Christmas in Sousa

The celebration of Christmas will certainly be different for us this year. Here the trees (all artificial) are small, the decorations are few and the focus is on a dinner Christmas Eve, not on opening presents on Christmas day. There will be an activity at the church Christmas Eve where Steve will be Papai Noel, we've been invited to lunch by a family Christmas day and we'll have the 4 missionaries in Sousa over for dinner Christmas evening. Of course we miss our children and grandchildren especially at this time of year. And we miss our dear friends a neighbors as well.

Our Sousa Christmas Tree - decorated with photos of all the family.

The meaning of Christmas hasn't changed, however, in spite of the difference in cultures and being thousands of miles from home.

Christ is the focus of Christmas.

The Christmas Tree reminds us that Christ is the Tree of Life; the gifts remind us of the greatest gift of all - the atoning sacrifice of our Savior. The lights on the tree help us remember that He is the Light and Life of the world.

His Atonement is infinite - it blesses every person who ever lived or will live. He overcame death - we will all live again as resurrected beings, never to die again. He opened the door for us to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father by suffering for our sins and offering all mankind the opportunity to repent and obey His commandments and receive the ordinances of exhalation.

His Love is infinite - it touches every person unconditionally. His love is the source of all love which blesses our relationships with our families, our friends and all mankind.

At this Christmastime we express our profound gratitude for all our blessings - for each other, for our family, for our friends, for the people we serve in Brazil and the privilege of serving them, and for our loving Heavenly Father and His divine Son, our Savior and Redeemer.

Here is a video we want to share:

Away in a Manger

Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas!

Steve and Carol Petrie