Opposition: The GOOD and the BAD

I absolutely love Christmas!

This week we had some good times...
We started teaching this man over FaceTime and he is absolutely golden.  We were in the church emailing and I got up to use the restroom. On my way back I saw this repair man sitting on the couch thumbing through the Book of Mormon. I talked with him for while and found out that he was here fixing the church's alarm system. It was fate that all of his co-workers had left him there to watch their equipment while they picked up some parts. I explained to him what we do as missionaries and a little bit about the Book of Mormon and asked him if he wanted to know more. He said yes and because he lives farther north out of
our mission we began to teach him via FaceTime. He asks so many good questions and we have taught him 2 lessons so far. On the second lesson we taught him we asked if he would want sisters or elders to come and teach him in his home... And we would just transfer him over to them. When we said that he laughed and told us that just a few hours
ago sisters had stopped by his house. We had absolutely nothing to do with that... We didn't even have his address. I told him that there were no coincidences and we both laughed...God clearly wants him to learn about the gospel now. There are truly no coincidences with God!

I also had the blessing of having Thanksgiving with my family who lives in Arizona... In my mission boundaries. My aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. It was an absolute treat. My cousin Crystal had not been told that I was coming so when she got there her mother put her hands over her eyes until she was right in front of me and then took them off and I was right there to surprise her. It was so fun and I felt so much love from my family.

Hailey and Uncle David

Hailey with her cousins, Anavey, Summer, Crystal, Mikelle, & Abby

Aunt Shelly with Hailey and her cousins

Hailey with Uncle Eric

Hailey at Grandma & Grandpa's Zimmerman's

Hailey and Sister Child's leaving Grandma & Grandpa Z's.

Hailey with her cousin Paige at the Mesa Temple 

And with all the good times we had some bad times... We are teaching a less active man and we have been making a plan to get him to stay from his addictions and go to addiction recovery programs. The day before Thanksgiving he texted us and said he was having a hard time. So we set aside a few hours to make Thanksgiving crafts with him and to keep him occupied so he would not go to the bar. We had a great time and when we finished our crafts and had to go home we said "thanks so much for talking with us and making crafts."
Then he said "well I'm going down to the bar for the rest of the night." We continued to talk with him and to try and convince him not to go. Every time he slips, he slips hard and comes to us the next week regretting what he had done. When we had done our best to remind
him of his potential we said "we are representatives of Jesus Christ and we say what he would say and he would not want you to go to the bar tonight!" He had a hard time but then said "I'm going to go. You were both really cool a few minutes ago, and now you are really
downing on me." We recognized that he had no desire to change and just said "have a great Thanksgiving." When he walked out of the door he just kept saying "I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go!"

That was one of the hardest things I have experienced on my mission.  To watch someone leave to go sin, after having been reminded that what he was going to do was against the commandments of God having a full knowledge of the gospel... Is so hard. I just didn't know what to do.  We sat in the room after he had left and were pretty sunken. He had no
desire to change and there was nothing we could do or say to stop him from his behaviors. Agency is powerful! And addictions are entirely destructive. We must always be keeping ourselves clean and pure and be watchful of how Satan can so easily bring us down.

To brighten things up, go to Mormon.org and check out the church's new
Christmas initiative #asaviorisborn

Here are the lyrics to the third verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" They so perfectly describe how Christ came into this world and the feelings I get around Christmas time.

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.



Will we be the meek souls who receive him still?

Love you all, 
Sister Zimmerman
P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS #we'veonlybeenlisteningtochristmasmusicsinceaugust