While I was serving as a counselor in the Winona MN Branch Presidency, I was assigned to set up the Christmas program for our Christmas Sacrament Meeting (to be held on December 22, 2013).
While pondering the possibilities of assigning speakers and lining up songs, I felt inspired to go in a slightly different direction. Our Branch President and the 1st Counselor in the Branch Presidency each had a child serving a full-time mission. After finding the appropriate contact information, I emailed each of those full-time missionaries and asked them to prepare written remarks that I would then share during that Christmas Sacrament Meeting. They both responded with their letters.
After the ordinance of the Sacrament had been completed and the time for the program came, it was with great surprise to the congregation and especially to the two brethren I served with, to hear me announce that our next speaker would be Sister Anna Norgrant (then serving in the Guam mission). I then read her letter to the congregation and then announced that our next speaker would be Elder Nathan Neefe (then serving in California).
It was a nice Christmas surprise for the families of the two full-time missionaries and for the Winona Branch to hear their testimonies of the Savior, especially at Christmas time.
{The two letters that I received are attached below}:
Hi Brother Leonhardt
It is so good to hear from you and thank you for the Christmas wishes.
It is a good thing you wrote me early because if you had written any later I wouldn’t have been able to talk at the Christmas program that you want me to talk at. So that is a yes. I would love to talk at the Christmas program. Haha. And I thought that once I left the Winona branch I wouldn’t have to give any more talks. Lol. Guess I was wrong. 🙂 Ok – so I don’t have a lot of time but here is my talk:
Alii and Merry Christmas to everyone from PALAU!!! I’m so happy that Brother Leonhardt has given me this opportunity to speak at the Winona Branch Christmas program. Here in Palau we are having our Christmas program on the 22 as well and I’m singing several songs in that. I know that I’m not with you right now but my heart sure is with all of you back in Winona. I have learned so much and am still learning. I started my learning at my home with my wonderful parents teaching me what is right. In the Winona branch I have learned even more about our loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I want to share with you what I know to be true without a shadow of a doubt. With every fiber of my being I know to be true. That is, that I know we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and that he sent his son Jesus Christ here to earth to die for us. Think about that… each and every one of us is worth the blood of a God… I don’t know about you but that means a lot to me. That is why we celebrate this time of the year – to think about the wonderful birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
I want to thank my mom and dad for being the BEST parents in the world. Thank you for teaching me who I am and the potential that I have in this world. Thank you for accepting the one and only true gospel and raising me in it. Rachel, Eric, Emily, Amber, Jonathan and Tyler – thank you so much for being the very BEST siblings in the whole wide world.
Thank you for loving me and supporting me in everything I do and always being there for me. I love you all so much. I love the Winona branch and everyone in it. Thank you for your prayers and support. You don’t even know how much it means to me. Enjoy this Christmas season. Give your family a hug and tell them that you love them. I say all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen 🙂
I wish I could write more but I’m running out of time so thank you brother Leonhardt. I love you and your family.
Love,
Sister Norgrant
Elder Nathan Neefe
Submitted by Alan Leonhardt
Winona, MN Branch