It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.. Everywhere we go!

there's a tree in our windowsill, one in the town as well
and were teaching people everywhere we gooooo!"

there... thats all my creativity for this week! haha but it also most of what I have been thinking about. As most of you probably know the church is doing a world wide "Christmas Initiative" for this next month and IT IS SOOO COOL!!!  this is the website of amazingness ----> http://www.mormon.org/christmas  or just christmas.mormon.org

Check it out and share it with your friends.. Gah! I can't even describe it- it is awesome. Christmas time is wonderful! We had dinner with a cute old german lady on sunday to celebrate the first Advent and she brought out some delicious soup. Oh it was so good, we talked and ate it- and when my stomach was pleasantly full, and the timer went off in the kitchen- she excused herself and then came back in with a pot of Goulash, then a plate of Knödle... then a bowl of Rotkohl... and then a pot of veggies.... I guess the soup was just an appetizer but I was already full. So somehow I downed another plate of food and then she told us we were both too skinny and she loaded our plates again!!! hahah but wait! theres more- she then came out with a bowl of fruit salad and a dense german apple cake! Oh my goodness... I have never been so full in my entire Life! To finish it off she handed us each a chocolate bar for the road! hahaha Let the Christmas season begin!

This month is the perfect month to invite people to learn more about Jesus Christ, I've been spending a lot of time studying the life of Jesus christ. This month we are inviting people to discover, embrace and share the Gift of Jesus Christ- and I have been thinking a lot about what that means to me personally. This week on the train home from Dortmund, we were sitting in a quad with the elders and just talking about the new Christmas initiative when after a while a girl sitting on the other side of the isle asked us what church we were from. I spent the next 15 minutes talking to her about joseph smith and the restoration and the Book of Mormon! Before she got off, she gave me her number and we are going to call her back this week! But it taught me that there are people who are ready everywhere, and I can't just wait for them to start talking to me- I need to talk as well. I mean, what would have happend if she had not said anything and I had not said anything- I would have missed to chance to teach her!

This Christmas I want to take the idea of discovering, embracing and sharing the gift of Jesus Christ to the next level. I don't want to do what is a 'realistic' number- I want to have goals that requre faith and hope to be accomplished. But I know that with the lords help, we will touch the lives of many people here in Germany! Remember in your hearts that the now is a time when peoples hearts will be softened and they will be more open to learning about their savior and redeemer Jesus Christ.

Fröhliche Weinachten!

Sister Shurts

from the scribbled notes of a sister missionary

The local Christmas Market!!

Christmas in Germany is AWESOME!!

All the sisters in our zone