Crazy Weather and Crazy Contacting

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

We love this new Mission Presidents wife. She is Awesome!

This cute girl is in our ward and comes with us to appointments all the time

Tired girls

Talking With Nuns

HOLLLLAAA FAMILIA.

Well... I'm emailing you from the same cyber I always do because I literally just jumped one ward over to la Florida. It's literally the sector that touches my old sector but don't worry...... ITS AWESOME.

Well I was secretly hoping, I'm not going to lie, that I would be put in a sector where the work was just flying by and I would walk in, have 30 investigators that were waiting to be baptized and I just have to do the easy part. Well, I think Heavenly Father was like wow, she still hasn't learned. hahah so I'm learning more and more, and after I learn, I'm going to learn some more!! THATS LIFE RIGHT???

Haha but La Florida is awesome. The work is a little hard because we don't have any investigators RIGHT NOW but that is all about to change. My companion is this cute little Peruvian who literally is so adorable and her name is Hermana Revolo. She is a convert of 2 years and has a year in the mission. She is so ready to get down to work and we have so many incredible plans for this transfer and we are going to turn la Florida upside down with the crazy amount of work we are about to get in to.

Ahhh I'm so excited to be here though!!! This area has a lot of potential and the members are super awesome. Our sector is really spread out and we don't use the bikes because we live on the 4th floor of an apartment building and my comp is like 4' 11" and can't do the bikes every day so we walk everywhere. But it's awesome and we are going to find the people who need us most!!!

So this week we were contacting literally all day every day. We only had one cita the whole week so we were really doing all we could to find the people who are just waiting to hear the good news. Our sector goes up to the mountains that are behind our house. So Hermana Revolo and I were like okay we are going to contact those houses in the mountains. So we talked to one of the members in our ward and we made plans to go see who lives up there.

Haha so we drove up there and all the houses we saw were actually just under construction and no one lived up there. So the member who was driving us was like, yeah lets keep going. Little did we all know that the cars we would see at night were driving to a Virgin Mary statue at the top of the hill. So naturally we had to see what was going on there and if any one was waiting to hear the gospel. So we kept going and found that the only people up there were 4 nuns. 

Hahah so it was the crazy adventure of the week. Just teaching and talking to some nuns and all that jazz.

I'm really excited to be here in la Florida!!! It's a little weird being so close to my first sector but I'm so excited to get to know the new people here.

Hope you all have a great week!!!

Hermana Hilburn

Hermana Revolo and Hermana Hilburn in the Mountains

Why not talk to a few Nuns!

New Adventure in La Florida Talca

HELLO FRIENDS AND FAM. Well you heard it here!!! I got transfered tot he Chile Talca mission!!!! hahahh jokes but really I got transfered and just to La Florida which is literally 5 minutes away from Independencia!!! But I am so excited to get my butt over there and find those in need!!

I am just doing dandy up in Independencia and I'm so sad to be leaving but I am happy I'm not going far. I just am excited for something new and I feel like there's someone there that needs my help.

This week was actually another very very hard week for me, but don't worry I learned a lot. It was hard because Hermana Blake was sick the whole week and we had to go to the hospital and didn't get much time to work. She had strep throat so we couldn't even leave the house because she was contagious and just not doing so hot.  The one day that we went out to work our only progressing investigator, our milage Marlen, opened the door and told us randomly she didn't want to see us anymore. I was so devastated becasue I love that lady so much. She had been progressing so well and it was just so out of the blue. I was just able to bare my testimony at the doorstep to her just to hope she would feel a little of the spirit and desire to let the missionaries in latter on.

Also Yolli passed away Sunday night. This whole week there had been a lot of people visiting her so we got to say our goodbyes Wednesday and help her mother throughout the week with chores she had to do and what not. But she held on till Sunday night. Then I got the call the night before saying I was leaving the greatest ward ever to move 5 min down the road!!

So with all that happening it was a little easy to feel a little bit down and be hard on myself and feel like I hadn't done my part here in Independencia. After praying basically all week to feel good about the work I did I had an incredible experience at the open casket for Yolli

We were going to sing at the house where they were having and open casket Yolli's father saw us walking down the street. His face lit up and he came walking toward us. He isn't a member but we had taught him once or twice and every time he was really durro and didn't want much to do more with us. But as the weeks went on every time we visited he would listen to the lessons more and would even sit in the same room as we sang. Both Hermana Blake and I started to see a change in him even though it was little and very slow God was shaping him. So we were walking in and he came up to us with tears in his eyes and just said ¨"she went so peacefully and she's now in the spirit world smiling down at us". A feeling hit me so deep in my heart I couldn't help the tears from welling up in my eyes. I will never forget the amount of gratitude I felt in that moment to be able to share that with him so long ago. When we first taught him at the time, I thought he didn't even listen or didn't care. But just from those words he said to me, I know he felt comfort from the little truths that we taught him in the moment he needed it most.

This sector has taken me for a whirl wind of emotions that's for dang sure. There has been the happiest and the saddest times here. I was feeling so down a couple weeks ago with feeling like I hadn't done anything here. But if my whole job in Independencia was just to let that man feel even an ounce more of peace at probably the hardest time of his life, I am more than happy to have been able to do that for him.

God works in mysterious ways that's for sure. He will send an apostle to shake a young sister missionary's hand to help her feel better, He will put her in a taxi to help her understand the importance of having the spirit in her life and He will send a greenga from California to help one man.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THE MISSION.  It is the hardest thing I've ever done and yeah I might cry a little and do a 5 minute pitty part well... sometimes more often than I should.  But I love being here so stinking much.

Man it's good to be a missionary and to help others. I think I know why the Savior was so happy. Service and spreading Gods love is the purest form of joy.

Love you all and hope you have an amazing week.

Please put Patricia and Marlen in your prayers!!!

See you next week as I take on the new adventure in LA FLORIDAAAA!!!!!!

Hermana Hilburn

The people in Independencia will be missed

 So much sickness!

Time to pack up and leave this lovely little house

Happy 4th of July from Chile

Happy 4th of July!!!!! From Chile

Hola familia!!! I hope you are having an incredible week in the hot hot sun just enjoying life!!!

Hermana Blake and I are struggling in the health department and the missionary department and well in all departments. But hey I didn't sign up for an easy year and a half right??? haha but this week was a little more difficult.

First with the awesome news!!! PRESIDENT HARRIS AND HERMANA HARRIS ARE THE LITERALLY CUTEST AND MOST AWESOME NEW MISSION PRESIDENTS EVER. They got here Tuesday and we had intrevistas and a capitacion with them Friday and let me tell you they are absolutely splendid. Both are so ready to be here and so excited to help us and so strong and amazing. They both are just little angels sent straight from heaven that are here to help struggling missionaries like me. haha No I'm really okay but they really are here to help our mission and make it so much better!! They both have so much fire and are just beaming with happiness and I know they love every single one of us so much and are here to serve. Ahhh they rock! I already love them so much.

But that night we got a call from Patricia, Yolli's mom asking if we could call the bishop to come give Yolli a blessing. She was throwing up blood and her mom thought she wasn't going to make it through the night so she was crying and asked us to just pray for Yolli. So we got a hold of the Bishop and sent him over to their house and we couldn't leave so we just had to wait and hear from her. So the next day we went over and sang to her like we always do and she looked so bad. Just so weak and barely able to keep her eyes open, but still able to show her cute fun amazing personality. She asked us to sing only one song because she could "only handle so much singing" then only 1 prayer and then after the prayer she looks at both of us and just says, "and now you leave." haha I love that little angel and I know Heavenly Father is just waiting to welcome her with open arms, but I've just been so worried about her parents. The mom Patricia is inactive and the dad is not a member. They both have received the plan of salvation lesson but even with that knowledge I know how hard this time is for them. They are constantly asking us to come over and sing to Yolli so this week we've been over like 4 or 5 times. I love them so much and it breaks my heart they have to go through something like this. But I also know that Heavenly father loves them so much and wants the best for them. He is there with them every step of this tragically sad path holding their hands and lifting them up. I hope we can help them truly understand that and maybe help them to baptism and then towards the temple. 

Our investigator Marlen is just such an interesting one. Every lesson we have with her is like YEAHHH SHES GOING TO CHURCH and she never comes. Buttttt this week she came to a baptism that the hermanas who live with us were in charge of and you couldn't not feel the spirit in that room. So I hope we can get to the bottom of why she isn't going to church.

BUT WE HAD THESE 2 MENOS ACTIVAS IN CHURCH THIS WEEK WHO ARE BASICALLY INVESTIGATORS. Okay they are the cutest people ever. They got baptized when they were 20 went twice after, then never again for 25 years. So they went to church because we had the most incredible lesson with them and they told us they were worried for where their family was going and we were like well you should get back to church and they were like yeah.

AND EVERYONE LIKE NEW THEM  they had so many friends in church it was weird. I didn't know what to do because they didn't need us!!!

But yeah!!! This week was a hard one but I know that it will get better!! Please keep Yolli and Patty in your prayers that they will just feel peace!

Oh and your missionary, keep her in your prayers as well. hahah love you all and remember God loves you and hard things suck but they make you better!!!

Or at least that's what I'm telling myself and my comp!!!!

Church is still true:)

Hermana Hilburn

 These girls work so hard!

 Happy Birthday America!!!

Our 4th celebrations were dressing patriotically and eating some nasty hamburgers. 

Sweet Little Yolli

Hermana Hilburn's New Mission President and wife

Blessings of the Spirit

HHHOLLLAAAA FAMILIA COMMOOO ESTAAA!!!!!

Okay I started writing a letter to you and it disappeared. WELCOME TO CHILE.  hahaha no but GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS AND HE LOVES US EVEN THOUGH LIFE'S ROUGH AND WE ARE LIKE, HEAVENLY FATHER WHERE YOU AT. But this week was another goody.

THE MIRACLE OF MARLEN

So a couple weeks ago we found Marlen and she's the greatest human in the whole wide world. She invited us in with huge smiles and open arms and we literally are so lucky to teach her. This Monday we put a fecha with her to be baptized and she said yes and how excited she is to get baptized. We then had 3 lessons with her this week which is huge and we are so grateful everyday to teach her becuase she is so refreshing to teach. Unlike all the other Chileans she doesnt like the Catholic church so she let us in. When we started teaching her she told us she would invited us back because of the feeling she felt when we were there. So HUGE BLESSINGS UP IN INDEPENDENCIA. Then the rest of the week we just contacted like no ones every contacted before. I think I talked to more people this week alone, than in my whole life! Okay that is a little dramatic but seriously so many people.

Through all this my comp and I have been pretty sick almost everyday. So when we can go out to teach it's such a huge blessing. We think it's because of the food or somthing but we are all good so don't worry. Just becoming big buds with the mission nurse!! But she's awesome and we are major home dawgs so I think she doesn't mind helping me with all my sick problems.

BUT YOUR HOME GIRL HAS HIT 5 MONTHS! Yesterday marks the day that I've been out in the mission field for 5 whole months!!! I can't even believe it!!! I still feel so new and like I don't know a thing but maybe I do!! Well I better because 5 months is a long time!!!

This week we had stake conference with our Talca stake and we were so lucky to have our mission presidents come and share their final testimonies of the mission with us. We listened to so many amazing talks and it was so nice to be there, especially because of what happened earlier that day!!

My comp and I were on our way to the conference right after a lesson and we had to take a taxi to do so because it was in Centro. So we were waiting for a collectivo and one came skreetching around the corner and I just thought, oh great. But we hopped in because we were going to be late. The car smelled like smoke, the man had inappropriate pictures and loud scary music playing. When we both got in we looked at each other and just knew this wasn't a great place to be. So the whole ride to Centro we both just felt so bad, like heaviness and didn't want to be in that car. So we were both so excited to get the heck out of there. When we finally got to the stacka we jumped out and ran to the church. We were talking and we both felt the same exact thing. We realized it was because the spirit just left us in that moment while in that nasty taxi. As missionaries we don't understand how strong we have the spirit because we have it all the time. So it was a dramatic change when we didn't have it. So as the meeting started we both were so ready to listen to the talks and feel that spirit again. Just as the choir started to sing "loor al profeta" my heart began to literally burn. It was one of the strongest spirits I have ever felt and I couldn't hold back the tears.

I just am so grateful for the spirit I have in my life!!! It is absolutely crazy the difference between having it with you and not. I think that was a little moment where my Heavenly Father taught me how important it is to be obedient and worthy of the spirit. It is the greatest gift we are given and I am so grateful to recieve that gift.

I love this gospel friends and I know it's true. THE CHURCH IS JUST AS TRUE AS THE BOOK OF MORMON IS BLUE. Read it, pray and have the spirit with you at all times.

Well hope you have a great week. Pray that this Chilean food will stop hurting me and that I won't be sick and that we will find people to teach. Okay thanks

Love you all!!

Hermana Hilburn

A sweet friend in the ward

 President and Hermana Warne: This mission President and his wife will be missed

 This dog thinks he belongs to us

 Sweet Hermana in the ward making 

chirazcos Inside the house!

 Every Missionary has to have one of these pictures

Hermana Goodman and Hermana Hilburn are Legal!

Chile won the American Cup!

Hard Things Make You Better

HOLLAAAAAA FAMMMIILLLLIIIAAAA WHAT IS UPPPPPPP! I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN JUST THE GOOD VIBES RIGHT NOW. I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW WHY BUT I'M JUST A HAPPY CAMPER THIS DAY.

Okay so I just want to say right now that when things get tough, they will get better. I can testify of that statement because the beginning of this week had to be the hardest of my whole mission. I've been in this area Talca my whole mission and we have not had a single baptism. We've had 1 fecha and it fell and hardly any investigators. We have been working so hard for so long to find absolutely no fruits to our labors and it really got to me this week. We had 10 citas at the beginning of this week, 7 of them fell, one of the people Cecilia called us to basically "break up" with us and say she didn't want any more of the gospel, we haven't been able to find Andrea for almost a week and a half now and it has been so cold. We had to say goodbye to our mission president and Friday I got super sick and couldn't work. We were just feeling sooo sorry for ourselves and really just lost all that was important to us this week as we were only focusing on the bad and none of the good. I could see where we were going so I told Hermana Blake we should probably fast. So as we started our fast on Saturday... the week started to turn around in a way a little unexpected...

So Saturday we had a service opportunity with Yolli and her mom finishing paining her house. As we were leaving, a thought came into my mind to ask Hermana Blake if she had the keys, but being stupid I didn't say anything until I heard the door slam and lock. She didn't have the keys and as I was looking for the phone in my purse, I didn't have the phone. So we were a lil stranded but decided to head to our service activity and call the elders from Hermana Yollis phone. So we were on our way to the service and a man literally jumped out of his car to talk to us and asked us if we could give his son a blessing. We took his name and number and headed to the service. We called the elders... and them being elders..... ugh didn't answer. So we were just like alright we are going to pray and hope for something cool to happen. As we were riding to lunch LOW AND BEHOLD THE ELDERS ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREET IN OUR SECTOR. Me being the pshycho human I am screamed ELDERS ELDERS STOPPPP. They were able to contact the other Hermana's who live with us and told them to get back to the house after lunch to let us in so we could change and go back out ot work. So after we were done with lunch we waited outside our house for our roomies for about and hour and a half.  I had to go potty so bad but we were just waiting and talking and planning for our day. When the Hermana's got there Hermana Goodman thought at first that she didn't have the keys and I started laughing so hard I peed my pants. Literally. So you all know I am still the same old Kristen. We later continued working and searching for new poeple and just put our all in. We found some awesome poeple and we are so excited to work with them and see where they go!!!!

So this week was just a li'l crazy. We hit some lows but we also were happy to be working and serving the Lord. I think the Lord is stretching me right now. He's teaching me and it's hard and sometimes I want to cry and give up but after the trials I know it is always for the better. This whole mission thing has just been a crazy world of hard. It is so hard when investigators don't want to progess or go to church. It is so hard to watch people in pain from illness. It is so hard to get the door slammed in your face. It is so hard talking in a foreign language. It's hard to be out in the cold all day working for people who sometimes dont' want you there. but you know what I keep thinking. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD! 

This life is hard. We all go through hard things but the hard things are what make us better. If I had all investigators who were just like, BAPTIZE ME NOW, I wouldn't need to fast, pray and recieve revelation for them because they would know what to do.

The hardness is the plan we chose when we were in heaven. We didn't take the easy way out we chose to learn and to grow through difficulties. We chose to be in a little pain so we could have an eternity of glory AND HOW COOL IS THAT.

The best part is that Heavenly Father knew how hard it was going to be for each one of us so he sent us a way we could get through the hard times and be triumphant and that's through his loving son Jesus Christ and the gospel he established for us and the spirit of comfort and peace we recieve through that divine gospel.

I just want you to all know how grateful I am for that gift that I reviewed when I was 8 years old. I feel like it's taken me 10 years to see how amazing this gift is. But now I am starting to realize the peace that comes through the holy ghost. " y por el poder del espiritu santo podreis conocer la verdad de todas las cosas¨¨and through that gift I know my Savior lives and that my Father in Heaven loves me so dang much.

I know he has such great things in store for me and I might not be lucky enough to see the fruits of my labors right now but with how many seeds I've been planting, I know in the celestial kingdom, if I am just so lucky I will be able to see them then.

I love you all so much and I love this gospel with all my heart. I know with every part of me this is the same church Jesus Christ established when he was on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith was the worthy and honorable man we needed to restore it. I know that we are lucky enough now to have that gospel in our lives if we choose to have it. I know that the gift of the espiritu is the greatest gift we can recieve and thats why I'm here; to give that gift to others.

I hope you all have a great week and realize the gift you all have. 

Love

Hermana Hilburn

The Other Hermana's that live in our crib:)

It was so sad to say goodbye to this amazing woman. Sister Warne(Mission Presidents Wife)

 Going to Zone Conference!

Love this Comp. She is the best!

Who doesn't love a Teeter Totter!

mission life is good

New Mission news: Hermana's In Pants!

Wow another week flying by!!!!

This week really wasn't anything crazy at all. Just a lot of searching for new investigators, finding some, painting, freezing our buns off, basically being David and Goliath while teaching peeps and new mission news like wearing pants and all that jazz!!

Wow now that I list it out I guess it was a pretty crazy week but all the days are starting to blend together because of how fast time is starting to go now.

But yeah!!! This week we did a lot of contacting and trying to find new investigators and we found one sweet soul named Marlene!!!!! AND GUESS WHAT SHE HATES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, LITERALLY THE FIRST PERSON I'VE MEET IN CHILE.  No, but she was a very strong Catholic for a very long time but something went down in her church so she changed her faith to Jesus not Catholicism, which is so awesome. We taught her with one of the MOST AWESOME MEMEBER'S and she was just so prepared and awesome sauce and ya. She promised she would come to church but she didn't so we are going to see what happened this week!!

Then we finally found Andrea. I think Satan got a hold of her. She was telling us how she didn't want to take lessons anymore from us and how she thinks this isn't for her. Man, my heart broke and the tears almost started coming. But my compi and I just took a deep breath said little prayers in our hearts and had one of the coolest lessons I've ever had on the mish. The spirit was just so strong and by the end she said she wanted to give it one last try. So she said she would come to church and keep taking lessons. But she didn't come to church so please keep her in your prayers!!!!

We did a lot of painting this week for Yolli and her family because Yolli is doing really bad right now. Her cancer is starting to take over her legs so she can't walk right now so we've been over singing hymns and doing service for her family. Her mom is so sweet and really understands the plan of salvation because she knows she probably won't have too much time with her daughter, but she's enjoying every single day. ahhhhh it's so sad how much pain she's in but we are just doing all we can to help her not think about the pain by singing and reading the scriptures with her.

Also this week we got more information about the pant situation!!! We need to wear them because there is an outbreak disease in Argentina or somewhere close that prevents women form being able to get pregnant, so the prophet is making sure we don't get that. So starting with the new president(who arrives soon) we'll get money to buy really ugly pants!!! But hey it will be a lot better for biking!!!! We can also wear long skirts with tights and we have to wear long sleeves at all times!  And that means in the summer as well!! So we might die of heat stroke but no worries we are protected and I think the prophet knows what he's talking about so I'm not too worried.

So that was my week!!!!! Time is starting to really fly by. I've been out for almost 5 months now what the heck!!!!! I still feel like fresh out of the MTC but can now talk a little better Spanish. I am still learning and growing every singe day!!! Love you guys and the church is true. Be awesome member's that help the missionaries find people because you guys ARE the real missionaries. THE GOSPEL IS GOOD SO SHARE IT!!!!!

Love

Hermana Hilburn

 Doing a little painting and paint brush singing

 It's so cold She needs two coats!