Sanford y Farias: Part Dos (Coming Soon to Theaters Near You)

With Natacha

Querida Familia,

Welp--cambios!

I thought for sure that neither of us were leaving, so I didn't even say goodbye to anyone... We commited Natacha to be baptized on December 7th on Monday evening, had a really special Noche de Hogar with Chriss and her husband and a cute couple from the ward on Tuesday... We found a few incredible new investigators and worked really hard in our trio... And then we went to bed Tuesday night, and I still had no idea. Hna. Eastman said that when she woke up to my sleep talking in the middle of the night, she knew... But I woke up in the morning still not knowing. I only felt an overwhelming sense of peace--that Heavenly Father is in control and that everything would be okay.

At 7:20 Wednesday morning, the phone rang--Presidente Kähnlein. I answered it...

"Hola, Hermana! ¿Como esta usted este dia?
Hermana. Estoy llamando porque el Señor quiere que sea y sirva como Hermana Lider y Etrenadora."

I almost started to cry, I was so shocked and surprised. I truly do not know anything, and I am not nearly the kind of person that are Hermana Lideres; I still have SO much to learn. But I accepted the call with faith that my Heavenly Father will qualify me for the work He is asking me to do.

I spent the rest of the morning packing (and crying with Hna. Eastman, just a little), and then we went to visit Chriss (who broke my heart when she started to cry and said that she has family ALL over Chile and will come visit me where I end up, no matter how far away it is. She gave me my Christmas present early and offered to take us down Viña... Wow.:) Chriss truly is incredible. I wish I could be there someday soon when she finally decides to be baptized) and Nancy (who started crying--me as well--calling me su "pajarita" and thanking me for helping to change her life. I didn't do anything. All the miracles that happened are COMPLETELY thanks to the Lord. But I've been so blessed to have been able to see the change that took place in her life and that of her family these past few months. It has truly been incredible. Anyway, we both cried for a good five minutes and hugged each other so tight...) and then it was time to go. We loaded up my stuff in Chriss' car and drove down to Viña!

Saying goodbye to Chriss

All morning after receiving that phone call I had been suspecting what was going to happen...but I could still hardly believe my ears when, in the reunion de cambios, Presidente announced, "Hermana Sanford will be serving as a new Hermana Lider y Entrenadora in Illapel with her nueva compañera, Hermana Farias!"

I boarded the mission bus and traveled 3 1/2 hours to the North to be companions with my MOM in a small city called Illapel--in a small branch of about 40 active members and 3 sets of missionaries--here in the north of the mission. It is beautiful here, with its campo and cerros and landscape much more rural than that of Quillota--I miss my old sector DEARLY, but I know that the Lord has called me to serve here for a reason, that I am going to fall in love with Illapel and the people here, and that Heavenly Father has many things to teach me.:) I am so excited to study faith these next few weeks and really learn how to trust completely in my Savior and the plan that my Father in Heaven has for me. What HE wants for me.

Driving up the coast

The view from our pensión

Illapel Branch in Illapel

We had the opportunity to go to Viña on Friday for una capacitacion por nuevos lideres, and I am working hard to improve and learn and apply each day all the things I learned in my last cambio so that I can be the kind of missionary that my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I love Him so much and know that He has a plan for me--for my mission, for my family, for the rest of my life, and for the rest of eternity I will trust in Him and know that He will, if I truly give Him everything I have and am, make more out of me than I could ever make of myself. I know that our Savior heads this work because it truly is His. I am excited to serve here in Illapel and to love and serve the people and learn all that my Father in Heaven wants to teach me.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep reading your scriptures, learning something new every day, and sharing the gospel by example! I love you all!

Con Todo Mi Amor,

Hermana Sanford

La HerMAMA

The Hermanas of the Quillota Zone

Hola, familia!
Well...Rodrigo decided he doesn't want to get baptized...for now. But we have faith. God can work miracles. We're praying for a miracle. Please pray with us for a miracle! He'll get there!

It's a sad story, though, and I think I'd rather tell a happy story. So here goes. The Happy Story. :)

With Jacqueline and her family

We found a beautiful family about a week ago--Jacqueline, la mamá, and her children, Constanza (12), Vicente (10), y Florencia (4). In the first lesson, we invited them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and when we returned to visit them on Wednesday, Constanza had DONE IT! She told us with a beautiful smile on her face and a light in her eyes that she had prayed and felt a sweet, unmistakable peace in her heart. We were so excited and encouraged her to keep reading and praying! She came to Young Women's on Thursday and loved it, and then we stopped by to visit and teach them again on Saturday night.

Jacqueline still hadn't read, so we began to read with her and Constanza in Alma 32 and talk about faith. Connie shared with us and her mom her experience praying about the Book of Mormon and receiving her answer that it's true. Not long after, we were talking about how Christ was baptized in order to set the example for us, and she said so quietly we almost didn't hear her, "me quiero bautizar." We both whipped around and were like, "WHAT did you say?!" 

She said it again--"me quiero bautizar"--and we almost started to cry; the Spirit hit us so hard. We extended her an invitation to be baptized on November 30th, and she accepted with a huge grin on her face; she was absolutely beaming. We then invited Jacqueline, su mamá, to be baptized on the same day, and she accepted as well, though not with the same certainty or excitemente as her daughter (because Connie already has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and says that she has never felt anything at all in any other church, but she feels SO good in ours). We promised her that as she reads and prays about the Book of Mormon, she will feel more and more sure of her decision, just as her daughter does.

Connie told us that she would be getting foot surgery on the 25th and was nervous about the possibility of not being able to walk on the 30th and thus not being able to be baptized... I racked my brain for a good solid minute trying to feel whether or not we should move the fecha up a week, but I felt very strongly NOT to--and in place of that to extend the promise that if they move forward with faith and prepare for that date, Heavenly Father will make it possible for Connie to be able to walk and to get to church for her baptism. She spoke up and excitedly said,"Yeah, I believe that He will help me to be able to get baptized." Ah! Que hermosa!

I couldn't figure out why we felt so strongly NOT to change the date until Jacqueline's 10 year old son, Vicente, said, "Me voy a la iglesia mañana." Goodness gracias. He's going to get baptized with them; they have to wait for him!:) The Spirit hit me so hard when I told what I'd realized to Hermana Eastman. Heavenly Father truly helped us to find a family! He answers our prayers. They're beautiful, and they ALL came to church yesterday--Jacqueline loved it, especially Principios del Evangelio, Constanza LOVED Young Women's (she already has so many friends), and Vincente loved Primary as well. I can really see the importance of fellowshipping investigators; the transition is so much easier, and the decision to be baptized so much easier to make, when they have real friends and feel comfortable en la iglesia. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to serve in a ward that really supports us as missionaries and helps our investigators to have a spiritual, good, uplifting experience at church on Sundays.

We're excited to involve Roger and Anais in their conversion process by bringing them to lessons with us, to help both families to grow in the gospel together. Pray for Jacqueline and her family! We love them so much!:) 

OTHER BIG NEWS: Yesterday, Victor blessed the sacramente, and Roger helped to pass it. Talk about a missionary payday. We are SO proud of them.:) Next step: The TEMPLE! Man, I miss the temple. But teaching people all the time about just how important it is is really helping me to appreciate so much more the availability of temples close to my home. The temple truly is the house of the Lord! Go as often as you possibly can.:) There is a Spirit there that is incredible and that you really cannot feel in any other place. As long as we keep the temple as our goal and our focus, we'll have the strength to do absolutely anything that we have to to get there. No sacrifice is too great and no price too high to pay to be able to make covenants with God--and help others who are waiting on the other side to make the same covenants--in His house here on earth. I love the temple and absolutely cannot wait until I have the chance to go again.:) Take advantage of the opportunity for me, and go to the temple as often as you possibly can!:)

I love you all SO much! Have the best week EVER, and keep choosing the right!

Con Todo Mi Amor,
HerMAMA Sanford

(My baby's all grown up. She finished training this week. Out to the real world she goes!)

Quotes of the Week:
"Your strongest attribute...gosh. It annoys the crap out of me."--Hna. Eastman
(In a prayer to end a lesson) "Protegernos con una gran barrera anti-mal."--Diego

With Hermanas Frandsen and Eastman

Christmas at Lider store

Plaza de Armas

"GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!" (Don't worry. We always know when there's a soccer game.)

My District

Querida familia--
This week, I learned that simply by leaning forward a little on the scale, one weighs less. It's like magic! And with that realization vanished any and all need I may have previously had for a diet.

Haha, just kidding. 

...I'm kind of embarrassed that I actually know that.

Anyways.

As my mission progresses, I feel that I am developing every day a very personal student-teacher relationship with my Heavenly Father. Even more than that, and much like the relationship I have with my own earthly father, I am developing a Father-daughter relationship with Him as well. I treasure the moments with which He blesses me during personal study in the morning, when I pray to learn something specific and then am prompted to study something specific--and then, after spending an hour with my pen moving rapidly across the pages of my study journal in an attempt to catch and record the thoughts and impressions that quietly run through my mind and heart, I look back over those notes and marvel at just how much my Heavenly Father has taught me. In my desire to learn--these last six weeks--more concerning true, Christlike obedience, He truly has blessed me with precious tutoring during morning study and then many opportunities for application through the day. I hope with all my heart that I have learned not only how to be obedient to my parents, mission president, and mission leaders, but also to be obedient del fondo a mí Padre Celestial, motivated to serve Him with all I have because I truly WANT to do so. I am SO excited to study consecration and faithful covenant keeping this week and then to spend the next six weeks learning about faith!

This week, we had the privilege of witnessing and sharing in some beautiful moments in the lives of some truly incredible people. 

With Hermano Nelson Gonzalez

First of all, Hno. Nelson Gonzalez is a faithful member of about 40 years who LOVES the temple and loves to attend church. He's had to work on Sundays for the past year or so and hasn't been able to attend in all that time, but had been praying faithfully for an opportunity to find new trabajo that would enable him to return to activity. About two months ago, he was blessed to find a better job that didn't require him to work long night shifts, but that too required him to work on Sundays, which was devastating for him and his family. He continued praying and fasting--nosotras también--until this week, when we passed by to visit la Familia Gonzalez, and he gave us the good news. Hno. Nelson found a new job and will never have to work los fines de semana again! He was beaming as he told us and expressed his excitement at the prospect of being able to return to the temple again on Saturdays and attend church faithfully every Sunday. I almost cried seeing him ride into the church parking lot yesterday on his bike. We should never forget exactly how much of a privilege it is to be ABLE to attend church each week, but I know that the Lord will work miracles in the lives of His children to enable them to do so.:)

Secondly, RODRIGO IS GETTING BAPTIZED on Sunday! We had an absolutely incredible lesson with him this week, and, although Paula doesn't want to continue participating in the lessons, he knows without a doubt that this church is true and wants with all his heart to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and eats up everything we have to teach him so eagerly. I know that his decision to be baptized will bless him and his family for the rest of eternity, and that, although Paula may not be ready right now, his example will be a means through which Heavenly Father can prepare her heart to accept the gospel message a little farther down the road. We are so excited for him! Pray for Rodrigo and Paula, please!:)

Heavenly Father blessed us to find another elegida esta semana--Natacha. Natacha is a beautiful 21 year old that we contacted in the street a week ago; we made a cita with her and passed by, not expecting her to be home or to have time to talk with us; lo and behold, and to our surprise, she was home and invited us in to compartir con toda su familia! After teaching the message of the Restauración with the help of the Spirit, which was very, very strong, Natacha committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and expressed her desire to be baptized!:) The rest of her family are also incredibly wonderful; we're going to continue teaching and sharing with them as well. 

We scheduled another cita con ella para Sabado and when we arrived, she let us in, running to grab her Book of Mormon and opening it up, ready to ask us all the questions she had about what she had read in 3 Nephi 11. We read the chapter with her, stopping to explain and ask questions along the way. When we finished, she was SO excited because she understood it SO much better and liked the chapter very much. She told us how excited she is to keep reading! 

We then taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all of which she understood so incredibly quickly. She loved what we taught her about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and told us how excited she is to get baptized, to follow Jesus Christ, and to come to church with us on Sundays! The best part of it all was when we asked her if she had been able to pray about the Book of Mormon. She smiled softly and said, "Yeah, I did. When I read that chapter, I didn't really understand it, but I read a story in the back (Guía del estudio de las escrituras) about a family that I really liked, and then I prayed...and I felt something really peaceful in my heart. I felt really good." We asked her what that meant for her--those warm, good feelings she had experienced--and she told us, "They make me feel really peaceful and happy. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the camino correcto para mí."

Natacha unfortunately wasn't able to come to church yesterday, so we have to change her fecha, but we're going to keep working toward her baptism on the 30th of November! Please pray for her as well! We already love her so much and are SO excited for her to take this step in following our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that Heavenly Father is preparing His children to receive the message of the gospel; as members, it is our responsibility to talk with everyone and to find them.:) I love this gospel, and I know it is true! Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and He leads and guides His church today through a living prophet, Presidente Thomas. S. Monson. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary and to be able to witness firsthand the miracles that Heavenly Father is constantly working in the lives of His children. I know that if we pray for eyes to see them, we will always be able to find proof of His love and tender mercies in our day-to-day lives.:)

¡Busquen por milagros! Sé que hay demasiados, solamente tienen que buscar.:) Les quiero mucho! Que tenga una buena semana!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Quotes of the Week (Courtesy of Hna Eastman): 
"I have to eat this frosting really soon... It expires...next year."
"¿Como se llama that one bird with all the feathers?"

¡Dulce o Truco!

With Mackarena y Carlos (both returned missionaries)

Well, my first Halloween in Chile! It's a fairly new holiday here--only about 10 years old--but they totally copied everything from us Americans. Haha. In short, people either love Halloween or think it's the most Satanic, devilish thing ever. But it was a lot of fun to see all the kids dressed up and out trick-or-treating all night long! I hope you all had an awesome Halloween, too. I ate some candy corn and thought of you.:) (Thanks, Mom!)

On Monday night, we visited Roger and Anais to re-teach them the Plan of Salvation, and, because they're SO awesome, we just laid the map out on their table and let them teach us.:) Moments like that are basically a missionary pay day; I am SO proud of those two and their progression, even just in the last two weeks! After the lesson, Roger recounted a story that made me cry. He said that just a few months ago, he was in a situation in which something terrible could have happened, but it didn't, so he made a promise to God that he would start going to church. He told Anais that he had decided that they needed to find a church, and she was really surprised. (While he was telling the story, she demonstrated her surprised face for us. We were cracking up.) They both went to this church, and it was closed...then this other church, and it was closed...and all these other churches, and they were all closed ("services at such and such hora en such and such día)...and eventually, after a while of looking and honestly just trying to find one, Roger gave up. Needless to say, not too long after that--after this period of knowing that he needed to acercarse a una iglesia to replace the emptiness and sadness in his heart...duhn, duhn, duhn: the MISSIONARIES came and knocked on his door!:) God truly does prepare His children to accept His gospel! Roger and Victor are now preparing to receive the Aaronic Priesthood this coming Sunday, and they are all so excited to be able to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead very soon! We're very, very excited for them as well.:)

With Anais

Speaking of Anais, también--she didn't have school on Friday because of Halloween, so as we were walking from lunch to our next lesson, Hna. Eastman and I both had the thought to stop by and ask her if she'd be willing to come with us! She changed into a skirt and nice Sunday shoes and was SO incredibly excited. Unfortunately, all of our scheduled lessons that afternoon ended up falling through, but we were able to teach one impromptu lesson to a member of our ward and her mom, who isn't a member, with which Anais helped us very much by sharing her testimony! She had a lot of fun walking with us and watching as we contacted people in the street; we talked a lot about her desire to serve a mission someday and the things she can do now to prepare and to strengthen and fortify her testimony in the meantime. We may not have had many lessons that day, but it was SO special, both for her and for us. I am so proud of my little Anais. I can't wait until the day she gets to be a missionary, too. :) 

With Paula y Rodrigo and their 2 year old son Ariel

The work is progressing well here! We are still working with Paula and Rodrigo to prepare them to be baptized on the 23rd of this month, and we're going to really focus our efforts this next week in finding new people to teach! I love this area with all my heart, I love the members with all my heart, and I love my companion with all my heart. Being a missionary sure is hard work, but Heavenly Father teaches me so much every day, and I am SO grateful for the opportunity to be here and to be able to serve Him with everything I've got. I hope you all are doing well and that you keep on being good and reading your scriptures everyday! Les Quiero MUCHO! Abrazos y besitos!:)

Con Todo Mi Amor,

Hermana Sanford

Quote of the Week: (in a prayer) "It's P-DAY, Heavenly Father!!!"--Hermana Eastman

With Chriss

With Samuel y Ivania

Doughnuts from Hna Aguilera

Empanada!