SNOOOOOOW!

SNOOOOOOOW! Finally. I have been waiting for Christmas since....well....Christmas, but it just didn't feel like coming until now. We got 6 inches, though! Not bad at all for North Carolina. It created a lot of concern and lead to all public schools being closed for over a week and both Duke and UNC for 2 days! Kinda crazy to us Westerners, but ok!

It was beautiful; everything covered in a gorgeous, flawless layer of pure white. I was on exchange, at the time, with another missionary (one of our Zone Leaders, not Elder Bodily), and we went outside right as we woke up to take some pictures.

I absolutely love the sound of the snow crunching underneath my feet and how it muffles the sound of everything. Everything seems to be at peace. It definitely reminds me of the many days, back in Sun Valley, Idaho, when I'd be up on the mountain skiing. You get to the top of the mountain and you get to look over the top of miles of snow covered landscape, then, you head down the hill just listening to sound of each cut that you make. Lots of those times are when I felt the strongest that there definitely is a God. Who else could create such a beautiful Earth?


The snow also plowed the way for Elder Bodily and I to follow Jesus Christ's footsteps and offer service to all those in need. We called our bishop right as we got home and asked what members of our congregation would need help shoveling their driveways so they could get out, and he gave us a big ole' list of people and a couple of shovels! Then, it was off to work!

We started at about 10 o'clock, and shoveled non-stop until 5:30 that night! We certainly got in our workout for the day...that's for sure...But it was worth it!

We were able to help 7 elderly couples from our ward and they showed us more love and appreciation than we deserved! We weren't looking for anything, in fact, one thing I've grown to love is doing something nice for absolutely nothing in return! There's a warmth in that kind of service that you just can't get doing anything else.

Jesus Christ gave us two wonderful scriptures to demonstrate the need for service. The first, is the thirty-first verse of the twelfth chapter of Mark, which reads "...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

The second verse is in the seventeenth verse of the second chapter of Mosiah, saying, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Both verses show us that service is something the Lord requires of us, but, when we find we are truly seeking to follow Him, it is not a burden at all, but something we do selflessly, as an expression of true love for Him.

With that, I am not only grateful for the opportunity I've had to give small acts of service, like I did shoveling, but I am also thankful for the wonderful opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, by being a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It is an amazing blessing.