Every soul is important to God

Javiera and Agustin were baptized this last saturday!! I can not even express the emotions I was feeling that day... a little stressed, anxious, but oh so happy. It was kind of crazy getting everything worked out, we could definitely feel the adversary working against us. There is opposicion in all things right?! Satan is dumb but we just have to keep fighting against him. He knows our potential and does not want us to get anywhere near reaching it! He puts things in our way as obstacles to stop us from progressing. The family of javiera and agustin have received cualquier desafio (every challenge) thrown at them, seriously... I am amazed at how strong they are. Especially the kids, they have such a strong desire to follow Christ and do the things he did while He was here. This family has taught me so much about trusting in the Lord and even though things may be bad temporarily, we control the spiritual side of our lives. We may choose how we look at things. God gave us that great gift of Agency. We talked a lot about agency yesterday in principos del evangelio (gospel principles). We choose what we want to do in this life, who we want to be, and only we can choose it. Choose wisely!

Oh my gosh, this week we were attacked by dogs!! We were knocking doors and all of a sudden we turn around and there are 4 or 5 little dogs at our ankles barking like crazy and my 'daughter' decides to try and feed ME to them! hahaha She reminded me of you mom, always hiding behind us on roller coasters haha;) We ran away quite quickly,  luckily no one else was around to see us run away like sissies!! haha I so did not want to have to go the hospital for rabies shots! ay ay ay

chi chi chi le le le viva Chile! Looks like my country beat yours in the game this week. Chile pride! Woot woot haha I love how people here always inform us about los partidos de fútbol (soccer games).

Well,  that was everything that was exciting this week. It is so awesome, we are seeing many miracles. One of my goals for this year is to learn how I can consagrar (consecrate) myself more to the lord and this week we had a conference with presidente about the ley de consagracion (law of consecration); it was so awesome. We have to be consecrated to enter into Heaven,  so ask yourself  "what can I do to be more consecrated? What more should I be giving to the lord?" Try as hard as you can to make your path back to the lord STRAIGHT.

I love this work. I love the Lord. Choose to follow Christ.

Hermana Thompson

BAPTISM DAY!!

The Bria's & a completo

Hello Hello

f any of you have a secret for how to slow down time down, I would love to hear. thanks!

Bueno... This week we have been focusing on helping Javi y Agust find la respuesta  (the answer) if they should be baptized or not. Agust has been so excited. He came up to us "Tia Tia Tia me voy a bautizarme, estoy tomando leche" (auntie auntie auntie, I am going to be baptized, I am drinking milk)!! hahaha It was hilarious, he knows the Word of Wisdom :) We have had some awesome experiences with these families. Wow. I know I can't express it through words but I have seen such a change in every single one of them.

This week Car told us that she knows this church is true. WHAT. I can't tell you how awesome it is to hear and feel the words of an investigator say those words in a sentence. And Cesar has shared with us a little bit about his conversión. He has noticed the spiritual change in himself. I know we have definitely seen it, but for him to recognize this change within himself is so awesome. And yesterday in church, they both shared their testimonies. I know the spirit touched everyone's heart through their words.

So, we have been passing by for Javi like I said earlier because she has been feeling scared, she is not sure quite what she wants to do. She knows the church is true but doesn't know if she wants to get baptized. I believe it is for fear of being different. But I also know how strong she is. She has been praying and reading but just feels like God hasn't answered her prayers. She is turning 15... I think for everyone, it can be difficult sometimes to figure out how the spirit speaks to us individually. Well, on  Saturday she went to a stake mutual and then stayed for a baptism which we attended with her mom and brother. Car got really emotional during the baptism and told us she wants to be baptized... but for algunas cosas no puede hacerlo por ahora (some stuff is not able to do it now). After the baptism we were all just kind of chatting and Javi comes up to us and says "I am going to get baptized." AH!!!! Seriously it was so cool. The baptism made the little change in her heart that she needed...that Little prick of the spirit. They are so ready and they have so much support from the Ward.

Yesterday we also had a menos activa Pauli asisitió con su hijo (less active attend with his son). I just love when families come together at church, it is the best feeling.

I know how important the spirit is in everything we do. In my scripture study this week, I read a lot about the spirit and it is seriously so important to recognize when the spirit talks to us. Denying the holy ghost is the one unpardonable sin. I have really focused on the Trinity. They are 1, so when we deny the holy ghost, we deny god and when we deny god, we are denying the other 2. I just love the knowledge and enlightenment the holy ghost gives us! It provides so much understanding.

Mosiah 24:10-15 God is listening, turn over your load to Him.

Happy Birthday Crew bug!! <3

Hermana Thompson

a day in the life of a sister missionary's p-day!

Look up, christ is there

Bueno...

Nuestros investigadores están progresando bien rápido.. un día por el otro. De verdad este sector es oro... siento parte de la villa y el barrio... nunca quiero salir de aquí.  (Our investigators are progressing very quickly...one day at a time.  Really this area is golden… I feel a part of this area and the ward… I never want to leave here.)

Entonces (then)... We have been passing by for J_____ every day to see how she is progressing. and everything looks good :) She seriously is so awesome. i have grown so much amor (love) for this family.. i just want to take them with me to the states one day. So they are not doing really well financially at this moment as they have been changing jobs and their old job didn't pay them what they should have...money is very tight. But instead of going to work in the feria (market) yesterday like they usually do they stayed firm in their promise to God to grow closer to him and go to church. I love seeing them there, they just fit right in. They sang the songs and commented on everything. I love sharing the gospel!!

I think a lot of times we are too scared to confide in the lord...many times it seems we try  to do things our own way. But I know that when we put our faith and trust in God, even when it is difícil (hard), he will bless us and life will be 10 times better than if we did it our own way. God and Christ should be included in every aspect of our life. Religion is not just saved for Sunday, it is a way of life. It is this life. It is our purpose here.

Hey Dad, you are always asking for food stories... this week we went to lunch and the hermana (sister) asked if we eat everything and we said yeah and as soon as we said that she pulled out a cow stomach and cuts it open...and then serves it to us with rice and beans. My comp always says "rice and beans and Jesus Christ are all the things you need in life"...PERO quatitas (but stomach) NO! I am not sure exactly what we ate but I am pretty sure it was like the lining of the stomach... I don't know, but it was quite funny. My comp and I looked at each other and said "quatitas (stomach), ay ay ay!"

Las semanas están pasando muy rapído... quiero que el tiempo para. (The weeks are flying by… I want the time to stop.)

The misión is the best. Christ has seriously become my best friend. This week I have been studying a lot about the plan of salvation and the key role of Christ. If Christ even messed up once or gave into Satan just once, then we would not be able to be saved. But because he WAS perfect and loved us so much, he completed all that he was sent to do. Think about how many times Satan tempts us everyday and how many times we give in. Satan tempted Christ even more... and He NEVER fell. He is our Savior and for that I am extremely grateful. Christ lives. He gave us the perfect example to follow. Follow in his footsteps as He too walked through this crazy world.

I know that Christ restored his gospel through Joseph Smith. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ holds the keys to do sacred ordinances here on earth.

Happy Birthday Ty, Ryan Cody, and Rachel S. this week!

Remember Christ every day... He remembered us every second of his life!

Besitos.

Hermana T

Miracles happen!!

I am going strong strong with 5 cambios (changes) in this sector!! I absolutely love it. I feel part of the Ward, haha, it's awesome. So yeah, that's it with cambios. It was so weird to be in reunión de cambios tranquilla (quiet meeting changes)... haha I always have changes, either sector or compañera (area or companion). But this time I am sticking with El Conquistador y Hermana Gonzalez.

Ah. oh my gosh this week... ay ay ay... where to begin! We have seen so many miracles! We can definitely see the Lord blessing us for our diligence and patience. Seriously an unbelievable week! We are just going to skip to this saturday, alrighty...

So Friday the líderes de zona nos dieron una referencia (zone leaders gave us a reference named) se llama Javier, ellos están enseñando su primo (they are teaching her cousin). However, the only information they gave us was his name and the Street name saying he lives in a blue house... let me tell you a little about our sector, half of the houses are blue haha. We were determined to find him so we just decided to knock all of the blue houses asking for Javier and if they say "no'  just contact them lol. Well, we were getting to the end of the street and kept asking for Javier... there were some little kids out front playing in the pool and we asked if Javier lived there and they said his whole name, haha not knowing if it was him, we said yes lol. As it turns out it was him. His cousin who the zone leaders are teaching was even there so we taught both of them and his mom... and guess what, he accepted a fecha (baptismal date)! for the 31 of january. He was born with an enfermedad (infirmity) where the right side of his body is paralyzed, and it turns out his mom's aunt is a member...any person you talk to in Chile has a family member that is a member of the church!

After the lesson with Javier we went to look for Cesar, Carla, Javiera, Agustine,y Máximo to go to the ward Family Home Evening. On tuesday, we took the 2nd counselor of the bishopric with us to give a blessing and on our way, we found carla y cesar en la plaza... we talked with them a little bit and went back with him the next day to give a blessing on their house. Well, the counselor has gone back a couple times now to visit them! The ward members are such big helps in conversions!! Anyway, they came with us to the FHE and margarita (ma) came with her daughter también. Seriously, it was just amazing to have so many people participate, it was fun and spiritual. These people have become my family. And then Carla y Cesar had an interview with bishop...even better!! I can't even tell you how giddy I was this week to see the progression of these people that I have come to love so much, absolutely amazing. Seeing the changes they are making in their lives to follow Christ is unbelievable... usually cesar y carla trabaja en la feria los días domingos (work at the fair on sundays) but they told us they have decided not go to work but to come to church! oh yeah, I neglected to mention that last week Carla asistió con su suegra en (attended with his mother in) Rancagua! Sunday we went to church with all 5 of them and Margarita came with her daughter that isn't a member! I can't express the felicidad (happiness) there is sitting in the sacrament meeting surrounded by people you love that you know are making big sacrifices to be there. Javiera told us today that they are even going to stop buying tea to start keeping the Word of Wisdom. Miracles Miracles Miracles.

Oh, Emily who has a fecha for the 1 of feb, also went to church with us. We ended up having 8 investigators at church with us!! Seriously amazing. I love this work. I love the Lord!!

Congrats Max on your baptism!! and Happy Birthday Navy beans!!

xoxox

Hermana Thompson

Ailene, Hrna G., Javiera, Carla, Agustine, Cesar y Maximo, Ailene, Cynthia, Margarita, Ghisleyn, y Jujunis,
my little daughter, Karina y Amanda

Thanks Mimi, Grandma, y mi Papas for the christmas packages!
Javiera y maximo

2015=8 infinite makes this year unforgettable

Okay okay okay...

Let's start this year off great!! I put a ton of goals for this year, things I really want to implement in to my day to day life, goals that will help me grow throughout my life. I loved taking time to sit down and really think about the things I want to accomplish this year. 

This week I did a lot of reflecting on what I did well in 2014 and the things I can definitely do better. I also asked myself  "what am I doing right now to become a better disciple of christ and what I am going to do right now to become a better disciple?" 

Oh my gosh, so on Monday we had a lesson with a menos actova se llama (a less active, her name is) Z at 8:30, she wants her daughter who is 9 to get baptized. (I think I talked about them last week) But anyway, we went to show her the restoration video so she can gain a testimony of José Smith, and oh gosh, cualquier oposición a verlo (opposition in all things)! I was going crazy, praying and praying we could get the dvd to work...the DVD player was rejecting the DVD, then we tried looking for it on youtube and the internet connection wouldn't work, then the volume on the computer wouldn't work, aye aye aye aye aye. Por fin (at last) we got it working at like 8:55; it's a 20 min video and we have to be in OUR house at 9:30 at the latest. We shared our testimonies quickly after the video and ran home with seriously 30 secondsa to spare...woah...the devil does not want us to have success here! He knows as well as we know that God is preparing hearts for us to teach. I just really don't like satan... 

Yesterday we had a great asistencia! Let me tell you a little bit about P... She has 29 years and a little boy that has 3. She got baptized when she was 15. She went to Seminary, Institute and was even prepraring for a misión when satan influenced her until she stopped going to church. Hermana Salazar and I talked with her outside of her house one day to see if we could teach her about an awesome message we have :) When she told us she was a member and actually tiene ganas a regresar (wants to return)!! Dios prepara los corazones de las personas (God prepares the hearts of the people)!! She came to church yesterday for the first time in years! She came in a cute dress looking all pretty, she even beat us to church. We passed by her house to walk with her and her paraje told us she was at church. We were panicking that she forgot about the time change from 9 to 11, we walked quickly to church to find her sitting in relief society with a smile on her face. I love this work!! 

This week I feel like we have talked a lot about obedience...obedience to the commandments, obedience to the spirit, to that quiet little voice in our head. Obedience truly allows us to do well in this life with success. This week try to be obedient to every rule to every prompting you receive from the holy ghost. 

Happy Birthday to Max and congrats on your baptism! It is such a big step in your life, make it a special day. You will never forget it :)

Happy Birthday Luke y Norah y Navy!

If the Savior stood beside me...

Reflect, Change and Act

sending my love across the miles...

Hermana Thompson

Feliz Año nuevo!

Feliz Navidad!

Happy Birthday Christopher Durand!!!!!!!!!! 15. Say what?! get ready for that permit

Epic Christmas. This past week was spent just soaking up the spirit that comes around this time of year. I have really come to appreciate Christmas and the opportunity we have to share some christmas cheer with all. It is such a special time of year to talk about Christ and THE WONDERFUL BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR. Christmas is a little more on the "low down" here in Chile, super tranquillo. On the 24th,  we had dinner with Familia Pereira in the Ward. We had Shirley temples :) yum... We got home at 10. took a nap, woke up at 11:59 to open up our christmas presents from Santa Claus :) Hermana Gonzalez and I really enjoyed the time. Thanks to everyone who sent me a Little Something. You guys are awesome!! :) Christmas Morning we made a big old American breakfast haha. I read the account of Jesús birth in Lucas 2. Christmas this year really strengthened my testimony of my Savior and the importance of the work I am doing on God's behalf here. I am not just wasting my time in a different country, although I am now a chilena...what I love about being here is teaching the people about christ, the hope of the atonement. The purpose of this celebration, Christ is our savior. My purpose as a missionary is to invite others to come unto christ but that means I must be there with Christ or else I couldn't invite them to "come". I have really come to know my savior and to walk with him through trials that I face in life. I have a strong testimony that he lives today. He is our constant friend. He will not leave our side, it is us as that nos alejamos de él (distance ourselves from him). 

So this week we saw some christmas miracles! On tuesday we found a nuevo through ël es la Dádiva (He is the Gift). We were touching doors and the second door tocamos, slió una mujer se llama Silvia (we knocked, there was a lady named Silvia). We entered and with the usb we showed her and 2 granddaughters the video and they loved it! obviously it's awesome :) It is so cool to see the inspiración that was put into this short little video, it is shown with so much power and spirit that everyone we show it to wants to share it with everyone so they can remember why we celebrate la navidad. The World seems to have forgotten, but we must never forget la primer regalo (the first gift)... Jesucristo, nuestro Salvador, Redentor, y hermano que nació en un pesebre muchos años atrás (Jesus Christ, our savior, Redeemer, and brother that was born in a manger many years before). 

We were able to put a fecha with the son of V (Conversa reciente)(recent convert), he has 9 for the 11 of january. He kind of gets bored easily so we are coming up with some neat and interesting ways to teach him lol. But he is interested and understands the importance of baptism. It is a command from God and we cannot return to him with out baptism by immersion by someone that holds the proper authority.

This week we had quite a few opportunities to bless homes. I am so grateful for the sacerdocio (priesthood) that was restored through José Smith. Seriously, I am ubelievably grateful for this power that exists on earth today. I am grateful for the worthy men that hold this authority to act in the name of God. 

On saturday we had an awesome Ward family home evening. Every organization participated from the primary all the way to ysa. We had a menos ativa (less active) show up with 2 of her kids. We have tried many times to teach her but she is always busy, it was a miracle to see her in la capilla (the chapel)! My jaw about dropped...Christmas :)

Her daughter Emily has 9 years and is not baptized so today we have a cita (appointment) with them to start teaching her and put a fecha so she can enter into a convenio con dios (covenant with God) :) So many miracles agh. 

M came to church for the first time!!! She has had so much opposition that has been placed in her path every sunday. She has so much desire to progress and come back to church but she knows that it only comes with effort and action. She had to go the the doctor for her hand yesterday but she said "No, I need to go to church first, I have to make the decisión today or I will never make it". ahhh. I can't even express the love I feel for her. Last saturday we went and said a prayer with her that her daughter could find a house to live in with her husband and daughter...on monday they got the house! God is amazing. So we went yesterday with the bishop to bless the house and put a date to do a FHE this sunday with all of the family! M y G and 3 of their kids and their grandkids. This family is going to make it to the temple. 

I believe in miracles. I believe in God. I KNOW that Christ is my savior. 

I hope you all have a great New Year!!

2014 has been the best year ever in serving the Lord. Here is to 2015 and even more time to dedícate to my creator.

Hermana Thompson

Christ is the reason for singing

So this week was packed. Wednesday we had interviews with Presidente. Thursday was the misión christmas activity. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had the Musical Presentation for Christmas. wow.

Let's see if I can sum up this week in an email...

We were in such a rush all week. We had to leave the house on friday at 4:30 and we still weren't sure exactly how we were going to do splits, it was just crazy stressful but at like 4:10 we entered an investigator's house, carol y Mari. I WAS SO STRESSED AND we needed to make a few phone calls with the ZL and some hermanas in Maipú so I entered the home not really focused (bad.) Well, we had a little small talk, asked if they read the BoM, and then we popped in our pen drive to watch "He is the gift". It was a quick 2 minutes, but it moved Carol to tears... a humbling experience for me in helping redirect myself and focus my mind back to Christ and my investigator AND NOT what was going to happen in 10 minutes. I think we get so caught up in everything being perfect that we miss moments like this to feel the spirit and allow it to touch our hearts. It was a really tender moment as she expressed her feelings about the video. Afterwards, she gave such a heartfelt prayer, pleading our father to help those in need at this time and that we may all remember the true meaning of christmas.

Christmas miracles! We took like 2 steps onto a street and then stopped, and then went to the next street over...I didn't think anything of it, but we were just walking and nearly to the end of the street when we hear "mission eras" (by the way, I love being a missionary... it makes me happy:)) We flipped around quickly to see 2 women with a guagua coming out of a house. As it turns out they are members and wanted a blessing on their house. So we left and returned with Hermano Pereira. I love being an instrument in God's hands and being guided by the Spirit. It is so cool! It was awesome to talk with them and hear their story. P and her cousin Eli live in the house with a baby. They have been members for quite some time, but lost sight of the eternal perspective.

I know Christ was born in a manger in Bethlahem, I know he was a miraculous birth. Last week, I watched bible videos of the nacimiento (birth) of christ. WOW. http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos

The choir was really good! We sang with angels. I love christmas songs, It brings the Spirit so strong! agh. We are planning to go caroling door to door :) haha that should be fun!

¡Feliz Navidad!

#sharethegift

Hermana Thompson