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.
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| Nuestra casa |
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| 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
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| Hermana Coty y Luis |
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| 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. :)
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.:)
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