MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!! How are all of you?!?! How is your Christmas going? This email will probably be short because I'm going to be talking to you on the phone tomorrow so I'm so excited to talk to all of you!! I'm planning on giving ALL of you a call on your Christmas eve night. I'll be calling probably sometime between 8:00 to 11:00 Christmas morning my time so that should be around 6:00 to 9:00 Christmas eve night your time. So be ready!!! I can't wait to talk to you.
I just want to share something that I've learned this year for Christmas. In Hong Kong Christmas is a lot different then the states. Most people don't really even know what the true meaning of Christmas is. It's pretty much one hundred percent commercial. So one thing that me and my companion have been focusing on is to help others remember why we celebrate this day. The other day in church a member who had a son on a mission gave a talk and told us that his son sent home a Christmas card and wrote inside Merry Christmas. But the way he wrote it was Merry in a normal size font and then CHRIST in a much bigger size and then the mas in small letters on the bottom. He didn't write anything else in the card about it but this member said that this really touched him. Without having to say anything his son reminded his father about the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is about our Heavenly Father's loving gift to us, His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I love the scripture in John and I can't remember the chapter or verse or even how to quote it correctly right now but it roughly says, For God so loved the world (each and every one of us) that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on him shall not perish but shall have eternal life. I know that this scripture is the true meaning of Christmas and I know that Jesus Christ did come to the earth to do the one thing none of us could do for ourselves, the atonement. He loves us so much and knows each and everyone of us. I asked my companion, Elder Dodd, the other day what Christmas is all about, Giving or Getting, the Lights or the Tree and so on. He simply said with a smile, It's about love. The love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown to us and love that they hope that we will show to them and to each other. I really hope that all of you can remember the real true meaning of Christmas this year. That doesn't mean you can't have lights, trees, presents and all that. But I want to challenge all of you this year maybe on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning to kneel down as a family and in humble prayer thank our Heavenly Father for the most precious gift of all that he has given us, our Savior Jesus Christ and for all the many other blessings He has given us. I promise you that if you do this not only will your Christmas have more meaning but the Holy Ghost will testify to each of you the truthfulness of the atonement of Jesus Christ and will bring you closer together as a family. I love you all so much! I wish I could be with you but I know that I need to be here and i thank my Heavenly Father that I am hear and I hope that he will watch over all of you especially at this Christmas time. I love you and I'm so excited to talk to you tomorrow, so don't forget to turn on your phones and be ready =)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!
Love, Elder McAllister
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