A Perfect Love

Querida Familia,

Welp--I bet you're all excited to hear the transfer news. 
I am extremely pleased to announce that...

Duhn duhn duhn...

I'm STILL HERE!!!!

6 more weeks in Illapel. 6 more weeks with Hna. Lopez. And I couldn't possibly be more thrilled. Heavenly Father knows the desires of our hearts.

One of the three sectors here in Illapel closed, so the ZLs are going to split with us the sector that got left behind, and we'll add it onto ours. I have never opened a sector before...and I'm kind of nervous to learn the streets and to figure out all the details of working in two areas, but I know that the Lord will help us! It'll be an adventure.:)

Also, wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles (whoever can name that movie gets...something awesome when I get home), after an entire rainless year, it RAINED! The thunder and lightning woke us up at 5 in the morning last Tuesday... You are very welcome for the awesome lightning videos. Then the torrential downpour began, and we gave thanks for the miracle.:)

I finished reading the Book of Mormon this week for the fourth time as a missionary.

Having searched within its pages for examples of faith, humility, charity, and hope, I can now testify, along with Nephi, that, although I do not know the meaning of all things, I do know without a doubt that:

God Loveth His Children.

I know that God loveth His children, because I know that He loves me.

I feel His love when I study the scriptures.
I feel His love when He lovingly stands over my shoulder and tutors me, pointing out details in the words of His prophets that I had never noticed before.
I feel His love when I plead for His Spirit to be with me.
I feel His love when He prompts me to change direction--to stop and share a message of hope and happiness with a beloved son or daughter.
I feel His love when church members serve us, giving of themselves in order to selflessly serve their Savior.
I feel His love when my testimony makes someone cry.
I feel His love when the Spirit touches hearts--when the Spirit changes hearts.
I feel His love when an investigator reads and prays about the Book of Mormon.
I feel His love when His children feel an overwhelming desire to be baptized.
I feel His love when they rejoice that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth.
I feel His love when they desire to hear the words of a living prophet of God.
I feel His love when He directs our steps to the home of someone who needs us.
I feel His love when He answers our prayers for strength and inspiration.
I feel His love when He helps us keep walking.
I feel His love when I fall at His feet at the end of the day and plead with Him for forgiveness.
I feel His love when He freely gives us.
I feel His love when He whispers to me all the things that I can do better tomorrow.
I feel His love as I realize that He still loves me, despite all those imperfections.
I feel His love in the good night's rest He grants me--the preparation for another day in His service.

I feel His love in the miracles.

I feel His love in the smiles--the wide eyes and the laughter.

I feel His love in the ice cream, the chocolate...the sunshine.

I feel His love in the rain.

I feel His love in the lightning and thunder...in the song that played simply because I really wanted it to.

I feel His love in the struggles...in the repentance...in the peace that He grants me as I desire with everything I am to be better.

I feel His love in the sacrifice of His Son--His Only Begotten--and the price that He paid to make possible my return to Him.

I feel His love, and I know that He loves me.

I may not know the meaning of all things, 

But I know that God loveth His children.

I invite you all to taste of that love--to search for it, to savor it, and to give thanks for it.

"My dear brothers and sisters, your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there." (President Thomas S. Monson)

Search for His love in the scriptures. Search for His love in the sunshine and in the snow. Search for His love in the words of a living prophet that we will have the opportunity to hear this weekend. 

I know it is there. I know that He loves us. That love never changes, and it will never fail us. Let us find in that love the hope that we need to endure. 

He loves us, and He will never fail us.

I hope you all know how much I love you! Have a wonderful week and an incredible General Conference weekend! (Be sure to take notes and to let me know what you learned.:))

Con Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Illapel District

Illapel

Hermanas with Mote con Huesillo
(traditional summer-time drink)

Lunch with Hna. Jimena

Split Infinitives

Illapel District

Querida Familia,

I don't know why I use split infinitives. I use so many split infinitives.

I'm an English major. I should know better. 

"Don't use split infinitives," a thousand and one professors told me on the first day of college. "Don't use split infinitives," they wrote on my five-page papers when I forgot and used one by accident. "Don't use split infinitives," they said when I rebelled and used one on purpose. "There is no reason," they lectured, "to use split infinitives. There is a better way to write."

I don't know why I make mistakes. I make so many silly mistakes.

I am a daughter of God. I should know better.

"Don't make silly mistakes," my parents taught me ever since the beginning. "Don't make silly mistakes," they reminded me when I forgot and made one by accident. "Don't make silly mistakes," they corrected me when I rebelled and made one on purpose. "There is no reason," they explained, "to make silly mistakes. There is a better way to live."

I'm sure I must have had a similar conversation with a loving Father in Heaven in those moments just before I left His presence and came down to this mortal learning experience called life. I'm sure He warned me of the existence of silly mistakes, and I'm sure I must have assured Him that I would be fine, and not to worry--that I would avoid them, and I would make it back home. 

But my Father knew me so well, and He loved me so much, that He--knowing I was about to enter into a mortal, frail, and imperfect body, susceptible to temptations and to silly mistakes--lovingly provided me a Savior, His Perfect, Only Begotten Son. He provided me with an eraser--a never-fail backspace button for all the times that I would ruin my five-page paper with a silly little split infinitive.

There are a whole lot of reasons that I might choose to use a split infinitive.

I may, driven by instinct and a lifetime of bad habits, forget the rule and use one by accident.
I may realize my mistake and be too lazy to fix it.
I may make note of the error and resolve to change it tomorrow, putting it off until I'm not so busy and have a little more time.
I may give in to the pressure of friends when they tell me that it's okay to use split infinitives; that "everybody's doing it," and that, really, "split infinitives are the new thing."
Or I may, of my own accord, simply choose to rebel against my professors and all the other grammar experts the world over and choose to use a split infinitive because, in my opinion, it sounds a little better than the alternative.

Whatever my reason may be, the rule still stands--the laws of the English language state that we are not to use split infinitives. And whatever my reason may be, my loving Father in Heaven has mercifully provided me with a backspace button so that when my professor, or my conscience, calls me to repentance, I can change my ways and remove that silly little split infinitive.

In the scheme of things, and in the long run, it's not really going to matter how many split infinitives we used throughout the course of our lives. I doubt there's anyone up in heaven keeping track of our grammatical triumphs and failures. But I do know that there IS someone in heaven keeping track of our mortal triumphs and failures, our mistakes and our success...and our willingness to use the backspace button that our Heavenly Father has loving provided for us.

The laws of God exist. There is a right, and there is a wrong. We can choose the right...or we can choose the wrong. We can choose to do something good...or we can choose to do something bad. And sometimes, we're going to forget the rule and choose to do something bad. Sometimes we might realize what we've done, but we might not really feel like fixing it. Sometimes, we might put off the necessary changes until tomorrow--until another moment when we have more time or are not quite so busy. We may give in to the pressure of others when they tell us that doing something wrong is okay because "everybody's doing it," or because it's the "next big thing." Or, we may, of our own accord, simply choose to rebel against the rules and make a wrong decision because, in the moment, it seems like the logical or correct thing to do. 

Whatever our reason may be, the rule still stands--the laws of God state that we are not to make wrong choices. And whatever our reason may be, our loving Father in Heaven has mercifully provided us with a spiritual eraser so that when the Spirit calls us to repentance, we can change our ways and erase away that silly little mistake.

The Atonement exists to allow us to change. It allows us to recognize our mistakes, to find within ourselves a humble desire to change them, and to move forward better than we were before--mortal beings striving to realize our divine, eternal potential. I know that He will help us as we strive to do so. Our Father in Heaven desires that we return to Him with a perfect five-page paper, flawless and free of split infinitives--to return to Him with a lifetime of experience, His precious children, perfected by our mortal experiences, our trials, and by the enabling power of His Son's Atonement. 

I know that God lives. I know He loves us. And I know that He only wants to mold us into the beings we have the potential to become: glorious, perfected, and eternally happy--brought back into His presence to live with Him forever. Let us leave behind the split infinitives. Let us leave behind our mistakes. And let us utilize the power of our Savior's Atonement--the only sacrifice in the span of eternity powerful enough to allow us to change--to edit and revise our five-page papers so that someday, when it's time to turn them in...

We'll have learned how to wisely avoid split infinitives.

I love you! Have a great week!
Hermana Sanford

Jorge Briceño and I with our matching glasses

The AWESOME house of a family we
found who own about a gazillion guitars

Elders Rowe and Montaño with some
members at church yesterday

Some members and missionaries at
church yesterday

Meet the Mormons

Querida Familia,

Not many people here in Chile have heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I would imagine that it's more or less the same throughout the rest of the world as well. But that being said, just about EVERYONE here in Chile has heard of the Mormons.

What do people think of when they hear the word "Mormon"? That we don't drink tea or coffee? That we worship Joseph Smith? That we have our own Bible? The last two are false, to set the record straight, but many people think many strange things about us members of the church. As missionaries and the church's official representatives, we clear up misconceptions every day and do our very best to help as many people as possible know the truth about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love helping them get to know us and the things that we believe just a little better.

Yesterday, in the best Zone Conference EVER, Presidente Kähnlein surprised us with a trip to the cine; he gave each of us a bag of popcorn and a drink, and we watched Meet the Mormons. The movie was incredible, and the time we spent watching it really started me thinking.

Every day, I walk down the street with a little black name tag that shouts to everyone that I'm a Mormon. All the people I talk with see my name tag. They know that I'm a Mormon. And all the people that I don't talk with also see my name tag. They also know that I'm a Mormon. In all of the interactions that I have with people throughout the day, each of these people are forming opinions about me, and about us as Mormons. Maybe they've already met one. Maybe they already know a little bit about our beliefs. But maybe they haven't. Maybe they don't. How many first impressions are being had--how many first opinions are being formed--based on our conduct as members of the church on a day to day basis?

Maybe everyone in the world will have the chance to watch Meet the Mormons. Maybe all of them will come to know a little better who we are and what we believe--why we do the things we do, and why we are the way we are. But maybe they won't. Maybe they'll only have one little five-second encounter with ME, a Mormon, on which to base their opinion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The restored and perfect gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

What is it exactly that the people are meeting when they come in contact with us on a day-to-day basis? What are they meeting when they Meet the Mormons?

We may not all wear a name tag that alerts everyone around us that we are members of the Church. But we can live our lives in a way that does exactly the same thing. And we can share our beliefs in the way we live our lives, inviting all those with whom we interact to come and see-- to come and experience the incredible, eternal blessings of this beautiful restored gospel. In fact, we promised our Savior when we were baptized that we would do exactly that: that we would wear our own little "name tag" and act as witness of Him in all times and in all things and in all places...Giving everyone around us the opportunity to Meet the Mormons, and to experience the joy that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

How well are we wearing our name tag?

Is it hidden underneath the five layers of winter clothing that we put on this morning?

Or do we wear it proudly over our heart, showing by the way we live our lives the happiness that this restored gospel brings to us and to our families?

Do we show by the way we live our lives the happiness that that gospel can bring into the lives of all of God´s children?

I am not a movie, but I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As such, I want every day to give those around me the opportunity to Meet the Mormons. I invite each of you this week to ponder and to commit to do something specific in order to share your beliefs with as many people as you possibly can. Share a Book of Mormon. Share a Mormon Message video. Share your testimony. Share the opportunity to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the joy that it brings to your life--and give them the opportunity to make that joy a part of their lives as well.

Let's give everyone around us the chance to Meet the Mormons.

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

On a funnier note, I was walking down the street with my companion, and a bunch of kids were playing soccer a few feet away from us. One of the little boys kicked the ball, it almost hit Hermana Lopez, and another one of them yelled, "Watch out! You almost hit the Mormon!"

Other quotes of the week:
"You're just like him. But you're a human, and he's a dog."
Thanks, Hermana Lopez.;)

The attached photo of graffiti is from Los Vilos; I saw it and started laughing so hard I could hardly stop.

"It doesn't matter the age, the color, or the height;
If there's love, the rest is GARBAGE."

Hermanas Sanford and Lopez with
Rueben, a recent convert.

Hermanas at church

To be Mormon is to be Happy!! :)

Illapel Zone
at Zone Conference in Ovalle

Hermana Lideres teaching
at Zone Conference

Training at Zone Conference

Training with Hna. Kähnlein

Training with Presidente Kähnlein

Hermana Lideres Sanford and Lopez

Reunion with Hna. Farias

Reunion with Hna. Hatch at

Zone Conference in Ovalle.

They last saw each other nine

months ago, when they flew to

Viña del Mar together.

Clouds look like the ocean
high in the mountains over Los Vilos.

270 Milagros

Querida Familia,

Sometimes I wonder how they did it.
Brand new to the church and yet brimming with fiery faith--faith strong enough to impel them to leave behind their homes and families, all their earthly possessions, and sometimes even their home lands in order to travel thousands of miles on foot and join with their fellow Saints in Zion.
I wonder how they pulled their handcarts, how they went without food, how they walked barefoot over the frozen ground, leaving behind bloody footprints in the snow and their loved ones whom death had stealthily, silently claimed. 
I wonder where they found the strength to keep walking...to put one foot in front of the other...even when they were starving and freezing and falling apart.
I wonder how they did it.

You know that thing they call mid-life crisis? When adults realize that their lives are half over and lose their sense of purpose and all that? 
Sometimes I have days when I feel the same. 
Sometimes my heart gets tired, or my ears get tired of hearing "no," or my back gets tired of carrying heavy scriptures without teaching any lessons. 
Sometimes my smile gets tired...and sometimes my Spirit gets tired. 

But Heavenly Father is so good and merciful, and, Happy Hump Day to me, He whispered in my ear, "Study Mercy. Study Grace." 
So I did.

And then, miracle of all miracle, we watched 17 Miracles on Friday night. I don't think there has ever been better timing in the history of Noches de Rama. Or in the history of movies. Not really sure which is longer.

Sometimes I wonder if the pioneers ever suffered from a mid-journey crisis. Sometimes I wonder if Ammon did, too. Perhaps when he hit his 7-year anniversary in the mission field, he sat down on a rock and said, "Man. I'm tired. This is kind of rough." In his own words, his heart was so discouraged that he was about to turn back. Samuel the Lamanite was about to return to his home after having been thrown out of the city. Alma the Younger, too. Perhaps the pioneers sometimes felt homesick, missed the luxuries of their casas or their friends overseas...missed their warm beds and warm food and warm clothing. 

But in each of their moments when God's prophets and pioneers must have been right about to turn back, He sent them a miracle. Manna in the wilderness, or a soft voice from heaven that spoke peace to their soul and commanded them to keep moving forward. That is grace. The power that enables us to do more than we could ever do on our own--to be more than we could ever be on our own. And somehow, He loves His children enough to continue blessing them with miracles and continue spurring them forward every time they, in their weak and mortal state, sit down on their rocks and feel again like giving up.

Heavenly Father blessed us this week with a family. A true, real life, modern-day miracle--manna in a wilderness of four solid months without baptisms or even progressing investigators.

Johana and Leo moved to Chile from Colombia with their two children two years ago, and they are absolute angels. We found the family about a month and a half ago through Karen, the 10 year old daughter, and a few weeks later were finally able to teach her mom, Johana, about the Book of Mormon and then the Restoration. She ate everything up as fast as we could teach it and began immediately to read the Book of Mormon. We had been praying so hard that her husband would be receptive as well so that they could all progress together as a family. On Wednesday night, we were finally able to teach them both together, and it was an hour and a half of the most spiritual Lesson 1 in which I have ever participated.

Everything made perfect, complete sense to them. That God loves us, that He has always called prophets, that He sent His Son to establish His Church, the great Apostay, and the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith. The entire message was so logical...and they asked such GOOD questions and shared such profound thoughts and experiences that we knew they had been prepared by a loving Father to receive His missionaries for a long time.

In response to their questions, we taught them about the Holy Ghost, baptism, and finally about the Book of Mormon, explaining that each of these are tools that God gives us in order to help us make good decisions and one day make it back to Him. We bore testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and the huge source of guidance that it has been in our lives, and Leo exclaimed, "Well, if there's a book out there that contains all the answers to our questions, we're going to have to read it!"

We excitedly explained to them that we can't teach everything in one visit but would love to continue coming back to keep teaching them, and they both, thrilled, invited us back for the next lesson.

Sometimes God sends manna in the wilderness. He may not be able to fight our battles for us, but He is perfectly aware of the battles we are fighting, and when we sit down on our rocks and feel like giving up...He sends miracles.

I know that God is a merciful God, full of grace and truth. I know that He is a God of miracles. And even though serving a mission is, without a doubt, the absolute hardest thing I have ever done, I know that He has been there with me all along, every single step of the way, sending little tender mercies each and every day to help me keep the faith and keep on pulling my handcart. I am so grateful for the past nine months that He has given me to serve Him. And I am grateful for the grace with which He has enabled me to do so. 

270 days.

270 miracles.

Con todo mi amor,
Hermana Sanford

March Consejo de Lideres

Happy Hump Day to Me

Hermanas Lopez and Sanford

The Atonement is...

Querida Familia,
When I first arrived in the mission field and then decided to study in depth and focus on developing Christlike attributes for the rest of my time here, I think I failed to recognize or even realize the absolutely crucial and all-encompassing role that the Atonement plays in every single aspect of the gospel and in every single aspect of our lives. I think I expected to learn each attribute on a very surface and superficial level, but Heavenly Father continues to surprise me every cambio, taking my surface level study and molding it in order to teach me the importance and meaning of the Atonement.

When I wanted to learn obedience, He taught me the importance of being obedient as a way of honoring the Savior's sacrifice--a way of expressing gratitude and love for Him for all He has done for me.

When I wanted to learn faith, He taught me that faith is trusting completely in my Savior and in the infinite power of His Atonement.

When I wanted to learn humility, He taught me that I can do absolutely nothing--that I am absolutely nothing--without the healing, cleansing, and enabling that is made available to us through the Savior's Atonement.

And now that I wanted to learn charity--content with just learning to love a little more those around me--He is teaching me to love my Savior with a love and gratitude deeper than I ever thought I was capable of, and He is helping me to recognize His love for me in the infinite and atoning sacrifice that He made in order to bring me back home to Him again someday.

I will never be perfect, but I can be perfect, little by little, if I put my trust in and rely completely on my dear Savior and His perfect, selfless, eternal sacrifice.

The Atonement is what allows us to repent. It is the offer of forgiveness if we will but confess and forsake our sins--if we will but repent.

The Atonement is what allows us to hope. It is the promise of resurrection, of life after death, of a rest from all our labors and cares--of an eternity with the family we love.

The Atonement is what allows us to love. It is the most perfect, infinite expression of love that has ever been given to mankind--the perfect, infinite example of what it truly means to love.

The Atonement is what allows us to rejoice. It is the power to overcome death and sin and to return to the presence of our Father in perfect, resurrected bodies.

The Atonement is what allows us to heal. It is the stitches and the bandaids and the cast for the deep, aching wounds left on our hearts.

The Atonement is what allows us to serve. It is the perfect example of selfless, loving service.

The Atonement is what allows us to be clean. It is the eraser, the "I, The Lord, will remember your sins no more."

The Atonement is what allows us to CHANGE.

The Atonement is the power that enables a recent convert to stop drinking, a dedicated mother or father to continue pushing forward even when they have nothing left to give, a tired Relief Society President to keep seeking out the lost sheep who have wandered from the fold.

The Atonement is the power that enables the young bishop to guide the members of his ward to repentance, the humble mission president to guide his missionaries to miracles, and the dedicated prophet to lead and guide the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Atonement is the power that enables members to change and missionaries to change--
I know that, because the Atonement every day allows me to change. I will never be able to repay my Savior for everything He did for me. I will never be able even to comprehend all that He did for me. But I love Him for it, and I will strive every day to be a little more worthy of the infinite, perfect sacrifice that He so lovingly performed for me.

Charity is the pure love of Christ. Charity is the Atonement.

Let us strive to understand more deeply all that He did for us---strive to apply that "all" in our daily process of change and improvement. I know that as we do so, we will be filled with His love..we will feel of His love for us, and we will then be able to radiate and share that love with all those around us.

The Atonement is the power that enables us to love as He did.

I know my Savior lives. I know He loves us. And I know that because of that perfect love, He will be there with us, every step of the way, cheering us on and making it possible for us to become better--

all because His love made possible the enabling power of the Atonement.

With Love,
Hermana Sanford