Grateful for Family History, The Spirit and Talca!

WELL first things first. transfers are in and............

IM STAYING IN TALCA. ha That's right it will be 11 months by the end of this transfer in this lovely place. But honestly I am so happy because I prayed so hard to stay with all the amazing things that we have in store for this next coming transfer!!!! 

As I was thinking of what to write you all this week I thought of my favorite scripture. 2 Nephi 1:15 ¨but behold the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell, I have beheld his glory and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love¨

Though I have not even been close to being saved from the fires of hell, I have felt the warm embrace of my Savior and my Father in Heaven through every hard thing the mission has thrown at me. I have felt so much His peace, support, His blessings and miracles every step of the way. This week especially I am so grateful for the support and love my loving father in heaven has sent me. 

This week was lesson after lesson bringing good tides and feeling power and authority of my calling. As a missionary we often get used to the wonderful spirit we feel and sometimes I feel like I neglect the support Heavenly Father gives us. But as we saw 2 huge miracles this week I have been trying so hard to focus on my Savior's warm embrace.

This week we found a new investigator named Patricia, who we found contacting right after saying a prayer to find others. We knocked on her door and she told us she was busy doing ... FAMILY HISTORY.!! Ha I about dropped ot the floor and wet my pants with joy as I told her that we love doing family history in our church. She let us in and we started talking and come to find out she listened to the missionaries 7 years ago but didn't get baptized becuase she didn't like a few things she read in the book of mormon and didn't understand it. So when she told us that I knew we had to ask her if she had prayed about it. She looked at us a little strange and said, 

"you know what? I haven't". So we invited her to pray and read the book of mormon that night and we would pass by the next day to see how it went. As we went by the next morning, she told us she felt so happy when reading the book and had forgotten all about her past judgements. She said she would continue to listen and to learn more!... MIRACLE...!

Also when we had a lesson with Loreto this week she told us how she had been smoking less and less each day so that she could quit completely and be ready for her baptism. Also this week in principles de evangelio we learned about baptism and she told me how excited she was for hers this 17 of December.  MORE MIRACLES!!  Especially to see this woman change completely and drop the things of the world so she could have a happier life and family in the gospel.

We also had another capital abierta(Chapel tour) this week and we had so many people ready to come and learn of the great news of the gospel. Our ward did just a killer job at inviting and accompanying friends and we had one of the most highly attended capital abierta's in the mission. 

This week my comp and I just went to bed so happy after recieving these huge blessings form our Lord. This mission thing has been hard and a roller coaster of emotions, trials and stress but I am so grateful for the hard times because through those I have truly learned so much about my Savior and what He went through for me. 

Have a great week everybody!!!!!

Hermana Hilburn

Golden Investigator

RIP Talca Helmet...You have done me good:)

Hermana Blake is going home. She will be missed!

Loreto and Roldofo Fajardo

Awesome Chapel tour with Elizabeth and Loreto

Learning to Trust More...

Seriously so so sorry for not writing good emails these past two weeks. I know I'm killing my mother, but the last couple weeks have just been a bit rough, challenging and your poopy poop head just got a little discouraged and down. But SHE'S BACK AND READY TO FILL YOU IN ON ALL OF THE MIRACLES THAT HAVE BEEN HAPPENING.

So this week has been just an incredible week of goal setting, goal achieving, helping others, and finding amazing people. Seriously I know for a fact the blessings that come to those who wait. Patiently. haha!!!!

But really we just had such a crazy awesome week. Our mission president set some new standards of excellence for our mission to help us get back on track. With goals that we have been far from reaching and from plans to achieve them. Seriously he is such an inspired dude. We talked a lot about having trust in Christ. This hit me real hard as he asked us to ponder what the word trust is and why it's even important to have trust in our Savior Jesus Christ. These past couple weeks have been disappointing and I haven't been feeling too well with a lot of headaches and feeling super tired. But as my sweet and amazing Mission President talked to us about trusting more in our Savior I realized that really was something I had been lacking. I knew I had faith in Him. I knew He paid the price for my sins, but what I realized was that I didn't really trust that everything was going to be alright and that I could really achieve the things that the Lord has set me apart with.

I lacked trust....... As simple as that.

So as we got back from our conference I decided to fast and pray for trust in my Savior. For more faith to do His will and to put my trust in his healing power of the atonement. I prayed and fasted to recieve help for the people here I love so so much. And wow! let me just tell you all the blessings we received.

WE PUT A FECHA WITH LORETO(finally) AND SHE WILL GET BAPTIZED THE 17 OF DECEMBER AND SHE CHOSE IT AND SAID SHE WANTS TO GET BAPTIZED!

WE FOUND ANOTHER FAMMILY AND INVITED THEM TO BE BAPTIZED AND THEY SAID THEY WERE GOING TO PRAY AS A FAMILY AND CALL US TODAY:)

WE FOUND 2 MENOS ACTIVAS THAT HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR HELP!

AHHHHHHH CUAL QUIER BENDICION UP IN HERRRRRRR

Ahhh seriously we have seen so many blessings from fasting and praying for help. I feel more and more the power of the atonement and am better able to see the fruits of my labor for which I had been feeling so inadequate about.

Literally I am full of tears of gratitude for my loving Savior that really paid the price for my weaknesses  sins, pains and everything so I could find comfort in his arms.

I am just so extremely humbled by the love and power of my Saviors loving sacrifice. He has built me up and comforted me in the hardest times I've ever had. I just know with all of my heart that this truly is the true and everlasting gospel that is on the earth. If anyone every doubts it I want to ask you to really ponder the many blessings that have come through living the gospel. I have just seen so many as I looked and prayed to see them. I know that the family can truly be together forever and that with the Saviors teachings we can truly be made whole and strong through Him.

I just am lleno with love and gratitude for this gospel in my life.

I hope you all are able to see the amazing blessing of the gospel in your own lives.

Have a great week all and look for all the amazing blessings you have recieved from our loving Heavenly Father. I know that there will be more than you can even count.

With a lot of love,

Hermann Hilburn

Very fun home to teach the gospel and hold baby kitties!

Love this young woman who is a recent convert

Strolling through the countryside

Hmmm am I close to home?

We love to serve this sweet mom and her daughter

Great times a couple of weeks ago when I got to see one of my favorite people, Hermana Janzick!

BACK ON THE EMAIL TRAIN AGAIN. GOOD WEEK FRIENDS AND FAMILY!! ahhh what a wonderful and hard week in good ole Piduco!!!

Wonderful and hard are 2 perfect words to describe this week because it was a roollleerrrr coassterrr of emotions and of good times. So extremely grateful for the good and the bad seriously.

So this week I have just had strong constant headaches every morning. Monday night we had to come back early because I was dying. Never quite had that kind of pain and we had been walking for 3 straight days because every single appointment of ours from Saturday to Tuesday cancelled on us or weren't in their homes. We went a straight 4 days without entering a single house and teaching a single lesson in the hot sun (because it's getting hot here) and tired feet. Me being a terrible example to my trainee was just feeling a lil pitiful. With a bad attiude and tiredness. I was complaining and just giving in to Satan's ways and straight up murmuring. So we went to our zone training Wednesday moring and I was just beat and tired. Then we just had a lesson about diligence and following the spirit in our clase de districto. Man did I feel like Heavenly Father was teaching me a lesson. But being the bad human I am I still had a bad attitude after the reunion and was just not feeling the whole work thing.  Especially because the lesson we had planned was an hour a half away and it was beating down sun and we weren't really sure if they were going to be there. But my cute comp said we should pray and then go forward with faith.

So we prayed and with little faith I followed my determined companion. As she was practicing Spanish the whole way to our lesson I was thinking about how I needed to change my attitude and go with faith. So we finally arrived at the apporintment and they were there. We taught an alright lesson to the mom but then when her husband walked in at the end of the lesson both my companion and I felt the spirit so strong and we both just got the prompiting to bare only our testimonies that family's can be together forever. Tears filled his face as he told us how he had been praying for his family this whole week and wanted to give them more. They are "our miracle of the week". Our new investigators Maricel and Roberto the most humble farm people that live in the boondocks that have been looking to be closer to God.

Both my companion and I left that lesson in tears so grateful for the diligence we put into serving our Lord. After 4 days of not teaching a single lesson and being outside all day, I am so grateful for the opposition we faced so when we felt the spirit lead and guide us we could feel it so strongly. And the week just got so much better from there.

Hermana Blake(one of my sweet old companions) and I got to do divisions this week and I got to hear about all the old people I worked with in Indpendencia. If you remember Patty the mom of Yolli. She and Christian have been going to church and listening to the missionaries. She said they have invited him many times to be baptized and he hasn't said no. They just have to get married and get in that water! BLEESSSSISNNNGGGSSSS!

We had a noche de hogar with Loreto and her family and we talked about the temple. One of the member's who smoked and had a really hard time quiting bore her testimony of the power of the temple and how important it is to overcome obstacles and enter worthily. Ahhh it was so great. Also I had been working with every 9 year old in our ward to invite Cristobal to primary this week. I had a team of (3) 9 year olds come in to principios del evangelio and invite Cristobal to the primary class and HE WENT. HE WENT TO THE PRIMARY AND HE REALLY LIKED IT. The primary teacher came up to me after and told me that he read a scripture and was participating and talking to all the other kids in primary. GOD WORKS MIRACLES HOLY COW.

Ahhh seriously I'm just so full of grattitude for the good and the bad times. Because the beginning of the week was so rough we really could appreciate the good when it came.

There's opposition in seriously every single thing, God wants the best for us and he is so willing to help us if we ask and if we do our part.

I'm so grateful to learn about the grace and power of the atonement in our lives. It has blessed me and shaped me in ways I can't even describe. Thanks for all your prayers and thanks for your faithfulness. I'm so grateful to have you all in my life.

Have a good one:)

Hermana Hilburn

So fun to go on divisions with this sweet girl ole comp(Sister Blake) of mine

Our zone did a service project at a cemetery and we were given flowers for our service

The Power of a Testimony

AHH I AM SO SORRY FRIENDS AND FAMIILY THERE WAS JUST A LOT OF EXCITING NEWS THIS WEEK AND I LOOKED DOWN AND BOOM OUT OF TIME. 

So i will just share a cool experience that I had this week with you all!

So my cute little comp says Hi to everyone, literally everyone and as we were walking past the evangelica church as it was getting out of a session, she decides to say hi to a man that I knew was the pastor. He started talking to us and started just bagging everything we hold true and especially how the Book of Mormon is all a lie and that there's no need for a prophet in this day and age. So in this very moment there were so many things I wanted to say to him. I wanted to show him scriptures and I wanted to debate all thte things that I held true. I just had so many good things to say that would have helped him really think about what he was saying was wrong and that he needed to change his mind. 

But then my cute angel companion just told him her testimony. She told him that she knew that the Book of Mormon was true and that Joseph Smith really was a prophet of God. She said it with her cute broken Spanish and the pastor's face changed just a little. He all of the sudden didn't want to talk any more or listen to us, but in that moment he felt the holy ghost testify of truth to his heart, I am sure of it. 

It's incredible what our testimony's can do. They just invite that spirit strong enough to testify of His truth.

Well soorrryyyy I am lousy. This day has been a lil nutzo!!!

Jsut know I love you and I love God even more!!!

Have a good one!!!!

Hermana Hilburn

Love these Hermana's

Gotta have a Completo When in Chile

Exercise your faith

This cute little Philipino's first Chilean rainstorm

First Week As a Trainer!

Well MAGANDANG ARAW (good day in tagolog) FAMILIA WAAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT A GREAT WEEK!

DAYS GO BY WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN. AND BELIEVE ME WE ARE HAVING A BLAST IN PIDUCO HERMANA MENDOZA AND I. 

This week has been seriously the craziest and awesomest week so far in the mission. I am so excited to be training and I love my cute little Philippino trainee Hermana MENDOZA!!!

We have just been having a hoot of a time. She is the greatest human in all of the world and has the greatest desire to serve. In just one week she has literally brought so much laughter and joy into my life. Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed and he sent me the funniest and cutest angel. 

So this past Monday, Hermana Cook and I had to go for a conference for trainers after pday to Rancagua, which is a 3 hour bus ride. We haven't seen each other since the CCM so we were chatting and chatting until we realized that we should've already gotten to Rancagua. So we went and asked the bus driver when we were going to get there and he said that we missed Rancagua and we are 15 min away from Santiago!!! oops... So I did a little repenting because of course I was the one who bought the tickets. So we had to take 2 other buses to get back to Rancagua. It was a whirlwind of a night, but we made it finally to Rancagua. Unfortunately we missed the training so I still have no idea what I'm doing!!! But it's okay because I'm pretty sure my companion is the one who is training me, because she is INCREDIBLE. She literally talks to every person we come in contact with and has such a strong desire to share with everyone. It's inspiring especially because I've gotten used to blending in with the Chileans but she is hard to miss with her cute strong accent and her complements to everyone. 

Hermana Mendoza has had one cambio in the Philippines before she came to the CCM in Santiago because she was waiting for her visa. So I really am not training her that much but mostly working on the language. She's got 3 VERY DIFFERENT languages in her ear (English Spanish and Tagalog) but she can speak fluent English so it hasn't been too hard to help her. She is the cutest and I was even able to teach her how to ride a bike this week!!! Wow, do I feel accomplished! 

I'm pretty sure she is a lucky charm because this week we have found a new investigator every single day and we had 4 investigators in church!!! Loreto and her son and 2 others we found this week. We also had 3 of our menos active families come to church. IT IS A MIRACLE THAT THESE SLEEPY CHILEANS GOT UP IN TIME TO GET THERE BOOTY'S TO CHURCH so it was such a week full of miracles. 

Loreto is having a hard time leaving smoking so put her in your prayers. She's been a bit distant form us this week because I think she feels a lot of pressure. So we are just going to get back into her heart and help her realize all the blessings that come from the gospel.

ahhh I think I learn more from menos activia's than I do from my Scriptures. jk But really, I am learning so much of how to be strong in my testimony because we help so many people that leave the church for the dumbest reasons. We are working with a new menos activia family that have a hard time with some history of the church and they watched videos on youtube that were full of lies. They had a lot of questions that I didn't know how to answer. They were so wrapped up in doubt that they didn't even feel the testimony they had of the Savior. So we read Helaman 5:12 with them and helped them to rediscover there testimony of Jesus Christ. We reminded them of how He is the base of our testimony and how we need to focus all our faith in Him. It was such an incredible lesson and I haven't been able to forget the importance of our Savior and Redeemer. He has helped wash away all my worries, doubts, fears and sins. All we have to do is put our faith in Him.

I love these Chileans so much and I love the opportunity I have to serve them every day. I love you all and hope to hear from you!!!! *hint hint My Brothers!!!

Hermana Hilburn

Gotta have the ritual name tag picture

Hermana Hilburn and her new trainee Hermana Mendoza from the Philippines

All the New Hermanas with their new comps to train

This cute little Hermana had never learned how to ride a bike. But thanks to her Trainer Hermana Hilburn she knows now!

I Have Joy in My Soul Today

GOOOOOOD DAY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. 

WOOOWWWW AND THERE GOES THE CAMBIO. WHAT IS HAPPENING? ANOTHER MONTH! 8 MONTHS IN THE MISSION WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?

Ahhhhhhh welll cambios are in and I am staying in Talca (shocker)! Hermana Revolo is heading off to Rancagua and I am........TRAINING! YES. TRAINING. HOW? I HAVEN'T A CLUE. MAYBE PRESIDENT IS GOING NUTZ. hahaha No, but really I am going ot be training a newbie. I don't know who it is until tomorrow so more to come about my new compi in the next email. 

This week went by seriously so fast. Well this cambio went by so fast. We have been so dang busy there has been absolutely zero time to think about anything. We've been super busy with services, general conference and finding new people to teach.

About Loreto, she is doing well. She just has so much fear and not enough faith to find an answer. It's been really hard becasuse both my companion and I can see that she really is the person that is getting in the way of her own progression. But we have been fasting and praying for her to just get it one day and take all the lessons we've taught and really accept a baptismal date and choose this eternal family over the stupid world. But the Lord is really doing all he can to teach me patience. Because with Loreto we need a lot of it. He is also teaching me how love really is the best motivator.

This week we also have been serving a lot of our menos activas. Which is honesly about half of Chile. There is a true statistic in Chile that 1 out of every 4 contacts we do here is a menos activa. My companion and I are witnesses of that truth. Oh boy this conference was so for all of the millions of menos activas in Chile Rancagua mission. Thank you apostles for addressing that problem..

Conference this weekend was SO DANG INCREDIBLE! HOLY COW WHY CAN'T EVERY DAY BE CONFERENCE. It was so INSANELY GOOD.  I now have a new favorite apostle and I just love the joy that comes straight from living the gospel.

It is so insanely amazing how much joy comes from the gospel. I really felt that joy as we were leaving conference this weekend. My companion and I got in a collectivo(Chilean bus) to head home with huge smiles on our faces. We both looked at each other and I asked my compi what her deal was and all she said was "tengo gozo en mi alma hoy" (I have joy in my soul today)

Ah it's so true. We can feel JOY through Jesus Christ. 

So have joy in your lives and follow our Savior and Redeemer.

Lots of love,

Hermana Hilburn

God is really a God of miracles

BUENAS DIAS AMIGAS

This week has gone by seriously so fast and I honestly can't tell you what happened. haha the weeks are all just falling together and I am just loving life here in TALCA CHILE. 

But really this week did go by so fast and it was just a tonnnnn of work. We basically contacted the whole week and were in search for new investigators. We've had to kill off about half of our interior becuase they weren't progressing so this week was a search and let me tell you it was a good one.

My companion and I put some goals for the week in order to have the spirit with us in every moment of everyday to really find the people that have been prepared to hear the gospel, and God put 4 new people in our track!!! We got to teach and help all these people and it was just so incredibly good. 

This week has also been a little roller coaster con Loreto. I've been just so dang nervous because everything is like walking on eggshells with her. All week I  was just praying for help. Praying for so much love to help her and praying to feel this love and to get the fear out of me. Literally prayed in every prayer to be able to help her quit smoking and prepare herself for baptism. So Hermana Revolo had an amazing idea of doing a calendar to help her stop smoking completely 2 weeks before her baptism. We prayed to know the goals that were achievable and to really help her fight the temptation to smoke. Every day we put the number of signs with scriptures, hymns and all that jazz to get the temptation off her mind. 

She went to church this Sunday and I still was just feeling so nervous to talk to her. I just kept praying to have this love for her and to know what to do and how to help her, so after church we had a lesson with her. We explained the calendar to her and she wasn't too excited about it. She was nervous about not being able to complete the goals and failing. Both my comp and I were a little puzzled because we didn't know what to say. Then it hit me like a ton of stinking bricks.....the strongest feeling of love and compassion I have ever felt for anyone.

I just started crying and told her how much we love her. How much we pray for her and how much her Savior loves her. God answered my prayers and gave me the charity and love I had been praying for all week. The spirit was so strong and she agreed to do everything in her power to meet the calendar and to be baptized.

I am so extremely grateful for this experience. Ahh there is nothing better than feeling the true love of our Father in Heaven. I am so extremely grateful for this time I've had on my mission to really learn about this love Heavenly Father has for me. I've learned to love every single stubborn, difficult, bossy Chilean with every piece of my heart. 

God is really a God of miracles. When we live his commandments and do everything in our power to do his will he will always make up the rest.

Ahhhhhh what a good day to be alive friends. I just want you to all know that there is always light in darkness. We really can do and be anything with the help of our loving Savior.

I am a witness of His love and I am SO EXTREMELY PUMPED TO SEE THE MIRACLES IN THIS LOVELY PLACE. 

ALSO I AM SO PUMPED TO LISTEN TO PROPHETS AND APOSTLES AHHHHHHHHHHHH... 'BOUT TO BE A GOOD ONE FOLKS!

I LOVE YOU ALLLLLLL!

HERMANN HILBURN

Gotta have some mirror selfies

Hermana Hilburn with Rodolfo(He is a member in the ward and Kristen and her comp are teaching his wife Loreto)