November 2016, as I was scrolling my Facebook, I saw the news about a new Christmas initiative: Light the World! We were invited to follow the example of Christ by accepting His invite to be a Light, as he is the Light, to the world, by serving each day as he served. I loved that idea!
I was YW president at that time, so I wanted to encourage my girls to participate in that initiative. So I took the Personal Progress and looked for ways we could complete some experiences while lighting the world. It ended being a busy few days of creating a calendar to light the world with the Personal Progress, combining each daily idea of service with a Personal Progress experience. I shared it online and many people were interested on it. I sent it to at least 500 people around the world, both in English, Spanish and French.
I shared it also with my girls, of course, and we all embarked in that initiative with excitement. All our mutuals were based on services we could do to #LIGHTtheWORLD.
The first week of December we created a video inviting people to join the initiative. The mannequin challenge had become very popular during those days, so we made ours (see video below) by showing small services we could do at our church building.
Also the first Sunday, while adults were having a combined lesson, YW watched the Primary children. They filmed children telling the story of the Christmas, and they gave them Christmas coloring pages. We edited the video and we presented it at our branch Christmas party. It was so sweet. (sorry, video only available in Spanish).
The second week of December we made cookies and Christmas cards to give out to someone we knew was in need. They each left with three sets of cookies with a card to think of someone who need it, who was struggling with something, who was experiencing a trial, who felt alone, who was sick, or in any other difficulty, or someone they wanted to thank for something. The next Sunday I saw my branch president's office with two of those on my branch president's desk... They were grateful for his work and his support ;) We also made a mannequin challenge when doing thi activity (see video below).
The third week of December we made and brought more cookies, with hot chocolate, and we went to the metro Station in fron of our church building, with hymnbooks, and we sang Christmas songs with the sister missionaries and our branch president. We gave hot chocolate and cookies to people. It was also the COLDEST day of our winter. 33°C BELOW ZERO! It was extremely cold. We took turns to go warm us inside for some minutes while the others were singing. The hot chocolate quickly became cold chocolate, but it was the best moment to bring joy to people who were enduring that cold temperature. We did it for about 90 minutes. Let me tell you they were happy to go back to church afterwards ;) But they want to do it this year again! It was memorable! ;)
The next Friday we had our branch Christmas party. We have some difficulties to start our activities on time, and some people get there early and have to wait until we start, so some YW, the sister missionaries and I we decided to do some caroling at each table where there was at least one person. Little by little the room was being filled, but during that time those who where there early got to have us singing for them. Many were touched by this, and there were even a few tears.
The next Friday we had our branch Christmas party. We have some difficulties to start our activities on time, and some people get there early and have to wait until we start, so some YW, the sister missionaries and I we decided to do some caroling at each table where there was at least one person. Little by little the room was being filled, but during that time those who where there early got to have us singing for them. Many were touched by this, and there were even a few tears.
The next Sunday, we had a short lesson, and then we wrote notes of gratitude for our branch presidency and left it on their door, then we got together with young men, we prepared lunch bags, we prepared boxes of clothes (mostly winter clothes) donations we had received during the month, and we went to a park in our city where there are a lot of homeless. While some were giving clothes to those who needed (many refugees also walked by and took clothes), others walked around to give lunch bags. We still have some stuff afterwards, so we went to a metro station where there are many Native homeless, and we gave them what we had. That was a sweet experience that they want to do again this year as well.
And the last mutual before Christmas, we met at church and I gave them a list of services to do in 45 minutes. We had two groups, and they left church. They had a Christmas tree with star stickers and they had to put a star for each service they made. They did things like saying hi to people in the street, leaving nice notes or cars or doors, giving cookies to strangers, calling members of our branch who might need to know we were thinking of them, take a picture of them participating in this and sharing it on Instagram, share the #LIGHTtheWORLD website on their facebook, and other small services. They came back, we discussed about it, and then we had a gift exchange.
The video below shows all of those services my girls did during the month of December 2016 to Light the World (with the two mannequin challenge we did)
It took a lot of planning! I decided to make this #LIGHTtheWORLD month as my Good Works Project for my Personal Progress. I put at least 70 hours in all the planning of these activities, in the creation and sharing of the Calendar, and in other service projects I did on my own or with other people, such as participating on a Stake Christmas Concert, bringing luch bags to homeless with the institute, helping neighbors, helping in my family, doing small Christmas services with my nephews, going to the temple, and more. And of course, I shared about it on my social media, not only how I was serving but mostly how others were lighting my world. In Spanish light the world is " Ilumina el mundo" and I was posting so much about "iluminar" the world, that my brother wrote on my facebook "Illuminati confirmed" 😂 (see my pictures of Social media below).
When I finished, on December 25th, all my YW signed my PP. It was great! And they were happy to do it!
It was interesting that when we went to give lunch bags to homeless with the institute, the first man we met, Pierre, told us that we were SHINING, that we were a light for him, and than this was a beautiful service. And we hadn't even mentionned to him that we were trying to light the world. I was really happy to hear that!
When I finished, on December 25th, all my YW signed my PP. It was great! And they were happy to do it!
It was interesting that when we went to give lunch bags to homeless with the institute, the first man we met, Pierre, told us that we were SHINING, that we were a light for him, and than this was a beautiful service. And we hadn't even mentionned to him that we were trying to light the world. I was really happy to hear that!
I am grateful for this opportunity I had to serve last December and I am excited for these services we will accomplish this year as we light the world and help others feel the Spirit of Christ on this Christmas.
Happy Light the World month! ;)
This is how my facebook looked like in December...
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