Obrando en la Viña: We Played Soccer in Skirts with some Kids in the Street. Aka...We both love Negritas

Well, I was kind of hoping I would [stay], but I promised Heavenly Father on Monday that I would go where He wants me to go and be where He needs me to be, and that I would be happy about it. So the call came on Wednesday.

"Hermana Kessler...se queda. Hermana Sanford...se va."

I'm leaving.

We hugged each other and cried a few little weepy tears... She is like my sister... And I packed up all my bags. I've got a lot of stuff. After a heartbreaking goodbye with Herminia, Nora, Perla, Franco, and Diego, Mauricio, the angel colectivero, took us down to Viña for the transfer.

Everyone was there! We saw them in the hallway. We saw them in the chapel. We saw them in the bathroom. (Okay, not really. I just felt like exaggerating for a second.) They asked me to play the piano, so I did...with my whole entire heart. Chorrillos stole my heart... I may have struggled against myself there, but I gave EVERYTHING I had. I gave everything I had in me. I love those people...

It was hard saying goodbye...but change is good. I hugged my companion as tight as I could... I'm going to Coquimbo. I'm sure of it.

"Hermana Sanford...se va a Ovalle con Hermana Moraga."

Whoooo! We are going to Ovalle!

They say that Ovalle is the promised land. I think I believe them.

These last four have been whirlwind days.--Hermana Moraga is the hardest worker I have ever met, and we have just been going, going, going, going; there are never enough hours in the day, and we go so fast and so hard that [when] it's over, we go home, and all we can do is collapse into bed. I love it, because there's THAT much work to do. This area is on fire. And she's gonna be one of my best friends.:)

Hna Moraga, my new compañera

My companion was born in Chile, in Valdivia en el sur, but she was raised and lived the rest of her life in Corrientes, Argentina, close to the Brazilian border. She's a dancer and probably the nicest, most perfect person I've ever met. Haha.:) I don't know how she does it.:) She's very detail-oriented and remembers everyone's birthday...and she is so full of charity, love, and patience hacia TODOS. Preach My Gospel says that one of the very best ways to learn knowledge is by example--and I have a feeling I'm going to be doing an awful lot of that this transfer with Hermana Moraga. She's incredible. She's got 13 months in the mission, and she was here in Limarí these past 3 transfers with Hna Eastman, (P.S. Also, she is the spitting image of Hna Vargas, my dear, sweet MTC teacher. Sometimes I look at her and am sure that that's exactly what it would be like to have her as a mission companion.)

But, arriving here and pondering a lot on this theme of Knowledge that I've undertaken for the next six weeks of my life, if I had to sum up what I've learned this week in just one sentence... It would have to be that I've changed a lot on my mission.

In intercambios on Friday, Hna Mariscal, (who accompanied me here to Ovalle to train for her last transfer) and I played soccer with some random kids in the street. Then we taught them about the Book of Mormon.

amigos del fútbol

You haven't really been a missionary until you've played soccer with kids in the street.:) I never would have played soccer with kids in the street before my mission.... I never would have played soccer PERIOD. Heavenly Father has helped me overcome my fear of sports. He didn't necessarily make me GOOD at them...but He helped me overcome my fear to try new things and made me brave enough to venture out of my comfort zone. I fell in love with adventure and just hiking out through the desert. I learned that it's fun to try new things. He changed that in me. That was one of my goals for my mission.

When I put on my plaque a year ago in June...change really stressed me out. This time, I chose to stay calm. He taught me how to take things as they come... To problem solve instead of freaking out. To take it a day at a time. That change is part of life--but it's not the end of the world. That was one of my goals for my mission.

I learned how to give correction... I learned how to receive it.

I learned how to listen.

And I learned how to love...

Every goal I felt prompted to set in my very first transfer is coming true now. He helped me to reach every one.

I think the rest of my life will be like that. I'm coming to realize that Heavenly Father is a God of growth and learning...He is a God of progress. And He WANTS us to progress. When we have a desire to learn and to grow, He will always be there--to help us recognize our weaknesses, and to help us overcome them. He will send us experiences that will do just that. I am so excited for the rest of a LIFETIME of progress... A bunch of years more to let Him help me be better. Because I've still got a thousand more weaknesses, and a thousand more chinks in my armor... But I know that He'll be there to fix me. This life is for learning. And it's a beautiful life.

It was sad to leave Chorrillos, but the future is as bright as the sun here in Ovalle. It's hot, hot, hot...and the work is, too. There's an awful lot to do. And we are gonna sprint as fast as we can to the finish.

...That's coming from the girl who won last place in her seventh grade track meet. See you at the finish.;)

Love you all! Pray for us here in Ovalle! And don't forget the sunscreen!

Con Todo Mi Amor,
Hermana Sanford

Waiting to meet the newest Hermana
of the Viña del Mar Mission at the
Reloj de Flores in Viña del Mar

Last day as compañeras

but always sisters and friends

Only one new Hermana joined the mission this transfer, so Morgan and Hna Kessler were given the unique opportunity to be her companions until the transfer meeting the next day. When she arrived at the Reloj de Flores with the other new Elders, they accompanied her on her first "ice-breaker" experience of giving out a Libro de Mormon, getting a referral, and getting back to the mission home safely on her own, for training and orientation.