Obrando en la Viña: ¡Vamos a Chile!

Hola, mi familia!

This week was actually really uneventful--it went by pretty slowly because I've been so antsy to leave, but Hermana Coray and I have kept ourselves busy teaching lessons, packing, feeling the Spirit, and learning Spanish. I feel like I alternate back and forth between being extremely terrified and extremely excited...today is basically a mix of both. I've really enjoyed the CCM, but other than the fact that I will really miss my incredible friends here, I am so ready to go to Chile.

With Hermana Vidrio

This morning, we had a Book of Mormon lesson with Hna. Vidrio outside in the Mexico sunshine. We talked about Ether 2 and 3 Nephi 11, and I was in tears almost the entire time. I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true, that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ, and that He leads and guides it through a living prophet of God. That knowledge is everything to me. It buoys me up when I'm sad, gives me reason to rejoice when I'm happy, and provides me a hope and a purpose in life that makes trials and adversity so much easier to bear. I know this gospel is true, and I am beyond excited to share it with the people of Chile.

It's strange to be so excited and so terrified all at the same time, but this last week I've been thinking about it a lot, and I know that my heart is already in Viña del Mar. It has flitted in and out of me while I've been here in Mexico, but I am so beyond excited to reunite with it tomorrow morning when we arrive in Santiago. I am so scared to jump headfirst into Spanish, into teaching, and into street contacting and knocking doors, but I am grateful for these fears because they motivate me to turn to my Savior and rely on His Atonement to give me strength infinitely far beyond my own. I am not adequate or sufficient for the task He has asked me to fulfill, but I have learned here in the CCM--and will continue to learn every day for the rest of my mission--that His grace is sufficient, and He will transform my weaknesses into strengths if I let Him. I am very, very slowly learning to let go of myself and rely on our Savior, Jesus Christ, to lift me up and carry me through my trials. It is a humbling process, but I am so very grateful for the chance to learn such an important lesson.

I want you to know that I know this church is true! My testimony has already grown infinitely while I've been here, and I know that it will continue to do so for the next 18 months--especially through the next few days as I transition into mission life in a country in which I struggle to speak the language. But I know the Lord will work miracles in my life, and I place my trust in Him to help me through the challenges that lie ahead. I love the people in Viña del Mar, and I cannot wait to serve them. It is time to go now. I feel the way I did before I said goodbye to my family at the airport--a fear beyond description, but a quiet peace and a soft voice in my heart whispering, "It's time to go now. Say goodbye and let go. We have an important work today." It is with these feelings in my heart that I conclude this uneventful week, bid farewell to friends and dear teachers, pack my bags, and board an airplane that will fly me down to a thousand experiences that will shape me into the person my Heavenly Father wants me to become.

I love you all, and I love this gospel. I love this opportunity I have to serve a mission--to serve as a representative of my Savior, Jesus Christ. It is His name that I wear on my name tag, and I do my best each day to live worthy of that name. I pray that you all will have a wonderful week, and you will be in my prayers. I love you, and I know our Heavenly Father loves you--He has blessed you with a magnificent knowledge of His perfect plan and His perfect gospel, and that is evidence enough. Que tenga una buena semana, mi familia--voy a Chile hoy. :)

Con Todo Mi Amor Para Siempre,
Hermana Sanford