Obrando en la Viña: "Yo Soy de la Fabrica"

Obispo Gallardo, Victor, Hna Eastman and me

Hola, Familia!
Okay, so since you've all been anxiously waiting for four whole days to find out what happened with cambios...(at least, I hope you have; please don't forget about me! Haha)...

I was wrong on one count, but I was right on the other.
Hna. Mariscal got transfered to Viña del Mar...
I get to stay...
And I'm TRAINING!

The best part is that I didn't even find out until I met my companion.:) Hna. Eastman is from Fort Worth, Texas, is studying at BYU Provo, and is, quite literally, an angel. She is SO nice. She has one cambio less in the mission than I do, and we are really excited to work hard together these next six weeks and learn un montón de each other! We're already such good friends, and I'm really excited to have her as a companion. There still is SO much that I don't know, and I definitely don't feel ready to be a trainer, but I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for trusting me with this responsibility. I'm going to do the absolute best that I can! :)

Hna Eastman, mi compañera nueva

Other news--after a beautiful wedding and reception on Friday, BAPTISM! Victor got baptized yesterday! We arrived early to the church to fill up the font, and when we came in to check it during Relief Society, the water was GREEN... So, with the help of Bishop and Hno. Aguilera, we drained the font and started it filling again. When we came back to check again, a half hour before the baptism was supposed to start, the water was BROWN... Like, I'm not kidding. It looked like river water. We told Victor what had happened and asked him what he would like to do; he told us, "No, it doesn't matter what the water looks like! The only thing that matters is that I'm going to be clean."

Victor's Family at his Baptism

The baptism proceeded as planned, and it was beautful! We are so happy for Victor and the huge step and blessing that this is is for his family. He and Maria have made it their goal to be sealed as a family one year from now! We love them so much and are so happy for them. Roger and Anais attended the baptism as well, and they are more excited then ever for their own next Sunday! Their testimonies are so strong--Anais wants to serve a mission in California when she's old enough--and they are such an example to me. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to serve here in Chile among such incredible people. I really do love being a missionary. It's hard, but it's worth it.

We also had an incredible experience with Nancy and Victor on Saturday night; Victor has been trying this week to stop smoking so that he can live the Word of Wisdom, so we brought Hno. Aguilera with us to give him a priesthood blessing. We taught about the Restoration and the importance and power of the priesthood, and then Victor received his first priesthood blessing... The Spirit was so incredibly strong, and both he and Nancy had tears in their eyes. I am so grateful to have the special opportunity to watch their conversion, and I love the way that they talk without any hint of doubt about their future as members of the church. They fast with us every fast Sunday, attend church every single Sunday that they don't have work, are working on their divorce papers and living the Word of Wisdom, and their son, Diego, wants to serve a mission.

Truly, it's people like Nancy and Victor, Victor and Maria, and Roger and Anais that make every difficult moment of this year and a half so much more than worth it. The water may feel green--or even brown--sometimes, but because of this work that we're doing as missionaries al lado de nuestro Salvador, our Heavenly Father's children can arrive at the waters of baptism and truly become clean. In that way, then, really the water doesn't matter. "The only thing that matters is that I'm going to be clean."

I love my mission, and I love you all! Just keep on swimming, and have a wonderful week!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford