Ward Christmas Party

Scott & I are on the Activities Committee for our Ward. This year, we decided to do our Ward Christmas Party a little different from previous years. We created 14 Holiday dinners for 14 deserving families in the community. Each dinner was complete with turkeys, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, veggies, cranberries, rolls, dessert & more. The Ward provided the turkeys & the Ward members donated the rest. We gathered at the cultural hall & divided up into 7 different groups. Each group assembled 2 gift baskets with all the food and also added some board games and treat bags for each family. We also included a Book of Mormon in each basket. Each group (consisting of about 4-5 different families) discussed which families would be receiving these special gifts. Most of the families we visited were non-members. This was our own special way of reaching out to the community and creating a missionary experience during the holiday season. We sang a few Christmas carols to them, hugged them and expressed our love for them. It was a very emotional and touching experience for all involved. The neighborhoods we visited were very dark & dreary and a bit intimidating when we arrived. However, several of us noticed that after we sang our Christmas carols, we could feel a sense of peace & light surround us. There were others in the neighborhood nearby who stopped what they were doing and were listening to us sing. The whole dark energy surrounding us shifted and we knew that the spirit of Christmas had filled the air. Later, we returned to the chapel. We had a nice dinner and then "Father Christmas" made an appearance. He read the story of "The Three Trees" to the children and talked about the greatest gift of all ... the gift of our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. Then the children got their pictures taken with Father Christmas & received a little treat bag. It was a wonderful evening, celebrating the birth of Christ. There's something familiar about this Jolly Ol' Elf... I can't put my finger on it, but he's sure a handsome guy!