Coming Home ...

Week Seventy-Eight: Misión Cumplida

I finished. I finished my mission and I finished it working hard. I don't even know how to feel right now. To be honest, I don't feel anything except a happiness that is a lot bigger than my heart knows how to handle. I feel like my mission has been a perfect perfect perfect way to start my adulthood. I am so grateful for the time that Heavenly Father has given me to be here in Chile and to love these people and serve them. It has been the best! I can't wait to see what other adventures Heavenly Father has in store for me. I want to know what the will of the Lord is and do it. Because, really, in the end, what He wants is the only thing that matters.

I'm leaving tomorrow in the morning. We're going to the temple and then I am going to get on a plane to come home. I'll see you really soon.

Con amor,

Laney

Week Seventy-Seven: Gratitude

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Parkin
Hermana Parkin's Blog: Cambios

Dear familia,

We had a zone activity today that was great. We got special permission from Presidente to watch The Best Two years and it has me a little bit nostalgic. The Elder in the end of the movie goes home ... and he says, "You have to enjoy every moment. It goes by so fast." And it does.

It's been a good ride.

I guess that this could be the last email that I send home. I can't believe that. I can't believe that I am about to leave this country and these people that I love so much. I have spent 18 months of my life serving the Lord and it has been so hard ... but I have loved EVERY MINUTE of it.

French toast and The Best Two Years. It was a great activity!

This past cambio, Hermana Parkin and I have been working so so so hard together. We have been trying to give our best efforts to the Lord and He has been blessing us so much!

We had a great Sister Study on Saturday. Hermana Parkin and I have been planning it for weeks. When we were walking in the streets, in the time that we weren't calling people to set up appointments and calling members to come with us to said appointments, we were talking about how we could make it a super special experience for the Hermanas.

We decided to have a tea party. Hermana Parkin loves to plan things like that, so we went out and bought a TON of cute things to make it amazing. We printed out little tea pots, made brownies and finger sandwiches, and just really tried to make it different than all of the other studies that we do in the mission.

Our table for the tea party.

It was a complete success! The Hermanas could definitely tell that we put a lot of effort into the party and I think they could feel how much we love and care about them. It was a great way to start off our spiritual lesson about the principle of return and report. 

We started out reading our mission calls silently and then we talked about the blessings that are promised and the things that we have to do to gain these blessings. I started to cry as I realized that all of those blessings promised and more have been realized in my mission. It was an amazing feeling.

I think that it is that same feeling that I felt when I was leaving the MTC and I realized that I didn't have any regrets. I feel that same way. I don't feel afraid to end the mission ... I just feel really really really grateful. I am so grateful for this time that the Lord has lended me to be able to serve Him. I know that I am not perfect, but I also know that He has never expected me to be perfect. I feel like He accepts what I have done so far ...

I am bracing myself to make the transition. I never ever deny that I am leaving when the people ask me ... instead, I say, "Yeah, I am leaving in a week, thank you!" And then when they ask me how I feel, I tell them how grateful I am to be a missionary and how hard I am going to work so that the next couple of days are the best of my mission.

The thing is, I don't think that I am done being a missionary. I am never going to be done being a missionary. I am never going to stop working to be more and more consecrated. I am never going to go inactive from the church. I am never going to lose the enthusiasm and wonder that I feel for the gospel. I fasted for that this week ... and it was such a great experience.

Hermana Dominguez, the newbie I was with for the
newbie conference this cambio! She is from Mexico and is
super awesome! We had a lot of success together!

En fin, I am a happy individual right now and always. I am so grateful for the life that my Heavenly Father has given me and I think that the reason why I am so greatful is because I never expected how it would turn out. I have worked so so so hard to know what the will of the Lord is in my life ... I feel like ever since I went to EFY as a teenager that has been my constant quest. I have worked hard in my mission. I have tried the best that I have known how to do ... and I know that I have received blessings for that.

I have grown to love a people and a country that had hardly ever crossed my mind before. I have learned a new language. I have learned a lot about the gospel and about how to share it. Even though I can't really tell, and even though I feel like progress is really slow sometimes, I know that I am a different person than when I left home. I feel a little more mature and grounded. I know that as I keep trying to make righteous decisions, I will be able to keep growing to reach my full potential.

Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders who are getting
ready to leave the mission.

This next week that comes is going to be crazy. We are going to have two mini cambios, three activities in the ward, ward conference, Lieslie's baptism!!!!, and my last interview as a missionary. I am so excited for the things that are coming. I feel like part of faith is knowing that there are way better things ahead than the things that we are leaving behind. I know that it's true. The future is BRIGHT!! :)

I love you so much! I hope that you have a great one ... and I'll be seeing you and hugging you real soon. :)

Con mucho amor from this side of the globe,

Hermana Blau

They put our names on the board when we are getting ready to go.
Just after taking the picture I erased my name. haha

Week Seventy-Six: A Consecrated Missionary

Hermana Parkin and I. I love her soooo much! We have been working really, really hard together.

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Parkin

Dear familia,

I can honestly say that this has been the best cambio of my mission. It is the last cambio, but I am working hard every day to make it a good one. I am praying harder than ever to be able to give my all and to finish strong. And this concentrated effort really is making a world of difference. I have never felt so good in my life. I have never felt so much enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ as I do right now, in this very moment. I love it so much.

This week has been so wonderful. Every week has been so great. I feel like now that I only have one more letter to write ... I don't know what else to say. We saw some miracles. We made some awesome contacts. It all is the same but so different at the same time. I am feeling so much joy in the routine of things. It is a good feeling.

The Scholes and me.

We had a class of Elder Scholes and it was a great minute to reflect my mission a bit. We have had these trainings ever since the third cambio of my mission. I have learned so much about how to teach well and how to communicate the gospel in such a way that people can feel the spirit and act according to those feelings that they have. I am soooooo grateful for these skills!! They are going to last me for the rest of my life (just like all of the other things that I have learned on my mission).

 

It was super super funny during the meeting, because I was the oldest person of the mission there. I ran into a newbie that is serving in Frutillares (Hna. Herrera) and I started to ask her about the people there that I love so much ... she couldn't see my nametag, so she asked me my name. It was so funny to see the look on her face ... "Everyone talks about you!" More and more as I have been on the mission, I have realized that I really don't deserve anything like that. I am sooo far from perfect, but it was super funny to see this new missionary just starting out with this learning process that I am still working on. It never really ends.

Sister Osborne and me at the E'Scholes class.

Our mini cambio for the week was with Barrio Norte. I was in Collao with Hna. Saunders and we had a great time! Hermana Saunders just started the mission last cambio and she is the sweetest thing in the world. We worked really hard to obtain our goals and were able to do it! At one point of the mini cambio, we were walking around with a member trying to find someone to teach after one of our appointments fell. I had a feeling that we should go and visit a menos activo family that the elders are working with named the Familia Castillo. The only problem ... I didn't know exactly how to find their house ... and their house was on the opposite end of our sector. But we decided to go anyways.

After praying and making a few phone calls, we were able to make it to their house. The spirit was sooooo strong in this lesson. We talked about small and simple things, and it was so sweet, because Hermana Saunders was trying to express herself, but couldn't exactly find the words to say. Hermano Walter (the dad of this family) said, "Some day she will learn." I nodded and said, "I know that that is true. I was in her shoes a year and a half ago ... and now I can joke and communicate and everything!" 

And suddenly I realized that we are all in this process. We are all trying to become more and more like our Savior and Heavenly Father ... and it is a BIG GOAL. Learning a language is also a BIG GOAL. But I feel like we have been given the tools and the time to be able to learn to do it. I sure hope to have more time to work on being more Christ-like. I know that I am so far away. Really, we all are ... but Heavenly Father loves us so much and is soooo patient with us in the meantime.

The family committed to come to church and I just KNEW that they were going to keep their commitment. It is amazing what the Spirit can influence us to do.

Our ward really is catching on fire with missionary work. It is awesome to see! We are finally having frequent meetings with our ward mission leader. We are finally having meetings with the bishopric. We are finally getting together a focus group as a ward. It is amazing because it helps SO MUCH to have that support of the ward. I feel like I never really understood that before the mission, but now I want to go home and just start working working working as a member. It is such a great opportunity to keep building the kingdom!

Hermana Camila Puchi, Leslie Yañez, and Rosa Placencia

We had an awesome activity of desserts on Saturday! We have been announcing it like crazy and planning like mad-women and it worked out really well. We had 5 investigators that came and really, really enjoyed it! I feel like the KEY to success with an activity is FOOD and PEOPLE. If those two things are there, the people are going to have a great time.

Our activity.

Today was my last consejo as a leader in the mission. I am so grateful for the chance that I have had to be serving as a Sister Training Leader. I have been able to grow sooo much and learn so much more. Heavenly Father really truly loves me. I know that I am so inadequate, but He still felt like I was ready to be in this position to help so many other people. It just makes me so happy!

Hermana Parkin and I were in charge of the activity for consejo and it was awesome. We have been planning it for a good two weeks, because we wanted it to turn out perfectly. Our theme ... CONSECRATION. Say what? I really had no idea how we were going to find an activity for consecration, but we were able to brainstorm a lot and the Spirit helped us to know what to do. We ended up playing spoons with a ton of distractions. Hermana Arrington helped us a TON ... she brought in cookies while the Elders and Hermanas were playing as a temptation. It was so funny to watch how into the game the Elders got. Nothing could distract them from getting their spoon. I felt so much power as we applied it to consecration. "What are we doing to eliminate the distractions from our mission ... which is so much more important than a game of Spoons?" No distraction is worth it. Nothing is worth losing the Spirit.

Our consejo was SOOO good. I loved learning more about how I can be a consecrated missionary ... and really, a consecrated member of the church. The call that I have to become more like Jesus Christ isn't something that is going to stop when I get off the plane in Springfield. No way! It is for all of my life. All of my life, I need to work EVERY DAY to apply the Atonement in my life and to seek the inspiration of the Spirit so that I can keep progressing. It is a promise that I have made ... and I intend to keep it! That helps me to feel good about ending the mission. It is just the beginning of an eternal progression.

My heart is so full. It is so full. I feel like I am a blubbery baby all of the time now, because everything makes me cry. I am just so grateful to be alive. I am grateful for this time that Heavenly Father has given to me. I feel like I am making the best of it with what I know to do. My life is great ... and it will continue to get better. 

I love you all sooooo much! Remember that Christ is the most important thing! His atonement is everything! I hope that every week we can work to be just a little better and a little more dedicated!! I am doing everything that I can to give a little bit more every day. :) I'm praying for ya!

Love,

Laney

Hermana Antillon and me. Baaaaah, the last time that I will see her in the mission. :((

Week Seventy-Five: Perfect Love Casteth Out All Fear

Baking with Marlene de la Fuente

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Parkin

Dear familia,

This week was awesome. Hermana Parkin and I are getting along so well and we are working really hard together to bring people to Christ. I just can't believe that it is P-day already. Work work work ... that is the answer to having a great time on the mission.

We had a mini cambio with PENCO this week and in preparation for this mini cambio, I was really set on STAYING in my sector. I didn't want to go to Penco to dar jugo no mas (that basically means to waste time saying goodbye to people). So, we prepared the mini cambio that way. I was going to stay in Collao ... but it just didn't feel right. I prayed about it and I felt like I really needed to be in Penco with Hermana Sheppard. So that's what we did. I gave the Hermanas a call and said, "Hermanas, I do not want you to plan a single cita with my investigators or with people that I knew. I don't want anyone knowing that I am going to come. Okay?" They promised and I went, knowing that Heavenly Father had something that he needed me to do in Penco.

Hermana Valle

It was so nice to be back. Penco was definitely my happiest sector. I loved the people, I loved the area, and I was just happily working every day. Walking up the hills makes me feel great. Breathing in the sea air makes me feel wonderful as well. I want to be near a beach when I get home. A year of living beach side ... wonderful. I was amazed at the plans of the Hermanas. We went and saw people that I loved and I feel like I was really able to help them. I love them so much in retrospect that I wasn't really afraid to tell them how it was. Perfect love casteth out all fear.

Mini-Cambio with Hermana Sheppard.
We are underneath a T-Rex at the Dinosaur Park
of  Conce.

At the end of the day, we ran into Mauricio Ulloa (that one super porfiado convert that Hermana Romney and I worked with a ton). I was so happy to see him. He is still super porfiado, but as we were on our way home, I felt like that was the reason that I needed to be back in Penco. I needed to help the Hermanas to find him so that they can start getting him to come back to church. It really is the little things that make a huge difference. In life ... in the mission. I haven't been able to see all of the results that my mission will have, but I am super excited to keep in contact with all of these people. When I said goodbye to the people in Penco, it made me a little bit sad. A little bit ... because I probably will never see them again. Thank goodness for social networking. 

It was a good mini cambio.

I got my last stack of Dear Elders from Dad. In one of the letters, it had one of my first blog posts from the mission. Oh, I was amazed! I have changed so much without even realizing it. Wow! I went from not knowing any Spanish ... to knowing Chilean. I went from being afraid of talking to people ... to talking to people fearlessly. Wow.

It rained a lot this week. Actually, it is starting to turn to winter here. The mornings are FREEZING. My hands are dying because I don't have any gloves. But it's okay. It makes things a lot more exciting. Like a game of life and death. We put on sweaters and sweaters and jackets and rainboots ... and those hideous but really awesome floral shirts that I love so much. I love winter mission fashion.

Thursday was a national holiday in Chile. Thursday was also an awesome mini cambio that we had with Chillancito. This time I did stay in my sector with Hermana Valle. We were able to find sooo many people! Like, five! We walked into houses of menos activos and everyone was gathered together (because no one was working)! AMAZING! I felt so much power as we taught these people. We invited every single one of them to baptism. We invited all of them to come to Christ. I have been learning more and more (and it is the end of my mission!) about why baptism is so necessary. And as I learn more and more the need, the more and more compelled I feel to find the people that need it and help them to get it as quick as possible. It helps me to be more efficient and a better missionary. I continue learning my purpose.

Lieslie is still doing great. She is such a prepared investigator (and not just because she has heard the lessons 8 times). Apparently, Arturo is going to get his rights to the priesthood back in the coming weeks and it is possible that Lieslie will get baptized on the 6th!! AHHHHHHHH!!! That is so exciting! I really feel like we have gained the trust of this family. On the way home from a lesson with them on Friday, Arturo said, "You know, I don't really like gringa missionaries ... but I really like you guys. It's obvious that you get along well ... you are spiritual ... and you are willing to work hard. I like you guys." I have never felt so happy and accomplished in my life. It meant the world to Hermana Parkin and I! We are working soooo hard to be good missionaries. We are working so hard.

On Saturday, we started working on our Family History Work. There is this kid in our zone named Elder Hepworth that is a family history nut! He loves everything to do with it, and his enthusiasm is so catchy. We got on and started trying to find names to take to the temple and I found some people right away! It was amazing! I also was able to print off some stories about ancestors and it blows my mind. I want to know more and more about my past ... because I feel like that will help me to know where I am going.

The familia Colombiana continues being one of my favorite families in Chile. I love them so much! Roldolfo decided to come out with us one day this week when it was freezing cold ... and even though he had a flu and the cita fell through, he kept a smile on his face. We went to buy him a chocolate bar and I found myself thinking, how on earth can I become like these people? How can I become more like all of these people on the mission? I admire everyone so much for so many different reasons. I guess that really the most important thing is to be working every day to be more and more like Christ, because that will really help me to be more like all of these people that I love so much.

This week flew by like a dream and I know that next week will too. I am praying every night to be able to give my all and I feel Heavenly Father helping me to do that every day. I feel like He is happy about the things that I am doing, and that motivates me to keep going every day. I know that this is the true church. I am excited to be a missionary at this time. It is such a blessing!

I hope that you have a great first week of summer!! Enjoy the heat and the ice cream! I will enjoy the cold and the ice cream haha. I love you so much and pray for you every day! :) LOOOOOOOVE YOU!

Week Seventy-Four: Three Weddings

Hermana Maria. I look hideous because we had just been moving all her lovely things to the first floor. Oooooh yeah! She is super cute!

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Parkin
Hermana Parkin's Blog: A Week Full of Events

Dear familia,

Everything that could possibly happen in one week in the mission happened. I really am trying to be dedicated and give my all to the Lord. It has been having some marvellous results.

We started out this week with interviews with President. Ohhhh, I adore interviews. I am so grateful for President Arrington and all of his support that he has given me in my mission. He definitely is inspired of God, because every time I talk to him, he tells me exactly what I need to have the motivation to keep going forward with a ton of animo and enthusiasm. This interview, I really just wanted to know how I can finish strong with my mission. He gave me some good advice and told me something that I really really liked. He said, "Really, a desire to do more isn't wrong. It actually will help you to progress and become better ... but what you can't say is, 'I haven't done enough.'" And that is so true. I think that that is the biggest fear that I had -- to finish my mission and feel like I hadn't done everything that I could. But I really feel like I am giving my all, so I know that I will not have to worry with those feelings. It is just like leaving the MTC, but this time ... it is a change that seems a whole lot bigger. I just want to do it in such a way that I will not have any regrets.

The day after interviews, we had a conference with all of the people that are going to be dying in the mission. This was a first time thing, but I loved it. President and Hermana Arrington helped us to know how to die with grace and honor. It was made complete with yummy cinnamon rolls and Josh Groban motivational videos. I looked around at all of the people that were with me and I just couldn't believe it. What a crazy thing!! At the end of the conference, we all got up to say goodbye to the Arringtons, and as I hugged Hna. Arrington, I just cried and cried. Gosh darn it, Groban. You get me every time! I don't know ... I guess I am just feeling a little more sensitive these days. Ahhh, I don't want to be THAT hermana. I guess I need to go to bed thirty minutes early or something haha.

With Javiera

After the training, we had a little bit of time, so we decided to head over to our ward mission leader's house to talk about an activity that we have been wanting to do with the ward ... like a Dessert Festival. It is going to be super awesome. Our Ward Mission Leader is great, but he works so so so much ... it really stresses him out, because he really wants to help us, but he has a hard time finding the ... well, time. So, we are working really hard to just be a support for him. Some missionaries grumble when their Ward Mission Leaders aren't really working properly, but I really feel like we are just here in wards to help people fulfill their callings. And really, when I look at it from that perspective, it helps me to feel like I am doing a lot more good. If people will just fulfill their callings, missionary work becomes a breeze ... so we just have to motivate the people to get to work.

Our Relief Society is really kicking it. They had an activity for Mother's Day this week and it was great! We had our investigator there and she and her kids loved it. Her daughter that is 5 started to cry when they had to leave because she loves being in the church so much. Her mom promised her that they were going to come on Sunday ... which was awesome because she basically committed herself to come to church. It is just a case in point of what I feel like we can do if we all work together with missionary work. It is awesome!

This week was FULL of weddings. The first wedding was with Hermana Alba and her now husband Roldolfo. Actually, they were already married one time ... in Colombia. But they have been living in Chile for a little over a year now, and their marriage isn't valid here. It is a really interesting situation ... especially because they are pretty poor and can't really afford to get REMARRIED. But they have a goal to get to the temple ... and to do that, they first have to be lawfully married. We got special permission from our Zone Leaders to skip zone class to be able to be there for the wedding ... it was incredible. 

I have never seen a wedding on my mission. This ceremony was something sooo simple. It was in a random room of a courtroom (with the only decorations being a picture of the President of Chile and a Chilean flag). Only a couple of hermanas from the Relief Society were able to come ... so it was a little quiet thing. But as we were sitting there listening to the judge read their rights, I felt the spirit sooo strongly. I know that Heavenly Father is super pleased with the sacrifice of this couple!! They invited me to hold the rings so that they could exchange them and I totally messed up ... I mean, I have never had to do something like that before!! But I was so happy to be there. I love these people soooo sooo much! They are awesome! [More pictures are coming for this, but Laney ran out of time today!]

The sign in the Registro Civil for marriages!

Hermana Alba and Rodolfo!

After that wedding, we went to the church to start preparing for the wedding of Lieslie and Arturo! AHHHHHH!! I can't believe that I was a part of this wedding as well. I can't believe it. This has been two years in the making ... and I just happened to be here when it was time for them to get married. Our contribution was sooo small. We blew up more than 100 balloons (sooo many balloons. I invite you to try and blow up 100 balloons this afternoon haha) and helped to make a few decorations. 

Before ...

... and after!

We also had a special musical number that we sang with the Elders. Oh, I was so happy during this wedding. It was another moment that I could feel the spirit strongly. We sang Love at Home, and I just looked at Lieslie and Arturo and cried. Finally, they can progress as a family!! Finally!!

Practice for the special musical number.
We are like the Von Trapps!

With Sofi, Lucas, and Lieslie

The fam ...

... and I thought the decorations were appropriate. haha

Oh, the last of the three weddings was Hna. Baturite's wedding. Ahhhh, so many!!

On Saturday, we got a call that a little old abuelita convert that I love sooo much was going to move. It was a super super sudden decision, so they needed a lot of help. They didn't have anything packed up, but they needed to make the move immediately. Hermana Parkin and I went over in the morning and started packing every single nice .... thing ... that they had in their house ... and we were there for over three hours. We called it good about an hour before lunch, thinking that we would leave all of the heavy lifting to the Elders and the Elders Quorum ... well, at 3:30, on our way to our first appointment of the day, we got a call from the bishop. "Are you guys coming?" Crick, crick ... I told him that we weren't really planning on it and he kind of desperately said, "My wife and I are the only people that showed up. We need your help." So we dropped everything and left. Back to the house of the abuelita convert.

At the house, we were packing things into the back of the truck. We called a couple more people to come in and help and were able to get everything ready to go. The abuelita was moving to centro ... to a house that was on the fourth floor of a building without an elevator. She had these huge things of furniture that I had NOOO idea how the men were going to be able to haul up all of those flights of stairs ... We were almost about to head back out to start visiting, but I saw how desperate the people looked to have our help, so I looked at Hermana Parkin and shrugged my shoulders. We decided to go to help haul this stuff up the four flights of stairs. There were so many things that we had to bring upstairs -- and it was us, the Relief Society president, and this Bishop and his wife ... and that was it. We went up and down and up and down ... 100 times. It was crazy.

But it was also fun at the same time. I really felt like we were helping out the ward. I felt super tired, but I put on a happy and excited face and kept running up and down the stairs anyways. I think that that is something that I really want to be able to keep with me all of my life. I tell people every day that they can call us for whatever thing that they need and I will be there to help them ... and I like to keep with my promises like that. We ended up moving that abuelita ALL DAY ... for 12 hours of hard, sweaty work. But I feel like we were able to improve our relationship with the bishop and really show our love for the people. At the end of the day, Bishop thanked us for our energy and our service. It felt good ... and I feel like we were able to make a real difference!

It was a good week. So many other things happened as well, but I am out of time. Ah well, I will just have to share my journals after. I love you all soooo sooo much! I wish Savannah a ton of luck with her graduation!!! and I will be praying for you all every day like always!! LOVE YOU!!

Laney

Andalién

Week Seventy-Three: Miracles and Lessons Learned

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Parkin
Hermana Parkin's Blog: First Week in My New Sector

Dear familia,

Whooooo, long time no see! I am soooo happy that we got to talk last night ... even with the complications, it was super sweet to be able to talk to you guys. Thirty minutes isn't really that much time to catch up on a whole year's worth of material ... but I get the feeling that pretty soon we will get the chance to talk a little bit more. #fiveweeks (I seriously can't believe it!). So, I hope that my emails aren't horribly repetitive. I feel like every week is full of miracles and lessons learned ... but I am a little bit stubborn, so I feel like I keep learning the same lessons over and over again and seeing the same miracles over and over again. Ah well. Life is good. Life is actually really really good!

On Monday night, we had all of the girls that were going home in our house. It was sooooo crazy. There were so many people. I ended up sleeping on the floor in the living room and got to bed around midnight because everyone was packing and getting ready for their flights. In the morning, they woke up at 5 oclock and left the house at 6. I sleepily woke up at that time and gave Hermana Quintana one last hug. It was so sad ... because I think it hit me that we might never see each other again. It was super sad to see them go, but they left super calmly. It was like nothing had happened at all.

Right away, my companion, Hermana Parkin was able to come over to our house. She is from Utah and is amazing in EVERY WAY! Seriously, she has been a super companion so far. We work really well together, and have been able to put a few goals for what we want to happen this cambio. I really like that about her. She is super goal focused and she loves working really hard to acheive those goals. That is something that I have always wanted to be really good at, so I am already learning from her. She has really cool stories because she has done some really cool things with her life. She went to Ukraine to teach English for a couple of months on a whim. She had a cake business when she was growing up. Loco! I love her!

It has been interesting leading the sector around here. I find that I know the people a lot more than I thought I did ... and sometimes I know them a lot less than I thought I did. But it is great seeing things with new eyes because we have been able to find deeper needs for the people and to teach to those needs. I feel really confident and bold when it comes to talking with the people. I think that deep down inside, my heart is starting to recognize that there isn't that much time left to give everything that I have ... so I have to give it all! I have come home to the house happy but dead tired every day this week.

We went out with a lot of new members this week. It was awesome!! One of them was a new convert named Rodrigo ... and he is a boss! He is the one that got baptized and then helped the people that were getting robbed. Yeah, that guy. He is reading the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants AND The Power of the Everyday Missionary. Wow. His testimony when he shares with the people is AWESOME. It just goes to show you that you don't have to have a lot of time in the church to be blessed with the ability to share your testimony. You just have to share it and Heavenly Father helps it to touch the lives of the people.

Hermana Parkin had a training meeting this week for new leaders, so I was able to have the good part of the morning to really study the gospel. It seems silly to say that ... because we have 2 hours every single day to study ... but it was rewarding. I decided to study really in depth about the Godhead and I learned so many things. I think that so many people see Heavenly Father as just a person that is there ... that listens to us ... but it is a little bit harder to visualize him as a person that actually loves and cares about each one of us individually. I spent a lot of time pondering that and it was amazing to just let the thoughts and feelings come and to really learn by the Spirit. There isn't any other way to do it!

There is a family in this ward that I have been wanting to work with for a really really long time. The girls of the family are all active ... but the boys are totally inactive. The dad and his two sons have fallen off the face of the planet. Every time I pray to know who we should work with, this family's name comes to mind. We had lunch this week with the mom and her two daughters and it was so powerful to be able to tell her that God was mindful of her situation and that he was ready to help her to help her family. I know that God wants to help us WITH our families! I am so excited to start working with these people to help them to progress and grow.

We found a lady this week that is great. Her name is Carolina (like every single investigator that I have ever had haha), and we found her knocking doors one rainy afternoon. She is thirty years old and lives with her two kids and her boyfriend (BOOOO). Her boyfriend is working in the north, so they hardly ever see each other ... we're working with that. Anyways, Carolina was super friendly to us and listened to us soooo well. She has felt so lonely these past couple of weeks, and we were like an answer to her prayers! She accepted fecha (even though she can't get baptized until she gets married), and she came to church this past week!! Her baby ran around the chapel like a mad man and I was on baby patrol. It was just like being at home ... because I used to herd the babies of investigators during the Sacrament meetings there. Good times. It was worth it, because all of the Hermanas noticed that she was new and she was able to make a lot of friends! Ahhh, I love this ward!!

It is interesting because I have always looked to Collao as a kind of promised land, free of worries and cares. When I was struggling with my sectors, I would pray that I could come to Collao ... almost to escape from all of the bad things of the world. But, I have come to realize that the grass is always greener on the other side. Really, everywhere ... the church is about the same. We make promised lands based on our perspective of things. It is always just better to think about how awesome things are in the present and to really enjoy them! Everything is awesome if you think that it is!

We had a great lesson with a menos activa recent convert (that is a sad reality here in Chile). We have been trying to find her ever since Hna. Quintana was here, but we were never able to call her or visit her. She lives super close to our apartments, so one night, on the way home, I decided to knock and see if she would answer. She did!! AHHHH!! Por FIN! We were able to set up a cita and she looked at us and said, "Hermanas, I need a lesson about forgiveness. Can you help me with that?" We told her that we could and immediatly started planning to teach it. We were able to find a lot of scriptures and quotes ... and in the lesson, we were able to apply everything that we had planned/learned to her situation. She really seemed to benefit from our studies. I love this part of being a missionary. I love being a problem solver!! It's fun.

En fin, we had a great day on Sunday. We had two people in church with a fecha to get baptized, were able to make a lot of visits ... And of course, I was able to talk to you guys. That made me sooo happy. It was a tender mercy and it just got me so pumped up to work even harder these last couple of weeks. We are seeing miracles here every day!! We are working hard to be better missionaries and to help the Hermanas and the people every single day. I love you sooo much and hope that you have a great week!! I couldn't ask for a better family! Next week I will be writing from Chillan. Getting ready to make it rain haha. Thank you sooo much for all of the prayers and love.

Love,

Laney

Week Seventy-Two: The Beginning ... Of the End

With Sisters Antillon and Quintana.

Area: Collao
Companion: Hermana Quintana

Dear familia,

Ahhhh, this morning I got my last call for cambios. We stayed up late last night packing all of the stuff that Hermana Quintana is going to be taking to her house ... and it was soooo weird. It is weird killing people, because it makes dying seem super real. And so it goes in the mission. I am going to be with a new Hermana Leader this cambio -- Hermana Parkins! She is super young in the mission (9 months!), but I am excited because I feel like we are going to be able to do great things together!! I am so excited already for this cambio. We are going to have a wedding and a baptism ... more than one baptism hopefully.

Last night, I was praying and I gave it all over to the Lord. You know, this month and a half is going to fly by ... and I want to give my all. I have made some goals that I want to achieve and I know that Heavenly Father will help me to accomplish them! Really, I think that the biggest goal that I have is to keep working hard until the end. I want to be exactly obedient to the end. And I want to love the people until the end.

The end. Ah.

Laney didn't say who all the people are in her pictures this week.
She'll have to label them when she returns next month.

This week went by in a whirlwind. Hermana Quintana was saying goodbye the good majority of the week, so it was really bitter sweet. The people here love her so so so much, and it is sad to see how sad the people are that she is leaving. Luckily, we were able to see pretty much everyone that Hna. Quintana wanted to see ... which is a miracle. I remember when I was killing Hermana Romney, we waited until the last day and it was nuts. This has been unreal.

I honestly don't know what to write. My mind is completely blank.

I continue to have awesome experiences with the Book of Mormon every day. A new power is coming to my proselyting skills because I am studying it. I can feel it! The other day, we passed by to a members house and she was DISTRAUGHT. She was super sad because she had just found out that her mom has cancer and will probably pass away. Scriptures that I had studied that morning came to my mind and I was able to comfort her. It happened with one of our investigators as well. He is from Peru and is dating a less active lady here. He had a ton of doubts about the Book of Mormon, and I was able to testify with power that I knew it was true ... and was able to find scriptures that had to do with his doubts.

Little moments like that make the mission so much fun. I am seriously loving my life here ... if you didn't already know. I feel like every day I am getting better and better! 

This week the email is really short ... because I had to work out some recuerdos and what not, but I love you all soo sooo sooo much. I am so excited for Skype. I am still not sure what time we are going to be Skyping ... if I were a betting woman, I would say that we are going to do it at 4 or 5 our time. I will let you know!!

I know that the church is true!! I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves us. I am getting ready to put on the fire. Chile Concepcion has no idea what's coming. I love you and will see you soon!

Love,

Laney