HEEEELLLLLLOOOO FRIENDS AND FAMILY! GREETINGS FROM MIRACLE CENTRAL IN PIDUCO.

Well I am extremely happy to be emailing you all from this awsome place. This week I think God was hitting me with a stick trying to get me to learn, but I think I learned and I'm on the right road to keep learning, growing and progressing and living and loving life. ahh okay.

So this transfer I think I have learned more about myself and the character of God more this week than any other week.

Not sure if you guys could tell but I was in a little bit of a Funk after special cambios and wasn't really sure what the heck I was doing here and so confused as to why I had to leave a place I loved so much and worked so hard in to come to a white washed  area that I didn't know a soul in. So this funk I was in was pretty noticible and I think it was really affecting the work. So God knew I needed to change so he sent me on a division wiht an amazing cordinadora(I'm guessing this is the sister trainer leader) who really helped me get my butt into shape. 

I was telling Hermana Maestre, my coordinator, how I was feeling and how I was really having a hard time in understanding what God's plans for me were. She is such an incredible person with the strongest testimony in all the world. She is a convert of 3 years and the only member in her family. She is truly here to serve the Lord and knows that this is His work. So she started to ask me questions; trying to help me realize what I needed to do. We came to the conclusion that I neeeded to ask God. I needed to get an answer from him as to what I'm supposed to be doing here. 

So I did just that and when I prayed I couldn't get this family we met the first night, out of my head. I wasn't sure at the time if it was my head or an answer, so I kind of brushed it off and went to bed. 

The next day we went to the noche de hogar that we had planned for them and I cannot even begin to explain to you the incredible spirit that was in that room. This familia is a part member family and the dad is a member but the mom and son are not. The mom never ever has been open to missionaries but she for some reason felt like she needed to let us in. She began to tell us that she felt a need to open her heart. All of these years she has been so shut off to change but after our noched de hogar son ella, ella empezo a pensar en su familia. y que ella quiere por su futura. Whoops I literally didn't mean to do that. Wow. Anyway she said that we were angels sent to help her family be a family eterna. Then after this incredible day we found 5 new investigators, another family and another mujer GENIAL. ahhhhhhhhhh it was so incredible.

But through all this the thing I really learned is faith. I had been lacking in so much faith it was insane. I didn't have any faith in my Father's plans. I didn't have faith and so obviously he couldn't do miracles. Well I had to learn the hard way but I'm so grateful I did. Wow!  I am learning every single day that God loves us so much. And all we have to do to receive his blessings is just have faith in Him and follow His commandments.

This gospel brings so much dang happiness I could cry. I know I am missing out on a lot of things love, and a lot of people I love are growing up and moving on, but I am so extremely happy to give all that up for a year and a half to serve the God I love even more. 

The only thing we have to give to the God that has given us everything is ourselves. 

I'm here trying every day to give myself to the God I love so much so I can do his will and help his people.

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL SO DANG MUCH. I am so gratreful to be here working for the big man loving his children.

Well I also love you all so much. And stop moving on without me!......Okay you can, but at least inform me about it:) okay?!!

Have a good one. Love you tons

Hermana Hilburn

This sector is huge which means we get to go across the freeway everyday.

Love Hermana Maestre. Hermana Hilburn's Coordinadora(sister training leader)

Biking to a lunch appointment 45 minutes away.

This was painted just for Hermana Hilburn

GB-Granite Bay! All the way in Chile

Our house is in front of a casino so lots of bright lights:)

New Sector

Wow throw me in a blender because this week was CRAAAZZZYYYY.

It's only been a week in my new area and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE. 

Our new ward has never had Hermana's and they are SO EXCITED TO HAVE US.  We have been recieving so much help over this week and I have never been so grateful for the love and support we have recieved from the members here.

Our sector is HUGE. One day it literally took us an hour to walk to lunch. But don't worry we will be recieving bikes today in the evening. But it's so awesome and so pretty and the people are so dang nice and it's just a good ole sector.

So we have been literally starting from scratch. We don't have a single investigator, single family we've been working with before absolutely nothing. It's been really hard because each day we have been a little clueless on where to go and what to do. We were both a little lost, not understanding why we needed to move sectors, why so sudden why why why? That was my attitude until we hit Relief Society on Sunday. We had a lesson that absolutely changed my whole life. 

My comp and I had been fasting for help and guidance and I know for a fact that Heavenly Father sent it through this class. We had a lesson on the talk, "Do You Believe" from this past conference. It started out with a story about this woman whose son was in need of  medical help and was being airlifted to the hospital. She had served a mission, served in callings, all things in the gospel that made her feel as if she believed. But when it really came down to it, when she really needed to know if there was life after death, if there was such a thing as eternal families, she thought for a second, searched her soul and discovered, yes. She really did believe. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I started thinking do I really know? Do I really know this is the true church? Do I really know Jesus Christ lives and he suffered for our sins? Do I really know that God loves me and he will help me in times of need?

Let me tell you all, now I know.

I know God loves us and he helps us in every way we need. He wants us to grow. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to live in celestial glory with our families and with our Heavenly family. I know God has a plan for us and I know he needs me here. I don't exactly know why or how but I am happy and willing to find out. I know that he has prepared a way for each and everyone of us. 

Sorry I don't have too much to inform you on how the week went but it was a roller coaster of being lost and doing all we can to find those who need us.

But now I know. I know this is His work and he leads and guides us every single day.

HAPPY AS A CLAM TO BE SERVING THE MAN!

HAVE A GOOD ONE

HERMANA HILBURN

PS SHOUT OUT TO MY POP'S FOR BEING THE BEST DAD EVER AND TURNING THE BIG 50 ON TUESDAY!

Beautiful New Sector

This was copied from Kristen's Mission President's blog. Sister Harris shares an experience she had with two Sister missionaries. She never mentions their names but put a picture of them next to the story: 
I had a great experience with the sister missionaries. They had two appointments, one at 6 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. When we arrived at the 6 p.m. appointment, no one was home. The sisters did not skip a beat. They pulled out their planners and checked the list of investigators and less active members, and we started contacting. It was interesting to watch these two sisters work. They would pause for a moment, then one would say, “I think we should go this way.” We would go that way and try a few houses, and then one would say, “I think we should go over here,” and away we went.  Contacting in Chile is interesting. All the houses have an iron fence and gate in front of them, and very few doorbells. The missionaries go to the gate and from the bottom of their diaphragms they holler, “Ha-lo!” Then the dogs bark and we wait. After about three “Hal-los” if someone is home, they will usually come out the door and speak to us through the gate. After several houses and no invitations in, it began to rain. We tried another house and a very sweet elderly couple invited us in. We had a heartfelt discussion about the Gospel for about 30 minutes. It turned out that this couple had been taught by the missionaries previously. They were sweet and interested and agreed to have another visit later in the week. By the time we left, it had stopped raining. We went to the 8 p.m. appointment and they were not home either. So back we went to the street. A woman was carrying several bags from the grocery store and the sisters offered to help her carry her bags. We each took some bags and followed her to her home. She had us in and connected immediately with the two sister missionaries. She also has been taught by the missionaries previously, and invited them to come back later in the week for a discussion. It was amazing to watch these two sisters at work. They were faithful, teachable, humble yet bold in sharing their message. An evening with two failed appointments resulted in two new investigators and appointments for later in the week.

Sister Harris(The new Mission President's wife) 

Emergency Combos

Well. How ya'll doing!!!!! Just your missionary from the Chile Talca mission sending my love all the way from...... A DIFFERENT SECTOR!!!

That's right. Special cambios came. And they came fast. It broke my heart and then I'm gone. Well actually we leave tomorrow but same thing. But before I go on I just want you to all know my comp and I are okay, we just have to be taken out of our sector because a creepy man keeps following us. We aren't sure exactly what he wants but president said that it's probably best to be put into another sector. But it's seriously so sad because these past couple weeks have been so hard. We have been just searching and searching for people to teach and have barely entered any houses to teach anyone. But this week we had such an incredible week and now we have to leave!!!! It's such a bummer. 

This week we contacted into a lady who was just right about to be baptized into the Jehovah Witnesses. But the day we contacted into her she was starting to have doubts. Something holding her back and she didn't know why. Then we came knock, knock, knocking and everything just turned upside down. We taught her the first lesson and I literally can't even describe the spirit that was in that room. It was absolutely incredible. We helped her realize that her commitment was with a church of man and not with God. We invited her to pray about the church and if this was the true church. And she said she was going to pray and call us. And it wasn't just like a oh yeah.... I'm going to call you... it was like a yeah, when I recieve an answer you guys will know. So we are just so excited to recieve that call!!!!

We also taught a guy named Joven Cristval and he came to church this Sunday. He's this little awkward shy boy that started going to church with his girlfriend. We thought for a long time that he just wanted to talk to us only for his girlfriend. But we found out in our lesson it's because he really likes his girlfriends' family and wants a family with more love. His mom walked in screaming at him during our lesson and told him that his religion couldn't come into the house. But we are leaving him in the good hands of the elders. They understand how important he is to Heavenly Father and how badly he needs the gospel in his life.

So with all that coolness happening this week you can imagine how hard it is to leave this sector. Man it's been so rough these past couple weeks but we have been working so hard to help the people here. Now we have to get thrown into a white wash in another city in Talca, called Piduco. But it's good we are going together!! So even though we are bummed to leave, Hermana Revolo and I have been praying for help like crazy. Seriously. We are so nervous to be thrown into a new sector three weeks into cambios in a ward who hasn't ever had Hermana's. We are also praying that the elders will be able to maintain our sector and help our investigators while working in their sector.

Ahhh it's nutzo. But I'm so excited. I really just feel right now like, send me where ever Heavenly Father. I've really learned that the mission is not at all about us. The baptisms we have are not ours. The members that we work with aren't just there to be our friends. All is for our Heavenly Father. Even though it's going to be so hard, I know that Heavenly Father needs me and my companion in Piduco. He needs us to help someone there and we have done our part here in La Florida.

I know it!!! and I know he loves us and he wants us to be safe.

Well I love you all to pieces and I love being a missionary. I love serving my Father in Heaven every second of the day. Even though it's crazy at times and we don't understand why things happen or what exactly Heavenly Father needs us to do, it all is such a greater plan than we can see.

Don't forget that he really does have a plan for each and everyone of us. He really does care so much about us and wants us to grow. He knows exactly what will help us grow into the person he wants us to be.

I love you all and hope this weeks a good one.

Pray my compi and I won't get lost too much this week in a white wash area and that we will be able to help the peeps in PIDUCO!

CHOW

Hermana Hilburn

Hermana's Rock

Sad we have to leave this area

This family will be missed

P-day fun

Paint Ballin' with our zone

Been out 6 months!

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