al leer las escrituras...

Hna Schomburg and Hna Garcia
Rooftop

[to read the scriptures]

J´s babptismo 

i dont know what just came out of my fingers 

i cant

okay, but okay, 

let's start over 

J actually get's baptized this week! His baptismal date is for the 29th (and was from the start, haha), so yeah! He did have some very interesting questions for us last night concerning the difference between angels and archangels and also if the aliens that are living here on the planet take part in the plan of salvation

we told him he would have to take those up with God 

but he is progressing and he reads everything we give him and he has so many questions and is doing super well and the best part is that he lives with members of the church (who were more or less active) and they are now going to church and are helping J to understand the doctrine of the church! They are always there to answer his questions and help him get to church and the activities. He is really quite amazing; we're very happy to be teaching him and helping him towards his baptism this Sunday :D

this week was a little wonky. 

it has been a wonky week

but we had a conference with Presidente Gonzalez and it was AWESOME and

i got

to direct

the musical number :OOOO and from what i understand, it went well *thumbs up* wooooooOOOOOOOOOOO

ay que me agarró el frío ahora :( [I think this says she caught a cold.]

okay sorry, anyway, and we did a whole bunch of things and it was a really great week, but our numbers were PITIFULLY LOW but it's okay because we are going to get better and that's all there is to it. We made some mistakes, but we are going to fix it and we are going to have an awesome week; I am 100% positive :)

also, i started doing something risky this week

well, i started thinking about all the missionary stories that i've heard about how they rob their bags in the end of their missions and all that and they rob their scriptures and their stuff and i looked at my spanish triplet

and i said

no

and took it out of my bag and i no longer carry it with me :O 

maybe youre saying 'WHAT KIND OF MISSIONARY ARE YOU NOT EVEN USING THE SCRIPTURES' but that's where the risky comes in

because i always have a Book of Mormon with me in case we come across somebody that wants to have it, but it's blank and all that, hasnt been marked ever

and I have been using that this week to proselyte

a blank, non-marked Book of Mormon. 

Maybe you're still saying 'i dont understand'

as a missionary, we use the scriptures ALL THE TIME and every other second we open up the scriptures to something about the topic that we've been discussing and in my triplet i have everything that i could ever want in the world marked with special things in the margins and little marker thingies so that i can turn to the pages easily

my scriptures are so beautiful and i love them so much they are the perfect tool and have everything marked

BUT I DONT WANT ANYBODY TO STEAL THEM FROM ME

so, i now have to rely on the things i have learned and the scriptures i have learned and the verses and chapters and all that stuff and just

turn to it

in a blank Book of Mormon

and thanks to the help of the trusty Holy Ghost, i have been able to do it

:O

THIS IS A GREAT TRIUMPH FOR ME

I AM NOT VERY GOOD AT SCRIPTURE MASTERY OR KNOWING WHERE THINGS ARE OR FINDING VERSES I NEED BUT I CHALLENGED MYSELF TO LEARN THE THINGS SO THAT I DONT HAVE TO RUN THE RISK OF LOSING MY SCRIPTURES THAT I USE TO STUDY EVERY DAY AND I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT SO FAR AND IT FEELS SO GOOOOOOODD TO HAVE A KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURES AND LET THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDE AND JUST

i highly recommend scripture study

it is the actual BEST 

READ THE SCRIPTURES

and if you ever need a reminder to read, think of my dad. Not only because he is a wonderful example of scripture reading and I have memories of him reading the scriptures every morning while i got ready for school, but also because his name is Lee.

LEE TUS ESCRITURAS 

ba-dum chh... *spanish puns*

i put that in google translate to make sure it translated well there but it doesnt hahahaha, it says 'read your scriptures' just in case

BUT ANYWAY

everybody remember to read your scriptures every day, even for only 5 minutes, and pray everyday, and go to church on Sunday! Try a little harder to be a little better and the Lord will bless you more than you can imagine! Of that i testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY WEEK AND A VERY AWESOME GRADUATION TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE GRADUATION AND LITERALLY WHAT MY LITTLE BROTHER CONTINUING ON TO MIDDLE SCHOOL WHAT EVEN IS HAPPENING

And he's off to 7th grade!

BUT ANYWAY THAT I LOVE YOU AND I PRAY FOR YOU

BE GOOD BEHAVE YOURSELVES

CCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ps, i'm learning italian :O io sono sorella schomburg :D

Her momma made her cinnamon roasted almonds. <3

Her momma also sent her Kraft macaroni and cheese.

She loves it. :)

This is a "Sofrina" arepa - they're yummy!

The week of food!

TITHING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MONEY

Hna Garcia y Hna Schomburg

well, it's been a fun week

mostly fun because i've realized more and more HOW MANY NUMBERS HERMANA MOLINA HAD IN HER HEAD BECAUSE WE JUST WENT TO APARTMENT BUILDINGS AND SHE KNEW EVERY NUMBER WITHOUT LOOKING AT ANYTHING BUT I HAVE TO CHECK THE CARPETA [folder] EVERY FOUR SECONDS TO FIND APARTMENT NUMBERS IT IS SO DIFFICULT LET ME JUST TELL YOU but also really great and fun

just imagine having to remember a whole bunch of latino names (not saying that it's bad or anything it's just that they have 4 names) and they're none of them names that i, a simple gringa, am used to, PLUS A DEPARTMENT NUMBER 

LITERALLY WHO KNOWS 

all i know is that the Lord is helping me in every step because there have been times when i have plain guessed the department number and it has been right [I really think she means "apartment" number. haha]

*tender mercies*

it's been a really great week, that's for sure. We've done a lot of things and been a lot of places and eaten a lot of food and spoken a lot of words and just been working working working!

this week also, President Gonzalez (the area president) is coming to our mission for a conference and 

well

President Videla called me yesterday morning to ask if i could organize a musical number to do in the first part of the conference

so

I'M TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT REAL LAST MINUTE

so i'm REY NERVIOSA if ya know what i'm sayin

but also other things happened this week, like for example we had a seminary thing for the new missionaries and i learned about rules i didnt know existed (i feel like this always happens) and i am realizing more and more that i dont know ANYBODY IN THE WHOLE MISSION BECAUSE I'M AN OLD GRANDMA MISSIONARY so there's that

i feel

old

i'm still not that old i feel

but i am quite old

remember when i was with hermana ferrin and we were new together and didnt know anything?

WELL SHE GOES HOME NEXT TRANSFER

literally it's so crazy that everything is going so fast and i dont like thinking about it but it just sneaks up on me

suddenly the week is gone 

EVERYTHING GOES SO FAST

but okay i'm not gonna think about it cos i'm gonna scare myself

but ya know what else happened this week?

something that has to do with...

eternal salvation...

as with most everything we do, but this thing also has to do with a 

what's the word

whaT'S THE WORD IN ENGLISH

font

that's the word

something that has to do with a font...

JEAN MARCO GOT BAPTIZED WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AND IT WAS SO WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL AND JUST SO GREAT AND THE SPIRIT AND JUST

EVERYTHING

Baptism Day!

oh Jean Marco... I dont remember if i've talked much about him... i dont really talk about the people do i... how terrible, oh goodness... why dont i talk more about the people? what do i talk about? 

well okay, Jean Marco is 17 and he's from Peru and he is SO AWESOME. He is a really good kid and he is going to be a wonderful missionary one day :) his baptism was really special

the bishop baptized him and the young men's presidency from the stake (i dont have any idea how to say that) all went and there was also a choir of the youth of the stake that sang 'Army of Helaman' as the special musical number and in the end, Jean Marco gave his testimony and it was so wonderful and inspired and he is just such a good kid. It was a wonderful baptism and a wonderful night and just everything was wonderful. 

Also the entire day was wonderful and it made me think a lot about a lot of things. Actually, i'm thinking in this moment a lot about a lot of things, so let me mention a few.

well, on Sunday we had a very interesting class about tithing that made me think about a lot of things, but let me talk about the basics first.

a lot of people were saying things like 'but if we're retired, we dont need to pay tithing' or 'but we dont have to pay tithing on money that somebody else already tithed' or 'we dont need to pay tithing on money that we received as a gift' and i will be honest that some of these things i believed before coming here on the mission

but here on the mission i have learned more than anything the importance of obedience, and specifically, devoted and unquestioned, exact obedience. if we have faith in God and His laws, we have no need to ask why we need to obey; nor do we need to make excuses to not obey. we dont make the conditions of that contract; God does and he said, if you obey, i will bless you. if you dont obey, well, you're outta luck! 

IT'S THAT SIMPLE PEOPLE.

are we denying our own blessings making up excuses for not following the commandments? specifically with tithing, a thought came to mind as people gave their opinions (excuses) and i would like to share with you what i shared with them

that the law of tithing was given to men, not to money

God doesnt need money

dont you think he's powerful enough that if he wanted he could just make church buildings and pamphlets appear? i'm pretty sure that money has NOTHING to do with tithing. like i said, he gave that law to mankind, not to moneykind. the money doesnt have to worry about whether or not it's been tithed or not, every single one of us as members of Christ's church made a promise to follow the commandments, so if somebody else already tithed that money they gave you, well, good for them, they're all set, but it's up to every single one of us to obey the commandments, so you better tithe that money again.

God doesnt need our money, he needs our faith and our devotion, and when you think about it, i think we all need the blessings that God has for us a lot more than we need 10% of the money we receive

one of the sisters that is already retired gave her opinion and said that she pays tithing on every check she gets (besides all of the above) because, well, why not! God blessed her so much that she doesnt have to work for her money anymore, and she's only going to recieve more blessings if she pays her tithing! 

if only we all thought that way! the next time we're enfrented

that's not a word but i dont know what the word is

the next time we're faced (that's the word) with the choice to obey the commandments, let's avoid asking 'why' and ask 'why not' instead! we're not only doing this for us, we're doing this for our kids, our posterity, the people that come after us. the greatest inheritance that you can give is an example of exact and faithful obedience to God's laws. 

i pray every single day for all of you people, you should know that. i pray that you can follow the commandments, that you remember to say your prayers and read your scriptures and i pray so so SO hard that you can go to church and take the sacrament. these are the most important things to have a firm foundation. i testify of that. I testify of the truthfulness of this gospel; I testify that it is the same gospel that Jesus Christ himself established here on the earth and that it has been restored. I testify that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to bless us. Live such that He can bless you as he desires to do. I love you all with all my heart and soul; i hope you all have a wonderful week and that you remember every single day to make the best decisions and to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I testify of him. I love him. I love this gospel. And this I share with you in his sacred name, even Jesus Christ, amen. 

and that's all folks!

LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK PICTURES TO FOLLOW NEXT WEEK MAYBE ONCE I BUY A NEW BATTERY FOR MY CAMERA CCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

*[Since Hna Schomburg's camera was not working, photo credit goes to Jean Marco and Hna Garcia.] :)

third time's a charm

(hahaha I copied my mom because well I'm training again for the third time ha)

well I'm sitting here trying to think of what to tell you guys since I already told you everything on Sunday

From our family Skype on Mother's Day
They're all nuts

also sitting here thinking about how i still have an hour of internet time left what in the WORLD am I supposed to do with A WHOLE HOUR TO WRITE TO YOU PEOPLE

WHEN I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO WRITE

well okay let's start with the basics

we had changes!

on Monday Hermana Molina left me :'( she was sent to be an hermana leader! And she's on bici [bicycle] which she has wanted HER WHOLE ENTIRE MISSION so that's really exciting :D she's going to be with Hna Palmer, who was in my district in the CCM! Yayayayayay! So, she left but the new missionaries arrived today, so yesterday I was on an exchange all day with... Hermana Petramalo! she came here to the city with me and we had several lessons and somebody robbed me and then today (Pday) we went to the office and had lunch and met our new companions!

We had the opportunity to "meet" Hna Molina during our Skype -
they are two definitely cut from the same cloth.

Last moments together

My companion is Hermana García from Argentina! She's the first missionary in her family and she is AWESOME. I am already very excited to be training her; she is asking about the ward and the bishop and all of the questions that a seasoned missionary would ask if they had just arrived in a new ward; this transfer is going to be AWESOME :D I am very excited :D

Hna Garcia y Hna Schomburg

what else is happening

I don't remember if i mentioned that both of my 'daughters' are also training this cambio, but both of my 'daughters' are training this cambio! 

but I'm a horrible grandmother because I don't remember either of my new granddaughters' names hahahaha qué terrible que soy 

Hna Schomburg with her first trainee (daughter)
and with her trainee's trainee (granddaughter)

but so anyway, that's happening! woohoo! and i am basically really afraid because I just am afraid, but not so afraid as I know that this is going to be a challenge just because it's always a challenge something and well maybe I should just get over it because something is always going to challenge you and you're always going to need the help of the Lord so 

well

there! 

[Hna Schomburg explained to us on Sunday that she would be the only sister missionary remaining in the sector as the other three were being transferred, so it would be up to her to teach the newly arriving sisters how to get around and to find the apartments for appointments, etc. in the sea of large buildings. Having only been there for 6 weeks, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed with being able to navigate on her own.  But we know she will be guided by the Spirit and she will do just fine! Or they'll get lost. haha]

oh man this week

this week I can already tell that something rough is starting

I saw my family on Sunday and you know what happened today?

I got an email

I got a big ol' email that has a big ol' title of

'TRUNKY PAPERS' 

and it has all of this stuff like 'make sure your home information is updated also WHICH AIRPORT DO YOU WANT TO FLY INTO' LITERALLY WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE SENDING ME THINGS LIKE THAT

but well

ya know what

it has to happen some day

and as of right now looks like it's gonna happen on the 12th of September 

I still feel like i'm so young in the mission and that i just got here like i myself just left from the CCM and am just arriving here but in reality, tomorrow i complete 14 months in the mission and that's kind of a lot of months compared to the grand total of 18 and it makes me afraid because this last cambio went by really way too fast and this cambio is going to go by even faster because there are a billion things to do and i just hope that i can follow the spirit and do everything that God wants me to do because it dawns upon me that i am running out of time and i am going to testify as many times as possible as a missionary as i can and i am going to work even harder than i ever have because this work is SO IMPORTANT and these people and this gospel and this message

I WANT EVERYBODY TO HAVE IT AND TO KNOW IT AND EVERYTHING EVER

ayayayay

everything is crazy

everything is fast

everything is getting away from me!

AYAYAY

but well okay, it's fine, no worries, we'll be fine

i apologize that this letter isnt that spiritual today, it's just that, so many things have happened! i encourage you all to read Alma 48... i read it this morning and it was SO WONDERFUL.

also the elevators in our building arent working so when we arrived with Hna García's luggage

we just had to hike up 20 flights of stairs with it

Just a little red-faced during the climb

and also yes somebody robbed me but it wasnt like violent or anything it was COWARDLY BECAUSE HE DIDNT EVEN PICK A FIGHT HE JUST SLIPPED IT OUT OF MY POCKET BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS

MY AGENDA

at least it was the first day of the cambio hahaha

but i had already put a pretty cover on it :( and it had my pretty temple calendar inside and all my appointments for the week and my bip [bus pass]

but i had just used the last passage i had on my bip so 

well

too bad for the dude if he was looking for money or bips but if he was looking for salvation HE FOUND IT (BUT HE DIDNT HAVE TO STEAL IT)

oh well

it's fine

i'm over it

but anyway

i hope that you are all well and that you are enjoying your lives and everything that you're doing and i hope that you read Alma 48 and think about how awesome Moroni is and how we should all aspire to be like him so that when we die they can just quote the scriptures about him in our eulogies 

i love the mission

i love my sector

i love my companion

i love the Lord :) in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

sending millions of besitos [little kisses] from santiago centro; LES AMO UN MONTÓN [I LOVE YOU PLENTY]

CCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The people you meet in the city center!

The district before cambios

The Book of Almathe Son of Alma

Chapter 48

Amalickiah incites the Lamanites against the Nephites—Moroni prepares his people to defend the cause of the Christians—He rejoices in liberty and freedom and is a mighty man of God. About 72 B.C.

 1 And now it came to pass that, as soon as Amalickiahhad obtained the kingdom he began to inspire the hearts of the Lamanites against the people of Nephi; yea, he did appoint men to speak unto the Lamanites from their towers, against the Nephites.

 2 And thus he did inspire their hearts against the Nephites, insomuch that in the latter end of the nineteenth year of the reign of the judges, he having accomplished his designs thus far, yea, having been made king over the Lamanites, he sought also to reign over all the land, yea, and all the people who were in the land, the Nephites as well as the Lamanites.

 3 Therefore he had accomplished his design, for he had hardened the hearts of the Lamanites and blinded their minds, and stirred them up to anger, insomuch that he had gathered together a numerous host to go to battle against the Nephites.

 4 For he was determined, because of the greatness of the number of his people, to overpower the Nephites and to bring them into bondage.

 5 And thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their places of resort, and the weakest parts of their cities; therefore he appointed them to be chief captains over his armies.

 6 And it came to pass that they took their camp, and moved forth toward the land of Zarahemla in the wilderness.

 7 Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

 8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

 9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

 10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.

 11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

 12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

 13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

 14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

 15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

 16 And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.

 17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.

 18 Behold, he was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, yea, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God.

 19 Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni; for they did preach the word of God, and they did baptize unto repentance all men whosoever would hearken unto their words.

 20 And thus they went forth, and the people did humble themselves because of their words, insomuch that they were highly favored of the Lord, and thus they were free from wars and contentions among themselves, yea, even for the space of four years.

 21 But, as I have said, in the latter end of the nineteenth year, yea, notwithstanding their peace amongst themselves, they were compelled reluctantly to contend with their brethren, the Lamanites.

 22 Yea, and in fine, their wars never did cease for the space of many years with the Lamanites, notwithstanding their much reluctance.

 23 Now, they were sorry to take up arms against the Lamanites, because they did not delight in the shedding of blood; yea, and this was not all—they were sorry to be the means of sending so many of their brethren out of this world into an eternal world, unprepared to meet their God.

 24 Nevertheless, they could not suffer to lay down their lives, that their wives and their children should be massacred by the barbarous cruelty of those who were once their brethren, yea, and had dissented from their church, and had left them and had gone to destroy them by joining the Lamanites.

 25 Yea, they could not bear that their brethren should rejoice over the blood of the Nephites, so long as there were any who should keep the commandments of God, for the promise of the Lord was, if they should keep his commandments they should prosper in the land.

Why did YOU decide to serve a mission?

Making empanadas

holy CANNOLI I DO NOT HAVE THAT MUCH TIME BUT I HAVE SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS DAY TODAY

first of all

LITERALLY WHAT EVEN WITH MY BROTHER EXPERIENCING THINGS THAT HE'LL TALK ABOUT IN GENERAL CONFERENCE ONE DAY WHEN HE'S AN APOSTLE  

what even

what even

what EVEN

dont worry i'm not freaking out

[Jeffrey spent the weekend in the hospital following some complications after a routine procedure.  He's special that way and he's fine now. :)  All is well.]

In the ER

After being admitted

BUT I'VE GOTTA TALK ABOUT SOMETHING WITH YOU GUYS

i received an email last week from a very good friend (<3 <3 <3) that was asking a few questions about how to prepare for the mission and because i have very little time, i thought i would respond to her email in a bigger form

i dont speak english anymore by the way so if these sentences dont make sense that is why

but anyway

LET'S TALK ABOUT HOW TO GET READY FOR THE MISSION

i was thinking a lot about that this week actually. about what more i could have done before the mission to prepare myself and i came to a couple of conclusions. i also want to address another question that my companion asked me a couple days ago

a question that everybody always asks 

but that made me think more than usual

my companion asked me, 'Hermana Schomburg, ¿porque decidió servir una misión?' (Sister Schomburg, why did you decide to serve a mission?)

and i decided that the answer is no longer what it used to be

i used to say 'because i want to share the gospel blah blah (insert what everybody says that is noble all the same but everybody says it)' but you know what the truth is?

i decided to serve a mission because it is something my brothers did; because i felt i needed to pay back the many blessings that i was given as i watched every member of my family change forever as we came back to church; i decided to serve a mission because i had always said 'if i dont get married first, i'll serve a mission'; and yes, because i wanted to share the gospel.

maybe there isnt anything wrong with that answer; those are perfectly good reasons to decide to serve a mission, but i have realized this week that the reasons i decided to serve a mission are not the same reasons that i have now to be in the mission. my reasons have changed, as they should, because the longer i'm here, the more i realize the importance of this work

i am here in the mission now because i am playing a part in the great plan of salvation, not just to share happiness and joy. This is eternal salvation that we are talking about and God told me, me specifically (well i mean, probably in a great big group of people) that i was going to play a special part in his plan because the plan is to get God's children back to him, not just to let them feel the spirit for a little bit or to help them know a little bit more about religion

Making empanadas with members
is part of the work.

this work is the most important work in the world and I am a part of it! and if i had understood that more fully before the mission, i would have been better prepared.

but let's be real

there is no way to prepare yourself 100% for a mission

i couldnt even prepare myself adequately for the last hobbit movie how was i supposed to prepare myself for something that has to do with the eternal salvation of these people and not only that, but my own salvation.

so, dont worry if you dont feel prepared in this moment

you're not

but you can do it

and if for some reason something happens and your departure date is postponed or you return home early, there is no reason to fear

this is hard. I know it, other missionaries know it, and God knows it. Everything that happens in our lives is part of the plan the God has for us. He has everything under control and we have to trust him 100%. All we can do is keep on keeping on with the things that they always tell us to do.

Pray, read the scriptures, go to church, learn all that you can, serve, go to the temple, be humble, keep in mind the eternal nature of our beings and our destiny. 

i know a heck of a lot of people that are going through trials right now, and i dont have the answer for all of them... actually i do

because the answer to all of our tests and trials and problems can be found in Jesus Christ. In his Atonement; in his gospel - the plan of salvation - in the words that he so carefully planned to tell us before coming to earth

Look to him in every moment, in every trial, in every test and problem. Look to him and you will find all that you need. Put him first and there will be nothing to stop you! Let's pretend God is a rain cloud

he rains blessings on us

but if we use an umbrella (or put other things before him)

we will never experience the blessings that he has for us! 

Dont let anything come between you and your father in heaven; he is more powerful and greater than anybody or anything else and he is the only one that can help us accomplish all that we have to do and the only one that can give us all the strength that we need

I testify of this gospel and of my Savior; i testify of the truthfulness of the plan of salvation and of the peace that this knowledge brings. I love the Lord, I love this gospel, and I am humbled to have the great privilege of bringing this gospel to the people of Chile; to play this part in our Father's plan for us, and this i share in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

SORRY IF NONE OF THIS MADE ANY SENSE I'M IN A BILLION PLACES IN MY MIND BUT HOLY COW I'LL TALK TO YOU GUYS

on sunday

hahahahahahHAHAHA

PLEASE BE WELL EVERYBODY I LOVE YOU ALL SORRY IF I DIDNT RESPOND TO YOUR EMAILS 

OH YEAH

NOTICIAS

NEXT WEEK WE WILL HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF AGAIN AND I WILL BE ABLE TO WRITE YOU PEOPLE BETTER WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO also we have cambios this week

i will let you know on sunday what is going to happen to me

or my companion :S

ayayayay

I LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chilaquiles with agua de horchata

The beauty that is Santiago.