Curacavi aka reunion in the rocks

So tuesday I went to the mission office to pick up my new companion I´ll be training. As usual all the trainers were sitting in one room and our trainees in the other, both anxious and nervous to meet our new companions. We stood up and sang Called to Serve as they filed into the room one by one and I lead the music. There was such an intense vibe in the room as we looked into eachother`s faces and thought "that could be my companion..." The day before someone showed me a picture of the 4 sisters that were coming and one in particular stood out to me, a tall blonde, who I had actually seen walking around the temple grounds a couple weeks back when I went with our recent converts in Santa Maria! As I looked at her picture something inside me just knew she`d be my companion. President Essig and his wife bore their testimonies about how after picking his A.P.`s the next thing he picks out is who`s going to train. They said that we were sitting there because we are the best missionaries of the mission and they wanted to give them the very best start. Their words impacted me a lot and I am just so so grateful for the trust and confidence not only our mission president, but the Lord has put in me to train again, I don´t feel like I´m anything special compared to other missionaries, but the Lord has blessed me with many talents and strengths to hasten his work here in Chile. Finally the time came, and when they called on the tall blonde the name that immediately followed was mine!!! AAAAHHHH!!!! I just knew it! I ran over and gave her the biggest hug! So my new companion is Hermana Broadhead from Draper, Utah. She´s 19, so part of the new generation of missionaries coming into the field and it has just been the funnest week together, we get along super great and have very similar personalities. We couldn´t be more blessed to be in our new area, Curacavi! First of all, our house is super cute and we have a washer machine, woohoo! Second, after 7 long months in branches I´m finally in a ward, not only that, but we have the full support of the members, we have ward missionaries and the ward leadership is organized the way it should be and they have just been so loving and welcoming, I feel like I´ve known them my whole life already. Third, we have awesome investigators that the previous sisters we´re teaching and I am positive we´re gonna have a baptism this transfer, this place is a gold mine! We jumped right into it, we`re on bike, and everyday when we come home I´m completely exhausted but with the total satisfaction that we are on the Lord`s errand and being diligent so he can bless us accordingly. Fourth, we have district meeting in Santiago so we are close to the city so it´s the best of both worlds since Curacavi is campo (country).

A funny story this week is that we taught a gypsy man named Roberto who thinks he knows english but really the only thing he can say is "wait one moment pleade" and "yeah baby!" hahaha" Hna. B and I were trying soo hard not to bust out laughing during that lesson! He gave us food and my companion got her first taste of "chupe de Guata" aka cow stomach...yummmm! (but really I vomit in my mouth) Anyways, I guess that´s all for this week! Many incredible adventures ahead, stay tuned!

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

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Chicha de Curacavi!

Soooo we had transfers this week and after 5 1/2 long months in Santa Maria I´m finally heading out. It was seriously so hard and sad to leave the branch and all the members who have been able to touch my life in such a special way. It was pretty much a sob-fest between the Relief Society, recent converts, and us. But truly Hna. Cottle and I feel we have done great things here, we`ve been able to touch the lives of so many people and most important of all here is where we learned to be missionaries. Hna. Cottle will be in Putaendo (yes, that´s the name of a real place LOL) and I´m going to Curacavi in the San Pablo Stake. No idea where it is, but it´s on the way to Valparaiso which is the coast and it´s campo, and I`m excited to finally be in a ward!!! Not only that but I´ll once again be training a greenie, FUN! I´m seriously super excited for the new adventures that await and am ready for this next chapter in my mission.

 

So here´s a funny story from my last week in Santa Maria. We visited a refferal called Cristina who is very religious and believes in the bible. She has talked to all kinds of missionaries from different churches and basically had her opinion of the mormons and wasn´t gonna change.We taught the restoration and had her give the closing prayer and in the middle of the prayer she stops and says that something is troubling her and looks around super weird. So after the prayer my companion went to the bathroom and I sat there talking to her and she said that she feels something weird in the room with me, something bad and that it wasn´t me but that proably I brought something from outside with me, some sort of evil spirit...I was like Oookaaayyy this chick is crazy, where is my companion so we can get the heck out of here! Then she says she was gonna do a prayer and basically did an exorcism on me asking God to cast whatever evil spirit was with me out of me and out of her house...I just sat there trying not to bust out laughing! Me? Posessed?! Hahaha, no way! You just meet the craziest people on the mission.

 

Also, this week I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time in my life, but for the 1st time with true meaning and understanding. To be honest I´ve never prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true, I just always felt like it was and that I didn`t need to ask cause that´d just be dumb. But as I read and contemplated on the stories and charachters there were some things that I´d read and question and there are still many things I don´t really understand (like in Eter 9:19 where they talk about Curelomes and cumoms...what the?!). But I decided to follow Moroni´s invitation in the end. I knelt down by my bed and prayed, for the first time ever I prayed and asked to know if the Book of Mormon was true, if these things really happened, if Joseph Smith truly interpreted this ancient text through the power of God. The overwhelming feeling and burning in my bossom I felt cannot be described, but I received an answer, I know it´s true, I know that if we apply it´s teachings to our lives it will bless and guide us. And I invite anyone and everyone who has not yet done so, who hasn´t read it, prayed and asked to do it. You don´t have to read the whole book to ask, read a couple chapters and kneel in prayer, cause to know a cake is tasty you don´t have to eat the whole thing, but just taste as slice. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to share this testimony with the people of Chile and for how much it´s blessed my life and family. Seriously guys, THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! :D

 

Also the mails not on strike anymore so hit me up with some letters!!! Love you all!!!

 

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

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Earthquakes, kids with knives, and black beans

This week was pretty eventful as we approach the last week of the transfer. For our last p-day we went to the stake president´s house with all the sister missionaries in our stake and had lunch and played and had a good time! There´s about 15 of us and it´s so fun that there´s so many sister missionaries now cause we can het together and do more than just play soccer like the elders lol This week there were a few quakes, they always seem to be early in the morning while we´re sleeping, they´re tiny but enough to wake me up. So far in Chile I´ve experiences 7, they´re pretty cool as long as no one gets killed. The other day we were walking with our recent convert Javier who´s now the Deacon´s president and one of the young men´s counselors to visit innactive young men when a kids, literally like 12 years old, was in the street cussing and making a huge show and harassing some other kid on the other side of the street with a knife. Everyone was staring at him and it was pretty crazy, Santa Maria is pretty calm cause we´re not in the city, but the area where Hna.Villota and I work in is "flaite" aka ghetto and there´s a lot of drug abuse. It´s funny because I feel perfectly fine walking around there, even at night, but people are constantly asking us, "Aren´t you guys ever scared?" and try to warn us. But I know we´re lead by the spirit of the Lord and his angels are round about us protecting us wherever we go. (But of course we´re still cautious) Friday we had lunch with an Hermana who lives a bit far, but she´s so nice and recently got endowed and has plans to be sealed to her husband. She made black beans and rice (which doesn´t exist in Chile, well the black beans) oh man!!! I almost cried tears of joy, I had never been so happy eating a plate of food. It´s crazy how something so normal like food can bring so many memories and feelings. I was super happy about that! So here´s a cool story, we´ve had an investigator Delfina and her 14 year old daughter Jeimy who we´ve been teaching for 2 months if not more and they read and pray and everything, but it has been a struggle to get them to church. We were at the point where we were gonna drop her because she wouldn´t be able to progress if she didn´t go to church and this was gonna be the last chance lesson. She had never prayed to know if the Book of Mormon or church was true, and so I asked her if she had prayed like we asked the last time we visited her and she said yes! Not only that, she got an answer and felt that she should continue to meet with us and learn and that she wants to go to church and get more into it. We we´re so happy! She opened up completely and told us her whole life story, which was really sad, but she shared that she´s married to another guy that isn´t the guy she lives with now (which is pretty common in Chile cause divorces are complicated) and that her husband wants her to get divorced so they could get married! Luckily, a few weeks ago in district meeting we learned how to handle divorce cases and told her the church had a lawyer that has helped tons of couples get divorced and that we were gonna helo her out and she was so happy! And we were too because she needs to be married in order to be baptized so it was such good news that her partner actually wants to get married cause usually the Chileans don´t want to commit. It was a tender mercy from the Lord! Lastly, Anabella was confirmed this sunday and bore her testimony all on her own and by her own free will, it was so special. She´s so grateful for the gospel in her life and the family the branch is for her. Next week is transfer´s so next time you hear from me who knows where I´ll be, I´ve been in Santa Maria so long it´s hard to imagine myself anywhere else, but I know that I´ll have to move on eventually and have been mentally preparing myself for that moment for a long time now. Anways, love you all!!! Shout out to all my cougs starting out the new semester, live it up, party hard, hit the books, and go to devotional every tuesday :)

Spiritual Cookie: "A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things

never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and

salvation." -Joseph Smith

xoxo,

Hna. Ibarra

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Re: Anabella´s Baptism :)

Que maravilloso, ver tu crecimiento. la semana pasada fui a la Florida y habia conferencia de estaca enMiami Lakes, y vi a tu mama, fue por corto tiempo pero me alegre inmensamente de verla. estaba linda.
Me alegro todos tus bautismos, y admiro todo el trabajp que estas haciendo. Cuando puedas , me conyestas.
Te quiero mucho
Hna. Rodriguez

On Aug 26, 2013 11:40 AM, "Gladys Ibarra" <gladys.ibarra@myldsmail.net> wrote:

This week was THE BEST! Monday we spent out p-day once again with the stake presidents wife, she´s like my nd mom here in the mission, I love that woman to death and hanging out with her is so fun! We watched 17 Miracles, the pioneer movie, and man, it made me so grateful that I didn´t live in those times. The pioneers suffered and sacraficed so much to be able to have the same blessings we now can enjoy with ease and without persecution. We have our own sacrafices to make in these days and definitely as a misisonary in a foreign country you sacrafice a lot of comforts and conveniences. It´s a terribly hard transition in the beginning, but I´ve adjusted and know the Lord is blessing me for those things I´ve had to do without in Chile like hot water, A/C, heating, food, etc. But it´s all part of the experience and has made me grow so much both spiritually and emotionally.

We had interviews with our mission president this week which was awesome! So I must admit, interviews before the mission we´re definitely not something I looked forward too. They were scary, intimidating, and nerve-wrecking especially when those interviews had to do with some mistakes I made and I felt the necesity to humble myself and seek help from the Lord´s servant. But interviews with the mission president are the total opposite! I love love love getting to talk to him, hearing his counsel and getting his advice. I would have him interview me weekly if I could, it´s one of the things I always look forward to the most! 

As for our investigators Sebastian (the drug addict) and his polola (girlfriend) accepted a baptismal date for the 29th of September and came to church this sunday! Woohoo! We presented to Sebastian a 5 day plan to quit smoking that the A.P.´s created and today on the way to the ciber (internet cafe) he was in the micro (bus) and said he started day 1 today and hasn´t smoked so far, ALRIGHT! 

But best of all yesterday was a special day because we had Anabella´s baptism!!! Hna. Villota and I made breakfast for her family in the morning (omellette with cheese, onion, garlic, sausage and green peppers; oranges; palta aka avocado, crackers, and ecco which is like a coffee made from wheat that we can drink here) we had breakfast with them and then all went to church together in the morning. She stayed for all 3 classes and loved it, she said the time goes by really fast which was a shocker cause usually3 hrs is long for some people. Then we went to San Felipe with the other Hermana´s and some members (it´s weird cause we have to take the micro and make people work on sunday but things are different here) and the Elder´s in our zone had everything ready for us, the font was filled, the chairs were set, the TV was out and while she changed from her wet clothes we showed a short film called "Only a stonecutter" about a pioneer who helped out in the SLC temple. The missionaries played the piano for the hymns, Cesar, a young man who went to school with her and is a member gave a short talk and at the end of her baptism we showed a slide show Hna. Villota made with the help of Anabella´s mom, brother and pololo (boyfriend). It was a great idea because it got her family involved in her baptism and made  them feel like a part of the event. It couldn´t of been a more happy day for all of us. After the baptism we went to a member´s home for FHE and watched The Testaments and pigged out and had such a great time. The Lord has blessed us so much this week and we are truly seeing the fruits of our labor, diligence and obedience.

Spiritual cookie: So this week as Hna.Villota and I went to work on the finishing touches on the powerpoint for Anabella´s baptism. A brother from church lent us his laptop and we went to the chapel to work on it. We pressed the power button several times, but nothing. So I thought "maybe the batteries dead", we plugged it into the wall and still nothing, we tried several outlets...yup, you guessed it, nothing. So we called the hermano to see if there was some kind of trick to his laptop, he told us to take the battery out and put it back in and a bunch of stuff but it all resulted to nothing and the latop wouldn´t turn on. Finally I decided we needed divine help, I unplugged all the parts of the charger from the wall and the computer, took the battery out and told my companion we were going to kneel and say a prayer. I offered the prayer and asked that the computer would turn on so we could finish the powerpoint for Anabella´s baptism. I Put the battery in, pluged in the charger, pressed the power button, and it turned ON!!! Seriously people, prayer works, it is real, the Lord listens, and if He is willing to answer a small prayer to turn on a laptop, imagine all the mighty things He can do for you! I love you all!!! 

Hna. Ibarra

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Anabella´s Baptism :)

This week was THE BEST! Monday we spent out p-day once again with the stake presidents wife, she´s like my nd mom here in the mission, I love that woman to death and hanging out with her is so fun! We watched 17 Miracles, the pioneer movie, and man, it made me so grateful that I didn´t live in those times. The pioneers suffered and sacraficed so much to be able to have the same blessings we now can enjoy with ease and without persecution. We have our own sacrafices to make in these days and definitely as a misisonary in a foreign country you sacrafice a lot of comforts and conveniences. It´s a terribly hard transition in the beginning, but I´ve adjusted and know the Lord is blessing me for those things I´ve had to do without in Chile like hot water, A/C, heating, food, etc. But it´s all part of the experience and has made me grow so much both spiritually and emotionally.

We had interviews with our mission president this week which was awesome! So I must admit, interviews before the mission we´re definitely not something I looked forward too. They were scary, intimidating, and nerve-wrecking especially when those interviews had to do with some mistakes I made and I felt the necesity to humble myself and seek help from the Lord´s servant. But interviews with the mission president are the total opposite! I love love love getting to talk to him, hearing his counsel and getting his advice. I would have him interview me weekly if I could, it´s one of the things I always look forward to the most! 

As for our investigators Sebastian (the drug addict) and his polola (girlfriend) accepted a baptismal date for the 29th of September and came to church this sunday! Woohoo! We presented to Sebastian a 5 day plan to quit smoking that the A.P.´s created and today on the way to the ciber (internet cafe) he was in the micro (bus) and said he started day 1 today and hasn´t smoked so far, ALRIGHT! 

But best of all yesterday was a special day because we had Anabella´s baptism!!! Hna. Villota and I made breakfast for her family in the morning (omellette with cheese, onion, garlic, sausage and green peppers; oranges; palta aka avocado, crackers, and ecco which is like a coffee made from wheat that we can drink here) we had breakfast with them and then all went to church together in the morning. She stayed for all 3 classes and loved it, she said the time goes by really fast which was a shocker cause usually3 hrs is long for some people. Then we went to San Felipe with the other Hermana´s and some members (it´s weird cause we have to take the micro and make people work on sunday but things are different here) and the Elder´s in our zone had everything ready for us, the font was filled, the chairs were set, the TV was out and while she changed from her wet clothes we showed a short film called "Only a stonecutter" about a pioneer who helped out in the SLC temple. The missionaries played the piano for the hymns, Cesar, a young man who went to school with her and is a member gave a short talk and at the end of her baptism we showed a slide show Hna. Villota made with the help of Anabella´s mom, brother and pololo (boyfriend). It was a great idea because it got her family involved in her baptism and made  them feel like a part of the event. It couldn´t of been a more happy day for all of us. After the baptism we went to a member´s home for FHE and watched The Testaments and pigged out and had such a great time. The Lord has blessed us so much this week and we are truly seeing the fruits of our labor, diligence and obedience.

Spiritual cookie: So this week as Hna.Villota and I went to work on the finishing touches on the powerpoint for Anabella´s baptism. A brother from church lent us his laptop and we went to the chapel to work on it. We pressed the power button several times, but nothing. So I thought "maybe the batteries dead", we plugged it into the wall and still nothing, we tried several outlets...yup, you guessed it, nothing. So we called the hermano to see if there was some kind of trick to his laptop, he told us to take the battery out and put it back in and a bunch of stuff but it all resulted to nothing and the latop wouldn´t turn on. Finally I decided we needed divine help, I unplugged all the parts of the charger from the wall and the computer, took the battery out and told my companion we were going to kneel and say a prayer. I offered the prayer and asked that the computer would turn on so we could finish the powerpoint for Anabella´s baptism. I Put the battery in, pluged in the charger, pressed the power button, and it turned ON!!! Seriously people, prayer works, it is real, the Lord listens, and if He is willing to answer a small prayer to turn on a laptop, imagine all the mighty things He can do for you! I love you all!!! 

Hna. Ibarra

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Once a tour guide always a tour guide!

This week we´ve been working hard to organize and prepare everything for Anabela´s baptism next sunday. It all started by taking her to the temple with the branch and some of our recent converts. We started by watching the movie "The Lamb of God" and sharing our testimonies. She broke down in tears as she expressed her feelings for the Savior and his sacrafice for us, her testimony was so tender, it made me tear up a bit, too. Then we took a tour around the temple and it´s gardens, and talked about baptisms for the dead and sealings. We had several couples getting sealed that day which was perfect and she had a lot of great questions! I was totally in tour guide mode like in my BYU days, it felt great! We went out to eat, did a little shopping around Santiago and then headed home for the day. Yesterday at church we had another fight between Pit (the neighborhood bully) and the branch president´s dog George, only get this, this time it was INSIDE the church and to top it all off it was in the middle of when they were passing the sacrament. George´s screetches of horror totally killed the spirit, half of the priesthood stepped out to try and stop the chaos, one brother got pit and had to go to the hospital and the branch president stepped out as well and never came back. Soon after I had to give my talk...awesome...LOL! We were also able to see Isolina and Sebastian and finally Brother Victor Vargas was able to come and we had a good lesson. Isolina feels that we were an answer to her prayers and she shared with us that she had been praying to know if she should keep meeting with us and that she read a scripture in the Bible that confirmed to her that yes, she should! It made my heart jump, truly I can testify that the Lord hears and answers our prayers, He loves us, this is His gospel, this is His true Church upon the Earth, and this work is true. There are chosen people whom He has prepared to recieve these truths and it is our mission to work, sweat, cry, and labor diligently until we find them.

Spiritual cookie: The Lord does not ask our ability, only our availability. And when we prove our dependability he increases our capability. 

I Love you all!!!

xoxo,

Hna. Ibarra

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Llay Llay

So this week I did exchanges with my sister training leader, Sister Peck from Blackfoot, Idaho who´s in Llay Llay which means viento viento (wind wind) in Mapuche. It was a lot of fun and I learned some cool things about her way of teaching and proselyting which is the fun thing about exchanges, you learn new methods from other missionaries. So this tuesday I´ll have 6 months on the mission, maaan, that went by so quick! Time is such a weird thing on the mission, the days are long and the weeks fly by. I try really hard not to think about time or count down the months, but people make it really hard cause they´re constantly asking us how long we´ve been in Chile or until when will we be here, haha. But I´ve been reflecting a lot this week on these past 6 months and how far I´ve come. I´ve changed so much not just physically (cause I´ve packed on a couple extra pounds lol) but also spiritualy, moraly, and emotionaly. I have such a different perspective on life, the world, and most importantly the gospel. So much has happened the short time I´ve been here and it´s hard to imagine what more can Heavenly Father throw at me the year I have left, but there is so much I still need to learn and change. The mission has been one of the most life changing experiences I´ve had in my life and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone willing and able to serve, in fact, I think it should be mandatory, it´s like a spiritual boot camp for the soul hahaha. This weekend my companion and I decided to fast for our investigators so they could come to church on sunday, it´s the biggest challenge about our area, I´ve heard any and every excuse to not come and truth is, people are just lazy!!! But we had the magnificent blessing of having Sebastian (the druggie) and his polola Isolina come to church! It was an answered prayer to us both and we´re hoping to help save their relationship and get him out o fthe hole he´s gotten himself into. The gospel is so perfectly planned and outlines, the Lord has a back-up plan for every possible situation and gives us so many opportunities to change and turn to him. The church is true ya´ll!!! This is the church of Jesus Christ, the same church he organized in ancient times, with Prophets and Apostles, modern-day revelation and the priesthood authority to provide us with the ordinances that will bring salvation and exaltation to all mankind! Like my bestfriend Nathaly once said "it just makes sense!" haha. 

DISCLAIMER: the mail in Chile is protesting soooo for those of you who have sent me letters and are waiting for a response I am so sorry, I´ve gotten nothing and they don´t know how long it´s gonna last, literally a missioanaries worst nightmare besides going home and being socially awkward (I´ve pledged that it won´t happen to me!)

Spiritual Cookie: Moroni 10:32-33

xoxo,

Hna.Ibarra

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.