Hermana Kristen Hilburn: 2016-07-24

WELL HOW DO YOU ALL DO!!!!

THIS WEEK WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.! Wow I've never worked so hard in my whole life. Every single night my compi and I went to bed just dead tired. We woke up a little more refreshed and did it all over again. But let me tell you.... GOD JUST WORKS MILAGROS WHEN WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN.

So we literally didn't have a single investigator when I got here. This place hasn't had a baptism in 3 years and I was super discouraged. I thought great. Another 3 or so cambios with no success. But then I was like wow, no we aint gonna think like that! We are going to turn this place upside down.

So my compi and I made a goal to have 100 good contacts with information and with citas this week. After we fasted and prayed for help from Heavenly Father and we put our shoes on and went to work. AND LET ME TELL YOU. We didn't get 100 contacts but we CONTACTED EVERY SINGLE PÈRSON WE SAW AND IT WAS NUTS AND SO AWESOME. We entered houses, we taught lessons, and it was raining all week so we didn't get wet!!! God is good.

We also got to go on divisions with the mission president's wife this week. She is so dang cute and knows way more spanish than I did my 3rd week. She was just so encouraging and amazing to be with and she had no idea what she was doing but she was so willing and reaady to try. She is such a good example and so sweet and it was such a blessing.

We also had a reunion this week with president and the whole gang from Rancagua. It was a training session and he was so cute teaching us about healthy eating and exercise and how we need to take better care of our bodies. But it was a good reminder that we have to take care of our bodies because our spirits can't be good if we don't feel good.

Then we had a ward activity this week and we brought a menos activa. Well her story is actually a little nutz. She was a member but her family took their records off the church records because of something that went down and they are all anti mormon. But we found her one day contacting and she told us that she has missed having the church and Heavenly Father in her life. So we just knew it was such a miracle we found her just contacting. It was such a good week. But what I'm seriously so happy about right now is that Hermana Blake my old companion, told me Yolli's mom and dad both went to church this past Sunday. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am for this family. Patty is a menos activia and Christian isn't a member. When we first found them they wanted absolutely nothing to do with the church. But we really saw God change them through this difficult time in their lives. Ahhh when I heard they went to church I was so happy I couldn't hold back the tears. I have to admit I was a little bummed I couldn't be the one to help them through this exciting path but I don't even care. I did my part and I know I was just a stepping stone for them and their family and I am so happy to be a stepping stone.

It's been so hard the mission. I've been a stepping stone basically the whole time I've been here with no one progressing, but I've learned that if God needs me to be a stepping stone to help a family be eternal, I need to be more than happy to help and I am. Ahhhh I love this work so much. My feet hurt, my back hurts, I'm tired all the time, and the people aren't that nice all the time. But absolutely none of that even matters. I get to help families be eternal. I get to bring peace and joy to families who are hurting and need help. It's the greatest work anyone could do and it's the work of the Lord. He is so here with me every step of the way. I don't fully understand all the time why things happen or why it's so hard. But I have a lot of faith that he knows me and He loves me.

AND HE LOVES ALL OF YOU SO DANG MUCH and even the people in Talca Chile.

Stay fiel(faithful)

Hermana Hilburn