This is the week when I normally start feeling anxious about what to buy or do for loved ones. Here in the Michigan Detroit Mission this Christmas time, it is intense, but different. Hard to explain, but it really goes without saying. Sister Cannon and I are busy helping people this week, so we don't think about what to give each other. She lovingly sent gifts to our children last week – always ahead of me in that regard.
In our "new" home in Roseville Michigan, we hear the trains passing nearby -- far enough to not annoy her, but close enough for me to enjoy the sounds I have loved since my boyhood. (Some favorite memories of Christmas are of model railroads.) A few nights ago, we watched some neighbor children building a snowman in the parking lot near our front door – in freezing cold!
Many homes in the Metro Detroit area have elaborate displays of Christmas lights ... similar to what we enjoyed seeing in Utah. Walmart stores here are full of anxious shoppers as everywhere, I suppose. Some smiling, others not so merry; (how can anyone frown at such a happy time?) Actually, some are homeless, down-and-out with good reason to miss feeling the Spirit.
As missionaries and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we do what we can to spread the good news of the gospel while assisting others with temporal needs. As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we know He lives and is aware of people's needs, hopes, and desires. It is our hope to follow His example of love this Christmas season and thereby experience a happier New Year!
