Week 31 in Chile - 08/27/2012

CAMBIO 6 SEMANA 1

Place: Agronomia, Chillan Ñuble

Companion: Hermana Martinez

Date: 27/08/2012

Hola Mi Familia!!!!

               WOW THIS WEEK HAS BEEN AMAZING!!!! There have been so many miracles, and Hermana Martinez is so amazing! I love her to death. We have had so much success together. We found 17 new investigators this week, and we pretty much passed all of our goals but two, it has been so amazing, and it was all linked to our obedience and sacrifice! There really is a link with those two things! But we have had a great time together and we know that it has only gotten started, for sure we still have another 5 amazing weeks ahead of us! Yeah it is probably going to happen that many of those new investigators that we found probably won´t listen to us, but finding many news like we did, helps us sift through all the people and look for those that are prepared right now to be baptized, and then help those that aren´t ready, have the seed planted in their hearts for those missionarys that will be able to sift through and help them later on!

       Haha so this week has been full of fun things that we have done. So Wednesday it was Hermana Steinmetz birthday, so what did I do as a good ex-companion, I woke up a half and hour early and made pancakes for her and her hija (Hna Morales from Guatamala). Haha it was so great to see the look on her face when she came down stairs and saw it, and she told me "I´m glad I´m not going crazy, I thought I smelt pancakes when I woke up!" But it was awesome to be able to so that for her! and I´m going to wake up early again tomorrow and do the exact same thing for the three of them! :) Lets just say I think that I have started a service war! :) and it is so much fun! haha we came back after a long day of work and on our table we found chocolate and a cool sign that told us that they loved us, and right when I saw that I ran into my room and grabed a chocolate bar I had an hid it in Hna. Steinmetz coat, wrote a note and put it in her journal to look there and told her "You started it now, this is war! haha!:)" She put on her jacket the next day and couldn´t figure out why it was so heavy, so the chocolate, said "stinker" and told me I was in for it! So we are in service wars now, haha I´m going to heart attack their room! It is going to be so much fun, I´m excited! :)

     So really I couldn´t figure why in the world I got moved over to Agronomia for this cambio, but little my little I have been able to see the Lords plan for me, to be in this ward. So I can´t remember if I told you about Fabian, he is a new investigator that Hna. Steinmetz and I found together about two weeks ago, and we gave it over to Agronomia because we thought that they lived in their sector, but then they told us that he lived in los volcanes, but long story short, this week we recieved a call that Fabian lives in our sector! and I have the ability to teach him. He was one day away from being baptized the last time with the Elders a few years ago, but things happened and he moved. But we have found him, and his girlfriend Joanna who is a less active member that we are going to reactivate, and we are helping them get married, and then Fabian is going to get baptized. They also have a cute little girl named Javiera, who is the cutest thing you could ever see, and little by little I´m gaining her trust! ;) But it is so awesome! I grew really close to this family the first day I met them, and I´m excited that I ended up being on the missionaries that will teach and help them, blessing right! 

     We have also found Marisol, and Franciso this week who are really great, we have to help them get married to, but they have had all the lessons before and know this stuff so they are prepared, we just have to help them get married and live the word of wisdom, but little by little, and they are very excited that we are teach them. It was cool how we found Marisol, we actually contacted the house next to hers and her neighbor and Marisol came out at the same time, so I split off from Hna Martinez and started contacting Marisol while she contacted the neighbor, but we found that she has shared with missionarys before, and let us come in, and now we are working with her and her husband, and they came to church with us this week. WHOOT!

     Well that is pretty much it for this week, but before I end, it is time for a spiritual thought from my gospel study this week! WHOHOO! I LOVE reading the scriptures there are so many treasures! So I´m continuing to read in D&C and I found a really cool scripture that I would love to share with you all! It is in D&C 58:2-7, which says: "2 For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that ^akeepeth my commandments, whether in life or in ^bdeath; and he that is ^cfaithful in ^dtribulation, the ^ereward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. 3 Ye cannot behold with your natural ^aeyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the ^bglory which shall follow after much tribulation. 4 For after much ^atribulation come the ^bblessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be ^ccrowned with much ^dglory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. 5 Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may ^alay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow. 6 Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be ^aprepared to ^bbear ^ctestimony of the things which are to come. 7 And also that you might be honored in laying the foundation, and in bearing record of the land upon which the ^aZion of God shall stand" I absolutely loved this scripture when I read it and it is exactally true, as long as we are obediant and faithful, all in it´s due time will be revealed unto us why something has happened, whether it be here or after we will know that it was for our benifit, just like the fact that I got moved from Cordillera to Agronomia. God has a plan for each and every single one of us, He specifically took each and everyonce of us aside and told us how we would be a part of His plan, and we all agreed to it, because we are here. So just have patience and trust in the one who created the plan because He will reveal to you the things you need to know at the time it is needed to lay the foundation for a great work! And know that tribulation is just a fine tuning process. Just like you told me mom when I was in the MTC, just at a diamond is formed from a piece of coal after a ton of pressure, we are formed into the people/diamonds that our Heavenly Father sees in us after the pressure and tribulations. Just be obediant, sacrifice, and have faith and all will work out in the end and you will see the beautiful diamond from the fine tuning process.

      Well that is it, I hope that you all continue to do amazingly well. Remember always that I pray for each and everyone of you each and every day and night, and that I feel you prayers and love for me, thank you for that support, it means more to me that any of you will ever realize. Know that this mission is really turning me into that diamond that God sees in me, and I hope that each of you can look and understand that He is doing to the same for each of you. Well until next week with more amazing adventures from El Barrio, Agronomia! Love you all so much!

  Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad,

   Hermana Aubrey Jo England

           

Week 30 in Chile - 08/20/2012

9 MESES EN LA MISIÓN!!

Place: Cordillera, Chillan Ñuble

Companion: Hermana Steinmetz

Date: 20/08/2012

Hola Mi Familia!!!

             Wow this week, I don´t know were the weeks are going, but they just keep getting faster and faster! I really mean it, look at what pasted by this week, I hit nine months in the mission, NINE MONTHS!!! I´m half way through! It is so crazy, and I don´t know if I´m liking that it is passing so fast, not that I don´t want to see you guys, it is just the blessing that happen here, and the things that I am learning are so numerous that I can´t count it all. This week has been filled with blessings and fun times, that I will never forget! Everything from taking great pictures, and falling and breaking my chair, haha to wonderful miracles that occured with obedience, and I will explain all of that in a minute. Ok so for the news that you have all been dying to hear what in the world is going to happen with cambios, ready for this!!!!! I am moving super super far away!!! It takes about five buses and a long walk to move all my stuff over one room in the house! :) LOL that is right I got moved over to Agronamia, and my new companion will be Hermana Martinez. It was so funny when Elder Carvajal call this morning and I answered and he told me to prepare to move super far away, and I´m thinking great I´m going all the way to Curico (Which isn´t bad Hna. Kraemer don´t freak out) but it would have been hard to leave after 6 weeks, then he started laughing and told me I was just moving over to Agronamia.

      So I will be in the same house just one room over, and Hermana Steinmetz is going to train!!!!!! It was so awesome to see the look on her face when I told her. I was on the phone and when Elder Carvajal told me, and she was praying, and when he told me, I shouted NO WAY, and she bolted off of the ground after  the amen of her prayer and was like you tell me now! She is still in a little bit of shock, but it is funny! She will be a great mamá. I have learned so many wonderful things from Hermana Steinmetz and I have gain a life long friend as well, we have become really close, and I think the Lord knew that we must have learned all that we needed from each other so it was time to split us up to help others :) so I´m excited to work with Hermana Martinez, she is the cousin of Hermana Sanchez! Haha now I will have double the reason to go and visit, El Salvador (hint hint mom and dad) Lol Just kidding, but I will let you know more about her next week.

      So some of the funny things that happened this week. So as you know I had nine months in the mission, and so what picture do you take when you hit nine months, that it right the pregnant picture, haha it worked great that all my tshirts are really big on my now because I have lost a good amount of weight, but I will send you the pictures next week, because with all the hustle and bustle this morning I forgot my cord to download pictures so I will send them next week. And like I told you I broke my chair yesterday. Yeah so we were planning last night and I just had a little shiver because I was a little cold, and Hna. Steinmetz got up to turn on the heater, but I told her no, and she told me yes, so I grabbed her arm, and I was trying to stop her as I was balancing on the chair, haha yeah lets just say, the legs broke and I went crashing down flat on my back, haha I couldn´t get up for a good 5 minutes I was laughing so hard, and because the air got knocked out of me. Hna. Steinmetz told me it was payback from God because I wouldn´t let her serve me! haha lets just say I learned.

     That and I did a good face plant this week and we were doing service and got a good scrape on my knee. So there is a less active member that we found this week, that doesn´t have a job, and not so much food. So after lunch one day, the memeber gave us extra bread and some cookies, so we decided to drop it off and give it to fabiola, so I put it on her door, knocked and ran, and lets just say I fell. But I got up really fast and we started walking away, and you could hear her behind us shouting "Elders, Elders" yeah we explained that we weren´t elders, but she was very grateful, and she gave me the opportunity to chop her wood!!!! Yes Finially someone who would let me do it!!!! She loves me know because I was able to do it! and now she isn´t cold!

      So you want to hear something really cool, so we had a noche de hogar (Family Night) with Fabiola yesterday, and she invited some friends and we got to teach them. The cool part is, Fabiola´s cousin who lives in Santiago came to visit and was there for the Noche de Hogar, and you will not believe this, SHE SPEAKS ENGLISH!! and what is even cooler, guess where she lived for ten years, that is right UTAH! She isn´t a member, but she is a really wonderful lady, and we had a good time talking about utah, and things that we loved. She was a CNA for primary childrens hospital for a long time, and lived in Sandy and lots of other cool things. She told me it was really good to speak in English again, because little by little she has been loosing what she has learned, so I promised her that I was going to write her in English so that she could read, and then write me back, and keep up the practice. And I told her about the power the book of mormon has to help her strenghthen her english more, and how I learned spanish really fast by reading the book of mormon, and she was like yeah of course, I would love a copy, so now we have her address in Santiago, to send the missonarys and I´m going to write her, it is so cool. It really is a small world after all, isn´t it!

        Some other cool things that have happened this week, is we have made Apostasy cookies! So let me explain, so we have the recipie for No Bake Cookies, and so to teach the apostasy we decided for a NDH one night that we would cut up the recipie and tell them to put the recipie together and make the cookies, and we weren´t going to help them. And the great part is they don´t know how to make the recipie because they don´t make them. So you watch them struggle to put it together and you keep telling them nope it is wrong, they finally give up and then we explain to them that it is hard to put something together that you don´t have the original recipie too. We explained after the death of Jesus Christ and His Apostles that is what happened the recipie was cut up and everyone tried to make it their own, but the cookie just didn´t turn out (and as we know no bake cookies don´t work if you don´t follow the recipie) So we explained about the restauration and how God had revealed the original recipie again through a prophet to guide us to make the correct cookie. It was a lot of fun and we have done it multiple times this week and people understand the great apostasy and the restauration through it. So now Hermana Steinmetz and I call them Apostasy cookies and not No Bake Cookies! LOL :)

     Well so to wrap it up, I´m going to tell you that miracles happen. Hermana Steinmetz and I have seen great miracles this week together, our numbers this week sky rocketed from what they were. What is the secret, obedience and faith. On tuesday for zone class, they gave us a challenge for the rest of our mission we would not loose a single day where we didn´t have a companionship study and a personal study, which is two hours of study, they told us even if we had to wake up early and sacrifice time to do it, do it. So Hermana Stienmetz and I promised to do it, and when Sunday came around we saw that we wouldn´t be able to study the two hours and leave to find Loretto and Bruno to come to church, so we sacrificed time and woke up at 5:45 and started studying at 6 until 8. And by the end of the day/week you wouldn´t believe the miracles that we saw we found 18 new investigators this week (The most I have ever had), and other great things, and all because of our obedience. Which goes to show, if we are obedient to what that Lord askes and do our part, He is obligated to do His. DO YOU BELIVE THIS? Because I sure do, and I promise you all that as we follow the example of Jesus Christ and do what He showed and told us to do we will see miracles in our lives. 

    Well I´m going to end the letter for now, and I will write again next week which more adventures, from a new sector. Remember always how much I love you all and I´m thinking and praying for you guys always! Please take care. 

    Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad,

    Hermana Aubrey Jo England  

Week 29 in Chile - 08/13/2012

CAMBIO 5 SEMANA 5

 

Place: Cordillera, Chillan Ñuble

Companion: Hermana Steinmetz

Date: 13/08/2012

 

¡¡¡Hola Mi Familia!!!

 

          ¿Como Estan Todos? Wow this week has gone by so stinking fast I have no idea what to think; haha before you know it I´m going to be dying of heat in the middle of summer and Christmas will be here! Well this is going to be a bit difficult to tell you a few things that happened this week, because it is like a blur in my brain, haha if you want to know the truth I have my planner open and in front of me looking at what happened :) So lets get going and start from the begining, bueno here we go...

 

     So Monday, we went to the wonderful Lider, (haha which is walmart basically, lots of great value stuff) because we had to buy peanut butter, because it is so stinking expensive everywhere else, Lider is the cheapest you can get it, and even then it isn´t too cheap, but we are going to start making no bake cookies and leaving them for the less active members and members! :) So we went there, and we also met up with Hermana Brady and Hermana Mena because like I told you they had my scriptures! So haha that was pretty much our p-day going to lider and writing, but after we went out and started working, one lesson though was incredibally powerful with the spirit, that was so not me teaching.

 

     We went to a lady named Alicia, she is a nice lady, and her kids are members but not her, one because she isn´t married to the guy she is living with, and two she just won´t accept it. But we stopped buy and taught her a bit about the Book of Mormon and we also invited her to baptism, but she told us no, she wasn´t going to be baptized because it wasn´t something that she wanted. So this would be the part that I told you was the spirit teaching with me as an instrument, because I don´t know how the words came out of my mouth. But you know the story about the hearts that I shared in my farewell talk, well a few cambios ago with the help of Hna. Lopez and Elder Tuller we got it translated into spanish, and I have it in my scriptures so that I can share it, something told me I should share it with her, so I read it to her and I also explained how the meaning of the story to me was more that just a boy, and old man and their hearts but was a deeper significance of us, Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and well right after I explained that, I started telling her that we accept the piece of the heart that he has given us through being baptized, and I then told her that she was basically just looking at the piece that she was given by him, saying thanks and then tossing it aside, because she said no. I´m telling you right now Hermana Steinmetz eyes were like "what did you just say" and I was wondering the same thing, because I wouldn´t have said something like that on my own. But after I said, I invited her to take a copy of the book of mormon that we had, I told her on the very first page to write a question she wanted answered, and then to pray and start reading from the beginning, and she started warming up and told us that she would do that, and she is reading. But it was as though I wasn´t teaching that lesson at all, and being able to feel something like that makes you feel a bit humble and privileged to be an instrument and voice box for the spirit.

 

     Tuesday was a really great day. So the night before when we were planning we had made the goal to teach 7 lessons and find 2 new investigators that next day, and Hermana Steinmetz started looking at it, and said she didn´t know if we would be able to do that because she had never had that many before. So here goes that spirit thing again because I´m ususally not this blunt, (which buy the way has happened a lot this week) but I looked at Hermana Steinmetz and asked do you have faith? I then showed her the pictures that we put on our planner, they are both a picture of Christ, hers of Him as a Shepard, and me with his Resurrection, and started explaining that because he over came death and the death of all men, all things are possible, and if we just have a little faith and put our action into place and work hard we could do it, I promised her, then we got down on our knees and I said a prayer asking for his help because we needed it, and told him that we had faith, and we would do all we needed to. And at the end of Tuesday, guess what, WE DID IT!!! We taught 8 lessons that day, and we found 4 new investigators. It was a great learning experience for the both of us, and we have learned that it just takes faith, patience and action on our part to have a miracle take place.

 

      Wednesday, was a really good day too, we had interviews with President Humphrey, which is always amazing to have, he is such an amazing guy and very spritual. We also had classing with the assistants and Hermana Humphrey and learned some really good things. One thing got me a bit scared though, so there are 5 new hermanas coming this next cambio, which is next week, and Hermana Martinez was like "usted va a entrainar, usted va a ser una mamá" basically saying I was going to train this next cambio. But we are not sure because I was sure that I was going to kill Hermana Steinmetz because she only has one cambio left. But because the last cambio was just a simple switch of Hermana Rojas and me, this next cambio is going to be crazy and we don´t know what is going to happen! So I will let you know next week!

 

       So just a few more stories, sorry I´m running out of time, we just saw the time, and we need to hurry home, but we found some great people this week, we found Patricia and Mateo, who are a mom and son, we found them cleaning out their car, and started teaching them, and they invited us back this week :) But after we were done teaching them, we invited Mateo to help us with a service act, we heart attacked the neighbors door (who is a less active) and left an general conference ensign too. But Mateo helped us put all the hearts on very quietly, then we had him ring the door bell like crazy and we all took off running. Haha he loved it so much, and I´m sure the mom loved it too, to be able to see her son doing service like that! (and a good note for us!!) because she is going to remember this always! :) Also this week I gave my very first talk in Spanish! It was great! I talked about service and charity, and how we need to always serve and help others, it didn´t go as bad as I though it would, my spanish has improved a whole lot since my first weeks here! haha and this won´t be my last talk in Spanish! So I´m really excited for the next talk! :)

 

      Alright so a spiritual thought really fast before I take off. So I was reading my scriptures this week (haha in spanish :) ) and I found a really cool scriptures, it is in D&C 39:10, and then 11-13,15. But in 10 it talkes about after baptism and we have recieved the Holy Ghost we will "recieve a blessing so great as you have never known." I just sat there and I started to think about was the greatest blessing it that we can recieve, so great that we have never known, and as I sat there thinking, something told me to keep reading, and I did, and found my answer in 11-13 and 15 and it talks about how we have the great ability to go and preach the gospel, and to share the gospel. That is the great blessing, once we have recieve the gospel, we must then go out and share it whether it be as a missionary, acts or service, or whatever way you can think of, we have HIS BLESSING and HIS HELP to go and share this gospel. This week I have learned that as long as we have His help all things are possible and we will be given the ability to share this gran message! 

 

     Well that is that is it for this week! I really need to get going. We are going to learn how to make bread from Hna. Myrium, the lady that is renting the house behind hers to us. She is so wonderful I love her so much! and this isn´t any kind of bread, it is one chillean bread, and two Hna. Myrium´s bread! So I´m excited! Well I hope you always remember how much I love you all and that I hope that you remember that I´m always praying and thinking about you all always. Thanks for all you do! I apprciate it all! Now go out and share this great message with others! He will help you! Until next week!

 

    Con Amor Siempre, y Para Toda La Eternidad

     Hermana Aubrey Jo England 

    

Week 28 in Chile - 08/06/2012

CAMBIO 5 SEMANA 4

 

Place: Cordillera, Chillan Ñuble

Companion: Hermana Steinmetz

Date: 06/08/2012

 

Hola Mi Familia!!!!

          ¿Como Estan Todos? I really hope that you are all doing wonderful! So guess what, "Wonder of Wonder Miracle of Miracles" You will never believe what I have found, that is right my Scriptures!!! We had been calling the terminal all week to see if someone had turned them and no luck, so we pretty much gave up, well with the calling part, I was still praying; while is was wonderful and new to study only in spanish it was hard too, because not understanding one word here and there changed the whole meaning of the verse at times, haha oops :) But we were out working on Saturday, and someone called Hermana Steinmetz on our cellphone, and as we were walking all of a sudden she said loudly "No way!!" and handed the phone to me, confused of who is was, I answered and it was Hermana Brady, and she told me that just that day someone had turned in my scriptures to them! Miracle Right!!! But I have learned a lesson this week that Heavenly Father was trying to shout loud and clear which is I need to start studying in Spanish with my English scriptures at my side and not the other way around, and by doing this I know the gift of tongues and gift of the interpretation of tongues is just going to increase that much more. "No experience is a total loss if you learn from it!" :)

        This week has really been an adventure and we have seen some miracles this week. So first of all because I was sick and there was rain, I was stuck in the house for two days this week, yeah I´m sure you all can tell that I went a bit crazy being stuck there, but it was a bit ok because Hna. Steinmetz told me even though I wasn´t outside I could still prepare, and help look for people, so I organized the area book and did other things by preparing to look for people. Haha but after the third day, and Hna. Steinmetz looking at me trying to figure out how we were going to meet our goal, Because we had a goal that we promise President Humphrey and the Lord that we would find 10 new investigators and do 140 contacts, so it was a bit hard when she was out with members, haha basically I looked at her and said, "Thats it I´m going out, you need me, and don´t tell me you don´t, WE made a promise to the Lord and WE are going to accomplish it with His help." So from that point on I started going out with her and little by little the Lord has been blessing me with my health and I getting better slowly and slowly.

      There was one day this week that we went out and I felt a bit tired because I was still a little sick, so we went back to the house and she put in my ear drops and then went out with a member for an hour while I slept. Then she came back, sat on the bed and started telling me that she didn´t know how we were going to meet our goal and that she felt as though we missed people that we were suppose to find because we weren´t as obedient as we could have been. So I looked at her and I said, "Hermana do you believe in repentance?" She looked at me and said yes, but... I stoped her right there and said, "I don´t want to hear the word but, do you believe?" and she told me yes. Then I said, "I do as well, so let´s both get down on our knees right now and say a prayer asking for forgiveness for not doing all that we could." We both got down on our knees and said a prayer right there asking for forgiveness and the help and power we needed to complete the goal that we had promised, we then got up, and went to work, and the Lord has blessed us this week, we have found some good people, we found 10 new investigators and we were able to do our 140 contacts. Goes to show what being humble, a little repentance, and going to work to change what you did wrong can do, thats right it produces miracles!

       But there have been some really good experiences this week, many miracles, and some funny experiences as well, we have had a ton of laughing moments together the week, which has been so much fun. Haha like on Sunday, we were leaving for church and we had just left the house and I started locking the door, when all of a sudden Hermana Steinmetz said "Hermana wait I have to go back" And I´m think what is she missing, we are a bit late for church, so I started doing a mental check list: Bueno her hair is done, she has her glasses, name tag check, jacket check, skirt check, shoes che.. hold it! Haha she still had on her slippers and forgot to put on her shoes :) She told me something just felt funny :) We laughed about that one for a while. But have had many great experience together this week.

      Well that is pretty much it, I need to get going here in a bit, so I´m going to leave it at that for this week, because I need to start preparing for a talk I have to give next Sunday, aaah! Wish me luck! First talk ever in complete Spanish!! Please send your prayers, because we all know that prayers, faith, and action on our part bring about many great miracles, it has been proven to me many times this week. Well remember how much I love you all! Which is more that you all will ever know, so good luck with that! :) I´m praying for you always and I hope that all of you are doing great! So until next week with more adventures and miracles.

   Con Amor, Siempre y Para Toda La Eternidad,

   Hermana Aubrey Jo England

 

p.s There are pictures uploaded!!! A few more in the Hualqui Album, and a new album Cordillera! Hope you like them, we are going to take a lot more this week, it is our goal! and we will accomplish it! :)