Star Wars, Pole Dancing, Bedbugs, and the Savior

Hey folks!

This was a pretty eventful week for us. We taught a lady named Tiffany, who is a single mom with 3 kids. Her kids mean so much to her and she really wants the best for them. She told us she knows we are sent to her from God because we came to her door right after an unusually difficult night with her kids and she was at rock bottom. She said He must want her to hear our message.

We also had our Christmas zone conference this week which was awesome. President Griffin gave an amazing talk about the birth of the Savior, and then we had an opportunity to bear testimonies, and then we played dodgeball and watched Star Wars Episode VII (don't worry, we were with President Griffin so it was allowed). It was pretty awesome.

On Christmas Eve we went and did service for a less active sister named Rebecca who lives way, way out in the sticks. She is in her 20's and is kind of crazy. She is a really good musician, and she does gymnastic stuff like aerial silks. And she also does what she calls "pole fitness." Which is basically the nice way of saying that she does pole dancing but is not a stripper haha. She does not currently have a pole in her house, so she asked us to help her install one. So we spent our Christmas Eve afternoon attempting to install a pole-dancing pole for a less active member. Fun stuff.

And then that night we realized we have bedbugs! Yay! Elder Urry had gone on exchanges with the Spanish Elders that morning to teach an English speaking person they had found, and the lesson went well, but that night he was telling me that their house was kind of gross and that there were a bunch of little "beetle things" in the couch that were crawling up his arm. Um, what?? So we checked his coat and sure enough, we found like 3 or 4 bedbugs right off the bat. So we spent our Christmas Eve cleaning the apartment like crazy. Tomorrow we'll bring the landlord over to have it inspected. Hopefully we can get this taken care of soon. :/

And then Christmas Day we had a beautiful sacrament meeting, ate a ton of food, and got to call our families. It was a wonderful day.

I am grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. Because of Him, we do not have to be what we have been. This week at the Christmas zone conference the Spirit bore witness to me of the Savior and His Atonement, and I realized that not only do I believe in Him, but now I can look back and actually see the effects of His cleansing and enabling power in my life. I can see His hand in my life, giving me power beyond my own to be more than I am capable of being on my own. And I can see His hand in the lives of those around me. I still have many weaknesses as we all do, and He knows that because He made us that way. But His enabling power "is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before [Him];" for if we humble ourselves before Him, and have faith in Him, then will He make weak things become strong unto us. (Ether 12:27) How have you seen the hand of Jesus in your life this year? What will you do differently this next year to exercise greater faith in Him, humbly acknowledging your own weaknesses and seeking His enabling power?

I love you all!

Elder Alex Swindler