Lions, Tigers, EARTHQUAKES--Oh My!

The fountain in the Plaza de Armas

Querido Familia,

Ha. I'm going to leave you in suspense about the earthquake thing until the end porque TENGO una historia para ustedes!

I'll start by inviting all of you to read Matthew 14:24-31 because it's AWESOME.

Okay. So. On Tuesday, Sandra gave us the devastating news that because her children refuse to come to her baptism or even to support her in her decision to be baptized (beyond reluctantly saying, "You can do whatever you want"), she wants to continue attending church and having lessons with us, but she doesn't want to commit to a fecha for a while. We left her house completely broken-hearted (quite literally), but don't worry--that's not the end of the story! 

We weren't about to give up that easily, so, determined to vencer over the adversary on this one, we prayed extremely hard to know what we needed to prepare and share with her for our lesson on Thursday. The Spirit said Matt. 14, and--wow, for this I am so grateful--the Spirit always knows best. The Lord wants Sandra--and all of His children--to make covenants with Him and will always help His missionaries know how best to help His children.

On Thursday, we read with her the story of Peter walking on the water and asked her her thoughts about the story--she said, "When Christ says, "Oh ye of little faith,' that completely applies to me right now... I know I need to have more faith." We then read with her 1 Nephi 3:7 and bore testimony of the fact that God will ALWAYS provide a way for us when we excercise faith enough to do whatever He asks of us. Hna. Farias then asked her, "Sandra, what is the next step of faith that you need to take in your life?" After a short pause, Sandra said, "Bautizarme." She then explained to us her fears but told us story after story of how she's seen the hand of the Lord in her life--all her life. We had prayed during companion study to know for what date to invite her to be baptized and really felt that 7 de Septiembre was what Heavenly Father wanted for her, and so we then explained that we had prayed to know and to be baptized on that day. 

After thinking for a few minutes, she said, "Could we postpone it a little past that?" We reluctantly agreed but invited her to offer the closing prayer and pray to know if the 7 de Septiembre is the right day for her bautismo. She sat there and closed her eyes for what felt like forever, but then she just looked up at us and said, "Sí. Sí. It's not my children's decision--it's mine. Sí; I will be baptized on that day." 

Wow! We could have cried, we were so happy! The Spirit was SO strong. We promised her blessings for her immense, incredible faith and obedience and gave her a picture of the Salt Lake Temple to help her keep in mind her even bigger goal--to go to the temple and do vicarious work for her parents.:)

I know that Heavenly Father knows His children perfectly, and He helped us know through the Spirit exactly what we needed to do and say to help her take that leap of faith and come closer to Christ. I love Sandra with all my heart and am so grateful that she had the faith enough to begin a lifelong journey of walking on water.

Speaking of water--RAIN! It rained all day on Saturday, all of Saturday night, and a little Sunday morning, too! So out came the rainboots--we tromped through lots of puddles; it was great fun--and the rain jacket. I was very, very grateful to have them; we would get pretty wet otherwise being outside all day long!:) 

Okay. The earthquake. Haha. On Saturday evening, we were walking in the street with a member, on our way to a lesson with Sandra, when all of a sudden there was this loud rumbling sound (Hna Farias and I both thought it was thunder), and the whole world started shaking! It was the strangest thing I've ever experienced! It lasted for probably 10 seconds or so, and we all just huddled together like penguins and waited for the shaking to end. Whoa. It was so crazy, and so AWESOME! My very first earthquake! I'm actually really thrilled about this--haha. There was almost zero damage to our house; one empty bottle fell off a shelf, and that was about it. But yeah, the epicenter of the earthquake was here in Quillota, and it was a 6.4! So crazy. The aftershocks continued the rest of the night (5 or 6 during our lesson with Sandra), and we even felt two more last night during companion planning. But don't worry! Everything is totally fine. I'm glad to say that I have finally experienced my first earthquake! Welcome to Chile.:)

This week was full of miracles and tanto agua. We walked through many puddles, walked through the rain, and watched our investigator walk on water. I am so grateful for these blessings that I know came straight from Heavenly Father. I love this work, I love being a missionary, and I love serving my Savior and His children here in Quillota! 

I hope you all know how much I love you! I hope you also know that I know that when we have the faith to step over the edge of the boat and into the water, our focus ever, and only, on the Savior, we can walk across the deepest oceans to Him. It's that kind of faith that I am striving to develop, the kind that doesn't let me look down at the distance below or the winds blowing around me. I know that when we have the faith to walk on water, there will be no end to the miracles that will take in our lives. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Con Todo Mi Soggy and Water-Logged Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Mi Compañera

My District

"Ohhh, que FEO!"

I tried Bon Bons for the first time ever!

Hoooola, mi familia!

This week was good, but I don't really have much to report... Pretty much just that I love egg sandwiches con palta y mayonesa on hallulla bread, riding bikes (in San Pedro) is super fun--intercambios were good, and Hna. Siler is an awesome missionary who is also going to USU and is going to major in Spanish and English teaching! How awesome is that?--I can't knit to save my live, and chocolate never fails to help you find nuevos. Also--I bet you'll never guess what I got after Zone Meeting on Wednesday! A PACKAGE!!! Ahh, familia! That was the best surprise EVER--thank you SO much! I love all the green stuff, and Mom--it's funny how bad I've been craving Jolly Ranchers lately; I was so incredibly excited when I saw those in there--thank you SO much.:) Also, CARTAS! Ah! I love letters--thank you to everyone that took the time to write to me; hearing from you all seriously made my whole day. Ahh. A thousand thank you's.:)

FIRST PACKAGE!!

Finally got her Greenie package

I don't really have much to say today...so an update on our investigators real quick, and then I'll leave this email short. Sandra! Sandra is still incredibly wonderful, but she wasn't able to make it to church last week because she went out of town with her family, so we have to postpone her baptism a week... We're a little bummed about that, but it's okay. We're really excited for her to have the opportunity to make convenios con Dios in two weeks.:) Nancy and Victor came to church again yesterday with their son, Diego; we had an AWESOME lesson with them last night as well about the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was so strong, and Nancy lloraba. We committed them to pray to know that the things we had taught them are true and then, once they receive their answer, to be baptized. They said they will.:)

Sandra, her two daughters, and her grandson, Benjamin

Nancy, Victor, y Diego

The work is progressing well here, and we are working hard! I love being a missionary, serving in Quillota, Jacob chapter 5 (Okay, but really though--Personal Study on Friday was AWESOME), Chilean food, sunshine, and, most of all, being a representative of Jesus Christ. I'm working really hard to improve every single day because I may never be perfect, but if I can end every day better than I started it, then I will have succeeded. I love you all, and I love being a missionary. Have a wonderful week! :)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

P.S. ROBIN WILLIAMS?! A member told us at almuerzo the other day! Que triste!

P.P.S. Gratitude moment for all you, mi familia: The hymns in English. I miss them. Also, please take a moment to appreciate for the variety of cheeses available in every grocery store in Utah. Haha. I love you!:)

An awesome scripture from this week. 2 Nephi 27:23. I love it.:)

I FINISHED EL LIBRO DE MORMON ESTE MAÑANA! I uploaded photos of the first two pages and the last two pages. It's a miracle.:)

1 Nephi chapter 1, started May 1, 2014

[Pres. Pratt, the CCM President, promises the missionaries learning Spanish that if they will read El Libro de Mormon and underline and look up all the words they don't know, that they will be fluent by the time they finish reading. The pictures show how many words she had to look up when she started and how many she still doesn’t know. WOW! Missionary Miracles!]

Moroni chapter 10, finished August 18, 2014
I FINISHED EL LIBRO DE MORMON ESTE MAÑANA!

And in case you're curious, here's a sample of my Spanish...it's so far from even being good, but it's improving! My letter to Presidente. A little more detail about my week this week.:)

Presidente,
¡Hola de Troncal 1! Tuvimos una buena semana aquí en Quillota; a veces son cosas difíciles, pero me encanta ser una misionera y estoy trabajando cada día para mejorar y llegar a ser mas como mi Salvador. El proceso es lento, pero gracias a la Expiación y el Espíritu, yo tengo la habilidad para terminar cada día mejor que cuando empecé. Estoy tan agradecida por la Expiación y el poder que nos da a cambiar y mejorar nos mismos.
Antes salí en mi misión, y empecé leer El Libro de Mormón en español, marcar las palabras que no sabia y escribir la palabra en ingles arriba, porque Presidente Hinckley prometió que si leemos El Libro de Mormón en nuestro lenguaje misional, cuando terminamos, vamos a poder hablar con fluidez. Después tres meses de este estudio en el CCM y además a estudiar El Libro de Mormón con la misión, este mañana, terminé! Es un milagro a mi cuanto mejora mi español--todavía tengo TANTO a aprender, pero yo sé que el Señor ha estado obrando milagros en mi vida y en mi habilidad para hablar español. Estoy tan agradecida por este gran bendición y por las promesas de los profetas.
Nuestros investigadores están bien; desfortunademente, Sandra no pudo asistir a la iglesia ayer, pero ella tiene tanto deseo a ser bautizado; estamos trabajando a preparar ella por bautismo en dos semanas. Ellas es buena y es tan preparada a hacer convenios con Dios--ella tiene mucho entusiasmo a asistir el templo después su bautismo y hacer la obra por sus padres allí. Muchísimas gracias por la oportunidad a trabajar aquí en Quillota y ver los milagros de Dios en las vidas de los miembros y nuestros investigadores--este es un gran privilegio; muchísimas gracias por eso.
¡Tuvimos intercambios esta semana! Fue increíble para trabajar con Hermana Siler en San Pedro--ella es una misionera increíble y un bueno ejemplo para mi. Yo aprendí muchas cosas de ella--que estudio de compañerismo puede ser tan una experiencia espiritual y debe ser eso, como estudio personal (estoy tratando para aplicar este en nuestros estudios cada día), que cuando trabajamos con TODO que tenemos y estamos enfocado siempre y en cada momento, vamos a tener éxito y sentir el Espíritu aun mas fuerte. Mis metas después este intercambio son a siempre hablar con TODOS, empezar diez contactos cada día y testificar y enseñar en estos contactos (no tener miedo o temor de no tener las palabras que yo quiero o cosas así), no tener ningún pensamiento negativo, y dedicar mi mismo 100%. Yo quiero ser orgulloso (la palabra correcta?) cada noche cuando dedico el día que tuvimos al Señor y saber que yo dé mi mejor esfuerza.
Me encanta esta obra, Presidente! Es un gran privilegio para servir el Señor y sus hijos aquí en Quillota. Yo amo Jesucristo, y yo amo ellos, también. Estoy emocionada por una semana mas trabajar en la viña del Señor!
Sinceramente,
Hermana Sanford

Dad--the song just playing on the radio here was Fields of Gold. I didn't listen to it, haha, but it reminded me of you.:)

Our Zone...:)... (Hermana Siler [STL] is third from the right on the front row; she's who I had splits with on Tuesday. And Hermana Dalton is her companion; she finishes her mission in a few weeks. :))

Our Zone

A guy just happened to ride past our house with a horse (the very first horse I've ever seen here, other than one in San Pedro) yesterday, so we took a picture in his cart!

Q & A with Mom:
What is the story behind your subject line? "Ohhh, que FEO!"
Haha! We had almuerzo con una familia en este barrio this week; the mom kept saying that, and we ended up talking about ugly things for almost all of lunch. Haha! It was so funny; it's a private joke that we have with them now.:)

Morgan shared with me some frustrations she has experienced recently and so I asked her if she was writing them down so when she’s a trainer she’ll remember how she felt as a Greenie. This was her reply:
I'm writing things down in a notebook: "Things to tell mi Hija." I want to remember everything she'll want to know; things I wish people had told me in my first few days here, too.:)

How is your missionary budget(ing) working out? Do you have enough $ for all your monthly expenses?
We have more than enough money every month! So yep, that's awesome. I usually spend about 10 mil [about $17] per week on groceries and various expenses throughout the week, but I finished last month with extra and will this month, too.:)

Who are your Zone Leaders?
Our Zone Leaders are Elder Hale and Elder Brown.:)

How was zone meeting?
Zone meeting was awesome! 6 hours long almost, but super awesome!

What is the weather like? much rain? Have you needed your rainboots yet? Do your feet stay warm in them? Comfortable? Are you still in winter?
No! No rain at all! It´s actually been really, really warm here the last few days. I love it.:) I haven't needed my rainboots yet, but I wore them one day when we thought it might rain--they are super warm, and yeah, they're comfortable! I need to break them in so that they're not quite so tight, but yep! They're perfect!:) Maybe I'll need them one of these days.:) We're still in winter--spring starts September 21, I think. According to a member here.:)

Do you and Hna. Farias cook meals together when you eat at home? Are you still being fed by the members a lot?
Yeah, we do! But we eat almuerzo con los miembros most dias.:) She loves to cook! We eat tortillas a lot.:)

Do you have freezing showers? Do you have to do your laundry by hand? 
We have warm water! Nope! The members do our laundry, but almost all of them have washing machines.:)

Have you gotten any letters from anyone?
I got letters from John Ah Mu, Jack Hyer, Meredith, Brooke Hays, and Michaela Hagloch! And your PACKAGE! Thank you SO much!

 How do you travel when tracting/contacting? walking or micros?
Usually just walking. We only take micros when we´re running late or are going to District Meeting.:)

You said the ward has been very welcoming, what about the people you talk to on the street? 
They are, too! Everyone here is super friendly and nice. I mean, they don´t always accept our message, but everyone is very amiable.:)

Oooh, que está heladita!

Hola, mi familia!

Time is so strange here--blink and it's already Monday again. Hard to believe that in two days, I'll have been here in Quillota for 1 month and the mission for 2 1/2! I can't believe it. Anyway. Time for another weekly email!:)

Here in the mission, I've been whistled at, scowled at, cat-called at, laughed at, stared at, and smirked at. (But not spit at, thank heavens.) We've been rejected and rejected and rejected and rejected, again and again and again. But it's hard to get discouraged or feel too tired to keep going because this is the Lord's work, and He is with us every step of the way. After seven days that were chock full of interesting experiences, as are they all, I want to share with you a few of the miracles that I saw and experienced this last week.

To start, because I can hardly wait any longer to tell you--Sandra is getting baptized! Or, as we ecstatically told the District Leader, "Sandra tiene una fecha!" The 24 de Agosto. We are so excited. (Reading that through again, I don't think I used enough exclamation marks. !!!!!!!!!!) Sandra is a miracle and a gold angel sent from heaven. We taught her the Plan of Salvation last Monday night--the Spirit was really strong, and she told us that the things we taught her answered a lot of questions she's always had. She also asked us before the end of the lesson, "If baptism is so important and everyone needs to be baptized, what can I do here to help my parents, who have already passed away but who never had a chance to learn the truth?"

We answered her question in our next lesson on Thursday by teaching Lección 3 (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) and about how we have the opportunity to be baptized in the temple, the House of the Lord, for those spirits who are waiting in the spirit world for their ordinances to be performed. The Spirit was very strong during this lección as well. The member that came with us bore a powerful testimony of temple work, and Hna. Farias y yo bore testimony through tears of the importance of baptism. We then invited Sandra to be baptized, and she said, "Sí! Sí!" She was really firm in her decision and committed wholeheartedly. She told us that she doesn't feel any fear, only peace, and that she knows this is the right path for her. Sandra came to church with us yesterday and loved it; she even told a member, "Yeah, I'm going to be baptized!" We love her so much. Please remember Sandra in your prayers this week, that all will continue to go well as she progresses toward and prepares for baptism. We have another lesson with her tonight!

The Lord continues to work miracles with my Spanish--it improves every day, for which I am so grateful. One specific miracle took place on Saturday--we stopped by the home of a member family (because I had to use the BATHROOM...) and were able to spend some time talking with her about her mission--the Spirit was very strong, and I know for a fact that the Lord wanted me to be able to understand the stories and thoughts she shared with us because I was miraculously able to understand every single word she said. I know that the Lord is mindful of me--and of each of us--and that all things we experience or are asked to endure are according to His will and timetable. He truly has His hand in our lives and is ever aware of us.

Nuestra casa

La Bonifacio--Morgan's casa is 4th on the right

By the way of other news, our toilet broke Tuesday morning, sprayed Hna. Farias in the face, and flooded our floor--it was fun! Haha. Seriously, though. :) But don't worry; Hna. Farias fixed it, and thanks to her natural talent (that was racist because she's Mexican), our toilet is up and functioning once again. (Haha, just kidding about the racist joke; she told me to say that. :P) She aspires to becoming a plumber someday. I'm halfway through 3 Nephi in my El Libro de Mormon--2 weeks left, tops. Y intercambios mañana, tambien! I'm excited to be able to go work in San Pedro for the day.

Scripture study tidbit from this week: I LOVE Helaman 10:4-5. It is incredible to me that when we selflessly serve the Lord with unwearyingness and seek only His will and to keep His commandments, El Señor promises to "bless us forever" and make us mighty in word, in deed, in faith, and in works. When we do these things and seek to align our will with the will of the Lord, He will siempre answer our prayers and the desires of our hearts because we will have come to want for ourselves exactly the same things that He wants for us. I want to become that kind of missionary and am working every day to serve the Lord with unwearyingness, for this truly is the key to success.

Mi querida familia, I love you! You are in my every prayer and always in my heart, and I hope that you're having a wonderful last few weeks of summer. Continue firm in the faith, remember the Savior and serve Him in all you do, and you will be blessed with the ability to see His hand working in your life. I love you love you love you! Que tenga una buena semana, y hasta la proxima!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Hermana Coty y Luis

Lillian cutting her birthday torta

Email Q&A with Morgan:
What does your subject line "Oooh, que está heladita!" have to do with your email?
Oh! Haha, I forgot. EVERY TIME I shake someone's hand, they say that.  Helado is "cold." But yeah. Every single time. I've stopped keeping track because it happens so much. So super funny. :)

Last week's subject line..... "Las Elders"?
Yeah, that's right! Some creepy guys across the street from us [called us that] when we were walking. Pshh. Las Elders. Goodness.

When and how do you get mail delivered from the mission office?
We only get mail at Zone Meeting, which we haven't had yet while I've been here, but we have one on Wednesday! So hopefully I'll get a lot then. I'll let you know next Monday!:) But yeah, ZMs are once every month, usually the first or second Wednesday. :)

Can you tell me about your intercambio (exchange) in San Pedro tomorrow? who are you going with and how will you travel there?
I'll be going with one of the Sister Training Leaders, leaving tomorrow morning and meeting back up with Hna Farias at Zone Meeting on Wednesday morning! I'll just take stuff for one day.:) And yeah, they're Hna Dalton and Hna...I can't remember her name right now. But they're AWESOME! They both only have a little bit of time left here in the mission.:) They'll come pick me up, but we'll take the bus back to San Pedro! :) The transportation here is great; they drive fast, but it's good!

Is there anyone you would like us to pray for this week?
If you wouldn't mind praying for Valedia, la nieta de Hna y Hno Collao este semana, tambien; she has a brain tumor and has to get a lot of testing done... Hna Collao was almost in tears on Sunday asking me to please remember her in my prayers. So if you would, too, that would be wonderful... The Collaos -- They're a family in our ward that are super neat---converts of about 30 years. They're like our grandparents; I adore them.:)

Las Elders

Hola, mi familia!

This week was busy and great--hard to believe it's already Monday again! We taught 19 lessons, placed 6 Libros, talked with lots of people, and ate so much delicious Chilean food. Despite all that, though, yo particularmente quiero compartir una experiencia con ustedes esta semana. Yo sé que el Señor tiene su mano en esta obra. 

We met Sandra in the street on Tuesday afternoon, walking with her four-year-old grandson, Benjamin, and walked and talked with her the entire way back to La Bonifacio. When we arrived there, we gave her a Libro de Mormon--she was so excited and told us that she'd start reading it that night--and scheduled a cita for Viernes. The next morning, we were on our way to visit an investigator whom we haven't seen in a few weeks and just happened to run into Sandra again outside her son's house. She was thrilled to see us and told us that something had come up on Viernes but that she wanted to reschedule our appointment to Sabado. 

We visited her at her home on Saturday afternoon and taught The Restoration--the Spirit was SO strong, and she expressed the concerns and doubts she's had her entire life about all the other churches she's ever investigated (all of which concerns we have answers for, of course:)). She told us at the beginning of our lesson that she had already started reading El Libro de Mormon during the past few days and really liked it. Sandra is so actively seeking the truth--it's amazing how ready she is...so prepared! At the end of an awesome, spiritual lesson, we committed her to be baptized when she receives her answer that El Libro de Mormon and La Iglesia de Jesuchristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias are true, and she said that she will! (We extended the 24 de Agosto as a date for her to work toward, and although she doesn't want to commit to anything until she's absolutely sure, we have very high hopes for that date.) 

After we had said a closing prayer and were preparing to leave, she told us this story:

Sandra suffers from vertigo and wasn't feeling very well on Tuesday afternoon; because of this, she was extremely worried about having to walk all the way home with her little grandson. She almost went back to where they were coming from to wait for her symptoms to pass, but eventually just decided to go ahead and said a prayer in her heart that everything would be okay. After only a few minutes, Hna. Farias and I walked up behind them and started a conversation with her. We walked with Sandra and Benjamin the rest of the way, and she didn't have to worry about having a problem with her vertigo because we would be there to help if anything happened. She recognized this as a heaven-sent blessing, and, while thinking about us and our message later that night, she felt good about learning more. 

She found out the next morning, though, that something had come up on Friday afternoon and was really worried about that--she didn't want us to come to her house for our appointment only to have no one be there, think she wasn't interested, and never come back again, so she prayed to Heavenly Father to know what to do. Lo and behold, a few hours later, we ran into her again in the street and were able to change the appointment to Saturday evening. She told us that she recognizes those "coincidences" as signs from Heavenly Father and that she told Him, "Alright, if you're trying to tell me something, I get it." She earnestly wants to find out whether or not this is the right path for her, and I know that she will get her answer because this gospel IS true, and it is the right path for all of God's children.

I love being a missionary, and I know without a doubt that the Lord is guiding our footsteps every step of the way, in every moment of every day. Every almuerzo that goes long, every time we can't find an address or get lost, and even every time that an investigator isn't home for our appointment are simply moments in which the Lord is redirecting our "flight plans," shifting our focus, and leading us to people like Sandra who are so ready to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes my feet hurt, or I feel too tired to get up in the morning, or we are rejected at every gate we "hallo" at, but I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have a front row seat--a tiny part in the production, even--and watch the Lord unfold and move along this gran obra misional. I know He plays more of a part in our lives than sometimes we realize, and I am working this week to become better at recognizing His tender mercies--the "miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day" (Alma 37:40). I love my Savior, and I love this gospel--it is a great honor to wear His name over my heart every day and learn to serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.

I love you all! Les quiero mucho! You are in my every prayer and are always in my heart. Keep doing the simple things every day that anchor you close to the Savior and then stand back and watch Him work His miracles in your life. I know He is doing that in mine.

All My Love Forever,
Hermana Sanford