Franco´s Baptism!

Another transfer in the bag, I was tossing and turning on the top bunk ALL saturday night until we finaly got the call that Hna.Ireland and I would be staying just the 2 of us another transfer in Renca, YAY!!!!! We were stolked, cause our investigators are progressing like crazy now!!!

Sunday we had Franco´s baptism and it was all a success! He was taught by Elders a year ago when he lived with his mom, but was 17 and didn´t obtain permission from his Jehova Witness parents (his mom got excommunicated from the J dubs as well...ouch!) and so he couldn´t get baptized. But Now he´s 18 and lives with his dad in our area so the Elders passed us the referal and we started teaching him. The YSA have fellowsipped him well and the bishop is anxious to give him the priesthood and want to ordain him to the Melquizedec (never spell that right) priesthood in a month around General Conference! He´s dating a member from Quilicura and is a good kid, he´s going to do great things in the gospel, next step...the mission!!!

We also taught Paula who is going to be baptized not this sunday but the next. This week her mom joined us in the lesson and we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ making smores, it´s a pretty fun object lesson and Chileans love anything "gringo" from the states, it´s so funny cause it´s something they´ve only seen on TV or in movies so they were super excited to taste it and got so hooked!!! Hahahaha!

Ricardo and his family went on vacation this week, they´re planning an April wedding, we want to convince them for a March wedding, but are trying to also be patient with the Lord´s will and timing, at least they WANT to get married now, we´ve achieved HUGE things with this couple and he´s closer to baptism now more than ever!!!

Our golden family David, Carolina and Benjamin are seeing the joys and blessings of the gospel transform their lives. They read and pray as a family, they are having less marital problems and have a great desire to get married and baptized in March! They´re going to the Registro Civil today to check out dates and start making the plans and Carolina wants us to go wedding dress shopping with her- girls outing!!! Woohoo!!!

It´s amazing to me how a couple of clueless 20 year old girls can touch peoples lives and help them not only come unto Christ, but be spiritual guides, psychologists, marriage therapists, child-rearing experts, health care providers, etc. The responsabilities and jobs of a missionary are many, but the title of a missionary is one- Representatives of Jesus Christ! We´re doing what He would do and surely he had to deal with people problems daily. The skills we´re aquiring now are going to help you be a better person, spouse, parent, child, employee, etc. So to anyone contemplating going on a mission- JUST DO IT!!!

Spiritual Cookie:
"Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees.

The further sky, the greater length.

The more the storm, the more the strength.

By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow."

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

A prayer of gratitude

This week was one of MIRACLES! I started the week with a goal that for the entire week that I would only give prayers of gratitude. In the beginning it was really hard cause I would catch myself asking for things and would have to back track and start my  prayers over and just give thanks cause you`re always just in the habbit of asking for certain things like for your family and investigators, etc. But I thought it `d be a great way to show my gratitude to the Lord for being in this sector, it was a rough start, but we are starting to see the fruits of our hard work.

We did our usual 2 exchanges this week, first with Hna.Thomas who used to be in this sector. She`s like a good luck charm, whenever I do exchanges with her I have an awesome day! We were able to put some more investigators with a baptismal date and find some good new people  including a newly wed couple of evangelicals who are so tough! They have their doctrine so mixed up and are so set in their ways it`s difficult to teach them the restoration because they don`t understand the apostasy and that prophets communicate with God face to face, but I`m ready with some bible verses for next time!

Then we got a call from the office, turns out someone who recieved a temple pass-along card from us ACTUALLY called the number on the back and asked where the temple was in Chile and has a lot of problems in her life right now and wanted us to visit her. It was the ONLY time one of the atleast 100 cards I give out weekly worked, woohooo!!! So statistically speaking 1 out of every 5000 cards given out gets us a referal, haha!

Also there was an earthquake during our district meeting, that was fun, and it drizzled the other day!!! I miss the rain so much, I just want to hear a thunder storm and I`ll be happy :) We`re moving into fall so the weather is cooling down and is a bit weird, but a good thing for missionaries!

Now the low-down on our progressing investigators:

David, Carolina, and Benjamin are our golden family who are progressing towards a baptismal date for March 16th. She didn`t go to church last sunday cause she felt bad she didn`t have a skirt and wanted to go appropriately dressed to show respect for God, so this week she bought a skirt and we went with the whole family to Stake Conference! We had the amazing opportunity to participate in a regional conference only for Chile by sattelite and they talked about mainly the importance of families, eternal marriage, and obeying the law of chastity. David and Carolina aren`t married and we taught her about the law of chastity this week but David was at work so it couldn`t of been more perfect cause it was JUST what they needed to hear! She said she`s always dreamed of being dressed in white and having a wedding and that her and David had plans to get married that didn`t follow through but that they still want to do it and are gonna talk about it! Woohoo!!!

Then we have Ricardo, who we feared was going to turn into an eternal investigator because although he would get baptized tomorrow if he could, he isn`t married to his baby-momma either and so he can`t. This week we had a special lesson with him and his partner who is less-active, Gloria, and taught them about charity, the pure love of Christ and how even though they are going through a rough spot in their relationship they can fall in love again if they first love like Christ did. That friday we took them to the temple and got a tour from the sister  missionaries. We were able to take them in as far as the lobby where the recommendation desk is at and as the temple doors closed behind us it was evident we were no longer in the world. I haven`t been inside the temple in almost a year, we`re only allowed to go in April as missonaries, but when I stood in the lobby amidst the silence and the soft organ music playing in the background the sweetest sensation came over me and it was as if I was back home after a long long time. My eyes teared up as the spirit reconfirmed to me that this was the literal House of God, I could feel His presence, and the memory of the covenants I`ve made therein and more that I will someday make to my eternal companion overwhelmed me. Having to wait 4 more months until I can go back inside is killing me!!! Ricardo and Gloria felt something special, too. They said they felt as though there was more people surrounding them although it was just the  5 of us the 2 sisters and the brother at the desk, and we bore testimony that the temple is a piece of heaven on earth, that the ordinances there are for the living and the dead and that the veil between us and them is very thin within the temple walls. It was a special day for all of us, one I`ll never forget. Later that week Ricardo also assisted the Stake Conference, upon hearing the broadcast given by several Elders of the 70, one of the primary general leaders and Elder Cook of the 12 Apostles on marriage and saving ordinances he came upto us and  said "this week I`m going to the registro civil and I`m gonna pick a date for Gloria and I to get married." It was as if a bomb landed in the room, Hna.Ireland and I almost shouted for joy! We`re going to see him tonight to work out the details on what they need for the civil ceremony! So looks like my goal for 2014 of marrying an investigator so they can get baptized was also the will of the Lord and we`re going to have 2 weddings in march!!! YEAH!

Lastly, after the saturday session of the conference a girl came upto me and introduced herself as Paula the girlfriend of one of the YSA age men in the stake. She said we had visited her mom and as she described to me where she lived I remembered having contacted her mom one day knocking on doors this week, we had set an appointment and passed by several times with no luck, but something kept telling me to keep trying and in fact we had passed by that evening just before the conference! Then she pronounced the most angelical words any missionary would die to hear "I want to be baptized!"...wait-what-when?! "as soon as possible!", okay can we come over today?! Hahahaha! So crazzyyyy!!!! We set an appointment, she has the required assistance for sacrament meeting so we literally just need to teach her the discussions and dunk her! I told her to pick a date for herself, usually we pray about and challenge them to prepare for a certain date, but her circumstance is special so I thought it`d be more special for her to get baptized on a sunday of her choice.

Guy seriously, missonary work is so awesome!!!! There is nothing more amazing for than this!!! They say that a missionaries last 6 months are when they`re at their peak, this was made evident this week as I hit my 1 year mark and broke new personal records having 7 investigators at church 6 of which are progressing towards a baptismal date, and soon Paula when she picks a date tomorrow! Truly a week of miracles and so many more to come next month as we help our brothers and sisters come unto Christ through the waters of baptism, all because of a prayer of gratitude.

Hna.Ibarra

Dog bites, holy shoes and sector attack!

When will the mission NOT be crazy...NEVER! But not complaining because it`s what keeps me pumped and motivated to keep going and on my toes for what the Lord`s gonna throw next at us! 

This week we started out doing exchanges with my sisters in Curacavi aka the sector that is the love of my life! Hna.Stum came with Hna.Flores and I, this is her last transfer so I was eager to learn from her experience and get advice to help me in my last 6 months in Chile. We headed out to a street to knock on doors when all of a sudden I hear Hna.Flores scream and a dog barking. Dogs bark at us all the time and she is super super scared of dogs so I didn`t think it was anything unusual until I saw her limping and crying and blood on her foot. Some dog from the street bit her foot, it wasn`t too bad, only one fang tooth punctured the skin so she had a little dot but since it was a dog from the street protocol is that she get the rabi`s shot- did I mention her second greatest fear after dogs are needles? We were near a store and the owner came out and made a huge show and kicked the dog and gave us a bandaid and directed us to the nearest clinic. So we walked over but they told us the vaccination clinic opens at 2 again after lunch and we were too early, so we went home, at lunch and then returned. They directed us to 5 different places before finally telling us that the emergency hours are at 5pm and they can`t attend her now so we just cleaned her wound again, made sure she wasn`t foaming from the mouth and headed out to our lessons. Later that night while we were getting ready for bed we got a call from out mission president. I thought he was just checking up on the dog situation, but then he switched from talking spanish to talking english-this usually means he wants to be understood and that it`s something serious so I listened attentively as he told me that another sister had to go home because of knee problems and that Hna.Flores was gonna get emergency transferred to Lo Ovalle in Quilicura- nooooooo!!!!! We just got her a couple weeks ago! She`s been emergency transfered 3 times already because of similar situations and I knew she`d be upset now that she was getting used to the sector, so I let president break the news to her. She was super sad and cried it out a bit, but Hna.Stum and I assured her that this shows the confidence that not only Pdt. Essig but the Lord has in her to help when there`s a problem. So the next day we helped her pack and took her to her new sector and finished out our exchanges. I was relieved to have my companion Hna.Ireland back after 4 days without her, she was said though cause she didn`t get to say good-bye to Hna.Flores, but I`m sure we`ll see eachother around sometime soon. 

Later in the week we had interviews with President.YAY!!!! I love having interviews with him, he asked about my concerns with the sisters in my zone and sent me off with a scripture. Usually if he doesn`t have much to say it`s a good thing cause he`s not worried about anything and moves on to the next missionary. That same day we had what`s called an Ataque de Sector aka Sector Attack, where missionaries from the MTC in Chile who are soon to go to the field go on splits with us for a couple of hours to see what it`s like. I went with Hna.Truman from Las Vegas and we knocked on doors and visited a less active and I had her practice contacting and bearing her testimony and offering the prayers. In the beginning that`s usually the only thing the gringos can do since they`re still learning the language, but she did a great job and it was fun to show her what the mission is like. 

Lastly, we had some AWESOME lessons!!! One was a newly wed couple who are expecting their 1st baby, Betty y Alejandro. They were a referal but we don`t remember from who, but they are SUPER receptive! Their new baby and the death of a relative has influenced them to want to be closer to God. They we`re so normal during the prayer (usually people will have their eyes open or feel awkward) and when we invited them to be baptized they immediately said yes that they`d love that cause they`d never been baptized! WOHOO! The biggest perk is that they`re already married so it`s gonna be a lot easier to help them progress and enter the waters of baptism. We also had a lesson with our golden family David, Carolina & their son Benjamin. We taught them about prophets, it was about our 5th lesson but they still hadn`t been able to ask if the Book of Mormon is true, so at the end of the lesson we kneeled in prayer and invited David to say it and ask if it was true. Afterwards, there was a pause, the spirit flooded the room, I opened my eyes to see all of them in deep meditation, listening, and waiting. I knew they were asking with real intent and after a couple minutes we all sat down and I asked them what they felt. Carolina had tears in her eyes and couldn`t even speak. She couldn`t explain the feeling she had inside nor why she was crying so uncontrolably, it is what EVERY missionary wants their investigators to feel and we testified to her that it was the Holy Ghost confirming to them that these things were true, that that was what it felt like. It was incredible.

There is no greater call, rank, position, job, or status than being a representative of the Lord. There is no greater thing I can be doing in my life right now than this. I thank God daily for the privilege to wear the name of His son on my heart everyday and to be a part of miracles weekly. Thanks everyone for your love and support!

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

22!

So this week I kicked it off with my 22nd birthday! Feels so weird, I still feel 21, but it was the best day this week. I woke up to my desk being heart attacked by my lovely companion Hna.Ireland, a birthday card and brownies, yum!!! Then after studying and singing my favorite hymn (More Holiness Give Me) we went to our neighbors house who is less active and seperated with 2 kids and did service for her. We cut her lawn and pulled out the weeds and washed the windows of her house and the best part was that her front neighbor saw us and asked her why we were cleaning and she told her neighbor that we do service and she said she`d love us to come help her out sometime! So after cleaning up and heading out to our appointments we stopped by her neighbors and asked what we can help her with and she told us to come next week to help with her yard and that she`ll give us lunch, awesome!!! Then we went to a couple appointments with the branch counselor and visited some less active neighbors of his so they can meet eachother and fellowship and set up a FHE with one of the less active families who were sealed and the mom is a RM actually! These two families have a ton in common and after being less actives for some time as well I know they can motivate this family to come back to church. Then we went to lunch at a sister`s house, she loves cooking and so when we go over it`s like eating at a restaurant. She puts the table all fancy and cooks THE BEST food. She made an extra special cuban lunch for me and made rice, black beans, sweet plantains, chicken, and for dessert torta de tres leches, pretty much died and went to heaven!!! To die for good!!! Then we had an awesome lesson with Franco our most promising investigator at this point with some of the YSA who are fellowshipping him and had a couple more lessons. We wrapped up the night and we`re on our way home when a woman on a swing-set with her child said "hola hermanas!" We didn`t recognize her so we went upto her to see who she was and introduce ourselves and she said her name was Evelyn, she`s a less active member who moved and lives in the street right before our and that her whole family is members of the church, sealed in the temple and that her parents are actually temple workers, but that her and her sister are less-active. She said she`s married and has one kid but her husband isn`t a member, but that her biggest goal this new year is to come back to church and get sealed to her husband...we were like, "Okaay!!!! Can we write down your info?!" and quickly set an appointment. It was a small miracle and we`re hoping to help her out in her desires to come back to the fold and with her family as well! All in all, I couldn`t of spent my birthday a better way than serving the Lord in this labor of love!

Other fun activities that happened this week is that my poor companion Hna.Ireland got water poisoning when she went on exchanges in a more rural area called Lampa, she was vomiting all day and we had to leave her with members for 2 days so we could go out and work, but she had a speedy recovery and is now super! Also today for p-day some of the other Hermanas and our companionship got together and made a work-out video for the sisters in the mission to help give them ideas for their exercises in the morning. It`s funny because anyone who knows me knows how much I hate working out or physical activities, but it`s one of my favorite things now in the mission! haha! Definitely wanna keep it up afterwards. 

But anyways, thank you everyone for the birthday wishes- my sister sent me all my FB messages and it was so great to hear from so many long-lost friends, you are just so disconnected when your out in the field, so I appreciate it a ton!!! ´Till next week!!!

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra