p-day #38

dear family,

Well, first things first, yesterday we had a baptism. :) Juan Andres Vargas Herrera is a new member of the ward Las avenidas. :) It was a really spiritual baptism, and as I watched his cute little self in his white clothes smile and walk with confidence knowing that he had made the right decision was the best feeling a missionary can feel. :) 

Teresa didn't end up being able to be baptized because she has some things to work out in her house. But it was really a miracle week for her anyways. We talked to her about the law of chastity and were really really frank with her because we want her to be prepared and we also want to make sure that she will always be able to participate in all the blessings that being baptized brings. And even though she wasn't able to be baptized, her life is changed. Because her boyfriend opened his eyes and realized what he would be losing if he walked away from her. He now wants to become a real family, married and all. This is what we have been praying for forever, and yesterday, as we talked to him at lunch, we told him that if he fixes his life, that he will be able to baptize his daughter next year. It hit him really hard, and this family is going to start seeing great changes. I am so grateful for the time that i have been able to spend with this family, and to be able to finally help them get to this point. :) the lord works in mysterious ways...

My birthday was really good. :) I stayed with Karla while Hna Friere and Hna Nielsen worked in our sector, since I wouldn't have been able to work as much as they can. So I spent some time sharing testimonies with Karla, and then we went to a lesson together with the two sisters. It was the perfect birthday present. I had brought with me the dvd of mormon messages that mom sent me for my birthday, and as we sat down, Hernan told us that he just had lost his excitement to learn because his friend died. I felt really strongly that I should show them one of the messages that was on the dvd. so we watched it, and the spirit that was there as it finished was INCREDIBLE. I bore testimony of the atonement of jesus christ, and the power of his sacrifice. that through him we will rise again and be perfect beings, without pain and sickness. He had decided that he didn't want to listen to us anymore, but after this lesson, he told us that he would pray to know if this is where he needs to be. I swear that he is going to be a future bishop. he has amazing faith.

Then yesterday at church, I just felt overwhelmed by the spirit. I have been trying my hardest to just keep working and to try and do what is both wise and prudent. But throughout the week, i've just felt really discouraged. why me? why do i have to be having these problems, to the point where i am probably going to have to come home? Hno Duran, one of the members, gave a talk about faith. and as i listened, it felt like he was talking directly to me. that i just have to trust in God, and that no matter what happens, it will be what is best. Throughout the day, i said lots of prayers, and finally, after praying so hard that the lord would heal me and that i would be able to continue working, but that i would know his will, i felt  peaceful when president called me and told me that he was probably going to be arranging a flight home this week. 

Without me knowing, the ward organized a party to say goodbye. And even though nothing was set in stone yet, I just felt like this was going to be the last time I would see these people. You never really know how many lives you touch when you are doing the work of the Lord... and how many people come to find a place in your heart. I never knew how many people i had touched. and i just feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of this ward. I love them all so much... and I am looking forward to the day when i will be able to come back and give them all a hug once again.

Only the Lord knows why these things are happening. Only the Lord knows what it means to me to have to leave my mission for a medical problem. But I keep praying, and I am keeping in my mind the words of an apostle, ¨Come what may and love it¨. There are always good things to come. And I just have to keep going in the faith of the lord. 

Maybe i'll be seeing you soon. According to president, maybe as early as tomorrow. 

Keep praying. I love you all so much.

Hermana spencer.

p-day #37

dear family and esteemed fans, :)

well... here ya are! the rattlesnake rapids... 

haha, just kidding. 

Another week has come and gone in the work. And it definitely wasn't my favorite week of the mission, that's for sure. :( Stupid back of mine. 

But even with a stupid lame back, we saw some incredible things happen. :) Alicia was confirmed yesterday, and she went to church all alone. I seriously love her so much. :) I'm so bummed that we had to miss it because I was in the house resting my back. :( But the members are continuing to talk with her and make her feel welcome, and we assigned her visiting teachers and home teachers in our meeting with our ward mission leader... I want her to feel like she has found her family, and I know that she's on the way there. :) Now our next step is to help with her geneology so that we can take her to the temple to be baptized for her parents, like she has always wanted. :)

Karla is now dating someone, and we've started teaching him as well. :) We did some practices with her so that she can know how to share her testimony and parts of the lessons when we are with him, and when she is alone with him. I'm so happy for her, that she's finally starting to date someone after 13 years. He's an awesome guy, and I really see potential in him as a member of the church. I told her that she cannot tell him she wants to marry him until he is baptized. She always laughs at me when I get all serious on her about him. But it's true. She is really really important and special to me, and I want her to have an eternal family, just like her heavenly father wants. So we gotta take the necessary steps now. I'll keep you updated on his progress in his investigation. :)

Pati, a recent convert who fell away because she didn't feel like anyone wanted her at church, came to our fhe last week. :) it was so happy to see her there. And the members told her that they missed her and that they wanted her to come to church on sunday and the next fhe... now it's our job to just help her remember how she feels about jesus christ, because that's the most important thing, and that's what we're good at. haha. 

On Saturday, we worked all day, which was actually a really bad idea in the end. but i was really happy with the results of our labors. :) we found 3 new investigators and all of the lessons were extremely spiritual. :) We taught Simon the plan of salvation, and as i bore testimony of the atonement, he just opened up and told us that he wants to change his life, and that he wants to be a better person, and that he feels like this is the place where he can learn how to do it. Marisol, who is one of our ward missionaries, shared how she came to know the gospel and how she knew it was true, and the spirit was like glistening. He went to church yesterday, and I was so mad that we couldn't be there with him. :( But he knew 3 members because we had taken members with us to every lesson, and so he knew people and could sit with them, and Mayra told us that he was even raising his hand and commenting in the gospel principles class. :) I am almost positive that he has received his answer by now, and I'm anxious for saturday to talk to him about when he'll be getting baptized. haha. The Lord truly has souls prepared to hear the gospel, who are hungry for it and who are just waiting until they hear our voices to join the fold on the savior. :) i love my job! haha. 

now, just pray for me that i'll be able to get out and do it this week. that's all i want for my birthday. and christmas... haha. 

have a wonderful week!

hermana spencer.

p-day # 36

dear family,

well, it was another INCREDIBLE week. :) I don't even know where to begin. haha.

So yesterday, we had the baptism of Alicia. I of course was stressed out as usual to make sure that everything was all taken care of and pretty... and when we finally started, I was almost mortified. We found out that 3 people had prepared the same talk, and that we had called a different person that our ward mission leader to give one of them. But Hna Soto got up there, with absolutely nothing prepared, and gave one of the most sincere and spiritual talks i've heard here in chile. :) Then, I sang a solo. and I wasn't nervous! I think for the first time in my life, actually. haha. And even though the music fell on the floor in the middle, and I couldn't see the words, no one even noticed, cause the whole ward was crying. :) The rest of the program was perfect, and when I talked with her after, she had tears in her eyes as she thanked me for fighting for her, and for helping her get to this point. She said she didn't have words to describe the beautiful feeling that had come over her after her baptism. :) I love her so much. I am so happy for her. :)

Then, last night we went on splits with 2 young women who are preparing to go on missions. I went with Mayra, who has already started her papers. She was baptized a little over a year ago, and while we were out working, she told me about how she had always wondered why all of the churches fought about doctrine, and didn't really know if God existed. But when the missionaries knocked on her door, and she came to church, she just felt so good. and she knew it was true. :)

We went to visit a family that we found last week, and I told her that she had to share her experience with them to help them feel the spirit and have a little idea of how their answers will come. It was one of the most incredible lessons of my mission. I swear this family... haha. I told you a little about them last week. They are from brazil, and have always been looking for the truth. Mariana asked me how revelation works, if only one man has the rights to receive it... and how we view tithing, if we go by what it says in the bible or ask random amounts... and if we baptize in water like jesus christ... my jaw was on the floor for like the whole lesson. haha. this family is SO prepared. They told us they believe the book of mormon is true, and that they are really excited to come to church this sunday and that they'll let us know if they receive an answer to get baptized the 23 of december. :) incredible.

Teresa, Alicia's daughter, is having a rough time right now. her not husband told her last week that they were over. and then he came back and told her he can't live without her. she wants to get baptized so bad... and we felt like we should invite her to be baptized for the 9th of december. And when we were talking with her yesterday, we asked her what's she's plannnig on doing. She told us that she told Jose that she's getting baptized, with or without him. She's trying to kick him out of the house, because she knows that's what she needs to do. I am just in awe at her faith. And I am so excited to finally help her be baptized. She needs lots of prayers though... :) i love her so much!

Hna Duran, our mamita, made us thanksgiving dinner for lunch on friday. :) i was so happy. She's so dang cute. And she even saved me cranberry to eat with my turkey. I don't think i've ever been so happy to eat turkey and mashed potatoes in my life. haha. I am so grateful to be in this ward. :)

Well, that's all the time I have today. But I am doing so so well. :) I feel like I am growing every single day, and that my testimony is being strengthened every minute. I am so grateful to Joseph Smith for his perseverance and love for his father in heaven and savior. And I love Jesus Christ so much. He is my best friend. And my strength. I am so grateful to be authorized to teach people about him. There is truly nothing more fulfilling or happy than this work. i love being a missionary. :) This is the church of God. I have no doubt in my mind. :)

have a wonderful week, okay?

muah!

hermana spencer.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

dear family,

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!

permiso... haha. So it was just an incredible week. I'm exhausted, sunburned, sore and happier than i have ever been ever. haha. Such is the life of a missionary. :)

So... first of all, Alicia who is going to be baptized on Sunday (AH!) is just the perfect woman ever! She's in the middle of the picture with the family. :) So, last week, we went by on Wednesday to give her the second to last of the two lessons we needed to finish up. And when we walked in, the environment was just really gloomy and sad. We found out that Teresa's daughter, Pia, who was born 3 months early, is like 6 months behind in her development. She's a year old, and by now should be crawling, standing, and even talking a little. She's going to need some therapy to be able to catch her up or she'll be behind forever. Teresa was just heartbroken. :( And exasperated. she didn't know where to even start looking for the kind of therapist that does this kind of stuff. So we told her that we would start a fast with her on saturday so that she would be able to find a doctor and that Pia would get better quickly.

Then we finished up the lessons in the next 2 days, and on sunday we went to pick them up to take them to church with us. Teresa's husband wasn't ready to go, and he didn't want to come. (he's a less active member, but they're not for real married, so she has just been waiting so that she will be able to get baptized.) But she was like, well i'm going and im taking the kids with me. so she got all of the kids ready to go, and when we got there, they all just looked so beautiful and i was just beaming. As we walked to church, and I held both of her little kids' hands, I was just bursting with joy. I don't remember a time when i was that happy in my entire life. Just to be able to know that this family is going to be eternal. yeah, Jose is going to take some more work. But they know what they want. And we are the tools to be able to give it to them.

Then, we passed by later to take a picture to be able to put in the program for Alicia's baptism, and they told us that the kids LOVED primary and that they never wanted to leave and are so excited to go back next week. :) And then, the most incredible part of the story... Teresa told us that she found an old friend in our ward named valeska that she knew from years ago. Valeska has a son who was born 3 months early, and has the same problems as pia. so she gave teresa all of the information she needed and all of the doctors she needed. I started to cry. It was just so incredible to know that Heavenly Father had answered our fervent prayers. We hadn't even finished our fast when our prayer was answered. I love this family so much, and I am going to do everything possible to help them become an eternal family. I have never been more committed to someone in my life. haha. ah. i love being a missionary. :) pray for them for us, will you? The Chandia family.

I also got to go on splits with hna nielsen this week. :) it was one of the best days i've had on my mission. It was a really needed night for both of us, because we talked about all of the trials and struggles we've had so far on our missions, but also we talked about the ways that we've grown and the strengths that we've discovered within ourselves. She told me that if I could only see the missionary that I am, I wouldn't be worried about if I'm doing my job. she always makes me feel so good. .) And then as we both shared our testimonies, we just realized how incredible it is to be here on missions. She helped me realize, once again, how incredible this work is. And how much I truly love it. And how much I love my savior. I was so grateful to have had the chance to be with her for a day. I hope we get to do it again. :)

 

 

We found 2 incredible new investigators this week. Mariana and Rodolfo are a family that moved here from brazil about a year ago, and they've been contacted by the missioanries a few times, but they could never get ahold of them again. The questions they asked us were like the ones written in preach my gospel, and as we shared the message of the restoration with them, and asked them questions about what they are searching for and if they've ever wondered why there are so many churches on earth, they just ate it. I've never seen someone so hungry to know the truth. We invited them to be baptized, and they said that they would. :) And they were so excited to start reading the book of mormon. :) the only bummre is that they didn't end up coming to church yesterday. but we have another appointment with them on wednesday, so we'll help them. :)

And then simon, who was a street contact about 3 weeks ago. I actually didn't remember his face at all. But our plans fell through, so we went to pass by his house to see if he was there. before asking if we could come in, he buzzed us up. and we taught the restoration to him too. the spirit just flooded the room as we started to talk about joseph smith. and when i invited him to be baptized, he was so sure that that was what he wanted to do. we told him that if he reads the book of mormon, he will find the answer to his question of if this church is true. he told us that ever since we talked to him the first time, he has been anxious to continue investigating because he feels like this is the right path. I left the lesson absolutely awestruck. He even said a perfect closing prayer. wow... the lord truly prepares people for his gospel. we just have to be diligent in searching for them. :)

we also did a service project to help someone build a house this week... well, we started to anyways. it crumbled in the earthquake, so we just cleaned up all the trash in the dirt and tried to smooth our the floor and stuff. Then we found out that he doesnt really own it... so we couldn't stay and help him actually start building the house. i was so bummed. i have been waiting my whole mission to be able to build a house. haha. it felt like fake service. oh well. i love helping people. so even if it was fake, i still felt good. haha.

anyways, those were the great events of the week. :) I hope you enjoyed them. I did. We're working crazy hard here. And just seeing miracle after miracle. Our ward is increasing, our investigators are progressing, our less actives are trusting us and starting to come back to church... I just love being a part of this work! haha.

sorry that your week won't be as cool as mine... but enjoy it anyways. eat lots of stuffing for me. and gravy. that doesn't exist here... haha. i love you all so much!

happy thanksgiving. :)

hermana spencer.

ps, i also got to see hermana fuentes this week. :)

p-day # 34

dear family,

So... it was an awesome week. :) I feel like my testimony is growing so much and that I am becoming a better missionary every day. As we have been studying Preach My Gospel together, we have been focusing on the questions that everyone here asks us, or the typical excuses that we hear in our contacts. And as we studied about the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, I was just blown away at how incredible it is that we have the same church that jesus christ organized when he was here on the earth. There are no other churches on earth that have a prophet and 12 apostles. there are no other churches that have temples who do work for the dead. there are no other churches that have the authority to confer the holy ghost to those who have been baptized. and we do. we have all of these things. and it is all because the lord prepared his people to receive his gospel again, thanks to a 14 year old boy and his innocent undying faith. I am so grateful to be a member of the church of God. To have received a witness that I am part of his kingdom here on earth, and to have the chance to help others receive the truth once again. :) we gotta find those lost sheep, baby!

So one of our investigators, Alicia, who has been back and forth with her decision to be baptized since I got here FINALLY told us why she's been so indecisive. She told us that she knows she needs to be baptized, but that she's scared that if she saves herself, that she won't be able to be with her family forever, and she would rather perish with her family that be saved alone. I was so happy when i was able to tell her that she, through her efforts and faith, can be baptized for her loved ones who have passed away and can be sealed to her husband for eternity, but that the first step is her own baptism. she accepted a date in 3 weeks, and yesterday, she came to church as happy as a camper. :) The spirit was so strong in the lesson as we invited her to be baptized and she, after 25 years of having missionaries in her house, told us that she wants that more than anything. ah. i love the gospel!

Her daughter Teresa is also investigating, but since FOREVER has known that the church is true and has been waiting to be baptized until her not husband decides it's time to get married. This week, we had a family night with all of them and played memory with some of the commandments. It was one of my favorite lessons that I've ever had on my mission, and as her not husband bore his testimony about the prophets (he's a less active member of like 15 years), once again the spirit was so strong. I love this family so much! and I can hardly wait until they can get married so that they can be sealed! We're searching for every possible way to help them move up the date of their wedding. haha.

The Vargas family, who is a less active family we are working with because Juan Andres, the 10 year old son, is preparing to be baptized, is progressing so much. :) Helaman, who is 20, decided that he doesn't like the way his life is and that he wants it to be in harmony with the gospel again. so one day, he just broke up with his girlfriend of 2 years, started reading the book of mormon every day, is teaching his little brother what he learns... and he told us that he's maybe thinking about a mission. :) AH!!! haha.

Fernando Huanquilen, who is evangelist, is so closed. :( this week, we read 3rd Nephi 11 with him and his wife Maria Cecilia, and as we testified of how much our savior loves us and how he sacrificed his life for each one of us, the spirit was crazy strong. Both of us testified that the spirit only witnesses of truth, and that it cannot witness of things that don't come from god... and he was almost in tears because the spirit was so strong! but then, it was like his eyes were darkened, and he started trying to prove us wrong with his bible again. ugh. We know that he felt the spirit! It is frustrating when they have the truth right in their hands, but they are too hard hearted to accept it. :( We're still praying a TON that he will pray and feel that it is true.

then yesterday, we went on splits with our ward missionaries. :) I was really nervous to be out doing missionary work without a companion who has had a little training at least... but it was so awesome. .) It just amazes me that if we are working hard, that we will find the people who need our help in every moment. :) We are trying hard to focus on reactivating these less active members. This week, we're starting english classes and ward family night. If anyone has any ideas for what we could do as a ward, I would love to hear them. .)

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! And I love my companion so much. :) I am so grateful to be a part of such a great work. If I were not here, I don't know how this sector would be, and my goal is to help it become stronger than it was when I came. And that can only happen through hard work and lots of prayers. haha.

 

 

have a wonderful week family. :) muah!

hermana spencer.

p-day # 33

dear family and lovely fans,

well, it was another incredible week here in Las Avenidas. :) We had a baptism, taught 29 lessons, contacted 135 people, and found 12 new investigators. The Lord is truly blessing us here, and I feel so satisfied. When we put in more than our all, He gives us the strength to work and then gives us the blessings for our sacrifices. :)

Andrea was FINALLY baptized. haha. On Monday of last week, we went to talk to her about changing her date again because she didn't come to church last week. We told her that she has to take this seriously, and that until she comes to church 3 times in a row she couldn't be baptized. well, obviously she was crushed. :( We were too, and when we got back to our apartment that night, we both just felt really bad. :( So we prayed about it, and then talked to our district leader... and realized that we were toying with the designs of God by changing her date. So we called her, organized everything, and yesterday, she was baptized. :) It was one of the most beautiful moments of my mission so far. Although I was stressed out to the max, and freaking out because we thought there was no water in the font ten minutes before it started, and there weren't very many members there to support her, when her grandma started giving her talk, tears came to my eyes. We fought so hard for this girl to realize how much she loves her Father in Heaven. And to finally see her in white, so excited to take this gigantic step was overwhelming. She said the water was freezing cold, but that she just felt like a clean sheet, that she had started a new life. The musical number and talk from her 13 year old cousin brought the spirit even stronger, and as she bore her testimony, I just beamed. I love her so much. :) This has been such a long fight, but she has finally made it and she is changing her family for her courage. :) These kids down here I swear... haha.

We found 2 new people, Hernan and Nivian, who are super interested in learning where the true church of God is. The spirit was incredibly strong in our first lesson, and they were asking questions like the ones scripted in Preach my Gospel. haha. There are truly people prepared everywhere to hear the gospel. We just have to take out the trash talking to everyone in order to be able to find them. haha.

We are praying our hearts out that this ward will continue to grow every week. When I got here, there were about 40 people coming, but now we have over 70. :) yesterday, there was not an empty seat in the chapel... haha. We just gotta keep working with the less actives! haha. Man is there a lot of work to do here!

Well, that's all I have time to tell you today, but know that I am doing super well, working as hard as I can, talking to everyone, eating less, and sleeping like a rock. :) The mission is incredible. I am so grateful to be a carrier of this message to the people who don't have any knowledge of it. There is absolutely nothing that compares to this work. :)

I love you guys! Have a wonderful week. :)

p-day # 32

dear family and devoted fans,

well, my first week of training is over, and i could not be happier. :) I have the greatest companion ever. She is such a hard worker and she has such a great sense of humor that we laugh ALL DAY LONG!!! We have an event of the day every day... Thursday it was that she invited a schitzophrenic woman to be baptized but didn't realize she was schitzophrenic... haha. And yesterday it was when a contact told her that he doesn't respect spaniards because they invaded chile a million years ago and killed a bunch of people in the name of christ... to which she responded, "well, i wasn't there. so you should listen to our message." haha.

Our ward is doing fantastic. We have two moms here: Hna Duran and Hna Molina, and both of them are always calling us to make sure that we're eating and that we are safe in our house at night. I love them. :) Michelle got confirmed yesterday, and it was so beautiful. .) I was crying of course, because I'm always crying. haha. There was just such a sweet spirit and as her grandpa blessed her to be a guide for her family back to the temple, it just hit me that she has changed the course of her family for the better. :) Ah. I love the gospel, and I love being a missionary. :)

Andrea didn't come to church yesterday, so she won't be getting baptized on sunday. :( It's so sad that these people who are so prepared for the gospel and so prepared to be baptized don't understand the importance of complying with their commitments, and so we're going to talk to her about it again, but this time with the condition that she has to come to church 3 weeks in a row before she can have a date to be baptized again. I am goign to be praying really hard for her to make the decision to take this seriously.

But... we have 2 other people who are so strong and preparing for their baptisms. one of them is juan andres, who is 9 and a son of a less active family. the other day, we were teaching him the plan of salvation, and when we explained that only the people who have been baptized into the church of jesus christ o latter day saints can live in the celestial kingdom with heavenly father. and he said "then i need to be a member right now." haha. it was so sweet. :) and before i had finished the baptismal invitation, he said yes. haha. we are so excited for him. it just makes me so happy that these children are changing their families. because of his desires to be baptized, his mom is now coming to church again and his brother is reading the book of mormon with them. :)

then teresa, who has been an investigator for like 5 years now because she's not married, came to church yesterday. it was the coolest lesson ever! we had prayed before to know what to say... and we went from the beginning of the restoration to the importance of baptism to the gift of the holy ghost... and when we had talked about the gift of the holy ghost and how we can be guided in all of our decisions in our lives and feel comfort and peace always, she said... "that's it. i'm going to church tomorrow." she has had every bad experience in the church, but she came yesterday. :) and she said that she felt so good and that she is going to come every week, and that she is going to talk to her boyfriend about getting married right away so that she can get baptized. she's sick of waiting. :) it was such a miracle. :) ah.

i seriously am so grateful that heavenly father has given me this opportunity to be a part of this marvelous work. through my efforts, he is working his miracles. And when I work hard, the blessins and miracles multiply. This week was amazing. :) and I know that it was because of our diligence and faith and prayers. :) The Lord truly is waiting to bless us when we do what he asks of us, we just need to do our part. He loves us so much, and he wants us to be happy. Never ever forget that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass, and that every challenge we go through brings even greater blessings. :)

muah! i love you all! have a wonderful week. :)
hermana spencer.

p-day # 31

dear family and devoted fans...

well... i don't even know where to start... haha.

I think the biggest news of the week is that President has called me to be a trainer. I am the youngest trainer in my group... with only 4 changes. But as I was talking with Hermana King right after the little capacitation meeting we had, she told me that he had three people coming in and knew right off the bat that I would be one of the trainers. I still think he's crazy... haha. But he told me that he feels very strongly that I am prepared for this calling and that I am going to be a great blessing in the life of my new companion.

It was really hard for me to say goodbye to Hermana Fuentes. :( We only had five weeks together because this change was short. It was like ripping my heart in half and sending my sister to another country. Like she was leaving on another mission. haha. I cried more than she did I think because we had really gotten so close. It's been an adjustment for me to not have my sister here with me anymore, but I know that hermana freire and i will be that close in not too long, also.

So my nuevita is from madrid, spain! she actually has a best friend that is in brayden's ward, who went to his baptism this week and knows him. crazy how little the world is right? she is an incredible missionary. I don't feel like I am doing hardly anything at all, simply setting appointments and guiding her there. haha. The Lord has blessed me with an incredible companion, and I am so grateful that I have this chance to relearn everything over. I know it is going to help me a lot in my growth as a missionary, and I know that we are going to see lots of miracles together here in this sector.

Second crazy thing of the week is that I was able to go to a devotional with Elder Bednar. :) I sat on the 4th row, and the spirit was just incredibly strong. He had asked us to read 2 of his talks before we came to the devotional, and to have a specific question in mind when we came in. he asked people to comment on what they learned from the talks that they read, and then used their comments to teach us things that we can apply to our missionary work. One of my favorite things that he talked about was the grace of Jesus Christ, thanks to his atonement. That if we truly just put all of our faith in him that he can strengthen us and carry us through our trials, then we can do everything. we can do all hard things because he loves us and is there helping us the whole time. I went into the devotional really really stressed out and really worried, because I had received my companion the day before and had absolutely no idea what i was doing. But after the devotional, I just felt like all of my prayers had been answered there, and that I can do this. :)

I got to go to the temple because i am training too, and that experience was incredible as well. The temple here in Chile is bigger than guatemala, but still really little. I loved being able to be filled with the spirit that you can only find in the temple. It was like a breath of fresh, rejuvenating air. And sitting in the celestial room afterwards, thinking about what it is that I want to do to help my companion become a better missionary than I am, I received lots of inspiration and a confirmation that God truly does love me and trusts that i am capable of fulfilling all things here on this mission. I simply just need to spend all day long pouring my heart out in prayer, and be diligent and think about how many people there are here that need this gospel. We cannot rest, we cannot stop for one minute. We are the only missionaries in this area, and only we can do this work here.

And my last experience that I am going to have time to tell you about is that we had a baptism yesterday. :) I cannot even tell you how incredible it was, family. Seriously I just want to cry thinking about it. Michelle's family has been having so many problems for so many years. But for her to finally be able to do what she has been wanting to do for so long... ah. I was crying like the whole time. haha. her aunt gave the talk on the holy ghost, and as i watched her, I just realized how incredible it is that this 11 year old girl has so much courage and faith and has been fighting to be able to follow jesus christ ever since she was 8 years old. The spirit there was just so special. For her to be baptized means that her family has taken a huge step in their progression back to the church, and i know that thanks to this decision and faith of their wonderful daughter that hearts are being opened even more. :) She had to be put under 5 times, but on the fifth it finally worked. haha. another 8 year old boy was baptized with her, named Angel. :) one of the greatest moments of my mission. The ward was so supportive, and it was just amazing. .)

well, that's all the time i have, but i love you all so much! we have another baptism on saturday. andrea finally made her decision! so i will have that story and pictures from that baptism on monday next week. muah!

hermana spencer.

p-day # 30

dear family,

well... I have now lived through my first earthshake. it was a 5.7, which is 1.3 less than an earthquake. Both my companion and I were pretty freaked out, but since we don't live close to the ocean, we really don't have too much to fear. Although, we were studying in our pension on the 13th floor, so we felt it pretty strong. haha.

Best news of the week is that yesterday, we had 30 more people at church than normal, which included 7 less active families that we have been visiting and working with. As they walked in and we greeted them, I felt like my heart would burst with happiness. :) We have been praying every single night since I got to this sector that these people will remember their testimonies and make the decision to come back. and yesterday was a huge fruit of our labor. :)

and the best part of all was that the Arcos family came. Michelle Arcos, who is 11 years old, is going to be baptized this sunday. And her and her little sisters were participating in the primary program, so they'd been practicing with the primary all week. This is a family that has had some REALLY difficult problems, and has been less active for a while now. All of our lessons are tense because both the mom and dad are really closed off and damaged... and this last week, hermano rodrigo told me in english that he's sorry that they are so hard to work with, and that maybe he'll tell us the whole story soon. We have been gaining their confidence little by little, and they want me to sing a solo in michelle's baptism... haha. I've been praying so hard for this family every single day because I know that they have so much potential and that they can be an eternal family if we just keep working hard and praying that their hearts will be opened. And yesterday, for the first time, they came to church. I wanted to scream and jump for joy. I had to hold myself back from hugging the hermano. haha. there is truly nothing better than knowing these people are progressing towards what you know will make them eternally happy. ah. i am so excited for michelle's baptism on sunday. she is so ready, and we are so happy. :)

But... Andrea told us last night that she's not really sure if she wants to be baptized anymore because she doesn't know if she wants to do her first comunion, i don't know what that is in english. haha. but it's the first ceremony they do in the catholic church. My companion was like, ¨did Jesus christ do his first communion? she was like, no. so she asked her, so do you want to follow jesus christ by doing something that he did: being baptized, or do you want to do your first communion? We left her with 2 nephi 31, and told her to read it and then write down everything that was in her head and heart, and pray about whether or not God really wants her to be baptized. We are going to call her tonight to see what her answer is. Hermana Fuentes took it pretty hard. It is too hard when an investigator that has received his or her witness of the truth, but turns away from it. I don't think we truly understand the influence of satan on these people since we can feel the spirit all the time as missionaries. Ugh. This work is really hard.

Maria Cecilia told us that she has been studying the book of mormon like crazy with her husband, and she had a million questions for us when we went by the other day. We told her to pray about it every time she reads it to know if it's true. She told us that she loves us visiting her, and that she doesn't want either one of us to leave because she has become so accustomed to having us here. haha. that was nice to hear. :)

We have a lot to do this week... we have a new initiative called the member binder, and we have to organize it with all of the information of every family in our ward so that we can know better how to use the members... plus changes are this week. I doubt we have changes, but you never know. haha. And then, on Friday, we are going to have a devotional with....... get ready for it.......

ELDER BEDNAR!!! He is talking to our mission, and Rancagua. by the way, a very special missionary named... elder archuleta will be attending. haha. I am so excited to be able to see hermana nielsen and hermana cantero, and of course Elder Bednar. :) It will be incredible, and I can hardly wait. haha.

well family, that's all the time I have. :) i love you so much!

hermana spencer.

p-day #29

dear family and wonderful fans,

well, i made it through the week. it was a rough one for both me and my companion, and we are both really glad it's over. haha.

We went out and worked, and saw lots of miracles. we found an old woman who recently got sick with alzheimers and has not been visited by the members of the ward since she got sick. we sat and listened to her stories that she can remember, and taught a lesson to her daughter who is not a member. Her name is Tila, and she is just incredible. :) She puts her mom's garments on her even though she has no idea what they are. She is such an example of a true disciple of christ, and we are confused as to why she isn't a member of our church... but we are going to do some research this week so that we can help her. :) then tila, bless her heart, took us to meet a little old couple that she knew was in need of our help and message. it was a week full of miracles nonetheless, even though it was really hard on both of us.

on wednesday, we went to visit a sister in our ward who hermana fuentes is really close to... and as we talked to her, and hermana fuentes told her that she was homesick, she said just the words that both of us needed to hear to be able to get out and get to work. It's one thing to read words of encouragement like we always do as missionaries, but it's another to hear them. Hna Duran is an ex missionary, and she told us the story of the beginning of her mission when she couldn't talk to the people because they were dirty... but eventually grew to love them all through her efforts and prayers and work. and that she wishes now that she could still have the call that we have because there is nothing like it in all the world. we truly are the only people in this area who have the responsibility to teach the gospel of jesus christ of latter day saints. people look at us and know who we are, and we can truly help every single person here. we can never doubt our potential, because the Lord has called us here and given us the tools to be able to fulfill that call.

Same thing, again we went out and worked and saw miracles. One of our miracle families that we found a few weeks ago told us that they are going to pray about the book of mormon and to know if joseph smith really saw god and jesus christ. :)

needless to say, conference was a huge breath of fresh air, and i walked away from it with answers to almost all of my questions and my fire lit once again. I still have a little nostalgia, but i remember why i'm here and how important this work is. And even through the hard weeks, we still see miracles and we still laugh and smile.

My favorite talk was president uchtdorf's because i think i have been a little too focused on the finish line of this mission lately. I just need to enjoy the day and not worry so much about if i'm going to be able to remember everything to be able to tell you all about it when i get home. This mission is my life right now, and I need to live each day, not just pass through it.

i love this gospel so much. i love my father in heaven so much, and i am so grateful that he has given me this chance to come on a mission. I am learning so much about myself, my desires, and my savior, and I know that this is the only place that I could ever do that. I love being a missionary. :)

 

i hope all of you took something away from conference. :) and if you have any questions about anything, i'm here to answer them for you... because elder russell m nelson said i could. haha.

muah!

hermana spencer.

p-day # 28

dear family and beautiful friends. :)

wow oh wow was this a week of miracles. :)

miracle #1: so the saturday before last, we passed by a contact we made in the street. Her name is Maria Cecilia and she told us that she was pretty much always in the house, and she was really really receptive. so we knocked on her door, and she told us that she had been waiting all week for us to come by. she invited her whole family to come and meet us, and we got to know them a little bit and then said a prayer for their family and asked if we could come back during the week. she said yes, so we set up an appointment and left. well, tuesday, we went by to follow up with our appointment... and she told us that ever since we came by, her family has been gathering every night to say prayers together. and that since they started doing that, her husband found a job, and that she has felt closer to God. We ended up inviting her to be baptized, to which she said she would love to and that she would pray about it. :) We left her house shaking, dumbfounded. I am just amazed that there are people so prepared for the gospel, and that I am able to find them and share it with them. amazing.

miracle #2: an investigator that has been receiving the lessons for like 5 years now told us on friday that her husband finally decided that he wants to get married, and she is going to be able to be baptized. :) She was crying with joy as she told us the news. she's read the book of Mormon like 4 or 5 times, and when we invited her to join us in the challenge that we are doing, she told us that she already started. haha. I am so excited for her! we screamed a little in the lesson when she told us...

miracle #3: A less active family that we have been visiting who has had a TON of problems in the past couple years called us yesterday to see if we could come by because they needed to see us. So we went over, sang a hymn... and they told us that they have decided that their 11 year old daughter needs to get baptized, and that they have chosen to have her grandpa do it. Hno Arcos told us that he would be really selfish to make her wait any longer to make this decision, and that he knows she needs to do it now. So we are preparing her to be baptized in 3 weeks! Just out of nowhere. haha. crazy.

miracle #4: we went by to see a man named manuel this week to see what's up, because he had a date to be baptized on the 29 of september, but he didn't come to church for 3 weeks. one of the members of our ward was with us, and as we asked him how his prayers were, he told us that he's been praying and he feels like his life is changing. we asked him if he's asked heavenly father if the book of mormon is true and if he needs to get baptized. he asked us why he needs to ask if he already feels like it's true (okay, what investigator asks that questions? haha.) we told him that to be sure, he should have a definite answer from God. he told us that he would pray, read his scriptures more, and start singing hymns daily to feel the spirit in his home more. haha. seriously, i just don't even know how i am able to witness all of these miracles.

We've started reading the book of mormon, and there are so many people that we are teaching that are doing it with us. :) I have so much faith that we are going to start seeing even more miracles as these people start gaining their own testimonies of it. this work just has no end, and it keeps rolling forth among everyone! I love being a messenger of the truth of this gospel!

so viviana got baptized yesterday... :( i'm so bummed i couldn't be there and that i never received a phone call from her to congratulate her on her beautiful day. but i'm praying that everything went smoothly and that she is so happy. :) it's lame that we have to leave our sectors and can't see the people we love so much make important decisions like this. but i know that i need to be here now, so i guess i'll be okay. haha.

well, that's a pretty good description of what happened in my week. :) awesome right?

we ended the night yesterday celebrating hermana fuentes' 4 months by making empenadas... and they were a disaster. the second we put them in the oil to fry them, they crumbled apart and were unsaveable. hopefully by the time i come home, i can make the dough just right. cause empenadas are incredibly delicious. :)

i love you all so much!

hermana spencer

p-day # 27

dearest family and lovely fans. :)

ugh. once again, I only have fifteen minutes to write everything I want to tell you all! haha. Good thing my fingers are lean still, or I would be in big trouble... haha.

So, this week was a holiday week here in Chile, and seriously there was like no one here. I have no idea where all the people disappeared to, but the streets were almost empty, and the people that we did find were either grumpy, super behind, or hung over. I love this country... but man, haha. It was a rough week for the work.

We visited a woman named Alicia this week, who has met with missionaries before because her daughter's family is less active. And she told us as we taught her the plan of salvation that she wants to be baptized and that she knows that this is the way to get closer to God. The interesting part of it, though, was that the spirit was not really very present. I was extremely frustrated because normally, there is a peak in each lesson where we can extend commitments and invite people to be baptized... and it never came. She still accepted the invitation to be baptized, and is going to be baptized on november 11th. :) But I am going to be praying really hard and fasting to be able to help this woman feel the spirit strongly, because it was super strange to me this lesson.

We also visited an old folks home where 2 of our members live. I could hardly hold back my tears as we were visiting with an old woman named Emma. She has no family, and her brothers rarely come to visit her. And this week, her Internet ran out so she couldn't talk to them for the whole week. Just thinking about how that would be, to live in a home and be completely dependent on the help of a nurse to live made me really emotional. we decided that we are going to have a family night there and get to know all of these people that live in this home. because they are so lonely, and need people to care about them. i'm excited to organize it all.

Like I told mom, we had our zone conference this week and a member of the area 70 came and spoke to us about how we can work more effectively as missionaries. His name is Elder Rezek, and he is incredible. We learned all about how to involve the members more in the work, to consistently find people to teach, and to use the book of mormon more in our conversion. We have been extended a challenge as a mission to read the Book of Mormon in 85 days, starting on September 30. I would like to extend this invitation to all who read this letter, because I feel really strongly that we are going to need the strength that comes from it soon. It is going to be about 8 pages per day, which is going to take some dedication, but I promise that it will be worth it. :) we are extending this invitation to all of our investigators and our stake is doing it as well. How great will it be to be united in such a journey! haha.

Well, exactly one year from today I will be home... and I feel super weird. haha. This time here in the mission feels like it's all passed in a day. I can hardly believe that I am at this point. But I am so excited to keep running and continuing to learn and help these people, because I love every minute of it. :) I have such a strong testimony of this gospel, and I am so grateful that I am able to share it with these people here, because I know that we are making at least a small difference in their lives.

 

i love you all so much! have a wonderful week. :)

hermana spencer.

dear family # 26

dear family,

well, here i am in las avenidas! in the zone san miguel, which is the farthest northern zone i believe... i'm not all that sure though. haha. My companion is from ensenada mexico, and she is absolutely adorable. the pictures of us are some of my favorites that we've taken so far. :)

She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my whole life. And we get along so well. We have the same taste in music, and we can talk about everything. I was scared that being the senior companion was going to be overwhelming, but it is actually really helping me to gain confidence in myself and learn how to work together as a team in every aspect of the work. she is teaching me to rely on her for even the smallest struggles i have, and she told me that she feels like she can be her complete self with me, which makes me feel so good. we are always laughing and smiling and the people in her ward tell us they can tell a difference in our companionship already. .)

So, on tuesday night, our first day together, we were finishing up our contacts, and we had one left to do... so i contacted a woman, and my companion contacted a family. i started talking to this woman and she didn't even look at me. she just stopped and stared straight ahead. i continued talking, and i asked her if she had faith in jesus christ. she shook her head. so i asked her if something had happened in her life to make her stop believing. she nodded. so i started to testify that her heavenly father really truly loves her and that he never leaves us alone in this life, it is us that distance ourselves from him. i told her that he is waiting for her with open arms ready to help heal her from all the pain that she has experienced in her life. and then i asked her if we could write down her address and maybe come by in another opportunity to be able to offer a prayer and share a small message of hope from our savior. she looked me in the eyes and said, ¨"a prayer? why can't you come by right now?" obviously we were taken by surprise... haha. but we asked her where she lived, and she pointed to our apartment building. haha.

 

 

 so we walked with her to her apartment, and she began to tell us that she has passed through EVERYTHING in her life. from being abused as a child to an alcoholic right now to having her husband cheat on her and her mom take away her son because she isn't fit to raise him. she spilled everything to us and told us that she has never felt that someone really has cared about her in her life because no one has shown her their love. but that she feels more love and care from us than even her own mother. and she asked us if we could come back the next day because she knows that she needs to try this path now, after trying all of the other ones. and when we went back the next day, she asked us if she could come to church with us on sunday. :) sadly, we couldn't find her on sunday morning, but we are still working with her. a lot. it just gives me such a strong testimony that there are truly people waiting for us specifically here in our missions. our very first day together, we found her. I know we have a lot of work to do with this woman, but she told us that she felt a peace in her house that she had never felt before and that she wants to continue with it. :) i loved hearing that. :) it was an incredible experience. ah. i love being a missionary!

One of our investigators who has a baptismal date is Andrea. she is 13, and we went to her house on her birthday to do a family night with her and some neighbors who aren't members. her mom, Karla, is the cutest thing on earth. She has been inactive for a long time, but recently started coming back to church when hermana fuentes and hermana lopez found her and her daughter. she is so dang loving with us, and i just want to hug her all day long because she is so sweet and always giving us compliments and always offering to walk us home or bring us food or call us to make sure that we're safe. such a sweetheart. :) and her daughter, Andrea is so excited to be baptized. we're getting everything ready for the 14 of october. :) such a sweet testimony and desire to follow christ. it is incredible to listen to her share what she knows with us, because the spirit is always so strong. .)

Then, on friday, we were contacting, and we saw a little old man walking super slow all alone. so we asked him where he was going... and he told us that he was lost. :( poor thing. we walked him to his house on the other side of town, and his wife got home just when we did... and invited us in. :) she told us that the light in the kitchen was broken, and that her husband had gone to buy a new bulb, but had been gone for a long time and she was so worried about him. we changed the light in the kitchen, and shared a short message... and they asked us if we can come back because years ago they were having lessons with the missionaries and they want to have them back. it was such a wonderful experience. i was just in awe. because everything fell into place at exactly the right moment to be able to enter their house and share the gospel and a little bit of service with them. such a cute little couple. they remind me of the cute little couple on up. haha.

 

 

then on saturday, we had our ward party for the 18th of september, which is their independence day. i made a jello salad... ya know, to be patriotic... haha. and we got to know all of the members that were there. i filmed a couple of the dances that they did, and took lots of pictures. it was really fun to be able to talk to so many people and gain their confidence. this ward is absolutely wonderful. :) there is an hermano here who was born in chile, but grew up since 5 months in utah. so he speaks english like a utahn, and when i heard him i tripped out. haha. it was fun to be able to talk football with him for a little bit. i can tell this this ward is going to be a welcome change. haha.

well, that's all i have time for today, but I want you all to know that i have such a strong testimony of this gospel. I am so lucky to be a part of this work, to have this mantel of a disciple of christ placed upon me and to be able to teach people who know nothing of true happiness how to change their lives. I feel the weight of it, but i wouldn't change it for anything. and i can only hope to become better and better every day to be more capable of carrying the spirit that i need to touch people's hearts. we would be nothing without this gospel. and i know that we, as members of the church, are truly blessed to have such a wonderful knowledge of the great plan of salvation. i love this work. :) and i love all of you.

have a wonderful week. happy 18 of september!

hermana spencer.

Dear family # 25

dearest family and esteemed fans.

why does it always feel like i don't have enough time to tell you everything i want to tell you!! haha. gee whiz.

Well, the fears were confirmed. I am being transfered and I am going to be senior companion. Hermana Cantero is staying in the Farfana and she is going to be training. I guess our mission is receiving a ton of new missionaries and there are hundreds of changes. haha. I will know tomorrow where I am going to be and who I am going to be with. I'm going to need your prayers to be able to adapt myself to a new ward and area, because my heart is staying in La Farfana.

We got the news saturday night as we were celebrating hermana cantero's birthday with an argentine dinner... and everyone was quiet after we hung up the phone. I think we all are still in shock because the tears come in bursts. haha. Yesterday, I bore my testimony to my ward to tell them goodbye. And from there, the tears just wouldn't stop. I don't want to leave this ward. :( To think that I may not ever see these people again in my life is way too hard to swallow. They have been my purpose for living, and I love them with my entire heart. I have so many tender memories here in this sector. It's going to be really difficult to adapt to a new ward and sector. But I know that really, we are only instruments in the Lord's hands to bring about this work. Coming to love the people is just a fruit of doing the work.

The people I am going to miss the most are Noelia, who has been investigating the church for 4 years waiting for her husband to decide to marry her. She told me yesterday that she talked to the lawyers and that everything is ready to adopt me as her own daughter without permission from my parents. haha. she told me that she wants me back in her house as soon as i can be there because she has come to love me so much. We were just recently working with her husband, and he was so bummed that I wouldn't be able to celebrate independence day with them because we have come to be really good friends. Just after gaining his trust! ugh. haha.

 

 

Tatiana, who is a less active trying to find another job to be able to come to church on sunday: she couldn't have any kids, and she is like my mama here. I think of all the people here, my relationship with here is the most eternal and lasting. I know that she is so close to coming back to full membership in the church. I am never going to stop praying for her. And Yasna, who is my hero. She gave up smoking cold turkey when we starting visiting her, and has started coming back to church this past month with her daughters. She is a single mom, and her daughter has a birth defect she got when she was born. She is one of the strongest people i have ever known in my whole life, and I always drew so much strength from my conversations with her. I hope that I can be as diligent as her in the things i have to accomplish in my life. i just love her so much. And catalina, who is trying to come back to church after leaving because she couldn't be sealed to her whole family. her son doesn't want anything to do with the church, and after fighting for so long, she just got tired and angry and left. But she told me this morning that i was the one who helped her to feel again. that i was the one that touched her heart with my testimony, and that she is going to stop being lazy and just take the step to come back. :)

I still have a few families to say goodbye to, and I am not looking forward to it at all. The Spolmonn family has been one that we have been working with ever since we got here. Oliver, their son, came back from his mission after 5 days and we have been teaching him preach my gospel to help him prepare to go back in january. In the course of these months, I have come to develop an incredible relationship with hermana spolmonn. Somehow, as a new missionary, i gained her trust completely. And she was bawling yesterday as i bore my testimony.

It amazes me to see that I actually am going to leave a memory here. Someone so insignificant as me, so imperfect and young and shy, has made a difference in the lives of these people. There is nothing better than knowing that you have shared your testimony with someone and it has helped them. Even if you didn't know the language, or you had no knowledge of the lesson you were teaching, to bear your testimony with love and the spirit is enough. And I am so grateful to know that that's all that really mattered in the end.

We invited 3 people to be baptized this week: Liliana and Andres, and Eliana, our new brazilian. They are all 3 so excited to be baptized, and coming to church and are just so strong. I know that Hermana Cantero is going to help them progress so much with her new companion, and that I can help this work along in this sector with my prayers. :) Thank goodness. haha.

 

 

We also went to a hospital this week to visit an investigator that has been there for 3 months named Yenny. I taught her the first lesson, and the next day when we went to find her, she wasn't there. and we found out that she was in the hospital. Finally, i had the chance to go and see her, and I know that it made an impact. She has no family here, and no one is coming to visit her. :( she cried as we bore our testimonies and left her with a book of mormon. I had a lot of really deep feelings while we were there: knowing that i lived in the hospital for 5 days and it was the worst thing ever... she has been there for 3 months and no one has been coming to see her. :( we've talked with the relief society president and the bishop, and I can only pray that the ward takes the lead in making sure she doesn't feel as alone as she has felt for the past 3 months. she is going to be going through chemotherapy... my trials are nothing in comparison to hers.

well, my time is up. way lame. But i want you all to know that i have such a strong testimony of this gospel. As i said goodbye to everyone, i shared the scripture that's on my plaque: alma 26 12. and i just want you all to know, too, that i know that god is the only way we can accomplish anything in this life. we only need trust in him, and we will see miracles brought to pass in our lives. we are his hands here on the earth, doing his work, and loving his children. He will never leave us solo, and no matter how hard the trial we are going through, it will pass if we just trust that he will help us get through it.

have a wonderful week everyone. pray that my new sector is as wonderful as this one!

hermana spencer.

p-day # 24

dearly beloved,

well, i think the most pressing news of the week is that we had interviews with president on wednesday, and he told me that i'm pretty much one of the oldest missionaries in the mission now... and that i'm probably going to be senior companion this next change. i almost passed out when he told me. haha. Nothing is set in stone yet, but changes are next week, so i don't have too much longer to wait to know. pray that i don't freak out... haha.

Viviana came to church yesterday all cute. It was so incredible! seeing that she has gone from crazy hair and the same clothes every day to a skirt and leather jacket... ah. i love this gospel! i know that it is only through this gospel that she has been able to make the changes that she has in her life. :) we are now trying harder to focus on her daughter, maureen. because she has a testimony and she wants to be baptized... but she told us yesterday that she's scared that she's going to fall like her mom if she makes this decision that will change her life... i am praying my guts out to help her. because she is incredible and has no need to fear that. at all.

sorry that this is so short today! this keyboard is super lame, and i am having a super hard time writing anything at all. my mind is all over the place. haha.

i love you all! have a wonderful labor day, and keep me in your prayers. you are always in mine. :)

hermana spencer.

p-day # 23

dear family and esteemed fans,

 

another week has come and gone like crazy! haha. But what comes with an exhausting week is lots of miracles. :)

 

So our golden investigator from Brazil, Eliana, is reading the book of mormon! and last week, when we went to teach her the plan of salvation, her daughter was there and participated in the lesson as well. It still just blows my mind that she has been searching her whole life for this church, and we are the missionaries that knocked on her door. ah. I invited her to be baptized... really lamely... haha. and she said that she wants to be baptized. :) we need to explain what it means to be baptized, and that it is making a covenant with God and that she needs to know that this church is true before she can be baptized. But she is a miracle every time we see her. we have a couple of sisters in our ward that speak portuguese, so hopefully we can get them involved and she can come to church with friends already. .)

 

So... i'm embarrassed to say this, but i have a huge fear of talking to men on the streets. i can talk to them in their doors, or in cabs or whatever, but to stop them and talk to them in the street is way hard for me because i don't want them to flirt with me, and every time i do it, that happens. haha. well, this week we were passing by a man who always speaks english to me when we pass him, and my companion decided to stop him. obviously, i was horrified. haha. and of course, he was high. haha. but he told us that he lived in new york! and that the missionaries were visiting him there! so he told us we could come over sometime. we're going to take someone with us... haha. but he's way cool! i need to find a way to get over this fear of men flirting with me... cause men are cool too. haha.

 

Maureen told us that she wants to be baptized, but that she can't do it yet because she's not reading her scriptures like she should be and she drinks sometimes when she is out with her friends... we are currently fasting that she can understand that she doesn't have to be perfect to be baptized. just trying to follow christ, and doing her best. she has an incredibly strong testimony of this gospel and this church, and last night as we started teaching her dad, she once again bore it and told him that she knows these things are true. gee whiz! it's like teaching with a member! haha. her mom, viviana is still doing so well. :) still progressing towards her baptism at the end of september, and still so strong in her resolve to conquer this addiction. yesterday, at church she was just beaming! I am so lucky to be teaching her. this is the kind of miracle that every missionary prays for on their mission. I have the strongest testimony that EVERYTHING can be conquered with the gospel because of her. Looking at how much she has changed in the past month blows my mind. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!

 

One of the little girls that i am teaching english told us this week that the mormons are weird... i don't think she knows that's what we are. haha. we asked her why she says that, and she told us that they sing in the streets... like for christmas, they knock doors and sing at people's houses... haha. i didn't know caroling was a mormon thing... ;) we laughed so hard after we left her house.

 

On saturday, we went to another sector to do a mini mtc with the members in their ward. we went on splits and i was paired with a 40 year old woman who has been a member for a little over a year. and it was incredible! one, because i understood her and could talk to her and get to know her and be confident in what i was saying. :) my spanish is coming! and 2, because as i listened to her talk about how she was converted, I was just so overwhelmed with a gratitude that i am in the same work that brought her to her life how it is now. :) It was such a rejuvenation, and I have so much more confidence in myself after that experience. :)

 

then, as hna cantero and i were leaving to go back to our sector, there was a man standing outside the church on the corner. hna cantero started to talk to him, and he was like, "did you guys just come from this church?" we were like yes... and he was like i want to go to this church. do you know when i can come? we were like well actually there are people inside right now, if you would like a tour! he agreed, and we took him inside, introduced him to his missionaries, and bishop, and he told them that he was going to go to church yesterday! can you believe that? haha. i am so bummed that it didn't happen in our sector! well, the elders there are really awesome, so i hope things go well for him. haha.

 

i'm out of time, but i want all of you to know how strong my testimony is of this gospel. I know that it is only through this plan that god has made for us that we can return to live with him, but perfectly. and that jesus christ is the only way we can do it. i know that this work will roll forth until it has touched every end of the earth, and i am so grateful to be taking part in just a sliver of it. This is what true, eternal happiness is. :)

 

 

hermana spencer

p-day # 22

dear family,

 

Well, another week has flown by... weird. haha. This week was super strange too, because we had a ton of meetings and traveling to do.

 

I had to go to get my visa stuff done on friday, so we left our house at 7:00, which is earlier than we usually wake up. haha. and it was raining. awesome, right? actually, it really was awesome that it rained, because there were less people trying to get their visa stuff done! The first place we went, I had to get a sticker in my passport that is my visa. I got the address of the woman who was working with me. :) how many missionaries has she worked with and none of them have asked for her address. she was super prepared too. i hope the missionaries where she lives go by soon! haha. Then we went to get a paper that had all of the information on it for my carnet. and then, we went to the last place where they took my picture and got my finger prints. normally, it takes like 11 hours to get everything all done. we finished in 5. haha. It was fun. I got to chat with some elders that I hadn't met before and get to know them. One of the elders told us a story about how he and his companion were contacting in the plaza when they heard a man behind them yell, "hey! you are the missionaries from the church of jesus christ of latter day saints!" they turned around to see a man with a sombrero that said i love jesus on it. haha. and they ended up inviting him to be baptized and putting a date! crazy things happen as missionaries. haha. it reminded me a lot of carlos from when we went contacting in guatemala.

 

Our miracle contact Eliana was one of my favorite lessons of the week. Like i said, she's from brazil, and she doesn't speak very much spanish. we walked into her house to see her bible open on the table. how many houses do we walk in and see that? um... none. haha. when we would ask her to read scriptures from the bible during our lesson, like james 1:5, it was like she couldn't get there fast enough. The spirit was so strong as i shared the first vision and invited her to read the book of mormon. we are looking for one in portuguese because that will be so much more effective for her. But I am just amazed at how prepared she is for this gospel. :) ah. this work is incredible.

 

And our miracle family, Canales Flores, was one of my other favorites. :) as we walked up, all of the little girls were waiting outside for us. It's like we're famous, because they all ran to us from super far away to give us hugs and hold our hands to walk us to their house. I LOVE them. :) The oldest daughter, Belen, is 12 and had a tumor in her lung last year so she missed school and never learned any of the english material. I am trying to teach her what it is she missed. But she did so well on her test the next day, so I am super happy that I am working with her. :) Her mom, Paola is an angel. although, she told us on saturday, as we passed by to see if we could help her with anything in her house, that she's not married and doesn't want to be. It put our dreams of them in the temple a little farther down the line... haha. but we're hoping that her "husband" opens up because we're serving them so that we can teach them as a family. :)

 

Viviana is doing really well. :) she came to church with maureen yesterday without us going to pick her up. and last night, we watched the testaments with her family, and her husband told us that he wants to start receiving the lessons and reading the book of mormon to know what it is all about! ah. To think about where she was a month ago and see her now is like looking at 2 different people. I can literally see a light in her eyes when i look at her now, and I know that nothing could be doing that but the spirit. :) and the gospel filling her spirit. It is incredible to me that people can change their lives when they come to know their savior. :) i love missionary work!

 

to finish, yesterday we went to lunch with a sister in the ward who's husband isn't a member that we've started teaching. and her 3 year old is a FLIRT. haha. he had a billie jean on his mom's phone, and started dancing like michael jackson! it was the cutest thing ever. haha. his name is rafael. we're going to try and have a talent show for a family night soon, so i'll record it. :) pablo, the husband that we are teaching, is on the show "my name is". i've never heard of it, but i assume he must be a pretty dang good singer if he's on there... i can't wait to hear him sing too. :)

 

i just love missionary work so much. :) time goes by way too fast, and there is not enough of it to spend with the people that i love so much here. :( but i am so grateful for the time that i have, and I can only hope that as my spanish gets better and as i become a better missionary that my relationships will get even better. :)

 

muah! i love you family and fans. ,)

 

hermana spencer.

p-day # 21

dear family,

I have so much to tell you all today!

Bad news first. Our baptism didn't happen. :( All week, I called jessica to make sure she was doing okay and that everything was still being coordinated so that it would go over without a hitch. And yesterday, as we were walking to pick up one of our investigators to bring her to church, i called jessica to remind her that she needed to bring the bag with all of the baptism clothing to church with her. Her husband answered the phone, so i told him what we needed, and then asked him how she was doing. ¨"um... wait just a second," he said. Jessica got on the phone, and I will never forget what she said to me. "hermana, I can't get baptized today. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm not ready. I still have too many doubts, and I want to make sure that I'm making a responsible decision. I'm so sorry that you have prepared everything but I just can't be baptized today." My heart literally stopped. :( I bore testimony to her that satan was just working so hard on her to get her to not take this step. that she is ready, and that she has her answer and that all of her doubts can be resolved because she knows that the church is true. But in spite of my testimony, she told me that she wasn't going to be at church and that she wasn't going to be baptized. i immediately started crying when i hung up the phone. because there was absolutely nothing i could do to help her. to support her and help her to realize that she is ready. :( it was so hard to keep going yesterday, but after a really strong prayer, somehow i was able to put it out of my mind and keep working. She didn't answer her phone later that day when we tried to call, and I am praying that she is not embarrassed or ashamed. Because she needs us more than ever right now. The super lame part about the whole thing is that she doesn't live in our area, so we can't just drop by to see her. i'd really like some prayers for her, if you all wouldn't mind. Jessica Moya.

But, other than that, our week was absolutely incredible. incredible. On monday night, we were knocking doors because all of our appointments fell through, and we got to this one that's really close to our house. a woman in pajamas came out... blonde haired blue eyed. That NEVER happens in chile. haha. i am like the only true blonde that lives in santiago, so i was expecting this woman to speak english! or to be really grumpy. haha. we told her who we are and what we were doing there... and she told us that her husband was home right then, but that she wanted us to come by on wednesday. We freaked out as we walked away. haha. it has been like the driest 3 months of the mission here. we haven't found like anyone new to teach for like my whole first 2 changes. And here is this woman, who lives 3 houses away from us who was so interested. Turns out she's from Brazil, and that she barely speaks any spanish. It is so hard to understand her because her Portuguese accent is SUPER strong. haha. But when we passed by on wednesday to follow up and teach her, she was waiting for us. we were like 20 minutes behind, and she was like "i've been waiting for you guys! i'm so excited to hear what you have to say!" it was incredible. we taught her half of the first lesson, because we had to speak a lot slower for her to be able to understand us. But she was crying and told us that she has been searching for God her whole life, but never found him in any church because none of them felt right. Ah! We're going to get her a book of mormon in portuguese, and we have an appointment to teach her this wednesday too. :)

Viviana Ulloa is a champion. seriously. We have been calling her every day in the morning to remind her to read her book of mormon and pray so that she can have the strength to go through the day without her pills. And yesterday, at church, she was just glowing. her daughter, Maureen, has been investigating the church for about 6 months now, and her mom has never come to church until these past two weeks. and yesterday, to see them together at church, both so happy was so precious for me. :) We had a family night with them AND Cristian, the dad, who never ever wants to listen to us. And he asked us if the next time we come by to teach the family if we can watch the testaments. We watched it with maureen like 3 or 4 weeks ago, and when it was over she was really emotional and couldn't talk. We decided we would just leave her to her own thoughts and ask her why she was so affected when we saw her again. Last night, when her dad asked if we could watch the testaments the next time we come, he told us it was because maureen had told him how incredible it was. And, THE BEST PART, maureen told us that because of that movie, she knows the church is true. This broken family is coming together because of the gospel. :) And when we left, I just screamed for a minute. haha. Because this is our purpose. To bring families together in the gospel. I am so excited.

And then, on Friday, we were knocking doors again. haha. i feel like all of my good stories start with us tracting. anyways, there was a group of little girls dancing outside their house. i was joking with my companion that i was going to run over and start dancing with them because i miss dancing so much. when out of nowhere, they ran over to us! the 12 year old asked "are you from a different country?" haha. i have no idea how she noted the difference... anyways, we said yes, and i asked her if she was asking because she wants someone to teach her english. she said yes, so i told her that she needed to ask her mom in order for us to say if we could. haha. her mom came outside, and as we explained that we were missionaries and that we love to provide service, her mom spilled that she, also, has never found god in any church, and that she loves him so much. She has a baby with acromelia... or the disease where there's water on the brain and the baby's head is super deformed. she invited us in to meet Flo, her baby, and we ended up setting up an appointment for this next week to come and teach them the first lesson too. the spirit in this home was incredible, as well! There is just something about finding families, and teaching families. We both did a little dance when we left the house... which was really embarrassing because all of the little girls ran out and saw us, and laughed while they told us that we were really pretty. haha. it was such a great day. :)

Then Saturday, we planned 3 hours of our day to go out to the pueblito. missionaries haven't visited this little run down part of the city for a really long time, and we have been searching for people who are more receptive... so we took a taxi out there, and it was like stepping into another world. seriously. i am going to take a video the next time we go out there. dirt roads, farm animals, houses made out of the wood usually used for the inside of houses, no numbers on the houses, wire gates in front of the houses... i had the craziest feeling while we were out there that i am in this sector because i was meant to work in this place. i can't wait to go back! so excited to show you this part of chile, because you're not going to believe it until you see it with your eyes. haha.

I absolutely love missionary work with all of my heart. yesterday, i gave my very first talk in church about missionary work. and i was so dang excited. :) I can tell that my confidence in my testimony is growing because i barely read any of it from my papers. I just spoke and shared scriptures, all in spanish. The second counseler had to stop me because i was taking too much time. haha. In three months, I have grown so much in ways that I never would have thought possible. I am so grateful for this mission, because I am someone so much better than I was when I left, and I continue to get better every day as i strive to be obedient and do what God would have me do to help these people that I love. :) Everyone should serve a mission. haha.

For that, we are going to start a program with all of the young men in our ward called "the army of the farfana". like the army of helaman, but with our young men. we are so excited! we're going to assign them to go out in companionships and visit less active members in our ward, and have activities and a captain moroni... i am so excited!

it's true that our lows are lower than we have experienced before in our lives. but we are so blessed to be able to see miracles every single day. There is nothing sweeter than sharing this gospel.

hermana spencer.

p-day # 20

dear family and esteemed fans :)

well, hermana krites is gone. And I have received a new companion from Cordova, Argentina. :) Her name is Hermana Cantero, and I love her SO MUCH!! Seriously, if you were to compile all of the attributes of a perfect missionary, she would have every single one. It's been a little strange because there are 3 Argentines living in our house now, and me. but my ear is becoming even more accustomed to listening to fast Spanish speakers, and my tongue is loosening up a little bit more. I still definitely struggle to say everything that I want, but she is very patient, and right now we're working on my accent more than anything, because i really just lack vocabulary, and we work on that while we're out walking around.

And we are working our little butts off. haha. I come home exhausted every single night because we have done so much work and walked as fast as we can in every single direction of our sector. We found out this week that it's even bigger than we thought it was, and that we have even more work to do. But we're both so excited because our sector is really rich in comparison to the rest of chile, and the areas that we discovered are pueblitos. a lot more humble. :) She is so organized, and we have been teaching 6 or 7 lessons every day, in comparison to like 4 maximum with hermana krites. We ended up teaching 31 lessons last week, and we even had 2 little meetings together to coordinate how we want to work as a companionship and goals we want to accomplish in this time together. It is going to be an incredible change. :) There is nothing better than feeling like you gave your complete all at the end of every day, and knowing that the Lord is pleased. :)

On tuesday, we went to visit one of our investigators that hasn't been progressing because she hadn't attended church... and she told us that she had started taking her prescription pain pills again, and stealing money to be able to get them... It broke my heart. :( we told her that this is where she is going to find the help she needs, and that we are going to help her every step of the way to overcome her addiction. We've been calling her every morning, and when we passed by again like 2 days later to invite her to the relief society activity and church, she, with tears in her eyes, told us that she is so grateful for our being worried about her, and that she wanted to come to both. we picked her up for the relief society activity on friday, and for church yesterday. :) and she stayed the whole 3 hours, and randomly, miraculously, found out that her uncle is in our ward. :) it was one of the sweetest experiences i have ever had. We have already begun to see life come back into her eyes, and I am so excited to be able to witness the power of the atonement heal this incredible woman. I love her so much, and i am so grateful that i have a companion who knows how to love the same way i do. :) we're going to put a baptismal date with her this week for the end of september to help her work towards something. :)

we also decided that we're going to start giving classes of preach my gospel to the youth here to help them prepare for their missions. I am super excited to get the youth more involved in missonary work, to excite them and help them realize that it's not all that hard to share your testimony with those around you. :) we're currently working with Oliver, who came home from his misson 3 weeks after he left... and we both felt like working with preach my gospel with him will help him have the enthusiasm and desire to work towards going back. he lit up when he realized that we had been thinking all about him, and that we are going to help him with the thing he wants most for his life. :)

We have a baptism this sunday!! I am so excited. Jessica Moya is 100 percent ready and so excited for her own baptism. We worked on invitations and assignment cards for like 2 hours on saturday night so that we can have everything all prepared and ready when sunday comes. :) it was absolutely insane at church trying to talk to everyone about what we need them to do, and finding the baptism clothes and everything, but it is going to be a beautiful baptism. :) Francisco, who we baptized about 2 months ago, is going to be baptizing her! ah. it is absolutely incredible to me that these people have completely changed their lives to accept this gospel, and have rock solid testimonies. It makes me emotional that the church started with joseph smith, but that by the power of the holy ghost witnessing to people through the lord's missionaries, the church has grown to where it is today. I am so grateful for this chance that i have been given to be one of those missionaries, and bring the spirit to these people. Our heavenly father has so much trust in every single one of us, and I am so grateful that I am fulfilling my responsibilities to bring others to the flock.

I love being a missionary!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and that you're all reading the book of mormon. every day. :)

hermana spencer.

p-day # 19

dear family and dearest fans,

well, tomorrow is transfer day! and my companion is leaving me, so i will be getting a new companion... probably a Latina! it's weird to think about doing missionary work without hermana krites, but i know that change is good, and it's time to learn something new. :)

This week was awesome. We currently have 2 investigators who are preparing for baptism on the 12 of august.

Jessica moya has had a couple of dates before, but they fell through because she didn't go to church! just like every other investigator in the world. haha. But this week, we talked with her husband too, and we read with them from Ether 12, and talked about how the only way to see miracles in their family is if they exercise faith and take this next step. Jose opened up and shared that even though he has been inactive for many years, he has never lost his testimony and has never stopped knowing the church was true. It was the first time Jessica heard him bear his testimony too, and yesterday, she went to church. :)

And pablo... holy wow. Seriously, if you could have a model investigator he would be it. haha. yesterday, we talked to him about the word of wisdom. He told us that he has problems with drinking every once in a while, but that he would work on trying to stop. When hermana krites reminded him that he has a goal to be baptized the 12 of august, and that he needed to stop drinking for 2 weeks before his baptism, he looked at us with a mad face and said that he would give it up today. haha. what faith! it is incredible to me that he is ready to be baptized, and he decided that that was more important than having that one last drink. :) I love being a missionary!

We visited the bishop's wife this week, because she had surgery a couple of weeks ago and has been recovering in her house. She loves to talk to us about all of our investigators and tell us how the ward is doing and stuff... and this week, before we knew that we would have changes, she told us that all of the sisters in the ward that she talks to have been telling them that they don't want either one of us to leave, and that they think we're one of those special companionship's that god only calls every once in a while. I cannot even tell you how good that made me feel. :) It means that we are doing our job as missionaries, and that the ward can feel our love and know that we are here to do the work of the Lord and serve with everything we have. It was one of the most rewarding days of my entire life. :)

I also decided that i am going to teach piano for the rest of my life. haha. this week, I had a lesson with my 2 13 year old students, javiera and Sofia. and as they played the songs that i left them the last time, and did them so well, and i could see their improvement, I seriously just wanted to shed tears of pride and joy. It is incredible to watch someone who knows absolutely nothing about something you know, and teach them how to know it like you do. They were so excited to show me their songs, and to show me that they know what they are playing, and that I have been teaching them well! ah. I love teaching! never going to stop. :)

i also decided that I am so grateful for my journal, again. because there are just so many things that i want to share with you all that it's impossible. and for that, i am so grateful that it is all in my journal, and i will be able to talk with you about all of my experiences and investigators and ward members when i come back because I'll have it all written down. :)

To finish, I just want to tell you about the special meeting we had as a trizone this past week. Our president has been thinking a lot about how we can help our investigators be truly converted. he talked to us about using the book of Mormon more, and to read with our investigators and use the words of the scriptures rather than our own words. to find answers to their questions in the book of Mormon, and to bear testimony of the things that we read with them. I know that it was inspired, because we have started reading out of the book of mormon and focusing on specific verses to help them understand, and our lessons have been 100% more focused and had the spirit way stronger. I am so excited to continue to study what passages will help what specific investigator, and help each of them to gain their own testimony of the book of mormon. because that is the key: when they read from the book of mormon every day because they know it's true and they love it, they are converted. :)

I love this work so much! and i am so grateful to be here in chile sharing this gospel. because it's true. and there is nothing more joyous in the world than that knowledge. :)

changing the world one person at a time...

hermana spencer.