Hermana Kristen Hilburn: 2017-01-08

Well hello my lovely family! This week was seriously full of so many miracles I don't have time to tell all but I just want you to all know taht GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS AND HE LOVES HIS MISSIONARIES AND HIS CHILEANS.

This week was a huge week of growth for me as a missionary. I just feel so extremely honored to be with my wonderful companion. She is incredible and teaches me so so much. #almalkifanforlife. We are just changing this little branch with a lot of the Lords help. Ahhh I'm so happy I never want to come home. Think I'm gonna turn in my papers to become a permanent Chilean resident. haha

So about the week... AMAZING. This week I did my first intercambios as a sister trainer leader, with a hermana named Hermana W and it went incredibly well SHE'S INCREDIBLE! She is passing through a little bit of a hard time in her sector called Chepica and with some hardships at home. So I prayed for her every single night of the week and for our intercambio we said a specific prayer that we would be able to forget about ourselves and go to work. And that's exactly what we did. We worked HARD. The sun was so strong and we walked a TON and we didn't see the miracle until the very end of the night. But it came and we found new investigators for Chepica. WHICH IS INCREDIBLE because it is a super small branch of an attendance of about 7 people including the missisonaries every Sunday. Hermana W. is an increcible missionary. She truly is. She is strong and understands Gods will for her. These past months have been hard for her but I think I really helped her to see her growth through all these tough times. She really was a huge example to me of someone who could put away her hardships and focus on others.

Other than intercambios Hermana Al-malki and I worked like BURROS this week to find someone who really is interested in the gospel and let me tell you I have been the most tired I've been on my mission. It's so hot here and we don't have bikes in a big sector where we walk everywhere. This week we put 2 fechas with some investigators that have been investigating for a long time but they accepted and we are going to work so extremely hard to get them to their date.

We also had a very cool experience this week that I'd like to tell you about.

So we had recieved a prompting that we needed to contact an area for 3 days in a row but things came up and we couldn't go. So we said. Sunday SI O SI we are going to this street to contact. So Sunday we went and we blocked out an hour and a half to find the people we knew were on this street and we said a prayer for guidance in which houses we should contact. So we said a prayer and we asked what came to mind. Then I thought of the color white and my compi flowers. So we went and contacted every single house that had something white and something with flowers... well.. almost every house had these 2 things. So we spent an hour going to every single house that had white and flowers. After and hour of rejection, we came to a house at the very end of the street with white flowers. We yelled and a sweet old lady came out and invited us in. We went in sang a song and she told us that she had just been a little sad because she was thinking about her husband who had just passed away. So we introduced the Book of Mormon to her, made a cita and were set. We have a lesson with her this week but after that experience I am more than grateful for the opportunity to show my diligence to the Lord and to see Him bless us with the things we need.

It's been an incredible week. A week of work that's for sure. We walked so much in these last few days, worked some wholes in my socks, starting to have knee probs like mommers and hit the pillow and fall asleep in seconds. But the Lord has really been answering my prayers. He has blessed me so much that I don't even know where to begin with my gratitude. The mission has been the most tiring painful difficult thing I've ever done. But I go to bed every single night with the fullest heart. I love these people so much and I feel incredibly blessed to be able to serve them.

Keep the faith and remember our Book of Mormon challenge!!! 3 months to read the whole book!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK

Hermana Hilburn