Lucky!

Once in a while a missionary's family gets lucky. Lucky enough to speak to people their missionary loves. I always hoped we would have that chance too. Yesterday was our lucky day! We received an email from a young woman Hermana Sanford knows and loves in Illapel, who loves to go teaching with her and Hermana Farias. She told us she was with them and would send us pictures. Blessed manna from heaven! I was crying before I even saw the first picture. I am so grateful for a 16 yr. old girl who wants to be a misionera someday and for the Hermanas who are teaching her to make that a reality. What a blessing that she took pictures while they were working and sent them to us! I love how these pictures capture a perspective of their missionary work that we would otherwise never see.

What Do You Do for Christmas? We Yell Christmas Songs. (see video)

At Zone Conference

Querida Familia,

This year, Heavenly Father blessed us with a Christmas miracle.

We spent the 24th Christmas caroling and sharing the good news of this Christmas season with as many people as would let us in their homes. As we were walking to visit another family, Heavenly Father blessed us with the strong impression to stop and visit a less active hermana whose granddaughter we had met and invited to the Christmas devotional a few weeks ago. 

The hermana wasn't home, but her granddaughter was, and with a little persistence--even though she was busy--she let us in to share with her the video "He is the Gift" (if you haven't seen it yet, WATCH IT here.) While we were conversing with her, however, we had the distinct impression that we needed to share "Because of Him" with her instead. We prepared the video, and she began to tell us how her grandfather, who had always been like a father to her, had passed away on July 4th and this would be the first Christmas she would experience without him. She was in tears as she recounted many personal experiences to us--how his passing had completely devastated her family, and she cried every night thinking of him and trying to talk to him---wondering where he was. 

We shared the video (watch it here)... When it finished playing, we sat for a moment in silence, and then she turned to us, with tears in her eyes, and asked quietly, "Is there life after death?"

The Spirit overcame us, and we bore powerful, passionate testimony to her of the reality of Christ's life, His Atonement, and His resurrection, and the reality of eternal families, Gracias a Él. The Spirit was so strong, and I felt so much love in my heart for her, love that I know came straight from the heavens. She had such a hunger for the truth and SO many questions--to all of which we have the answers--and we presented her with a Book of Mormon to help quench that thirst until we can teach her even more and allow her to gain a testimony of the truthfulness of our message. She eagerly promised that she would read it.

Her family--aunts, uncles, and grandma--soon arrived, and we introduced ourselves to them and made an appointment to come back in a few days. We left their home feeling so clean and completely filled with a happiness that I can't describe--my heart was so full it could have burst. 

Heavenly Father blessed us with a Christmas miracle. I know that He loves us and that He is truly hastening His work here in Illapel. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to share His gospel with those who have not yet had the chance to hear it--who have not yet had the chance to know all that is possible, Because of Him. We will die, but we will live again; we will suffer, but we will learn; we will cry, but we will find peace--we will love, and we will live with our families for eternity. I know that blessings beyond comprehension are made possible, Because of Him. I love my Savior with all my heart. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know He is with us every step of the way and that if we will but trust Him, He will give us the life and the happiness that we all seek--not only in this life, but in the life to come. 

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Never forget that it truly can be Christmas every day if we will but remember our Savior and do everything we can to follow Him. I love you all! Amor y abrazos de una loca hermana en Chile!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Everything is Possible, Because of Him: http://easter.mormon.org/

The bus ride to Zone Conference

Illapel Christmas Zone Conference

At Zone Conference

Hermana Lideres teaching at Zone Conference

Training at Zone Conference

Hermana Marambio and her daughters

Illapel Branch Christmas Party

With Gina, a recent convert

With Gloria's Family--
We will miss them when they move to Concepción

Christmas Eve with the Familia Cortés

Our Christmas Tree!

Christmas Morning

Christmas gifts

Pop Tarts!

Christmas Skype

Christmas tree on the beach
in Los Vilos

With Gloria and Maxi--
They want to be baptized, but are
moving to Concepción

Tiempo de Grandes Cambios

Our family Christmas picture

Querida Familia,
I had to keep it a secret for three weeks, but President announced the change at Zone Conference this Friday, so I'm good to let you all in on it now!

For years, the church has used key indicators to keep track of the work we're doing as missionaries and to help us to plan and use our time wisely, effectively, and efficiently. Everything we do revolves around those key indicators. They are the way in which we do our job.

At the request of Elder Nelson and Elder Christofferson, transmitted to us by our Area Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has asked the missions in South America South to make a gigantic change in the way we do missionary work...and stop using the key indicators. 

The only numbers that we will track from now on, beginning on the 1 of January, are the baptisms that take place each week and the attendance at church on Sunday. 

When President made the announcement in Consejo a few weeks ago, we were absolutely shocked... What a huge CHANGE! But he took the opportunity to teach us about the importance of following our leaders and our Savior in faith, and I can honestly say that I am so incredibly excited for the opportunity to be one of the pilot missions in testing this new form of missionary work.

We are living in the last days. The Lord is hastening His work. He guides this Church through living prophets and apostles, inspired men called to serve Him and to lead and guide us in the way He would have us go. I know without a doubt that President Monson is a prophet. He will never lead us astray. As we excercise faith in our Savior, we also place our faith and trust in our leaders. As so many speakers taught us in General Conference this October, we must develop a strong and personal testimony of our living prophet. We must know without a doubt that He truly is a servant of the Lord. Only in this way will we have the strength and the courage to follow Him wherever He will ask us to go.

Sometimes the Lord will take away our "key indicators." Sometimes He will ask us to live our lives en una manera strange and unfamiliar; walking on the water, so to speak, and making the sacrifices necessary to demonstrate our faith. But we need never fear that the sacrifices He asks us to make will ever be for anything other than our benefit. He is preparing us and molding us into the people He would have us be, and if we trust Him, sacrificing our will and our desires for His, He will shape us into the disciples that He needs, those who will serve Him with everything they have and eventually be worthy of the precious gift of eternal life.

I know my Savior lives. I know He guides this Church--that it is a true and living Church, and that it is led by men called of God and directed and inspired by divine revelation. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. I am so excited to see the fruits of this change in the missionary program--this leap of faith--that our leaders have asked us to make. I know that as long as we follow the prophet, we will never be led astray. I know that as long as we follow the prophet, we will be following our Savior. And to follow Him--it's worth every sacrifice we might be called upon to make. When we finally arrive at our destination, we will be able to look back and see that He truly has molded us into the people we had the potential to become.

Let's make it a priority to gain a strong, burning testimony of the reality of living prophets--to know for ourselves that Thomas S. Monson truly is a prophet of God--and then to study His words in General Conferences and in the Ensign every month. They are the words of our Savior. In following our prophet, we will be following Him.

I love you all SO much! 
I hope you have an absolutely wonderful Christmas! Don't forget to remember our Savior and serve others in the way that He would.:) 

Besos y Abrazos,
Hermana Sanford

My awesome tan lines. Ave can NOT beat that.

Fam. Cortés (They are seriously the best ever.
We had FHE with them and Rubén this week)

SHRIMP EMPANADAS. I almost died.

We decorated a Christmas tree at
the church yesterday--10
minute tree decorating record.

La Rama Illapel!
(That's standard attendance on any given Sunday. It's tiny...but I love it. :))

Bastién y Alíss playing in their pool; they're the
children of a less active that we visit often!

Hna. Farias got stuck in their innertube.

December Consejo de Lideres

Consejo de Lideres

Training with Hna Oliva

Consejo training from Presidente Kähnlein