Sister Savanna Brooks in The Golden State

Hi everyone!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank you for everything!! I was overwhelmed by the letters and cards and packages I received this Christmas! It was such a tender mercy to be able to open all of them and to hear from you. It was also amazing to be able to talk to my family! They haven’t changed a bit ;) Except for the fact that Camilla is apparently taller than me now… but it’s not true because I’ve actually grown taller too! I measured myself last week, and I am proud to say that my high school basketball roster is finally valid ;)  Anyway, I felt so much love, and this Christmas was awesome. I am so incredibly grateful for all of you!! Thank you a million!! I LOVE YOU!! (Christmas Lights With Sofia) The work here is still going strong! Our recent convert, Sofia, is absolutely amazing. A large part of our teaching pool has been through referrals from her. We are working hard with less actives and active members, and it has been awesome! 75% of ba...

Merry Christmas! Please tell everyone thank you for the cards, notes and presents. Everything is perfect. Thank you so much!  Video Call with the Family~It was so good to talk to everyone!   It was Freezing inside the Church! P-Day a couple of weeks ago at the Beach.  Me & my District My companion & I MERRY CHRISTMAS! After the video call home, we did karaoke at the church. There is a member her who set it all up for us. He sings so well!

God Is So Good! God has been preparing Sofia for many years. She first became aware of the church when she saw elders walking down the street in Mexico almost 13 years ago. From there, she had LDS friends who shared their beliefs with her and even had elders knock on her door (though at the time she showed no interest in learning more). We were lucky enough to receive her referral from a member when she was finally ready to receive the message of the Restored Gospel. We came to learn that the reason she didn’t accept the message 13 years ago wasn’t because she didn’t want it, but because she didn’t feel good enough to receive it. It was amazing to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ change her life. She truly came to have hope and peace-something she hadn’t felt in over 20 years. Love, Hermana Brooks (The guy in the middle is my Bishop. He is so funny! I love him.)

This week we were hostesses at a huge interfaith nativity display. Nativities from all over the world were displayed throughout the church. It was really cool! There were so many displays that we didn’t even have enough time to see all of them! We served there 3 times. We welcomed people into the various rooms and visited with them as they looked at the different nativities. We were told that over 10,000 people came through. Sorry we were not allowed to take pictures inside the display but LDS Living published an article with photos a couple of weeks ago. My mom will post this article... Enormous Interfaith Nativity Display Celebrates 30 Years and the Amazing Story Behind It LDSLiving.com In 1987, a ward noticed the sentiment in the community that Mormons were not Christians, and they wanted to do something about it. Drawing on a tradition a ward member had experienced in Ann Arbor, Michigan, they decided to create...

Hi Family and Friends! I am so grateful for the letters and packages I have received this Christmas Season! Thank you to all of you! And thank you for every person on the Rich side of the family who colored an ornament and wrote a note for my tree. I literally teared up as I read all of them. I hope you know how grateful I am for all of you! You mean the world to me. ❤❤❤❤ And now I have the flipping cutest Christmas tree there ever was 😊 . President keeps teasing Hermana C and I because our 3 most-progressing investigators are: 1. A man from India (We Skype him. He bought a Book of Mormon on Amazon and messaged us on Facebook to help him understand it.) 2. A woman we were teaching in my previous area who didn’t like the idea of being taught by different missionaries, so she drives and hour and a half every week for us to teach her 3. And a woman right outside of our area who we got special permission to teach. President said w...