Merry Christmas!!!

So good to speak with some of you!!! I'm not gonna lie it was really weird being called by my first name again. All our concerts went fine. We sang like angels (not really, I just like the analogy =]). Except for the last concert the sound stopped wroking, so only the people in the front and towards the middle got the full effect. Oh well, technology problems will continue to happen. As long as they felt the spirit then everything is good.The amount of people that have come to festival is reduced tremendously...I'm told because of the wheather. It's been really bad apparently, but seeing as I've never been in any kind of wheather like this it always seems bad and cold, but I guess we do have some good days =]. Over the last week we've had over 20,000 people come to the VC. That's a lot of people! One night we had 7,000 peeps crammed in. It was insane. I was basically trampled over a couple times. It's been fun though to bear my testimony about the book of mormon and the gospel a million times each night. I've learned how to say Merry Christmas in Amharic (to people from Ethiopia), Eritrea, vietnamese (although that one I don't remember), hawaiian, French, and Chinese. So fun! I love learning it, then seeing more people from that same country and saying it to them. They get so excited and try to teach me more, but I really can only learn so much in 2 minutes =].Yesterday I had 4 people from Iran come into the VC in the morning so not much was happening, but they wanted to know a little about the church and especially prophets, so I took them to the back and talked about prophets, apostasy and the book of mormon (super short, like 15 minutes) and right before I was gonna ask them if they would like a free copy of the BofM one of the men raised his hand and asked me how he can get a copy of the book for himself. When I gave him the card to fill out and said it was free and missionaries would come to share it with him and explain a lot more he got so excited! Of course his excitement made me even more excited, so I can't wait for him to read the BofM himself! so many miracles, and so little time =]Really if anything else the VC has taught me to invite everyone and seek to recognize the elect (Moroni 7:31-33...I was reading that this morning). All I can do is to declare the gospel and plant seeds, and God will make it possible for the residue of the people to have faith in Christ. I love seeing people change through reading the BofM and learning how to communicate with God. I don't get to see the end of the story being at the VC, but we plant so many seeds and I know that God will watch over those who have come in and will make His will happen.It was so cool to be a missionary during the Christmas season. Just to represent the savior at the time when people most remember Him and when their hearts are softened towards His words. Incredible blessings are available to those who will just remember and do. Remember the words of the Savior and then do what he says. Many times we just forget, it's the natural man, but blessings come and miracles happen when we remember. Share it and believe it. I do. You can too. I love and miss you all!

~Sister Witbeck~

P.S. I didn't get to talk to Dena! I don't know if she wasn't home at the time, but I realized after I hung up that no one passed her the phone. Point of that story is that you are all still loved whether I talked to you or not. I hope you all have a wonderful new year!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Festival of Lights is CrAzY!!! I'm gonna be so worn out by January. Going to bed at 11:30 and waking up at 7:30 are really crazy hours...I dunno why it makes such a difference since it's the same amount of sleep we normally get, but it wears me out. But whatever. That's what I get for being a VC sister =] lots and lots of blessings. same ol' same ol' is happening here, you know just lots of miracles and tons of people learning about God, and deaf people coming out of the rocks. Every night this last week deaf people came to festival, and since I'm the only one who can interpret I am taken out of the schedule (we have a schedule where we change places every 15 min....it really keeps things going through the night) and get to terp for the concert, or have them watch movies, or show them around. Basically whatever they are there for I take care of it. It's way fun.Christmas is around the corner (hard to believe!) and that means a call home and 2 nights of concerts for us 8 sisters =D.Our area has basically died since festival started. This week we had a total of 2 1/2 hours in our area. However, the Lord still blesses it even though we are not there. We found a new investigator, and when January comes things will really pick up and it'll go back to the way it was with time to find, teach and baptize =].Today is one of those 1/2 p-days so I only have till 3pm then it's off to the VC and another fantastic night of miracles.I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!! Love and hugs.

~Sister Witbeck~

"Frozen Chosen" as dad refers to me =]

Ok, so not as many exciting things happened this week, but it was still amazing =]. I'm at the VC almost every night which equates to seeing many miracles daily. A deaf man came into the VC last night and Sis. Schoney (the other sister who signs but is in the Spanish program) and I had him watch Witness of Christ which is like 9 minutes long and is about the Savior's ministry in Jerusalem and his appearance in the Americas. Afterwards we told him that he could have a free copy of the BofM so he could read it and know for himself, anyways, he said: "I already have a BofM but I want to know how I can have missionaries come and visit me. I'm curious about the church and want to know more." That's what I call someone who is prepared to receive! As Sister Schoney was filling out the card for him to have the missionaries (his handwriting was a little shaky so whe was writing for him) he turned to me and asked "how did you learn to think positive?" I didn't really know what to answer him so I said "I just do""Through God right?" he asked."Yes! Through God."He looked at me so seriously and said "I want to learn to think more positive." It was so sweet and not what I was expecting him to say, he just has such a desire to be better! So I just told him that the missionaries will help him to think more positive and be happy for the rest of his life. Little stories like this one happen everyday during Festival of Lights. Every sister has had a myriad of miracles because God sends those He has prepared to feel the spirit and there's no better time than this Christmas season. It's so fun!!! Every night is a free concert for people and I've had the opportunity to usher for a few of them so far. Marvin Goldstein came the first 2 nights, and many other singing and musical groups. Some....not as good as others, but there's something for everyone.One night a member gave me 20 people to call and offer the BofM to. 20! That's a lot of people! He's some football player for something cuz he gave me his parents, uncles, grandma, his agent, his best friend, and many other friends and acquaintances. Most of them have accepted to have the missionaries bring the BofM and share it with them. Members can do so much if they will just try. Sharing is caring =]When I call home for Christmas I have a max of 45 min. I don't know when I will be able to call cuz we haven't been told that info yet, but I can only call mom and dad, so if you're at home great! I can talk to you, if not....then I still love you anyways.Also, Christmas eve and Christmas night 8 sisters will be putting on a concert for people (me being among them). It's gonna be so fun!!! There are so many SUPER talented sisters here it's incredible. Anywho my point is that I think they are going to record it so I'm gonna try to get a copy to send home to you.Well, that's all folks. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you lots =D

~Sister Witbeck~

yup Yup YUP

Ok, so Anna's baptism went really well! She was scared (of course) but no one dropped her and she remembered to bring dry underwear so it's all good =]. I'm sending one chip home with my Christmas package which has something for everyone...believe it or not, nothing fancy, but I figured I may as well since I'm here and you're all there.It snowed yesterday!!!!! Although it was a little disappointing cuz the cars were grounded, which means we were not allowed to drive anywhere so no driving to the area to proselyte =[. However we were allowed to drive to the VC for our evening shift, so I got to drive in the snow! Don't worry, we're still alive. In fact you've never seen a more cautious driver in your life! When we got to the VC we found that the concert was cancelled, Mary and Joseph from the live nativity were not coming and about 38 people had come all day (normally we have a few hundred by that time), so they sent a bunch of sisters back home, us being part of those who left. We took some pics in the snow before leaving then had a party of hot chocolate and mission stories. Gotta love the mission =].OH! I almost forgot to tell you. I met Elder Oaks last Thursday night. He called all the sisters to one of the smaller rooms and shook each of our hands as he said hello, looked at our name tags, then looked at our faces. He told us to never feel inadequate (which is definitely inspired cuz that's a huge problem especially among the sisters), and that faith and obedience are what we need to have to get the spirit. He also called us his fellow servants and said "I would rather spend time with you than all the diplomats of the world. The happiness that the gospel brings shines from your faces and fills me with joy." He is so down to earth! I love it. During the event that night Pres. Packer talked to the audience and mentioned how the turning on of the Christmas lights symbolizes the resurrection of the savior and the light of Christ that is in each of us, then he called on Elder Oaks to bear his testimony. E. Oaks just bore simple testimony of the Plan of Salvation. That there is a God and we are his children. He loves us, and wants us to return to him. We have a purpose in this life and if we follow His gospel then we can live with him forever. As I was listening I realized that truly is the best message for anyone to share. He didn't expound on the scriptures, or say anything new. He just simply stated the message that I have been called to share and that I share everyday. The same spirit that leads and guides him is the same one I follow everyday. It was an amazing night =]That's about it! I LOVE the snow, but not the cold. I am so blessed to be at the VC so I don't have to be out all day in the cold. I have a nice warm haven to rest in....ok, maybe not "rest" but at least to shelter me. We are fed dinner at the VC everyday from different wards in the area, so since you sent me those boxes of food I have not bought anything (except milk and bread). That's going on 3 months! Crazy! I still have food left from those. Anywho, I hope you have a wonderful week! Don't forget to have a missionary experience this month. I love you all!

~Sister Witbeck~