Christmas in Surrey!

The rest of the song, to the tune of "Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer"

We just got rejected on the doorstep

Tracting house to house on Christmas Eve

He can say there's no such thing as Jesus,

But me and my companion, we believe.

We had planned to teach a lesson

But our member didn't show.

The investigator called us,

And said "For the final time, the answer's no!"

Well, our hands are nearly frozen

And there's snow in my right sock.

But we've got to preach the gospel,

So let's go to the next door and try a knock.

We just got rejected on the doorstep

Tracting house to house on Christmas Eve.

He can say there's no such thing as Jesus,

But me and my companion, we believe.

We'll get through this winter weather

With a shiver and a cough.

And my companion's getting trunky,

But he doesn't know his girlfriend wrote him off!

(Wait what?!)(Nothing!)

So we went on to the next house

And gave this woman quite a fright.

I guess she got a little freaked out

By two guys dressed in black jackets late at night.

We just got rejected on the doorstep

Tracting house to house on Christmas Eve.

She can say there's no such thing as Jesus,

But me and my companion, we believe.

But in spite of the rejection

And each scoff and scream and scorn,

We know how we get salvation

For unto you this day, a Savior's born.

Christ descended from His kingdom

To the Earth that Christmas morn,

And we proclaim the gladsome tidings

That unto you this day, a Savior's born.

We just got rejected on the doorstep,

But we'll still rejoice; it's Christmas Eve!

You can say there never was a Savior,

But in the Surrey 1st ward, we believe!

We performed the song this past Saturday at the ward Christmas party, as well as the Tongan song we sang a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful Christmas party; we had a great turn out and many investigators in attendance (at least, more than we were expecting), which made Saturday amazing.

Transfer calls have come and gone. Elder Asi and I will be staying in the Surrey 1st Ward for another transfer, and I wouldn't have it any other way. One year ago while serving in Willoughby, I would often go on exchanges to Surrey; I find it such a blessing to be here in December to see all of the decorations I fondly remember from last year. This means I will also be spending Christmas, New Year's, and a 20th Birthday in Surrey this transfer, which I am really looking forward to!

This past week was filled with some amazing spiritual experiences, especially this weekend:

On Friday, we received a text from some distant missionaries about a man named Cody in the ICU at the Surrey Hospital. When we went to visit him, he wasn't looking too good. We talked with him for a bit, and he was pretty out-of-it; he was struggling to even keep his eyes open, was half-asleep, and look overall uncomfortable with the tubes in his veins. Cody was not a member of the church, and as we talked, we explained to him about priesthood blessings. He asked us to give him a blessing; I remember that in the blessing, he was blessed with strength to raise his son in righteousness, that these things would be for his good, and that he would be alright. The Spirit which we all felt was strong, and after we said "amen," we were surprised to find that Cody's eyes were wide open. Suddenly, he was fully attentive, and he expressed great gratitude as we left.

At church on Sunday, Elder Asi and I were honoured to be a part of the confirmation of Dorothy (a recent convert of the Sisters), and then we also gave a baby blessing to her daughter, Sadie, which was the first time I'd ever been a part of that. Again, the Spirit of God was nearly tangible.

After church, we'd received an impression that we needed to call one of the companionships in the zone. In our apartment, we have a whiteboard with the names and faces of each missionary in our stewardship. I stood in front of the whiteboard, said a quick prayer, and instantly knew that we should call the Sisters in the Delta ward. I wasn't really sure why we should call them, so I just shared an insight that I'd learned earlier that day and left it at that. Those Sisters texted us later that day, thanking us for following the Spirit because one of the Sisters really needed to hear that insight at that time. That strengthened my testimony that the Lord does work through us to strengthen the zone.

The insight I shared was regarding pride and humility. I find that there are 3 types of pride:

1) Self-elevating Pride ("I've received all these things, therefore I'm better than others")

2) Self-aspiring Pride ("I deserve to have all the things which that person has; I'm better than that person anyway.")

Previously, I'd always thought that the solution of these two forms of pride was simply to tear oneself down. If I started thinking I was better than others, I could just convince myself that I'm terrible so I could be more humble. However, that leads to the third type of pride:

3) Self-degrading Pride ("I'm way down here because I'm worthless and everybody else is better")

Each form of pride involves perceiving others as being on a different level than us. Humility is found when we begin to see that everybody is on the same level. That does not mean, however, that we pull ourselves down to be on everybody else's level; it means that we need to lift everybody else up to our level. For example, the thought "I'm better than you" would be more productively countered by "We are both great, though perhaps in different ways." That's what made the Savior the ultimate example of humility.

-Elder Reynolds