Elder Dredge ~ His Call to Serve in the Guatemala Guatemala City East: Monday, 25 December 2017 ~ Week # 22

Hey everyone! ¡Feliz Navidad, mis amigos!

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmastime. This is a wonderful day to celebrate as families. What a wonderful day it is, the day on which our Savior was born.

Mis hermanos y hermanas, I would like to express with you all that this was an event that we don't just know happened by reading history books and reading prophecies fulfilled in the Scriptures. This was, indeed, an event that we saw with our own eyes! We have a loving Heavenly Father who loves us and knew us perfectly even before being born (Jeremiah 1:5). We knew Jesus Christ as our elder brother, and knew His plan for us, and what He was willing to do for us, that we might return home. How sweet it is, that because of this, we had the pleasure, while we still lived in the presence of our Heavenly Father, to watch the life of Christ, even from the beginning, as an infant born in a manger to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. This is an event of which we have direct spiritual witness. And how great must have been the excitement in the heavens as we watched together this beautiful moment! How sweet must have been the feeling in our hearts to bear witness of this baby Jesus, and seeing the humble shepherds walk to His manger and share this feeling too! How joyful must have been our singing in the choirs above!

And let us continue to remember that because of Christ, we may be saved, and we may changed, by the power of his infinite and universal Atonement. Without Christ's birth would there be no mortal life of Christ. And without His life, would there be no Atonement made. Without an Atonement, we would have no way to return, neither path to follow, neither pardon for sins, nor strength to improve. And now, because of Him, all of these things we have. He devoted His life that we might have a Way back home, for indeed His mission was "to do the will of the Father." What a grand mission thus did He start this day, more than 2000 years ago. Let us thus be reverent toward Him, and continue to be reverent toward Him. Let us keep Him in our thoughts this day, and continue on to reflect on Him. Let us think on His example in humility and ponder how we can imitate it in our own situations. Let us continue to admire Him, worship Him, and serve Him through our service to our friends and family (Mosiah 2:17).

This is my Christmas message to all of you, and I hope that it does not run dry on Christmas 26th. A new year will be coming, and I would that we begin with big goals and small goals within those big goals. Allow me to be a friend of yours to keep you updated on your New Years' resolutions if no one else will. I'm happy to say that I have seen my own personal progress in being a more happy and outgoing person this year, the which was my goal for 2017. Let's all strive to be a little bit more like what we want to be, 2018!

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission