Obrando en la Viña: "When I'm angry I buy baskets, dang it."

Querida Familia,
I love you all SO much!
I just want to start off by saying that I am so incredibly happy. :) I love my companion, I love our area, I love our little branch...I love our investigators, I love our Savior, and I love this gospel. I have never felt so completely CONTENT before. We work hard every day, teach with the Spirit, witness miracles, and help others to come unto Christ. I love being a missionary.

This week, thanks to an adorable little advent calendar that my adorable mother sent me, I studied the Sacrament--it was wonderful. I learned so much and resolved to take so much more advantage of the incredible opportunity that we have every week to truly be cleansed of our sins and renew the covenants that we made at baptism.

The Lord has promised us that the more we ponder the significance of the Sacrament, the more sacred it will become to us--truly it is an essential part of our spiritual development. We have the opportunity, for 10 or 15 minutes of our 7-day week, to ponder intently the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, while partaking of the bread, that reminds us of His body, and the water, that reminds us of the blood He shed for us. In doing so, we promise to our Father in Heaven that we will always remember His Son--not just in those 10 to 15 minutes in which we partake of the bread and the water--and witness our willingness to take His name upon us and follow His perfect example. In return, our Heavenly Father renews the promise that He made to us at baptism--that is, to forgive us our sins and allow us start again, completely clean. As newly-cleansed members of His church, we receive once again the companionship of His Spirit, which enables us to choose the right for another week more.

We most likely won't be able to follow the guidance of the Spirit perfect, however, but that's alright--thanks to a loving Father in Heaven, we have the opportunity to attend church otra vez at the end of another long, 7-day week and partake of the same sacramente--to receive the same cleansing that comes when we do so worthily and with humble, repentant hearts full of willingness to renew those same covenants with God and strive to do better. I learned in my study this morning that when we "approach the sacramente with the reverence and solemnity it deserves, it becomes a weekly opportunity for introspection, repentance, and rededication--a source of strength and a constant reminder of the Savior's Atonement."

The Lord doesn't expect us to be perfect. In fact, He knows that we won't be. For just that reason, He mercifully gives us the opportunity to partake of His sacrament every single Sunday--to remember, renew, and re-commit to live faithfully the sacred covenants we made at baptism and to once again be cleansed of the sins we have undoubtedly committed. I know that as we take the sacrament worthily, we truly will become clean, and we will develop spiritually and come to know the Savior and understand His Atonement on a profoundly deep and personal level. We will be better able to submit to His will and give Him the power to work changes in our lives--as a result, we will grow week to week and become better and better and better and disciples of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am so excited to approach the Sacrament with more reverence each Sunday; to feel deeply and truly enjoy the Spirit that can be so prevalent during this sacred ordinance as we use the time to think of our Savior and all that He so lovingly and mercifully did for us. I challenge each of you to make a concerted effort this week during sacrament meeting to really ponder His life and His example--His sacrifice and His miracles--and then re-commit to follow Him in all that you do during the coming week! I know that as we do so, we will be cleansed of our sins and have a truly spiritual experience during sacramente meeting every Sunday.

I love you all SO much! Have an absolutely wonderful week, and don't forget to remember our Savior and all that He has done and continues to do for us! It is the month of His birthday, after all. I love Him, and I love you!:) Cariños y besitos!

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

PD: I officially cannot speak English. We found while contacting a man who works in San Francisco and speaks English but is visiting his family here for the Christmas holiday. He began speaking to us in English, and I tried SO hard to speak back...But I couldn't. I kept inadvertently reverting back to Spanish. Así es la misión. That's a good sign, right?:) Haha. I love Spanish. And I love Chile. Have a wonderful week!

Hermana Farias bought a basket!
Haha. She was sad that the post office
wouldn't let her send treats in a
package to her family, so she bought
a basket to make herself feel better.

Quote of the Week:
"When I'm angry, I buy baskets, dang it."--Hna Farias
"No quiero comer más. Yo sé como lo hice."--Hermana Jimena
"El mandamiento numero 4: 'No te harás trabajar ningún colectivero en domingo."--Rubén