"Tunnel Journey" - The light of the gospel leads us!

                                                                                                                                     Oct. 14, 2013
Hola mi familia maravillosa!!! Como estan? Gracias por sus cartas! Su semana fue muy bueno! Mio tambien! prospering! 

 

Today we had a zone activity where we went on a hike to an abandoned tunnel. There used to be a train that passed through Tomé and so there are a few tunnels here, so we went to one of them. I thought it was going to be a little strange. The activity was suppose to be 2 hours and I was thinking, how long is the tunnel? And if it is short, are we just going to walk back and forth for 2 hours haha but it was really fun. The hike was super long so that took up most of the time. I took a lot of photos that I want to send, but the computer doesn´t want to work. Well, while we were walking through the tunnel that was completely dark, we were following one elder who had been smart and brought a flashlight. In the beginning he a few other elders walked way faster than us and we couldn´t see them or hear them, when suddenly they jumped out and scared us haha it was fun, but i have to admit that my  heart almost exploded. Elders... they think they are so funny haha well they are.


Being missionaries and always thinking about the gospel, when we were following the light I thought of a metaphor and commented about how this was kind of like life, and the light of the gospel helps lead us. Thinking about it more, there is only one light that can lead us safely through this life and He is our Savior, Jesus Christ. We must follow Him and follow the gospel that He has given us. It is so important that we are members of His true church, the same one that He established when He was on the earth. In the beginning of the tunnel when the elders hid, we lost the light. I can´t imagine how hard it would be to live without the light of the gospel to guide us. But there are so many of our brothers and sisters who do just that. It was hard to walk in the tunnel without the light. We were scared, we couldn´t see what was up ahead, and it was dangerous, we could have gotten hurt. But with the light, we had an assurance that everything would be okay as long as we were with the one that had the light. We knew where we were, where we were going, and all fear left. As a representative of Jesus Christ, I testify that this is His true church and that only by following Him can we return to our Heavenly Father and live in peace, knowing He will lead us through the dangers, and the darkness and give us His light. This experience helped me realize even more how important it is to share the gospel with others. I got to taste for a second what it is like to be in the dark, I don´t want anyone to be there. We are the way in which they can find the light! This is what I learned this week! 

This week was amazing! We worked way more with the members and had 8 lessons with investigators in which a member accompanied us. Last week we had 0! The Lord blessed us to be able to work more with the members.

This week also had other miracles! Remember Camila? She is so prepared and we were excited for her to come to conference, but she didn´t come :(  Well, we visited her again and it turns out that she tried to come to conference but she couldn´t find the church! :( but this is also good news because she is really excited to learn more. We taught her and the lesson was amazing! She didn´t come to church this week, but we know that she is prepared and I will let you know what happens this week! Marcela is doing great and she read for the first time, the chapter that we invited her to read. She is doing everything to prepare for baptism and find a house. I told you about that right? Well, she is doing everything! We are going to eat ice cream with her today!! She is awesome! Josue also came to church and is still progressing, His daughter Nicole couldn´t come because her baby was sick, but she is awesome too! We are also teaching an abuelito named Carlos, and he knows he must be baptized, but he wants more time. Please pray for him! Yanet is still progressing, but we will work with her more. We have a lot of people to teach and the Lord continues to bless us to find more. This week I really wanted to find someone who needed the Lord in that moment. I was feeling a little discouraged because i love to help people and I know that this gospel can help everyone, but usually the people we find don´t realize that right away, and don´t realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to everything! I was praying that we could find someone who really needed the Lord to lift them in that moment, and after I finished my prayer in my head, we knocked on a door and a woman came out. We started talking with her and she listened but we distracted. She then told us that she wants to listen, but that her son was sick with Bronchitis for many days and that she was waiting for the doctors to come. She didn´t have the animo to listen in this moment. My companion and I both had the same inspiration to ask if we could offer a prayer with her for her son. We did this and the Spirit was so strong, She said that we could come back another day and share with her. Her name is Daniela. I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows all of His children and sends us to them right we they need Him the most. I am grateful to be an instrument in His hands to lift His children. I know that He loves us and will always lift us. Thank you for your prayers, I know that this week was amazing because of all of your prayers in our behalf. The Lord is blessing us and the work is

Real fast, I will finish with a few funny stories. Last week when we were sick (we are much better, thanks!) we ate lunch in the house every day, and not with the members. Well one day the gate to our house was locked and this gate is huge! Really high up and we cant climb it from the outside. Well the other sisters had the keys and we called but they didn´t answer. So, I decided I would attempt to climb over the wall. I asked my companion to push me, and she is a lot smaller than me ha ha, but she tried, and fell back a little ha ha sad. But the second time I got up there and then climbed down. It was a fun adventure, as I was in a skirt ha ha. Every day is a new adventure!  Love you so much! hope you have an amazing week! Hasta Luego!

P.S. Look at my tiny Chilean cheese grater!!  Life is great!!

I Love Learning!!

                                                                                                                               Oct. 7, 2013

Hola fabulous familia!!! How are you all doing? I hope you all had a great General Conference weekend! I watched conference for the first time in all Spanish. We couldn´t get it to work in English. The songs were in English and they would begin speaking in English but a translator would then begin speaking. The true church of Jesus Christ is so amazing! The Lord has given us the technology to listen in all parts of the world! It was an amazing experience, as I was able to use the gift of tongues that Heavenly Father has blessed me with, to be able to understand the messages from our prophet and apostles and other leaders of the church. I started off the weekend watching the rebroadcast of the relief society meeting. It was so powerful and I loved the message about how we become stronger through trials and they are given to us because the Lord can see our potential, and all that we can become through them, just like He knew that the Provo tabernacle would become a temple! What were your favorite messages of conference? If you could please write me a little summary about them that would be awesome. I understood most of the messages, but I´m still not fluent in Spanish—haha. 

 

This week was full of adventures and I learned a ton. Hermana V. and I both got a stomach flu this week that lasted for a while, but we received priesthood blessings and were able to work even though we were sick. I know that the Lord blessed us with the energy to work, and we saw this through the number of lessons we had. The number of lessons we taught was way higher than any other week. The miracles of the Lord are amazing! 

We are still working with Marcela, and Josue, and Paul. They still have struggles so please pray for them and I know the Lord will bless them. We are also still working with Sandra, we found a young woman named Camila who was excited to listen this week to conference and hear the prophet. She wants to know if he really is a prophet, and in the lesson we had with her, she had a ton of questions. Also, Josue´s oldest daughter is going to be living here for a while so we are going to start sharing the gospel with her. Sadly, none of them came to see conference. We were so disappointed as this week we truly proclaimed with joy that our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ, have called a prophet and apostles to lead and guide us today. Our investigators were not able to hear the glad tidings, but we are going to share the messages with them these next couple of weeks, and we hope to keep teaching them all. Thank you so much for all of your prayers in behalf of each one of them. 

This week we had a lot of funny adventures while we were sick, but usually my embarrassing moments are the most funny. We always say alo outside of the houses, it is like the doorbell of chile. Occasionally I accidentally say hola and that is super embarrassing. This week on a minicambio for a day, I was relieved to know that my sister leader sometimes does the same, so the embarrassment was long gone. That is what I thought, until one day when i passed by someone in the street (we always say hola to everyone we pass) I accidentally kinda yelled alo at them haha, it was so loud and embarrassing. My companion couldn´t stop laughing and I couldn’t either. Luckily I think the lady I yelled at had headphones on. Que verguenza!! Or, how embarrassing! haha i love laughing at the little things.

This week we learned so much from conference and also from our leaders. I love each week, each day, each minute, because we always have another opportunity to be better. And we get to apply what we learned! We have so much to apply this week and I can’t wait to let you know how it goes.

The two talks from conference that I absolutely loved in relation to missionary work were given by President Uchtdorf and Elder Ballard. Mom shared about your desire to share the gospel as a family. I invite you all to read these two talks and remember how amazing this gospel is and why everyone needs to hear it. Don´t fear, only go forth and share with everyone. You will rejoice as others are blessed. Today I was reading in el Libro de Mormón because I am reading it completely in Spanish for the first time, and I read my favorite missionary verses! Jacob 5:71,72 It says: 71 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself unot myself against the time which will soon come.  72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things. 72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.I love this because this is what the Lord says unto His servants and in the verse before it says that His servants are few. We may be few but we have a great calling to bring the gospel to the rest of the world, and this scripture prophesies how we will work.We will go forth with all of our might, and obey in all things. In verse 75 Jacob describes what happens after we, the servants of the Lord, do all we can do.75 And it came to pass that when the ^aLord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And^bblessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the ^cnatural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have^djoy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.The Lord comes, The Savior comes and says that we will rejoice with Him because we shared the gospel with fervor. We will rejoice with the Savior at His coming! This is a prophecy, but in order to receive the blessings of this prophecy, we must do our part. We must share the gospel with all diligence and with everyone, and we must be obedient to all of the Lord´s commandments. Then we will have these promised blessings! I know this to be true. I am grateful for our call as members to bring the gospel to all the world. I am grateful that I can work along side of each one of you in the vineyard of the Lord, and that we can work alongside Him. I love you all and hope you remember this as you go forth as proclaim the restored gospel without fear! I hope you have a fantastic week! Can´t wait to hear from you next week! Love you! Chou!

The Lord prepares them, but we must find them!!

                                                                                                                           Sept. 30, 2013
Hola mi familia!!! Gracias por todo sus cartas! Me encanta leerlos y estoy feliz para escuchar de su semana pasada. Todos dijeron algo que yo necesitaba escuchar. Thank you for helping me to always feel great and renewed and energized to work hard every week--especially this week.

I have to admit that this week has been a little hard. We always learn a lot every week, but our biggest challenge is finding new people to teach. I know without a doubt that the Lord has prepared many people in Frutillares to accept the gospel and be baptized. We just have to find them!!! I know as I continue to be more diligent and use the Lord´s precious time every minute of every day, we will be able to find them! The Lord teaches me so much! I just need to remember to apply everything I learn.

Today I was reading Preach My Gospel in the first section about what I can do to be a successful missionary, and then I began to read about missionaries from the Book of Mormon.  I read about Nephi the 3rd, and his success as a missionary. In Helaman 10:4,5 the Lord is talking directly to him and says, "Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done: for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but has sought my will, and to keep the commandments. 5. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy work, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. 

What an amazing scripture. My greatest desire is to hear the Lord say this to me. I am grateful that the Lord helped me find this scripture today because it is what I needed to hear. I need to declare the gospel with unwearyingness, without fear of the people and of talking to them, and I need to make sure that my will is exactly in line with the Lord's will. This is what I am going to work on this week. I think as members we can do the same. We have been called to share the gospel with everyone, to share with friends, to make new friends and share with them, to do everything, and most importantly, to live the gospel in every way so that others can see our example and happiness and want what we have been blessed with. When we do this we have the promise of the Lord that He will bless us forever, that we will be mighty in word and deed, in faith, and in works, and all things that we ask shall be according to our word because we will not ask for that which is contrary to the will of the Lord. We will do His will and He will bless us in our own lives and will bless us to be able to share the gospel. I know that this is true, and so this week Hermana V. and I are determined to work our hardest, speak without fear, and find those that we know are prepared! This is my spiritual thought and scripture of the week. I invite you all to read Preach My Gospel chapter 1 together as a family! It is awesome! 

This week was awesome! We had some really amazing lessons and I absolutely love feeling the Spirit in our lessons, and knowing that the investigators can feel it too. We found Sandra this week one morning when we were knocking on doors. She is so great! She really felt the Spirit, and we tried to return but she wasn´t home. I will let you know what happens, but please pray that we can teach her again and that she can receive an answer about what we taught. The same for Evelyn. We tried to teach her, but had to reschedule for today so we will finally pass by and see how she is tonight. But she is a lot nicer and warmer as we explained why it was necessary for a restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ

Sis. M. still struggles with the Word of Wisdom, but she continue to progress as she attends church and learns more. We had a wonderful lesson last night for family night with our ward mission leader. He and his family invited Sis. M. and her son, and another family that recently joined the church. We shared a video that is on the dvds for seminary for the book of mormon. It is called the Mediator and it is so great! It shares a story about a young man who wanted something that he couldn´t afford in his life and so he borrowed money to buy it, and he worked to pay the debt, but he never could because while he worked hard, sometimes he would go off with friends and leave the work, and he just never earned enough to pay it back. When the time came to pay the debt, the man that he owed wanted justice, and he couldn´t pay it. The young man wanted him to show mercy, but mercy and justice could not exist at the same time, and so the young man was put in bonds and about to be taken to prison. But there was one way in which mercy and just could exist together, and it was through a Mediator. His friend came, and said that he would pay the debt if this young man would work for him by the principles that he sets. This is exactly the plan of God for us. We wanted to come to this earth in order to be like Him and receive a body. He has already given us so much, but in order to return to Him we must be free from sin. But we fall so many times, we sin all the time, and we can´t pay the debt. Well, the eternal law of justice must be satisfied, God has to be just, but He knew we wouldn´t be able to pay the debt to return to Him, and so in His mercy, He sent His Son, and Jesus Christ willfully came to be our Mediator. He suffered for our sins so that we can be clean, and He died for us so that we might live! He paid the debt that we could never pay alone, and He set the principles by which we can work for Him. It is by living the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can receive the mercy of the Great Mediator. I absolutely love this video!!! There is so much to learn! I absolutely love the perfect plan of our Heavenly Father and our Savior! I know it is real! When we shared this, the lesson that followed was so great. Sis. M. noticed the friends that called the young man to leave his work and go with them, and she recognized that this is like the temptations we have that cause us to leave the path. This is exactly what I was hoping she would say. I am so proud of her progress! I am hoping and praying that she learned a lot more about the Savior and His sacred Atonement, and that she can apply it to her life to help her quit smoking. Please pray for her!  

Josue came to church too, and he was suppose to work on Sunday but told his boss that he had to go to church. So he was able to come, and he told us that he knows it is important to go to church because it is what God wants, and because He blesses him for it. That is Big progress! We are still working with them, but it is difficult. Bro. P is really struggling. We were really bold as we followed the Spirit and taught the plan of salvation and what will happen if he isn´t baptized in this life. Please pray that he will really truly pray with earnest about baptism. Thank you for all of your prayers and the love you have for our investigators! 

This week I ran every day!!! Well not on Sunday of course, but the other days I did! I am in Concepción today!!! And i will be going to Lider for the first time, this is the equivalent of Walmart! I am super excited!! I am trying to think of funny adventures of this week. Sometimes when we knock on doors, we don´t actually knock, we yell Alo, outside of their door, and them come. Sometimes my voice cracks when I yell Alo, and sometimes I say Hola by accident. Or, I will be speaking to people in Spanish and then I will say something in English, which is really embarrassing. These are my every day embarrassing moments from the mission. It's so fun! But life is wonderful! I love you all so much! Thanks for your examples and the light you shine! Keep being amazing! Have a great week!!