Hola, mi familia!
Okay, so I have bad news and good news. Bad news first? Yeah. Always.
Sandra cancelled. That's right. Her baptism. She cancelled her baptism.
I think I'm beginning to understand a little better how the Savior feels when His children choose not to accept His atonement or His gospel...my heart quite literally broke when I heard her say those words. Long story short--because it's a LONG story--before we even started our lesson with her on Thursday, she told us that she had talked with her son that lives in Canada the day before, who had a bad experience with a Mormon once, and he asked her to please wait to be baptized until after he comes to Chile to visit in January so that they can discuss it.
We tried everything. Scriptures, testimonies... I've never prayed harder in my life to have the Spirit with me so that I could know exactly what Heavenly Father wanted me to say... I know He worked through us that afternoon, but in the end, she still chose to postpone her baptism--even though she knows without a doubt that this church is true and that she NEEDS to be baptized. She wants to be baptized. It's hard sometimes accepting the fact that everyone has their agency when I know that the message we bring to them is so precious and will change their life here in mortality and also their life for eternity... But we're going to keep working with her and helping her to develop the faith necessary to act on her testimony and be baptized sooner than next year. Please pray for her. We are, too, a thousand times a day.
Enough bad news for today.:) The good news! We just so happened to stop by a familia menos activa this week, and they have a ten year old daughter, Magdalena, that hasn't been baptized yet but that really, really wants to be! She's working toward baptism on the 21st.:) Every time we teach her, I can't help but think of Bailey... It's like helping my own little sister take an enormously important step in her life, and that's incredible. I know this gospel is true. Magdalena and her mom, Elsa (who is a convert of 5 years but who hasn't been in 2 years), came to church yesterday--Magdalena bore her testimony in Sacrament Meeting, which was absolutely incredible, and Elsa shared during Gospel Principles that the fact we had stopped by their house the week before really had been part of a divine plan of our Heavenly Father. Apparently Elsa had been thinking for the past few weeks that she'd really like to return to activity in the church because Magdalena had been asking about it and expressing a desire to return, too... And then we just happened to show up one night at their house, share a scripture with them, and invite Magdalena to be baptized! Que milagro.
The very best part of this story was that earlier that evening, we hadn't been sure exactly where we needed to go, so we stopped in the street and said a prayer that Heavenly Father would help us to find an elegido--someone prepared to accept the gospel and be baptized. I know that He answered our prayer that night and that He answers each and every one of our prayers. I love my Heavenly Father, and I love being a missionary. There really is nothing that can compare with sustaining a recently less-active 14 year old in his ordination to the Aaronic Priesthood, or in helping a less-active family return to church, or in having a family home evening with a member family and listening to their testimonies of the importance of sacrifice and obedience, or in teaching an investigator and hearing them say that they really do know this church is true... Serving a mission is hard, but moments like that make it so much more than worth it. I am beginning to understand exactly what Ammon and Alma meant in the Book of Mormon when they poured out their hearts in thanks to God for the joy that they felt as a result of their missionary service. I know it is the same for us, and I hope that I can only continue to feel this incredible joy as the Lord works His miracles through us, His representatives and missionaries here in Quillota.
I love being a missionary! I hope that you will all continue to pray for and take advantage of missionary opportunities there at home--there are ALWAYS people that the Lord is preparing to accept the gospel, and the full-time missionaries can't find all of them on their own!:) I promise that the joy that comes from sharing the gospel is indescribable (Alma 29:10) and is worth every single effort. I love you, family! You are all in my prayers and are always in my heart! Have the best week in the world.:) Te quiero!
Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford
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