Flight 912

My final hours as Hermana Ibarra

2 John 1:12

"Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full."

Hermana Gladys Ibarra

1 for the little bitty baby born in Bethlehem

Last week in Chile!!! But it was my first in Catemu and oh do I love being back en el campo (country), the sector is beautiful! Lush green hills and valleys, snow on the mountains, streams and rivers and huasos (cowboys) riding around in horses. We had a Zone Conference and it was so great to see so many of the sisters I started the mission with and to be reutnited with them. The EDPERS taught were super funny and I felt like I was back home in Los Andes. I had an exchange with the sisters in Llay-Llay which was also fun. I had been there on an exchange a year ago and it was cool to remember some places. We found an AWESOME girl named Nicole who`s a single mom and had been taught by missionries a year ago in the South and was almost baptized but then had to leave cause of family drama. It was a blessing to find her, she really needs God in her life right now and thinks we found her for a reason cause she really loved the mormon church, she said we were "real" with life, haha! 

Some funny stories are that since we`re out in the country there are a lot of abuelitos (grandpas) in this town and it`s sooo funny to talk to them cause they just tell you their whole life story. One of them his name is Sergio, we greeted him and he said he was gonna go "viginear" we looked at him confused cause we didn`t know what that meant and so he said " I`m gonna go look at women, hahaha!" and just walked away, Hna.Clark and I busted out laughing! Another old man had alzheimers and when he shook Hna.Clark`s hand he leaned in for a kiss and she said, "Sorry we only give handshakes" and he flinged her hand away and said "Well why are you saynig hello to me them, I`m a gentleman just so you know! I may be a huaso but I`m not dumb!" We were knocking on a door (well really here you don`t knock on doors cause they`re surrounded by gates, you have to say "Alo!" until someone comes out) and out of the side kitchen door a man in a towel walked out not realizing we were standing there on his doorstep, we slowly backed away trying not to laugh too loud so it wouldn`t be awkward, and decided to go back another time. Lastly, we use bikes occassionaly and my bum is so soar from just one day on the bike, not used to it anymore but it was nice to feel the wind on my face again!

This week is gonna be hectic, we have so many appointments already, last week we had 32 easy, and with the new schedule we have to be super punctual cause we have to go home to study and eat throughout the day so we have short intervals of proselyting, but I like it a lot better and am already used to it! We have an investigator named Ramiro who will hopefully be baptized next sunday, he had a little downfall with coffee so we had to postpone his baptism yesterday to next sunday, but I think it`s for the bets cause he still needs a little more preperation, but it`s gonna be my last goal to ensure he makes it and well prepared!

Since this is my last e-mail I want to bear to you all my testimony of the things I once felt and believed, but that now, I know. I know we have a loving Heavenly Father who is guiding us and watching over us, I know he sent his son Jesus Christ to save mankind from sin and show us the perfect path to return to His presence, I know that even though his gospel was lost that it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and that Thomas S. Monson is His prophet today. I know the Book of Mormon is true, because I read it, analyzed it, questioned it, and prayed about it and received a personal answer from God. I know that the temple is a piece of Heaven on Earth, and that through the eternal covenants we make there we will have the priviledge of entering the Lord´s presence one day to inherit all the blessings he has prepared for his children. I know that missionary work is real, that to serve a mission was the toughest but best decision I`ve ever made in my life, but that every sacrafice, sweat, tear, and blood shed during this year 1/2 was the least I could give to thank my Savior for His ultimate sacrafice for me. As it says in Jacob 7:26 "the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream" To serve a mission was the dream of my life since I was 14, throughout my youth I prayed to know if it was in God´s plan for me and received numerous confirmations, including in my patriarchal blessing, that a mission would bless not only my life but the life of others. I have seen these promises fulfilled and so many more that I never could have imagined and I´ll forever be thankful to God for putting me in the fire, shaping me, molding me, using me as an instrument in His hands to lift others and for the priviledge he gave me to represent His son Jesus Christ in Chile. 

I want to give some personal shout-outs to family and friends who have supported and encouraged me so much throughout this time. First to my mother who has ever been an example of virtue, righteousness and silent service in my life and for setting the spiritual standard for all her children and raising us in the Gospel. To my sister Sherlyn who is my #1 fan and always cheers me on and supports me in the decisions I make in life, whose ears are always open to listen to my heart and whose mouth always speaks words of wisdom, love, and counsel. To my brother who also gave me great advice as I prepared to serve so that I could be the best missionary I could be. To my neices and nephews who daily prayed for their tia! To Mike and Angel Anderson who have been constant dear friends since they were my seminary teachers which prepared my mind and increased my knowledge of the scripttures and for their generous monthly contributions which without would have been difficult for me and my mom to have funded my mission alone. And to all my friends who wrote me, sent me packages, e-mails and letters of love and encouragment and gratitude for how my experiences were uplifting and increasing their faith- that motivated me and increased mine. I love you all and can`t wait to see your beautiful faces and hug each and everyone of you! `Til next week :)

Spiritual cookie: "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience." -Pdt. Uchtdorf

Xo,

Hermana Gladys Ibarra

2 for Alma and Amulek

OH MY GOSH! This week was just NUTS! Seriously so much has happened, where do I start?! I guess with interviews with our new mission president, Pdt. Videla. He told me "Hermana, you`re going home soon so I`m not even gonna ask you any personal questions to try to get to know you, but I would like to hear what your mission experience has meant for you." I looked at the picture behind him of Jesus and just broke down in tears, it`s hard to find the words to express my feelings and how significant this experience has been to me. I bore him my testimony of who I came as and who I`ve become. He asked me only one question, "Did you give everything to the Lord" and as I reflected to myself I was proudly able to answer "yes". He shared his experience about being called as a mission president and it was a tender moment for the both of us, I`d say the interview went well. hat same day in District Meeting an Elder shared a story during a time we share experiences that increase our faith. He said there is a less-active brother they`re focusing on to reactivate who works as a taxi driver. This brother has run into us in Renca several times asking for directions to places he needed to pick people up from and one time told me "Man, you guys are always working hard, more than the Elders!" So this Elder shared that this brother told them on their last visit "I always see the sister missionaries in Renca working so hard, knowing they do that to try to help people like me have the gospel in their lives motivates me to come back to church!" The Elder thanked us and it made me feel so happy inside to know that you just never know who`s watching you when your out on the streets proselyting, but people notice if we`re being diligent.

Well the biggest news of all is that Pdt.Videla called wednesday night. The conevrsation over the phone went something like this, "Hna.Ibarra, a little angel told me you`ve been in your sector for a really long time!" I replied "Yeeeaaaahhh???", "Well I`m calling because a sister has gone home due to knee problems and the Lord needs you to be with her companion in Catemu the last 2 weeks of your mission." I about fainted hahaha! It was CRAZY HUGE news, Catemu is in Los Andes, out in the boonies! But I was so pumped and I gladly accepted the call. So the next day I worked my guts out, packed, and then Hna.Stanger (the office secretary) and my new companion Hna.Clark came to pick me up. I only had a chance to say bye to Carolina and Benjamin who are some converts. When I told her the news that I`d be leaving Renca sooner than I thought she couldn`t believe it and broke down in tears. She thanked me so much for everything I did to help her be a better mother and wife and she just cried in my shoulder. It was one of the hardest things I`ve ever done to just dissapear from a sector like that, something similar happenned in Curacavi, but I think it was for the best to just rip the bandaid off, it`ll make my rael departure a lot easier. 

We slept over Hna.Stanger`s apt that night and the next day had our Leadership Council Meeting with president and the AP`s. The president and his wife decided to change our scedule to the international missionary schedule which was a huge shocker for everyone! Right now the scedule is to wake up at 7:30 am, study until noon and proselyte until 10 p.m. with an hour for lunch and bed at 11:30. But now we are gonna wake up and sleep an hour earlier and have lunch and study hours throughout the day after lunch and what not. It`s a huge change cause we`re just used to being in the streets all day so it`s gonna be weird to return to the house so many times a day, but they feel it`ll be the best for our health.

That night after a trip to the temple grounds for a sister who had to see the doctor at the MTC and being stuck in traffic for 4 hours singing hymns and talknig about every subject imaginable we got to Catemu. I`ve been spoiled the past 9 months so it`s a big change to be back in the country. We basically live in a wooden cabin, dirt roads, the smell of chimney smoke from the peoples fireplaces, and the gorgeous view of the sunset everynight is just breath-taking. If I had to return to any part of my mission it would`ve been here so I`m happy! We have to take a 20 minute bus ride to church ni Llay-Llay which is the branch we belong to. This sunday was great cause Pdt. Perez (stake pdt) was there to release the branch president who`s moving and had the biggest smile on his face when he saw me, he gave me the warmest handshake and said "my family and I were just talking about you yesterday!" It was a great reunion and he and his wife invitde us over for lunch next week before I leave. 

After working 2 days in Catemu I can see that Hna.Clark needs a lot of help, she has 9 months in the mission but still a lot to learn and I`m super pumped to help her sort out through the investigators that have potential and those that don`t and leave a solid foundation for her to build upon when I`m outtie. 

So basically that was my crazy week! I`m ni the ciber in San Felipe, it`s been so nuts walking around and seeing so many of the places I went to a year ago when I was a greenie, so happy to end where I started :)

Peace & Blessings,

Hna.Ibarra

3 for the tree in Lehi´s dream

This week was full of SO MANY miracles and blessings!!! Where do I start?!

Well last week was tough cause we had ZERO success finding new investigators and a lot of things just fell through. That week I was working on patience and boy did the Lord try me! This week was humility so I was expecting another tough week (haha) But the Lord blessed us with so much success as we strived to work diligently. Monday was a rainy day, but an hermana from Peru (who fed us chicken feet and chicken liver the other day) wanted to have an FHE in her house for us to invite investigators and to teach her daughter-in-law who is super interested in the gospel. We called up our 2 golden investigators-Ricardo and his family and Ingrid (also from Peru) and her family and all committed to come amidst the rain (that´s just plain ole miraculous in Chile, when it rains no one wants to go out to do anything). We taught them the 5 steps of the Gospel of Jesus CHrist with smores and everyone met and had an awesome time!

We were also blessed to find 10 new investigators,committed 5 investigators to be baptized end of August, and had 20 lessons. Best of all on Friday was Ricardo and Glorias wedding!!!

We were all pretty nervous about the big day, I mean last time Gloria tried to committ suicide 2 days before the wedding, so the tention was high. But she asked for a priesthood blessing to help her feel at peace and sure of what she was going to do. So the Elders came and gave her a blessing and we showed her a Mormon Message called "Courage" about Esther and other LDS women who faced their fears or difficult circumstances with courage. We helped her pick out what she was gonna wear and her jewlery, Hna.Thomas gave her a necklace like the women in the video to give her courage to take such a big step in her life. The next day we woke up at 6 a.m., got ready, and then went to their house to help them get ready. I did Gloria´s make up, and the sisters helped her daughter Javiera pick out an outfit and get ready. We headed to the registro civil in Quinta Normal and waited a bit in the cold until the big moment. The ceremony was short and simple, but the lady who officiated the ceremony shared some lovely words with them and congratulated them for taking this step after being together for 20 years. We all walked out with a huge weight off our shoulders knowing that nothing was holding Ricardo back from his dream to be baptized. It´s been a crazy long 8 month wait for him, but finally on Sunday July 10th at 2 p.m. Ricardo Ahumada entered the waters of baptism dressed in white along with 3 other investigators from our branch and the other ward (Valle Azapa) combined. It was a huge turn out at the baptism and the spirit was very present. Hna.Thomas, Hna.Adamson and I sang #58 "Roca de Eternidad" as a special number and made a special arrangement for the baptism since it´s Ricardo and Gloria´s favorite hymn. The smile on their faces was indescribable and filled me with so much joy I could just cry! I know without a doubt that they are the reason why I´ve been in Renca almost 9 months, the Lord had a work for me to do and I had to see to it, and I did! I am just so grateful to Him for using me as an instrument in His hands to bring about the joy and blessings to such a wonderful family. Yeah they have their problems and aren´t perfect, but they have come SUCH a long way from when I first met them and wanted to get sepperated and didn´t even know if God existed. As promised in my patriarchal blessing, I´ve been given the courage to stand among strangers and bear humble testimony of the restored gospel and to see those I teach enter into the waters of baptism and have the joy that comes from helping my brothers and sisters There is no other joy in the world like it!

Spiritual cookie: "The Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible." -Elder Russel M. Nelson

4 for the Lord who stands at the door

This week was tough...I was sick like I mentioned last time and had to stay in a couple days. Wednesday I went out and started proselyting again and I`m tons better now (although I still have a really annoying cough that comes and goes) so thank you all for your prayers!

We had to do a couple exchanges this week with our sisters. The first one was a challenge- it was a sister who has been struggling to open her mouth and contact. In an entire week she talked to 1 person...we strive to talk to 70 which is 10 a day which was a goal that Elder Ballard established. So we did some practices and talked it out to see what was making it so hard for her. That day with a lot of motivation, love, and encouragement she was able to do her 10 contacts for the first time the 4 months she`s been on the mission! But man, it wasn`t easy! After that intercambio Hna.Duffy the mission nurse did an exchange with me. She is just starting her training but is way ahead of a lot of greenies I`ve met! She also graduated from BYU`s nursing program so pretty much she`s my new idol on the mission and gave me tons of tips and advice for my application and how I can get a better shot at getting in. Plus she saved my life and helped me get better! So grateful!

This week we also did A LOT of service, probably more service than I`ve done in all my mission! We helped our investigator Ingrid paint her brick wall and the ex-branch president paint part of his house that he expanded and built. It`s always fun to change up the routine and give a hand.

Then Hna.Thomas came back from the exchanges and was super sick (she didn`t get it from me!) So she had to stay in a couple days to recoop, but is tons better now as well. Winter season is tough health-wise, while Hna.Duffy was with us she received about 20 phone calls from missionaries who were feeling sick in just one day, it`s nuts!

As for our investigators Ricardo is finally getting married this week! Yesterday him and his wife (who`s less-active) showed up dressed in their sunday best! He was in a suit, white shirt and tie, and his wife in a dress. They looked lovely! Ingrid is our other hopeful towards baptism who is from Peru and eating up everything we teach her. And Maria is also progressing a lot with her Book of Mormon, she`s already in 2 Nefi and finds all the answers to her prayers within it`s pages, but the challenge with them is the same as usual...COMING TO CHURCH!

Anyways, we`ve been struggling a lot to find new investigators, we`re going through our 7 years of drought. I knew something was gonna happen because last week I was working on the attribute of patience and boy did the Lord try my patience with being sick, the exchange, and then my companion being sick and not having any new investigators. This week is humility...another scary one...but I`m ready for whatever He`s got for me, after that I`m pretty much home-free :)

Spiritual Cookie: "Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not an effort of once a week or once a day, but once and for all!" -Pdt. Uchtdorf

Hna.Ibarra

5 for Alma who came back alive

This week has been hectic, when is it not?! We moved out of our place last monday, apprently there`s a property war going on with the mission housing Elder and the owner of our previous house. She doesn`t want to pay back the $400 downpayment if there was no damage in the house so she`s been evading Elder Condie, so he asked us to pretty much spy on the house and pass by once a day to make sure the owner hasn`t come back and that she pays the money before moving in and closing the contract...skeeeetch! 

We did sime service this week helping our ex-branch president paint his house that he expanded, that was fun! We seldom do service projects around here cause everyone complains that we`re gonna get dirty or that it`s work for men, clearly they haven`t seen how solid my 6-pack is from doing 4 minute planks ;D

We also had a multi-zone conferenec with our new mission president, Pdt.Videla and his wife. I am so in love with them! He is the funniest guy ever, he`s Chilean so he was using all this slang and we were all cracking up! His wife is a sweetheart and she actually teaches us things since she can speak spanish which is awesome! It`s like having 2 mission presidents! No doubt they are going to make miracles here, our mission is enormously blessed to have them! P.S. I met an Elder Diaz in this conference from Kendall, what?! A fellow Cubaniche! Well actually he`s Chilean, but ya`ll alraedy know it don`t matter where your from, if you live in Miami you WILL pick up the cuban accent, haha! We got to talking about croquetas, Pollo Tropical and Jupiña, there was no stopping us, hahaha!

As far as investigators go Ricardo is progressing smoothly towards his marriage and baptism end of the month. Maria Pinto had a few doubts about the law of chastity and dressing modestly, one thing led to another and next thing I know she was talking about nude beaches...oh dear! Hopefully it`s something she`ll come to understand with time. We left an investigator that wasn`t progressing, her name is Luisa. She has a lot of potential, she reads the Book of Mormon and everything, but after teaching her for over 2 months she hasn`t stepped foot once at church cause she says she simply hasn`t felt the desire grow in her. When I told her she had our number and that when she was ready to act upon her faith she could call us she scrunched up her face and started to ball like a little girl! It broke my heart, but sometimes tough love is necessarys o they can reflect and start taking things seriously. 

We had a huge miracle happen this saturday with an old investigator named Ingrid. She`s from peru and about a month ago Hna.Thomas and I taught her the restoration and she just ate it up and loved it! We thought fersure we had found another golden investigator, but upon our return appointment no one was home. We passed by several times the following weeks and tried to call with no luck and thought "oh well, guess it was too good to be true after all." But saturday afternoon we were walking to contact a referal when all of a sudden I felt a little tap on my back. When I turn around it was a little girl who said "My mom wants to talk to you!" I looked and a couple ways back it was Ingrid with her baby in the stroller! She said she had been in a serious accident while walking with her baby in her arms and got hit by someone on a motorcycle. She was badly battered and bruised all over and her sell phone had broken in the accident. She invited us over and told us she was so happy she saw us today, she had been waving but we hadn`t noticed so she sent her daughter Wendy to run after us, "I was scared Id never see you again!" We summed up the restoration and invited her to go to church, she was more than pumped and showed up in her sunday best with her daughters Wendy and Pedro and stayed for all 3 hours! She said she loved what she learned and shared with me that her grandma who is over 100 years old is a faithful member of the church in Peru and taught her things that she loved about the church and that she thinks it would do her kids a lot of good. Last night we left her a Book Of Mormon and she committed to a baptismal date for the end of August! Lastly last night one of our appts. failed so I felt impressed to visit a recent convert. He was home alone, but thankfully Hna.Adamson came back saturday morning so we`re in a trio and can enter his home. We sang a short him and I said an opening prayer and asked for peace in his home. When we said amen tears were streaming from this brother`s eyes. He thanked me and said he was going through a super rough time, that he was having issues with his family and reverted to bad drinking habits. He said the guilt is eating him alive, that he was sick of falling back to the same mistake time after time and that he can`t escape his past. He excused himself to the bathroom to go cry it out and as I looked around this brother`s filthy home I told Hna.Thomas and Hna.Adamson, "Let`s clean!" I grabbed the broom, Hna.Thomas washed the dishes and Hna.Adamson cleaned the surfaces. When this brother came out after getting a hold of himself he just started to bawl all over again and thanked us. Afterwards, we sat down and I told him that we appreciated the confidence he had in us to share his problems, but that we don`t have the authority to receive confessions and that he should speak to the branch president who will lovingly guide him through the repentance process and help him kick the habbit once and for all. There was hope in his eyes and a sweet spirit filled the home as we left, I told him to take all the credit for cleaning the house so his wife would be happy :) 

Well to finish off the week I once again got a cold. It started out friday with a cough at our Leadership Council with Pdt. for all the leaders in the mission, the next day I had a splitting headache so I worked through out the day, took an antibiotic the mission nurse recommended me and stayed the night hours at a members home so I wouldn`t breathe in the frigid air. It was the branches 2nd counselor`s home and he gave me a priesthood blessing and the next morning I decided I felt good enough to proselyte. But by the time we got home I was beat. I crawled into bed and woke up in the middle of the night totally congested, feverish with a splitting headache and a lot of pressure on my face from the congestion, I pretty much feel like my brain is gonna bust out of my eye socket, it`s terrible. I`m currently at a members house resting while my companions write their family and get groceries and what not. Being sick in the mission is the worst, this is the Lord`s time and you feel like a waste just laying around being sick. But like Elder Holland said "if we do not take time to be well, we most assuredly will take time later on to be ill." So I just need to allow my body to heal. Hna.Videla shared some comforting words with me this week, that satan tries to attack missionaries in 3 ways. The first is with disobedience, he`ll try to convince us that it`s okay to bend or even break the rules and standards in the mission handbook, but that when a missionary is an obedient and faithful servant of the Lord he tries to hinder the work the next way, physically. We`ll get sick and ill, but this will only hinder the work for so long. And that`s when he attacks us the 3rd way, mentally, with stress and depression. There`s no way he`s gonna get me with tactic #3, he may have won the battle but he hasn`t won the fight! It`s a blessing we`re in a trio so my companions can keep working while I recover, the Lord`s work will not be hindered!!! 

Your prayers will be much appreciated so I can have a speedy recovery and give it my all these last weeks!

xo,

Hna.Ibarra  

6 for the books that we call sticks

This week was an adventure-as usual- but lets start with our golden investigator Maria Pinto! She is the next to be baptized and has seriously been so prepared by the Lord! She used to be taught by missionaries years ago and still had the Book of Mormon and restoration pamphlet in her house. She lost touch cause she´d work a lot, but we found her contacting on the street. It´s so incredible to see how even though you may teach someone only once and never see them again the seed is truly planted and in the future will give fruit. She accepts everything we teaches, she prays when she goes home about everything we teach her and receives answers that it´s true. It´s funny cause when we taught her about modern day prophets she was stunned, that night she went home and prayed about it and opened her Book of Mormon and it talked about prophets and baptism. She was so excited for us to come over so she could tell us, and when she told us the page where she found her answer I didn´t read anything there about prophets, but its interesting how when someone needs an answer from the Lord he´ll put what they need on the pages. Recently we taught her about the Word of Wisdom and asked if she consumed any tea or coffee, she said she drank coffee and we told her she could have a substitute coffee drink here called "Ecco" which is made from wheat and she said "Oh! That´s what I drink, I can´t have the real kind cause it makes me sick." It was so awesome to see how the Lord has been preparing her for this moment, tonight we´re gonna have an FHE with her and a member family- she´ll be baptized in July.

I also had a little adventure in Downtown Santiago friday. I had to go with my daughter Hna.Fullmer and another missionary Hna.Nielson to renew my carnet (chilean ID) and to get them theirs for the 1st time. They changed some of the places where we had to go so I got totally lost and almost missed our appt. but thankfully we made it just in time! While we waited I contacted the people sitting around me, mostly all from Peru or Colombia, I love talking to strangers, especially the foreigners (they´re a lot nicer than the Chileans)! There was an empty seat next to me so I read the Conferene issue of the Liahona while I waited for my next victim to approach and it was a man from Peru, and actually her contacted me! He said "Excuse me but do you know how to work this website?" and when I looked it was FamilySearch.org! haha! I was like "YES! Of course I do!" really I think it was an excuse to talk to me, turns out him and all his family for like 3 generations are members in Peru, he had lost touch with the church but was thinking of coming back, so I encouraged him to do it and talked about all his fun memories he had in the church as a child. 3 hours later they finally stamped and registered our Visas but we need to go back friday to pick up our new carnets.

This week Pdt. &Hna. Essig left and we got our new mission president Pdt. & Hna. Videla. Even though I´m gonna miss the Essigs a ton I´m happy that they live sorta nearby in Logan and also that our new mission president is Chilean so he´s gonna help us a lot more on how to get in with the people and culture! We had special changes last night so I spoke with him briefly on the phone and he seems like a funny guy. He said "Hna.Ibarra how are you and our companions?" I said, "We´re doing great!" he said "Oh, good! You´re the only one´s in the mission doing great, everyone else is sad that Pdt. & Hna. Essig left, but their just gonna have to work with what they got now." hahaha! Tomorrow we´re gonna meet him in a conference so should be fun!

This week I also lost my agenda, that was sad. I can only compare it to losing a cell phone. All my life for the past 6 weeks were gone and all my plans for the next 6 weeks blank. I had no idea what to do with myself and I had a lot of important addresses from people I had talked to. Luckily our Zone Leader had an exchange and the member that went with them to an appt found it and gave it to him!!! My pen was still in the spine and everything! Tender mercy :)

To wrap up the week we spent all weekend packing up our entire house and all morning with the Elders moving into their old place where they moved from. It blows my mind everytime how much junk you accumulate, I hadn´t had to pack in over 7 months so I was over it after 1 box, but we finally got settled into our new place this morning. It´s not as nice as where we were, but doable. Theres just a leak of gas in the kitchen and a pipe that bangs so hard it almost busts threw the wall everytime we flush the toilet...nbd.

"Whether truth emerges from a scientific laboratory or through revelation, all truth emanates from God. All truth is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ^."-Elder Russell M. Nelson


xo,
Hna.Ibarra

7 for the prayers we send up to heaven.

This week was so much fun!!! Seriously can´t express how much I love my companions, I feel like I´ve known them all my life. At first I was a bit nervous about being with Hna.Adamson cause she can be a little ditsy sometimes, but it has just been laugh after laugh everyday and her small blonde moments lighten up the mood.

This week we were on the hunt for a house! T-2 weeks so we printed out little papers and posted them on all the almacenes (little grocery stores) in the neighborhoods and talked to everyone asking in contatcs if they knew anything. They all had us on a wild goose chase until I saw a woman sweeping up her leaves (it´s oficially winter here!). This week I was working on the attribute of charity so I offered to help her out and while I did I asked her if she knew about anyone renting a place. She said yes, that it was the owner of an almacen across the street. So after helping her we went over and talked to the lady. I had already talked to her before but I thought we had nothing to lose so I tried again and she said she wasn´t the owner of the apt, but her coworker was and called her over. She looked like she was in a bad mood and asked what we wanted and we explained our situation and she offered to take us to look at the place. It´s a house where the bottom floor is a ferreteria (hardware store) and upstairs it´s divided in 2 apts. It´s tiny but clean and decent and technically in the Elders sector so they would have to live there and us move into their house in our sector. But it was the 1st thing in weeks that was a posibility. Later that week a brother called me from another ward who moved and wants to rent his house to the missionaries! So we went and checked out the place with the Elders, a lot roomier and in a safe part of town so looks like the Elders will be moving there and things are gonna work out, so hopefully this time next week we´ll be in our new house!!! God has seriously answered our prayers!

Besides that this week was full of dogs trying to attack us, stepping on poop every other day, contacting strangers with a herd of cows mooing in my ear, and painted another member´s fence for a service project! Just another week in Chile!

P.s. there´s another game today so the e-mails short cause we gotta lock ourselves up before it starts. Chi-chi-chi, le-le-le ¡VIVA CHILE!  

xo,

Hna.Ibarra

8 for the boy who just couldn´t wait!

Haha, well there really is no boy who just couldn´t wait,it´s just a catchy rhyme. But This week we had changes!!! After much prayer and fasting I am-  Drum roll...............................................................................staying in Renca with Hna.Thomas!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHHH!!!! So nuts! We were praying so hard for it to happen, but really we didn´t have much hope since I´ve been here 5 transfers now and since Pdt. Essig said he´d be changing a lot of the leaders in the mission since the majority of the leaders now are leaving this transfer or the next. We were jumping and screaming in the middle of the street when the District Leader called us. Not only is the Dream Team staying together, but we´re gonna have a new addition, Hna.Adamson from Pleasant Grove, UT! Super cute blonde that reminds me of one of the BRATZ barbie dolls. I am so pumped to be staying here my last transfer, that means by the end I´ll have 9 months in the same sector...that´s HALF MY MISSION! Who´d a thought?! Seriously, God works in mysterious ways. When I first got here I was soo sad to have left Curacavi and after a week I was already over it. But now I´m like part of the family, I love the members, the people, the branch, and can´t imagine myself anywhere else! Plus I´m so happy to be able to see Ricardo and Gloria get married and him get baptized next month. The Lord knew my mission wouldn´t be complete until I saw to it!

Some highlights of this week was that we had a General Authority come, Elder Robbins of the 1st Quorum of the 70. That´s like the 3rd General Authority in less than 6 months, either we´re doing something really right, or really wrong!!! Hahaha! It was an amazing conference together with the Santiago East mission where we were able to have a question answer session with Elder Robbins about how to work more closely with the Holy Ghost. My mind was blown!

There was lots of rain this week and we had to do several intercambios (exchanges) with the sisters we´re in charge of which was fun but the streets we´re all flooded and it took forever to get to our appts. (Thanks mom for the boots and waterproof jacket- it all held up!) But I guess one of the highlights of this week was La Copa Mundial!!! Chile played Australia friday and won 3-0!!! We were all sent home early that day cause literally EVERYONE in Chile got off work early and was BBQing and partying and watching the game. We were planning but heard every goal Chile made cause the entire neighborhood was yelling and screaming and blowing horns and beating drums and shooting guns and firecrackers everytime, it was hilarious!!! Hna.Thomas and I had out own little celebration in our house and a member painted our faces and we planned with our Chile shirts, haha! Gotta make things interesting in the mission!

Seriously, I can´t express how much I love the mission and Chile! This change is gonna be one of many changes, we need to find a new house in 2 weeks or we´re gonna have to live in the mission office, Pdt.Essig leaves in 2 weeks and our new mission President, Pdt. Videla and his wife are coming in as well,more exchanges with the new sisters we´re in charge of, and more! I guess over all I´m just super grateful that it´s a long transfer (8 weeks) and that I´ll be staying with Hna.Thomas who I know is gonna push me and help me give my all ´til the very end.

Spiritual cookie: "One of the great teachings of the Man of Galilee, the Lord Jesus Christ, was that you and I carry within us immense possibilities. In urging us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, Jesus was not taunting us or teasing us. He was telling us a powerful truth about our possibilities and about our potential. It is a truth almost too stunning to contemplate. Jesus, who could not lie, sought to beckon us to move further along the pathway to perfection." Pdt. SPencer W. Kimball- Jesus the Perfect Leader

"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." 3 Nephi 27:27

xo,

Hna.Ibarra

9 for the miles we ride on our bikes

This week rain welcomed in the winter. It`s rained almost everyday which makes proselyting super fun because it`s something different and because not just anyone is walking around in the rain, only the super special souls the Lord has prepared for us to preach the gospel to! But of course with the drop in temperature I caught a cold and lost my voice so it`s been a little hard to contact and teach. I don`t know if the people are looking at me all wide-eyed because I`m teaching with such power and authority or because they`re trying really hard to understand what I`m saying, hahaha! Nonetheless, whenever my voice gives out my trusty companion Hna.Thomas jumps in and saves me, this is why we preach in two`s!!! Also I`m happy because my feet haven`t hurt at all this week, so either your prayers are working or it`s so cold my feet are numb and I can`t feel the pain, either way it`s awesome! Also, we got a letter from the owner of our house so we have 30 days to find a new place and move or were homeless...awesome! It`s been a good excuse though to talk to random people and contact!

This week we did a couple exchanges with the sister`s in our group. Our first was with Hna.Carhuas from Peru. It was an incredible experience because originally her companion was gonna stay in my sector to work with me but they got confused and Hna.Carhuas brought her stuff to spend the night so we just went with it, little did we know it was a blessing in disguise from the Lord. We went to several appts that night and Hna.Carhuas` powerful testimony and personal experiences helped our investigators and converts so much, they were so grateful for her words and were so uplifted! I knew then it was no accident at all! Then Hna.Quintana came to Renca, she`s my homegirl so we had such a blast together! She`s been struggling with some depression but it did her so much good to work somewhere new and I was able to see that she truly has the ability to do the work, she just needs a companion to love, support and motivate her. Love her to death, she rocked in our lessons!

Besides that this week I`m working on the attribute of Hope which is perfect cause there`s been several challenges with our investigators that were GOLDEN and I need to increase my hope that they`ll progress. David has stopped progressing and has been going out with his buddies to drink and smoke and hasn`t come home until the next morning and things like that. Carolina is super upset and they were thinking of sepperrating. I read Moroni 7 with them about having chairty and loving eachother with the pure love of Christ and that sepperrating was not the solution to their problems. That night I went home feeling guilty...I told myself "I didn`t convince them to get married so they`d get sepperated! Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I shouldn`t of told them to get married. Now they`re gonna get sepperated and it`s probably my fault in the first place!" I really didn`t know what to think, but I prayed that the Lord would help them look beyond their immperfections, forgive eachother and have the pure love of Christ. The next morning during my personal study the Lord answered the secret pleadings of my heart when I read Ether 12:36-37  "And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord that he would give unto the gentiles grace, that they might have charity. And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: if they have not chairty it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place where I have prepared in the mansions of my father." I knew then that I didn`t do anything wrong, I invited them to keep a commandment of the Lord and that I did was I was suppossed to do as a representative of Christ and that I shouldn`t feel guilty about that. It`s always a special experience when the Lord speaks so directly to me through the scriptures. It`s happened to me countless of times and each time it`s another testimony that I have a Heavenly Father, He hears and answers my prayers, He loves me and guides me, and the Book of Mormon is His word. 

Today for p-day we went bowling with other sisters in the mission, it was so hilarious, we`re all so rusty! It was even funnier to see the latina girls try to play, it was many of them`s first time ever bowling so I was trying to teach them how to throw the ball down the alley. After a couple of gutter balls, slips, falls, and laughs we finally got the hang of it again. My goal was to get one strike which I did so I was happy after that! Hna.Quintana got like 3 and we we`re joking about how this is good preperation to go dating again haha! Oh dear! Can`t even think about that right now, so much to do, so little time! We have a conference with a member of the quorum of the 70 this week, 3 exchanges, and Chile is playing in the World Cup so we have to go in early that night incase they lose or win and the people get CRAY in Renca. People here get drunk on weekdays so I don`t even want to know what it`s like when a soccer game`s on! 

This is the last week of the transfer so I`m pretty nervous! I really love where I`m at and my companion Hna.Thomas and don`t want any changes, but it`s what the Lord wants not me, so I`m just trying to enjoy every second I have this week and opening my heart to change for the last time in the mission...kinda nervewrecking to think it`ll be my last transfer. I just want an awesome companion who can work hard and push me even harder to give every ounce of spirit and testimony I have left to these people!!! Love you all!

<3,

Hna.Ibarra

 

10 for the Ten Commandments

Not gonna lie, this week was super trunky...SOOOOOO trunkyyyy!!!! But mainly because we had to kill Hna.Ireland who is probably landing in SLC as we speak!!! Our goal was to have to give her all and work her hardest this week, which she did, to the point where she went home with a cold...poor thing. But it`s like Elder Holland told us when he spoke to our mission last november, we need to go home in a stretcher because we gave everything we had! I think I`ll be going home with amputated feet they hurt so bad, I pray every day and night that the Lord may bless my feet with the strength to get where we need to go. Another reason this week was trunky was because yesterday I had my last Zone Conference and so I had to bare my farewell testimony to the missionaries. I had been pondering and praying about what I should say so that my words could sink into the hearts of the missionaries still in the middle or just beginning their missions and have a lasting impression and motivate them to continue in so great a cause. It was bitter sweet having to do it, especially since I still have another transfer left so I don`t feel like I`m leaving anytime soon whatsoever!!! But The spirit spoke through me, their hearts were pricked and my testimony was the spiritual punch I wanted it to be. So enough trunky talk, now for the rest of our power week!

We visited our investigator who`s GOLDEN- Maria Pinto! She went to church this sunday and shared with us in our appt that no instead of going home and watching TV she reads the Book of Mormon. She shared with us an incredible experience of how the house she`s building in Valparaiso near the beach was left abandoned with the doors opened. She was super anxious and worried that her things would get stolen so she opened the Book of Mormon and read a verse that brought her so much peace, she said it was a burning in her bossom, something she felt only once before when a family member passed away and she prayed for them. We testified it was the Holy Ghost and asked her if she felt she received her answer- she said yes, I know the Book of Mormon is true. Music to a missionaries ears!!!

Our other investigators have been dealing with a lot of opposition...nothing new...Eli had an accident at her job and a iron rod penetrated her hand and she had to get stitches. She`s been taking very poewrful pain medications that make her loopy so she hasn`t been able to read her Book of Mormon or go to church yet, but I have faith she`ll get there!

We had a powerful lesson with Enso on the Book of Mormon. We watched Elder Holland`s testimony on the BOM and then testified ourselves of its truthfulness. He still hadn`t received his answer so we read Alma 22 where King Lamoni prayed fervently to know if the gospel was true and invited him to kneel and pray with us. The spirit invaded the room...when I opened my eyes after the "amen" he was still moving his mouth and praying in his heart, his eyes were scrunched, there was such real intent in his face. He opened his eyes, red with tears. I asked him what he felt in that moment, he said "a lot of peace and emotion...I feel the Holy Ghost" and we testified that it was his answer. But it blows my mind how after such a powerful spiritual experience satan attacks. That weekend Enso didn`t go to church. We saw him yesterday, but when I saw his face there was an obvious absence of light...an absence of the light of Christ. There was darkness in his eyes, and it was such a strange feeling, something I`d never felt or seen before in a person. He was bizarre during the appt. We went over the baptismal questions and he was being bery sarcastic and said he had doubts about Joseph Smith, didn`t want to commit to keep the law of Chastity, and said he still wasn`t sure about the Sabbath day. My jaw dropped...WHAT?! After all the immensly powerful lessons we had to resolve his doubts where he felt it was the truth he was denying it all. Then he confessed that that weekend he went to "carretear" meaning party and drink and smoke with his friends.Then I knew, I knew why there was an absence of the spirit in his countenance. Something like that had never been so evident to me before. It was a sad realization, he has the desire to change, but lacks the will so we`ll see what happens.

Today for P-day Hna.Thomas and I went to an ancient art museum that had artwork of all the indigenous tribes in Latin America which was pretty cool! It`s weird being only 2 again, but it`ll still be fun fersure! Things are going great over all and just jumping over every hurdle the Lord throws at me. This week I`ve been reflecting a lot on my change as a missionary. No doubt I`ve come a looooooong way since I first began, the spiritual mountains I`ve climbed and conquered have been great...but have I changed enough? So starting this week I decided to work on the Attributes of Christ listed in Chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel, one for every week I have left, it`s perfect! I know I am so much more like my Savior now than I ever was before, and I just want to continue to change more and more, do my all, so the Lord can make me who he wants and needs me to be. 

spiritual cookie: "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy." The joy and glory of a missionary are his converts -1 Thesalonians 2:19-20

xo,

Hna.Ibarra

The Dream Team!!!

So this week has been the funnest with Hna. Thomas, seriously, I`ve always wanted to be companions with her ever since we met in Los Andes so it`s like a dream come true!!! In fact when the missionaries heard we`d be together as sister training leaders they started calling us "The Dream Team" hahaha, we just have this fame for being hard working and all around awesome I guess ;) But being with her this week has been such a blast and I`m excited for the next 3 in the transfer but praying for many more, so cross your fingers that she`ll "kill me" as they say in the mission (It means you`re with a companion when they finish their mission). She is upbeat, happy, diligent, obedient, and her love for this work radiates in her constant smile. We laugh all day, work hard and there is always a huge spirit in our lessons together. We talk to everyone, extend committments without mercy, and teach with power and authority. I love training, but the work is so much easier when you have a full contributing companion who is exactly on the same wave length as you. Renca won`t even know what hit it! The best part is that she`s been in the sector before and knows it well as well as the converts and former investigators so we are just running around all day, and there is never a dull or unproductive moment!

This week it poured on thursday and the temperature dropped drastically, it`s officially winter and I`m cold all the time, but this year I`m super equipped and prepared since now I know what to expect, this`ll be my final trial haha at least this year I`m not in Los Andes!

This week some pretty cool things happenned with our investigators, a part member family we`ve been teaching came to church and really liked it and we extended and committed 5 people to baptism this week which rocked! We also had 9 less actives in church which was a huge blessing we weren`t expecting. Also, Gloria, our investigators wife who tried to committ suicide is out of the hospital and home! We went to go see her and it was crazy to see how totally changed she is after this experience. She shared with us that the 3 days she was unconscious she was in the "in between". Her grandmother and aunt that passed away picked her up all dressed in white. She said the peace there was incredible and that they taught her many things. That the placed they lived in was one of joy and peace and was governed by many laws that were irrevocable. But they showed her another place, a place they couldn`t enter because there was a darkness so thick that if you tried to go in to save someone you wouldn`t find the way out. They told her that those that committ suicide, murder, or deny the holy ghost go there. That it is a place so terrible, the people there are walking around lost in darkness and can`t see eachother and that she could feel their torment and pain. They said they had been given permission to teach her these things so she could go back and turn her life around. When I met Gloria she didn`t know if to believe in God, remembering that time she told me "Hna.Ibarra remember when you asked me to pray and ask God if He was truly there, I finally got my answer." The spirit was immensly strong- no doubt she had visited the spirit world.

Then yesterday was pretty interesting for a sunday, when I walked into the chapel I saw the entire stake presidency there visiting the branch and thought "something`s up!!!!" And that`s when we all got the shocker that the entire branch presidency was released and they called a whole new presidency! WOW! No one saw it coming because the branch president has only had his calling for 1 year or 2. But there was a lot of disorder in the branch and with this new presidency (2 members of which were in the stake high council) things are not only going to get done, but get done right! This is going to help our missionary efforts A TON because we haven`t been able to have our meetings and coordinate our efforts with the branch. Plus now I know a TON of members are gonna come back that became innactive because of personal problems with leaders, so Hna.Thomas and I are super pumped to be serving the branch in this time and help them progress to one day become a ward! That night I got a surprising call from Pdt.Essig that Hna.Ireland would be coming back to our sector for her last week with Hna.Thomas and I...WHAAAAAATTTT?! I couldn`t believe it! I was already sooo happy to be with my dream companion I don`t know what I did to deserve to be with one of my closest friends in the mission Hna.Ireland as well in a trio! Seriously, right when you think nothing else could possibly happen in the week, it gets better! We are the Dream Team cubed haha Everyday I thank God for the oportunity he`s given me to serve Him, for my experiences in the mission- hard as they may be, for the people here who`ve touched my life, and for the priviledge of representing His son Jesus Christ. There`s nothing greater than this moment :)

Spiritual Cookie:"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philipians 3:6-8

XO,

Hna.Ibarra

It was the best of times it was the worst of times

This week has probably been one fo the most difficult and crazy of the mission...it just always surprises me how every week is something different but I never expected this...I was actually hesitant to even write today because when I write about my experiences I relive them and feel what I felt in the stories I share, but here it goes anyways...

This week started out great, Monday we went to go visit Ricardo with the branch president, everything was in place for his baptism: the invitations, the clothes, who was gonna baptize him, etc. We did the pre-interview and everything was good to go and we all congratulated him for his preperation and that he and his partner were gonna get married that Thursday, he was ecstatic, he´s been waiting for this moment for months and was countingdown the days! But that thursday morning instead of being at their wedding at the Registro Civil, I found myself at the hospital with Hna.Ireland who I had an emergency exchange with for the day because Ricardo´s soon to be wife had attempted suicide by taking over 100 perscription pills for depression and they didn´t know if she was going to make it. We got the news tuesday night while on our way to an appointment and that very minute on the street Hna.Fullmer and I prayed in a secluded park and began a fast for her. We got more information the next day that she was on a breathing machine in a medically induced coma and that they didn´t know how she would react or if she would have full brain function and that she might be a vegetable. I´m a strong person over all, especially when it comes to medical things, but it´s different when it´s someone you know and love and I couldn´t hold back my tears. God knows how much I prayed that morning to help me function normally throughout the day, especially when training a greenie who has almost no clue what´s going on most of the time I knew she couldn´t take charge and lead the sector, I had to motivate her and myself to get us both through. The Lord answered my prayer and we were able to teach with the spirit and I was able to keep the saddness in. It was so great to be able to see Hna.Ireland again and to be together during that moment, it helped Ricardo a lot since he has no family here, he says we´re his daughters and that he was so grateful Pdt. Essig let us leave the mission boundaries to be with him in Talagante. The good news is that Gloria is doing a lot better now, the day we went to he hospital she woke up and now she doesn´t need the breathing tubes and is speaking. But it´s going to be a long recovery process, mentally most of all, and she´s going to need a lot of help psychologically. I´ve faced all types of opposition when trying to help other come unto Christ, but NEVER something like this nor have I seen satan attack someone so hard like Ricardo. I´ve been teaching him since I got here 6 months ago, and there have been so many trials, but I know that he´ll make it someday soon!!!

Besides that we had changes!!! WHAAAA!!!! President called me saturday morning to tell me he needed me to be a sister training leader again and asked my advice on somethings for the changes...one step closer top being the first Hermana AP!!!! Hahaha, joking. But I knew that if I was gonna be a sister training leader that I wouldn´t be training anymore! So it was all up in the air with Hna.Fullmer and who my new companion would be. But the news couldn´t of been better, Hna.Fullmer went to Los Andes with Hna.Ireland (who has 2 weeks left) and Hna.Dodds by other trainee!!! So her big sister is gonna finish her training...nuts!!! And the bigger surprise yet was that I was gonna be with Hna.Thomas!!! She is just the love of my life! I owe her everything because she was the one who was with me when I got super sick with tonsilitis and was so drugged up I couldn´t even think straight (she´s also the one who practiced her nursing skills on me and gave me an injection of penicilin in my rear! TMI? so sorry :/ haha) But I am so grateful to be with her because after being so long in a sector and elading it´s nice to get a fresh perspective on the area, ward, and investigators and how we can help them all out! We are just gonna kill it these next 4 weeks!!! Oh yeah, this transfer got cut short so it´s gonna be weird and super fast! But doesn´t mean we´re not gonna make some miracles happen in that time, we totally will :D

Love you all, thank you for your constant uplifting messages and prayers in my behalf, they are what keep me going!!!

XO,
Hna.Ibarra

Re: Saving souls, one at a time!

Increible, q ya casi terminas, q felicidad oir de los exitos del Senor por medio de ti. Yo tuve un horrible accidente de carro q por poco me cuesta la vida, con dos vertebras fracturadas, pero esos son los desafios despues de la mision. Deseo termines con exito y recibas muchas bendiciones.
Abrazos,
Hna. Rodriguez

On May 13, 2014 11:14 PM, "Gladys Ibarra" <gladys.ibarra@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Family I loved seeing all your faces one last time- great to know the next will be up close and personal! This week was full of so many miracles and blessings!!! We had interviews with President Essig monday which is why our p-day got changed to tuesday) and it was my last interview with him since we´re getting a new mission president end of June. And yes, he gave me the whole marriage prep discussion...very informative...but trying to keep my mind focused on the mission still!!! I know everyone´s so pumped for me to come back (believe me I am too) and keep saying how I´m coming home soon, but I keep telling everyone 3 months is a loooong time and here´s why:

This Thursday we have Ricardo´s wedding!!! We´ve been working with him since we got to Renca and he´s made great strives since we met him and has truly seen the blessings of the gospel in his life. He wanted to get sepperated from his partner who´s a less active member, but by helping them love eachother with the pure love of Christ they´ve learned to forgive their imperfections and together strengthen their relationship with God by praying and reading the Book of Mormon together. Sunday he will be getting baptized!

Enso is another investigator who was participating a lot with the Adventists who worship the sabbath day on Sunday. When we taught the 10 commandments we got stuck on #4 and even though we explained that the sabbath day was on Sunday because it was when Christ resurrected he wanted biblical proof. So that week I prayed and meditated a lot and asked the Lord for guidance on how we could help Enso understand better the sabbath day. That´s when an idea popped into my haed to teach him the law of Moses. So I prepared a special lessno for him in which I made a T-chart, on one side the law of moses and on the other the law of Christ. I Explained with scriptures how Christ came to fulfill the law of moses and give us a greater law in things such as sacrafices, swearing, adultery, justice, etc. Then I got to the sabbath day and how he gae a new covenant-the sacrament and how the apostles would get together the 1st day of the week to partake of it. The spirit was so strong in the room and he felt it and knew that what we were saying was true and said that he finally understood now. It was incredible! 

We also taught an investigator named Mitchel and his less active girlfriend. I have contacted several times sice I got here and now with Hna.Fullmer we met his wife and were finally able to get an in! When we taught him the restoration he was so taken back...we taught with a lot of "asombro" like it says in Alma 18 and he wanted to have this same faith that we have that makes us want to give 18 months of our lives to preach the gospel in a foreign country and pay all our own expenses! jaja! It was so great! He prayed and read the Book of Mormon with his polola and is progressing and really opening up.

Yesterday we taught Luisa who we found contacting near our house. She suffers from panic attacks and ever since began to question her catholic faith, she felt that we were an answer from God and she is reading the Book of Mormon and has a lot of interest. Yesterday we took a member, Hna.Janet and Luisa told us how yesterday she had a huge panic attack and was in tears. Janet testified to her the healing power of the atonement and how the gospel can guide us in bad times. By the end of her testimony both Janet and Luisa were in tears and the spirit in the room was so intense!

We found 2 GOLDEN investigators! One is Eli who we found contacting, she was having a bad day, but said that when I said hi and spoke to her that a great peace came over her and that the only other time she had ever felt that was when a catholic priest would take her hand to greet her. She was dissapointed by her catholic religion (like so many) and felt that the restoration was true. We left her a Book of Mormon and upon our return appt 2 days later she had read 59 pages!!!! AMAZING!!!! Hna.Fullmer and I were blown away, not even the members can do that and understand so well like she did! She accepted a baptismal date for June.

Our other golden investigator was Maria who we also found contacting. She had talked to missionaries before but didn´t have a lot of time cause she´d work a lot so they stopped coming over. But she still had her Book of Mormon and now has a lot more time cause she just takes care of her grandkids. When we extended the baptismal invitation she said that just that morning she was thinking how she would like to get baptized, "What do I have to do to prepare, what are the requirements?!" she asked. It was incredible!

Truly the Lord is guiding us to amazing people who are eager and ready to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. So many souls to save, so little time! But I know that in these next 3 months the greatest miracles are going to occur, cause the prize only comes at the end of the race!

Love you all!!!!

xo,

Hna.Ibarra

Saving souls, one at a time!

Family I loved seeing all your faces one last time- great to know the next will be up close and personal! This week was full of so many miracles and blessings!!! We had interviews with President Essig monday which is why our p-day got changed to tuesday) and it was my last interview with him since we´re getting a new mission president end of June. And yes, he gave me the whole marriage prep discussion...very informative...but trying to keep my mind focused on the mission still!!! I know everyone´s so pumped for me to come back (believe me I am too) and keep saying how I´m coming home soon, but I keep telling everyone 3 months is a loooong time and here´s why:

This Thursday we have Ricardo´s wedding!!! We´ve been working with him since we got to Renca and he´s made great strives since we met him and has truly seen the blessings of the gospel in his life. He wanted to get sepperated from his partner who´s a less active member, but by helping them love eachother with the pure love of Christ they´ve learned to forgive their imperfections and together strengthen their relationship with God by praying and reading the Book of Mormon together. Sunday he will be getting baptized!

Enso is another investigator who was participating a lot with the Adventists who worship the sabbath day on Sunday. When we taught the 10 commandments we got stuck on #4 and even though we explained that the sabbath day was on Sunday because it was when Christ resurrected he wanted biblical proof. So that week I prayed and meditated a lot and asked the Lord for guidance on how we could help Enso understand better the sabbath day. That´s when an idea popped into my haed to teach him the law of Moses. So I prepared a special lessno for him in which I made a T-chart, on one side the law of moses and on the other the law of Christ. I Explained with scriptures how Christ came to fulfill the law of moses and give us a greater law in things such as sacrafices, swearing, adultery, justice, etc. Then I got to the sabbath day and how he gae a new covenant-the sacrament and how the apostles would get together the 1st day of the week to partake of it. The spirit was so strong in the room and he felt it and knew that what we were saying was true and said that he finally understood now. It was incredible! 

We also taught an investigator named Mitchel and his less active girlfriend. I have contacted several times sice I got here and now with Hna.Fullmer we met his wife and were finally able to get an in! When we taught him the restoration he was so taken back...we taught with a lot of "asombro" like it says in Alma 18 and he wanted to have this same faith that we have that makes us want to give 18 months of our lives to preach the gospel in a foreign country and pay all our own expenses! jaja! It was so great! He prayed and read the Book of Mormon with his polola and is progressing and really opening up.

Yesterday we taught Luisa who we found contacting near our house. She suffers from panic attacks and ever since began to question her catholic faith, she felt that we were an answer from God and she is reading the Book of Mormon and has a lot of interest. Yesterday we took a member, Hna.Janet and Luisa told us how yesterday she had a huge panic attack and was in tears. Janet testified to her the healing power of the atonement and how the gospel can guide us in bad times. By the end of her testimony both Janet and Luisa were in tears and the spirit in the room was so intense!

We found 2 GOLDEN investigators! One is Eli who we found contacting, she was having a bad day, but said that when I said hi and spoke to her that a great peace came over her and that the only other time she had ever felt that was when a catholic priest would take her hand to greet her. She was dissapointed by her catholic religion (like so many) and felt that the restoration was true. We left her a Book of Mormon and upon our return appt 2 days later she had read 59 pages!!!! AMAZING!!!! Hna.Fullmer and I were blown away, not even the members can do that and understand so well like she did! She accepted a baptismal date for June.

Our other golden investigator was Maria who we also found contacting. She had talked to missionaries before but didn´t have a lot of time cause she´d work a lot so they stopped coming over. But she still had her Book of Mormon and now has a lot more time cause she just takes care of her grandkids. When we extended the baptismal invitation she said that just that morning she was thinking how she would like to get baptized, "What do I have to do to prepare, what are the requirements?!" she asked. It was incredible!

Truly the Lord is guiding us to amazing people who are eager and ready to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. So many souls to save, so little time! But I know that in these next 3 months the greatest miracles are going to occur, cause the prize only comes at the end of the race!

Love you all!!!!

xo,

Hna.Ibarra

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of...

This week was pretty fun, I guess the highlight was doing an exchange in downtown Santiago and working with one of my best friends in the mission Hna.Withers who came with me to the field from the MTC. I contacted a couple crazies who tried to get fresh with me, almost got hit by a bus, and Hna.Withers almost got hit by a car! Lots of dangers in the city, I`ll stick with Renca, kthanks. Also I met a member who recently returned from his mission in Concepcion who has contact with my trainer Hna.Rodriguez who I`ve been trying to get in touch with but the e-mail she gave me doesn`t exist anymore :( So I was happy to be able to get in touch with her. Lastly, while we were walking down the street contacting a guy was walking towards us while covering his face with his bag of groceries...I looked at him confused and when he got close enough he put the bag down and it was Federico Martinez aka Fede from Curacavi who helped us a lot in Jose Miguel`s conversion process and baptized him! He moved to "el centro" to be closer to his job, so it was such a treat to see him again! One of my favorite things about the mission is all the connection you make and all the new people you meet. You make life long friendships with your investigators, converts, members, and companions and thanks to facebook it`s so much easier to keep in touch after the mission, too! I seriously couldn`t imagine my life without the mission, so many people have touched my heart and changed me for good and I couldn`t imagine not having met them, life just wouldn`t be the same!

Another highlight this week was that we went to the temple with David, Carolina and Benjamin and got a tour from the sister missionaries there. It was such a great experience for them, David had awesome questions and Carolina is soooo excited to be able to go in and do baptisms! She and Benjamin got confirmed sunday and she said the whole day she felt this incredible peace come over her and was with her all day-we testified that it was the holy ghost. When an investigator is confirmed the words "receive the holy ghost" are pronounced upon them. This is not a command for the holy ghost to enter the life of that person, but rather an invitation for the person to live their life in such a way that they can have this constant guide and companion. It is part of our responsability and objective as missionaries to help these people receive the holy ghost after baptism by continuing keeping their committments and the commandments. Sadly some people after baptism go inactive and although they were confirmed never really received the holy ghost in their lives. These people are seldomly truly converted to the gospel and never had the opportunity to truly FEEL the difference of this comforter. So I was so happy to hear they are feeling the changes of the gospel in their lives, David is witnessing them too and comments about them and I know that pretty soon he`ll have the courage to take this same step of faith.

Well folks, all is well in Renca! Excited to skype you all for the last time next sunday!!! 

"The way you feel in the temple is a pattern for how you want to feel in your life" 

-Neil A. Anderson

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

Buddhists, bus robberies, and baptisms!

This week was soo crazy......CRAZY AWESOME! A funny highlight was that we contacted a Buddhist guy, he`s Chilean, we were walking past his apt and the door was open and I saw huge pencil sketches of dragons and asian art on the wall. I told him I thought they were cool and he told me he`d like to talk more with us but that he can`t come to church with us because he`s made certain vows and is a Samurai....uhhhh....ookaaayyyyy??? Hahaha!

Later in the week we had an exchange with our Sister Training Leaders in Compañia. On the way to the city I was chatting with Hna.Fullmer about the dangers of Chile because she mentioned how she thought it was safe and not a lot of robberies. As I began to correct her and tell her stories of things that have happenned in the mission pertaining to robberies, break-ins, and missionaries getting jumped the bus stopped at a stop and when the doors opened some guy reached over the crowd of people, ripped of Hna.Fullmer`s Young Women`s Medallion and jumped out running!!! Her plaque flew off in the air and the people on the bus all started to yell that there had been a robbery and we`re freaking out! It all happened so fast that I didn`t even have time to react! NEVER in my year of being in Chile had someone ever tried to rob me  (I guess cause I got the tough miami look on my face ;P ) but I guess there`s a first time for everything...where`s the Samurai guy when you need him?!

We had an awesome ward activity we put together as missionaries with our ward mission leader, it was called C.C.M.M.-Centro de Capacitacion para Miembro Misioneros (MTC for members) and we had them live a day in the life of a missionary through games. They all got mission calls, divided into different missions and got plaques. Then they started with their morning exercices and we tied their legs with their companion and did a 3 legged raced finding candies around the halls of the church, then study time where the different missions had to answer questions from the Book of Mormon, then they had lunch and had a race between the missions of who could eat a donut hanging on a peice of string without hands the fastest. At the end we had a spiritual aspect and saw a video called  "The Work of Salvation" and then they wrote their testimonies inside a Book of Mormon to give it to someone they felt impressed to share the gospel with. It was a hit, everyone had a ton of fun, plus I made brownies and got lots of compliments haha! 

Then sunday we finally had Carolina and Benjamin`s baptism!!!They looked so beautiful dressed in white. David came to support, he doesn`t feel ready for baptism yet, but he`s almost there. He`s seen the changes the gospel has made for his family and the blessings it has brought them so we`re going to keep working with him. It all turned out great and Carolina shared her testimony in the end and in tear said said "Yo se que esta es la iglesia verdadera." No other words can make a missionary happier besides hearing someone accept a baptismal invitation or that you got mail hahaha!

Later that sunday the Catholic church had this Quasimoto procession parade thing with horses and wagons and people on horses and bikes with flags and banner and jesus and virgin mary pictures, it was pretty cool. 

Lastly, we met some cool people this week, a contact named Elizabeth who was walking home from work. I talked to her and she said that she was having a bad day and felt it was a sign that I talked to her. She said she once knew a priest who would shake her hand and this great peace would come over her, she said she had this same feeling when she was speaking to me. Also, today we were in the Metro and Hna.Fullmer and I saw 2 tall gringos and thought "they`re not from around here." That`s when the woman yelled "SISTERSSS!!!!!!!!!" and gave each of us a HUGE hug and pulled out her camera and started talking pictures with us, LOL! Almost died laughing! They`re from Kaysville and have a daughter serving a mission in Georgia now, they are in Chile trying to start a pinewood durby local and use it as a reactivation tool and are also doing contacts and have handed out tons of pass-along cards and church DVD`s and we were talking to them for a while and it was just incredible their personal iniciative to embark in the Work of Salvation, what a wonderful example of member missionaries! It`s my personal goal in life to do small things like that to share the gospel with strangers.All in all it was a crazy wonderful week!

"Spiritually mature obedience is “the Savior’s obedience.” It is motivated by true love for Heavenly Father and His Son." Elder Robert D. Hales

xo,
Hna.Ibarra

Wedding Bells!!!

This week was THE BEST for soooo many reasons! Starting with David and Carolina`s wedding! We went to the Registro Civil early Wednesday morning to witness the ceremony. With us was the couple that was helping us fellowship them, Obispo Contrreras and his wife Margarita as well as David and Carolina`s fathers and 2 friends from work who were the witnesses. The ceremony was simple but meaningful and their first step towards becoming an eternal family. Afterwards we had lunch with the wedding party and had Peruvian food (David is Peruvian), ceviche, cancha, pollo asado, calamari, DELISH! Carolina and Benjamin her son are ecstaticaly awaiting their baptism next sunday and we`re trying to work out some social doubts David has, but I know that in the Lord`s time he will follow suit.

Things are going super great with Hna.Fullmer, she learns tons daily and my favorite part of training is just to see the process of a greenie learning and growing and gaining confidence in their abilities as they blossom into a missionary full of power and authority. Speaking of authority, I read Elder Oaks talk in the priesthood session about the priesthood...AMAZING!!!! Answered a lot of questions I had and it was cool to hear from the words of an apostle that women in the church are given priesthood authority to capacitate them in their callings and responsabilities and how as sister missionaries we are given priesthood authority, such as the sisters in the temple, to perform a priesthood duty. I felt so empowered by that and truly know that we are all equal in the Lord`s eyes and have the right, such as the Elders, to proclaim repentance, preach the gospel, and bring about miracles through our praeyers of faith.

Lastly, today we got to go to our yearly temple trip (which is why our p-day was today and not Monday) and WOW! I left there spiritually recharged and rejuvinated, it`s a shame they don`t let us go more often. The new session is INCREDIBLE!!!!! There is no was anyone can sleep through that one! hahaha! But in all seriously, the spirit of the new video is incredible and pulls on your heart strings, I absolutely loved it! Being back in the house of the Lord was such a blessing to me personally. Since my childhood, my mother always instilled on me the importance of temple attendance. I would monthly join her to our stake trips in Orlando, although I wasn`t yet old enough to go inside, I`d enjoy hours of solitude playing and singing in the gardens of the temple. When I was older, I would join her on these monthly trips and would then do proxy baptisms and confirmations. I`ll never forget the first time I entered the Lord`s house and was able to perform the baptism of my grandmother Gladys, a long awaited ordinance that my mother had  especially saved for me and a moment I had been preparing for all my childhood. My strongest spiritual experiences and testimonies we`re acquired in experiences I lived within this holy edifice´s 4 walls. When I was 18 I decided it was the time to prepare to one day make further covenants in the house of the Lord, I took several temple prep classes, studied my scriptures carefully and continued to make temple attendance a part of my weekly habits since I then gained the blessing of having a temple only minutes away in Provo. Temple Tuesday I`d call it! And every tuesday after work I`d make the 30 minute walk to the Provo temple, sun or snow. It was a small sacrafice compared to our efforts to attend the temple in Florida. With time the moment finally came, when I`d be able to receive more of the blessings the Lord had for me in the temple, a day I had been waiting and preparing years for, it was one of the happiest moments of my life, and I was even happier to be able to share that moment with my family and again with my grandmother as I once again performed the vicarious work in her behalf. Through the years I`ve learned that Temple attendance is a family matter, although a place where we can find peace and seek personal revelation and council, it is a place where you don`t want to always go alone, but with your family and loved ones by your side. With time I`ll continue to make more covenants and receive all the blessings the gospel and the temple has to offer me, a day that I know the mission is also preparing me for (that`s as trunky as you`ll ever here me speak, haha!) So thank you mami for teaching me of the importance of Temples through your example. 

Till next week everyone!!!

"Practice your faith, proclaim your faith, manifest your faith." Elder Nelson

Hna.Ibarra