Operation Hanukkah is Coming!

Breanna loves Jewish things. She wears a Star of David necklace. She loves challah bread. We celebrate Passover (in a tribe of Joseph sort of way).

We wanted her to be able to celebrate Hanukkah in the MTC, but wondered how we could do that. Candles probably wouldn't be allowed. What would she do with a menorah after the holiday was done and it was time to fly down to El Salvador?

Think, think, think. AH! A paper menorah with paper candles! We searched on-line and found a beautiful menorah at http://www.papertoys.com/menorah.htm
We will send her the menorah so that it will get to her before December 11th. For those of you cousins outside of the tribe of Judah, Hanuakkah begins at sundown on that date.

But she is a missionary and it should have a spiritual theme. Well, Hanuakkah is a celebration of the dedication of the temple. Or to be technical a rededication of the temple. So, we thought it could have a theme of rededication of ourselves to the Lord.

Each candle will have a different theme related to the restoration of the gospel.
The shamash (the candle in the center that is used to light the other candles) is labeled “Light of the Restoration” to emphasize the overall theme. The shamash will be used to "light" a new candle each day until all eight are lit. The candles are:
1. The First Vision
2. The Book of Mormon
3. Restoration of the Priesthood
4. Restoration of Christ’s Church
5. The Creation
6. The Fall
7. The Atonement
8. The Temple Ordinances
To accompany each candle, there will be a spiritual thought showing how the subject is related to the restoration of the gospel. Each day of Hanukkah we will be posting here the devotional related to the new candle being lit. So, come back on December 11th and join us for our latter-day celebration of Hanukkah.

Here's the letter we sent her announcing the program,

Operation Hanukkah
Because we know you like Jewish things, we thought you might like to celebrate Hanukkah. This holiday commemorates an ancient miracle that occurred during the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabees. The word Hanukkah means “dedication” and is often referred to as the festival of lights. There is information about the history and traditions of Hanukkah included with this, but it only serves as background to help you understand the holiday.
Likening to yourself
We have modified the traditional Jewish celebration to a theme to uplift and renew missionaries. Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the temple lights at the time of the rededication of the Jewish temple, we have chosen themes of light and dedication. You have dedicated yourself to serve the Lord though missionary work. We can at this season rededicate ourselves to the service of the Lord by remembering the light the Lord has restored in these latter days and committing to share that light with others.
Your menorah
We’ve designed your menorah to commemorate the miracle of the restoration of the gospel in modern times. As we “light” the candles of this menorah, we celebrate the light of the restoration illuminating the world. The candles represent knowledge restored and events of the restoration.
Each day of Hanukkah open the labeled envelope. Put the candle on the menorah and read the enclosed information. The materials are specially designed for missionaries and are taken from the Preach My Gospel, scriptures, Conference addresses and other messages of the brethren, and Seminary and Institute materials. We’ve taken particular care to choose reading materials that are “kosher” for missionary consumption. Enjoy!
Madre and Padre Wells