Obrando en la Viña: Tiempo de Grandes Cambios

Our family Christmas picture

Querida Familia,
I had to keep it a secret for three weeks, but President announced the change at Zone Conference this Friday, so I'm good to let you all in on it now!

For years, the church has used key indicators to keep track of the work we're doing as missionaries and to help us to plan and use our time wisely, effectively, and efficiently. Everything we do revolves around those key indicators. They are the way in which we do our job.

At the request of Elder Nelson and Elder Christofferson, transmitted to us by our Area Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has asked the missions in South America South to make a gigantic change in the way we do missionary work...and stop using the key indicators.

The only numbers that we will track from now on, beginning on the 1 of January, are the baptisms that take place each week and the attendance at church on Sunday.

When President made the announcement in Consejo a few weeks ago, we were absolutely shocked... What a huge CHANGE! But he took the opportunity to teach us about the importance of following our leaders and our Savior in faith, and I can honestly say that I am so incredibly excited for the opportunity to be one of the pilot missions in testing this new form of missionary work.

We are living in the last days. The Lord is hastening His work. He guides this Church through living prophets and apostles, inspired men called to serve Him and to lead and guide us in the way He would have us go. I know without a doubt that President Monson is a prophet. He will never lead us astray. As we excercise faith in our Savior, we also place our faith and trust in our leaders. As so many speakers taught us in General Conference this October, we must develop a strong and personal testimony of our living prophet. We must know without a doubt that He truly is a servant of the Lord. Only in this way will we have the strength and the courage to follow Him wherever He will ask us to go.

Sometimes the Lord will take away our "key indicators." Sometimes He will ask us to live our lives en una manera strange and unfamiliar; walking on the water, so to speak, and making the sacrifices necessary to demonstrate our faith. But we need never fear that the sacrifices He asks us to make will ever be for anything other than our benefit. He is preparing us and molding us into the people He would have us be, and if we trust Him, sacrificing our will and our desires for His, He will shape us into the disciples that He needs, those who will serve Him with everything they have and eventually be worthy of the precious gift of eternal life.

I know my Savior lives. I know He guides this Church--that it is a true and living Church, and that it is led by men called of God and directed and inspired by divine revelation. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. I am so excited to see the fruits of this change in the missionary program--this leap of faith--that our leaders have asked us to make. I know that as long as we follow the prophet, we will never be led astray. I know that as long as we follow the prophet, we will be following our Savior. And to follow Him--it's worth every sacrifice we might be called upon to make. When we finally arrive at our destination, we will be able to look back and see that He truly has molded us into the people we had the potential to become.

Let's make it a priority to gain a strong, burning testimony of the reality of living prophets--to know for ourselves that Thomas S. Monson truly is a prophet of God--and then to study His words in General Conferences and in the Ensign every month. They are the words of our Savior. In following our prophet, we will be following Him.

I love you all SO much!
I hope you have an absolutely wonderful Christmas! Don't forget to remember our Savior and serve others in the way that He would.:)

Besos y Abrazos,
Hermana Sanford