Merry Christmas from Mesa, Arizona!  Danielle has been blessed to serve in the Mesa Arizona Mission since November.  She is amazed at how time is flying by, she has enjoyed serving at the Visitor Center and has loved the beauty that the Visitor Center transformed into during the Holiday's.  She has ran into some family and friends over the Holiday's, and was thankful to share her love of the Savior with them.

Danielle wrote home and said, she couldn't think of a better place to be during this Christmas season then serving the Lord.  Sharing her testimony of Christ and helping those seeking to come unto Him.

Here is a  picture of the Sister's taken by sweet Sister Taylor who had the Sister missionaries for Christmas.  If you have time, Danielle would love to get a letter from you.  If you look at the previous post you will find the address to send it too.

This was sent to us of Sister Brownell and Sister Lewis.  She is doing well in Arizona and doing lots of great work.  Here is a little from her last letter.

Our investigators James and Ashley who we just started teaching are doing so well. Ashley is 11 and the cutest thing every. She is shy, but really wants to be a part of the ward. At church the prymary got up to sing on Sunday and she got up right with them! She had no idea what the song was (Having only gone to church 1 time before) but she was so darn cute. I am so excited to see their progression and happiness in their life that is coming. 
I got a Christmas letter from Grandma and Grandpa Murray this week. 35 bucks from them too! YEssss. Today I go to payless to find some boots. (It is actually really really cold here. Like 50-60 at night and my feet freeze!) So I will buy a pair of boots for outside when I am at the VC or in the area late at night. The other night my feet were so cold I hopped off my bike and didn't feel them and fell on the ground. I laughed pretty hard as a car drove by and Sister Javed was freaking out that I was dead or something :) haha.  Tell Grandma thanks for me!
So something I studied this week I wanted to share with you was the importance of giving our all to the Lord. This Christmas has been soooo fantastic because I am serving Him. I am not worried about worldly things, but rather doing his work. Elder Holland has a talk from last GC that I loved. The First Great Commandment. Its golden. Read it. He talks about how we are all disciples of Christ and how we need to devote ourselves to him. Some parts that touched me were when he took liberty and expressed what he thought Christ would have said.... "What I need, Peter, are disciples- and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someonewho loves me, truly, truly, loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do." HOW POWERFUL IS THAT! I know that we are all discipes of Christ and we are here to share what we know to be true. It is not just on my mission that I will be doing this, but for my whole life. I think about the Sons of Mosiah and how when they learned of the truth they went out and served him for 14 years! (and more). I also love the thought that as we devote ourselves "to be an instrunment in [his] hands to save and preserve the people" (Alma 2:30) we will be strengthened. We can not just pray for strength and give nothing back. I know as we pray for help to fight evil and bring the gospel to all we will be blessed. In Alma 2 it talks about the Laminates and Amlicites who are numerous so much that they are "As the sands of the sea" (vs 27) but the Nephites, who have "prayed mightily to the Lord" (28) are able to defeat them. We too have those who seek to destroy us Each Day. The influence of Satan is all around and we will become sucked in if we do not pray mightily for that strength and as we do so devote ourself to him. We are called to be disciples of the Lord, all of us. What a special calling that is. "In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can't quit and we can't go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before" -Elder Holland. 
I know that this work is true! I know that Christ lives and loves us. This season is about HIM. It is not about gifts, or lights, or crud like that. It is about serving others and bringing the light of Christ into the hearts of all men. I encourage all who have read this to go out and do something more! Go share your testimony to that person that may need it. As we do these things along with continually holding to the Church, reading or words of prophets and the scriptures, praying, and hearkening unto the spirit we will find happiness and be blessed!
Thank you all for the love and support I receive every day from you! I love you all and hope you are enjoying this holiday season. It is strange not to be home, but I love this work and would not change this for anything in the world!
Love,
Sister Brownell

Danielle's week in Mesa.  
I have really loved being here during Christmas time. We have so many people come into the VC every night and I have the chance to just share a particle of the importance of Christ. I love the opportunity to simply testify of him. I know that he is the savior of this world, he came to this earth for each one of us so that we will have the chance to live our lives following his example and find true happiness in this church. It is just so wonderful!
We had a wonderful service on Saturday for Amy who was baptized. Her daughter was baptized about 2 weeks earlier and it was just such a neat experience to see this happy family all sitting together knowing that they are making the correct choices to come back to Christ. I was fortunate enough to have preformed a special musical number during the service- it was kind of last minute so I just sang 'He Sent His Son' from the Childrens Hymn book. I am not trying to boost my ego or anything, but boy... it was such a spiritual experience. Music truly testifies of Christ and I know that. I have been very blessed to have grown up with music and with the talents that I have. I know I will have the chance to share this talent and help others feel of the Spirit through it. It was pretty funny after the service I was talking with the family and they were all amazed that a sound like that could come out of somebody as small as I am. . . then some skinny jokes were made. Those seem to follow me everywhere I go as well :) haha. 
Something I learned the other day during study is how important it is to share this message with others. I was reading in 2Nephi 30 and in vs 3 it says

 3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall ^abelieve the words which are written; and ^bthey shall carry them forth unto the ^cremnant of our seed.

I read this vs and realized that I am a missionary right now fulfilling what this vs talks about. I know that the book which it talks of is the Book of Mormon and because I believe on the words I must share them, I am doing just that. I stopped for a second and thought about those who know that this Book of Mormon is true and are not on a mission- this call to share is NOT just for full time missionaries, for we are all "member missionaries". I realized that as a member of the church we have an obligation to share what we know to be true. I continued reading and the call to spread the gospel is all over chapter 30. In chapter 31 it tells you what you need to preach- The Doctrine of Christ. It is pure and simple. We are to teach Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the End.... Something I was told by Grandpa Reynolds right before I left was that this Enduring to the End encompasses going to the temple. As we are worthy to enter the house of the Lord we are living our lives in a way that will bring us eternal happiness. I just love that. I want to challenge you all to go out and be that missionary now. I know Daddy works with the missionaries all the time, and having a good ward missionary can and Does have a HUGE impact on the mission work of a ward. Just go out and share what you know! It will bless your live soo much. I know that. I live it and do it every day!!!