"No Sabe Donde Va La Micro"

Hola, familia!

What a crazy week--intercambios with Hna. Siler again on Tuesday (she seriously is my hero, and we had an AWESOME day) and Conferencia de Zona en Belloto on Friday! It was wonderful to have the opportunity to listen to and learn from Presidente and Hna. Kahlein. They are incredible and truly are inspired servants of our Heavenly Father. I am so blessed to have such an amazing mission president. Also, I officially wrote down my mission goals this week, based on the inspiration and help I received from the Spirit at Zone Conference, and am excited to finally have a clear vision of what I want my mission to be and who I want to become. (All according to the will of the Lord, of course.:)) Also, you will be pleased to know that I woke Hna. Mariscal up at 4 o'clock yesterday morning bearing my testimony and teaching a lesson in Spanish--in my SLEEP--and continued to do so for 10 minutes... Haha. Oops! #youknowyou'reamissionarywhen. (It's getting harder to write these emails in English with every passing week, too, so that's a good sign, right? :))

Sisters at Zone Conference in Belloto

With Hermana Siler

Quillota and Belloto Zones

Training with Pres. Kähnlein

Roger is still progressing wonderfully and has such a strong testimony! We taught him the Plan of Salvation this week, and he shared with us his desire to make it to the Celestial Kingdom no matter what it takes; he told us that he will never fall away because he wants so badly to do what's right, and he knows that this is the right path for him. He also told us a few weeks before we stopped by his house, he began to want to start attending church again and was thinking a lot about it, trying to decide with what church to unirse... And then we just happened to stop by one Saturday afternoon. He recognizes that this is not a coincidence, and so do we. Heavenly Father knows His children, and He knows the desires of their hearts.:) Roger attended church for the third time yesterday and loved it, as usual! (I'll upload pictures to Dropbox of us with him outside the church.)

With Roger

Victor is still doing wonderfully, too! He and Maria are preparing for their wedding on the 10th and his baptism on the 12th, and we are SO excited for them! 

Okay. Nancy and Victor.:) We had a lesson with the two of them together again this week! Miracle of miracles! The Lord really is preparing a way for them now that they are moving forward and taking the steps necessary to progress--with real desire and real intent.:) 

Nancy fasted last weekend to be able to believe that President Monson really is a prophet of God, so we prayerfully decided to share with them his talk from the Oct. 2013 General Conference. After a few technical difficulties, we finally got the video up and running--which was an answer to her prayers in and of itself; she had told us when we arrived that she just wanted to see his face--and sat in silence listening to the words of a prophet. When the talk ended, she was crying and remarked to us that his message was so simple but SO powerful, and that she was impressed by his humility; that he truly radiates peace and tranquility. She told us, "I'm going to find the talk and listen to it again in English. I can't understand English, but I just want to be able to hear his voice." I had never really thought before about how incredibly blessed we are to speak English and be able to listen to and understand the voices of our living prophet and his apostles...but I hope you all take a moment to think of that during General Conference this weekend. We truly are SO blessed.:)

After listening to her and Victor's thoughts on what we had shared, Hna. Mariscal and I bore our testimonies (I didn't even really think about what I was saying; I only know that words were flowing out of my mouth, and we were all in tears) of the fact that we KNOW he is a prophet of God, and then commenced an hour of teaching that I don't even remember because it was ENTIRELY directed by the Spirit. We spoke boldly, bore powerful testimony, and the Spirit was SO, SO, SO strong. At the end, Victor committed to be baptized!!! And Nancy, through tears, told us that she will give us our answer this week.:) Victor's prayer to close the lesson was absolutely beautiful--he prayed that Nancy would open her heart to this incredible opportunity and move forward with him and be baptized, too. Wow. That lesson really was one of the most spiritual experiences of my entire life. I am so grateful for the chance to serve a mission and experience incredible moments such as this one.

I have such a strong testimony now of the reality of the gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation--of the fact that they truly are gifts of the Spirit. During the entire lesson, where the Spirit was SO incredibly strong, I never had to think about what I was saying or what other people were saying--I simply spoke and understood. Simple. What a miracle, truly. When the Spirit is there, I can express all of the sentimientos en mi corazon and understand all of the words of others, and I know without a doubt that this gift comes directly from Heavenly Father. He blesses His missionaries. I see those blessings every single day, and although serving a mission is without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done, I know that He is perfectly aware of me and that He will help me to accomplish the things He asks if only I will put my trust in Him. I know it is the same for each of us. If we put our trust in our Father in Heaven and His perfect plan, we will be able to overcome each of the challenges that come our way and eventually become the people that He wants us to become. I know this to be true. I'm grateful for the trials and hardships of the mission field because they are molding and shaping me--helping me to become just a little bit stronger and better every day. I am so grateful for this and for the opportunity to serve a mission.:)

P.S. I found my new favorite scripture this week! Helaman 3:35.:) I love the Book of Mormon, and I love you all! Watch General Conference, appreciate it for me in English, and take notes! Then, with the help of the Spirit, set goals that will help you apply the things you learned in the coming weeks and months. I know that if we all do exactly that, we will be blessed for following the counsel of the prophets and the guidance of the Spirit. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Familia Aguilera

Lilian and her kids

With the Familia Paz

The Familia Paz