Not A Finished Letter 3/23/15

Hola Family! 

Wow, this week has flown by. Its kind of scary how fast time flies by in the mission. But I am doing great. This sector is a really great sector. I still don't know all of the people in the ward because its soo big. In other sectors that I have been, by now I knew all of them and their kids and there stories but hopefully one day I will know all of the members here. 

This week we had the mission tour with Elder Zeballos and his wife. IT was so great. He will be speaking in general conference and I am so excited to hear his talk. But He talked to us about the importance of the HOly Ghost in the obra misional. I truly have a testimony of the importance of the holy ghost and it is so important that we live every moment worthy of the companionship of the holy ghost. It is the only way we can work in the obra. Our words don't help the investigators convert rather what helps an investigator convert is the Holy Ghost. I have truly seen this in my mission, the more that I try to not get in the way of the spirit the more that a person progresses. 

This Monday, I got an email from one of our investigators in Centinela, Natalia. I loved hearing from her. Its crazy to think that it has been a year since I arrived in Centinela. It was such a tender mercy to be able to hear from her.

So funny story for the week. We found a new family this week and in first place they are so amazing and have so much potential especially the kids they have two daughters and when we taught the first vision the mom asked, and is there proof of what JS said and the daughter goes, mom by faith. It was so sweet. But they insisted on giving us once before we taught them. So we were eating and they put peppers on the table, I don't know what they are called in english but they are really spicy. And I felt pretty obligated to eat one because they put them on the table for us so I started eating it and at first it wasn't spicy but my last bite I think I accidentally ate one of the seeds but it felt like my whole mouth was on fire. I was trying to not make a big deal because we didn't really know the people but 

Great Experiences 3/16/15

Hola Todos! 

Wow, I really wish that I could write you all in spanish. I think it would be alot easier for my mind! This week has been a good week for us! We are seeing many miracles and we are having such a good time together. My companion has a twin and she told her twin the other week that she had found another twin because Hna Chapman and I are so similar. Really, its kind of freaky how much we think alike. I don't even have to finish my sentences. 

But this week we had two really great experiences. First off we found a woman named Claudia who is so prepared! We invited her to be baptized in the first lesson and she said yes but when we invited her for a fecha especifica, she only said no because she isn't sure if she will be here in Chile or if she will be in Buenos Aires. But she told us how she didn't know what her proposito in her life was and that she thought that this is what God wanted for her that she needed to take better care of her spirit! My comp and I left the lesson soo happy. We know that she is who God was preparing for us.

 

In one of the areas in our sector, the bishop of another ward lives. And like three weeks ago we were in that part trying to find a menos activo and we ran into him and he introduced himself and told us that we can always pass by his house and that him and his wife are always willing to help us. He really wants sister missionaries in the ward, for right now there are only elders. But yesterday we had a family night planned with his family and we arrived at their home and to our surprise, sitting in the house was a menos activo that we had found just that week. We didn't invite her but the bishop had noted the other day that we were in that part and we had left her home so he and his wife went to her house on Sunday and introduced themselves and just invited her to the noche de hogar. I was so happy. I love to see members who love to work in the obra and members who even more understand how to work in the obra. I think many times as members, we think that its hard to do missionary work but really all missionary work is is being a good neighbor and a good friend. Really all we need to do is think about the well being of others and when we realize that the best thing for our friends is the gospel it truly isn´t hard to share.

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

besitos

Hna Ayre

Companions and Great Friends 3/9/15

hola!!!!!!!!!! 

This week has been a good week for my companion and I! We are just best friends. It's funny how much we have in common. Its really great because we have the same opinions of lots of things and so in that aspect the work is really easy. we are still in process of finding new people to teach but I know that they are there. Something that I learned this week is about seeing the people of how they can become and not who they are right now. Its truly amazing to think about the love that God has for everyone of us and that he is not a favor of persons rather he sees a ´potential gigante in every one of us. I have felt that as I have testified to the people this week of the truth of the gospel that truly every person is of great worth for our Savior.

 

We received the cookies that mom and dad gave us this week! And we have been super happy. It was a year ago since the last time I have eaten dad's cookies. Dad made them perfectly! 

So funny story for the week... On saturday we didn't enter any home all afternoon and we were leaving the poblacion where we were to go play soccer with members and investigators and as we were leaving there was an elderly woman who greeted us tan friendly that we had to return to talk to her and she let us into her house without us even saying anything and I was like, wow miracle for the day. And then her mom came out of her room and we taught these two abuelitas juntas and it was hard because they didn't really understand and they are super catholic so they weren't truly interested in learning more but as we were leaving Hna Chapman invited the woman Raquel to give the last prayer and she goes bueno, and stood up and in my head I thought oh know. So I quickly told her, when we pray we direct to heavenly father and I taught her the pasos and then she goes when we pray, we start by crossing ourselves and then her mom stood up and started doing the cross thing that the catholics do (i don't know what thats called) but I was trying so hard not to laugh not that it was funny that they were praying but just the situation that we were in was so funny that I couldn't control myself. And I could feel my comp shaking next to me so it was even harder not to laugh. and then she made us get up and stand in a circle with them hand in hand and they started reciting the Padre Nuestro and I almost lost it. I didn't know what to do, i felt that it wasn't really apropriate for us as missionaries to be participating in their prayer circle but then at the same time I couldn't stop them in the middle of their prayer. And I knew that they wanted us to recite the same thing as them so I just was kind of mumbling under my breath but my comp and I were shaking so hard because we were trying not to laugh and as the prayer ended I was like, we need to get out of this house as fast as we can so we don't offend anymore these woman than we already might have offended them so we said goodbye and left but we could only make it to the gate before the laughs came. I was crying I was laughing so hard. 

My companion is so great because she always tries to find what God wanted us to learn from the day because sometimes its hard here because we haven't been entering a lot of houses but she told me, I think today God wanted me to learn that this work is about being happy and enjoying yourself in the work even when it is hard. 

I have great news! Maribel got baptized in Santa Cruz on saturday! I wish I could have been there but I know that it is for a reason that I had to leave Santa Cruz right before her baptism. The most important is that now finally after 6 months, she is a member of this church. I am soo happy for her and I know that her mom will soon follow in her footsteps. I remember one night in Santa Cruz I was really stressed out for all that was going on there and I was praying that God could help me sleep and feel more tranquila and Maribel came to my mind and I felt that she was part of the answer to my prayer of how the rama was going to progress. I know this church is true and it is the biggest blessing in my life. I love you all! 

Love

Hna Ayre 

Machali 3/2/15

Hola! 

Wow, this week has been a crazy week. I feel that I am in a whole different world here in Machali. Our sector here in Machali is all the cuicos (rich people). Also its a ward not a rama and there are so many people that it is overwhelming. In my other area I knew all of the members and super super well but I don't know if we are going to be able to get to know all the members so well here. My companion is super great! She is from Herriman Utah. She is the first companion that I have had who is younger than me. I have always been the youngest in my sectors so it's really weird to not be the youngest. Hna Chapman is in the process of learning spanish. But she is really trying, she almost never speaks english. She tries her best to speak spanish. It was hard though because this week we had a lesson with a member Dani and Hna Chapman told me and Dani that in the last cita they had that they watched the video and I asked her if it was the video of the restoration and she said yes so in the lesson Dani and I were making references to the video of the restoration and the menos activo Nicol had no idea what we were talking about, and we were like, wait, you didn´t see the vid of the restoration and she told us no. And after the lesson, I was like, wait, hna Chapman what vid did you see and she was like the one with Elder Holland. It had nothing to do with the restoration. It made us laugh. But everyday her spanish is getting better. 

Well, this week our mission president challenged us to read the book of mormon from the begining and we need to finish it before april 30. I am really excited about the challlenge. I started over this week and it is amazing how every time you read the book of mormon you learn something new. I love the book of mornon and I love how as I read this book I feel closer to my savior and I learn what He needs me to learn if I am listening. 

Funny story for the week, we got home to our house on thurday night and when we walked in the house, I realized that I didn't have the cellphone and I was praying in my heart that Hna Chapman had it but she didn't have it. I left it in the house of an investigator. and normally I would just borrow the cellphone of another hermana in the house but we live solas and so we had to go to the neighbors house who isn't very happy with us because our grass is dead in front of the house and borrow her cellphone. Luckily we had written the number of the woman but the next day we had to go to the mission house and neither of us knew how to get their so I needed to call the elders but we didn't have their number and I had no idea what to do but then I remembered in my other agenda I had the number of the zone leaders in Santa Cruz so I had to call the zone leaders in santa cruz to get the number of the zone leaders here and then call them. I felt so dumb! I have a goal to be more organized because this isn't the first time that I lost the cell phone. But the good news is the next day we got it back so at least I didn't have to buy a new one this time.

 

Well hasta la proxima semana! Les quiero! 

Hna Ayre

Transfers 2/23/15

Hola Todos! 

Well, we received transfers this week and I will be leaving Santa Cruz. I'm sad because the people here have become like my family. I have lived so long here that its hard to imagine what it is going to be like without them. Yesterday in church la Hna Nadia came up to me crying because I was going to leave. It's amazing how much you can love the people you serve. I will be going Machali in Rancagua. Supposedly its the heavens of the mission. I will be going to finish the training of Hna Chapman. This will be the first time that I will live with one other Hermana no mas. It will be interesting but I have heard great things about Hna Chapman and we are going to be great friends. 

This week was a week of miracles for us. We will be having a baptism here March 7. An Hermana of our converso Oscar called us the other day and told us that she needed to talk to us today, and she lives far away so we were kind of hesitant in  changing our plans to go over there but we went and she told us about how she has just been feeling really down and how she feels that she is kind of stuck in her life so we talked to her and we told her that God wanted her to get baptized that this is what is going to help her get out of her slump and she was really excited and said si! And she came to church Sunday so all there is left to do is prepare the baptismal service. We are so excited for her. Im bummed because I won't be here but thats not what is important. We also have had our converts who have been super menos activo come to church this past week and our other convert who has been super menos activo came too! I am so happy that at least I am leaving the sector looking uphill even though it's a bummer because I would love to stay and work with them more. 

On Sunday, I had to give a talk super last minute and then afterwards, the teacher of Principios didn't show up and the elders told me that they would give the class but that they needed me to open the class because they had to give a blessing and talk with President Warne so I started the class and they didn't show up and so I also had to give the class. It was on exaltation. It actually didn't go so bad. Its amazing how the Holy Ghost can speak through you. Scriptures were coming to me off of the top of my head and we had really good participation it was great. 

I love the mission and am so greatful that God gave me the opportunity to come here. I have changed so much as a person and am becoming the person the God wants me to be. I love that in serving others that you can completely forget about yourself but then at the same time become a better person. This church is true and His hand is in the work! I love you all!

 

Love 

Hna Ayre

Faithful Servant 2/16/15

Hola Todos!

This week was a great week here in Santa Cruz! My companion and I continue working hard! We are loving being together and we are afraid that in this next week when we have transfers they are going to split us apart. its amazing to see how each one of us changes as we pass through the time in the mission and how we begin to see things differently. The mission is the best, even with all the problems there is nothing better that I could imagine doing with my life right now. 

We had a new member that moved into our branch this last week that taught the class in relief society and she talked about something that truly impacted me. This women is a single mom that has two little daughters and one of them has health problems. She also lives with her mother who is in the starting stages of parkinsons disease. She works all day to provide for her family and has passed through very difficult things in her life, but she is the most faithful servant that there is for the Lord. She talked about the importance of carrying our loads well. It truly impacted me that for someone who has all the reason in the world to complain about her circumstances doesn't do it. She puts on a good face and she does what she has to do to provide for her family every day. It was such a good reminder to me that no matter what the trial is, we can support it well. We don't have to be sad people. we can always choose to be happy. Also everyone should read DyC 64:33-34. its one of my new favorite scriptures. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Birthday Week 2/9/15

Hola Todos! 

I had such a great birthday this week, thank  you for all of the birthday wishes! Last night, one of the members had a noche de hogar with a convert family and invited us and they celebrated my birthday. It was so sweet of them. Also in the house the Hnas were so kind to me, they turned off my alarm and woke up before me and blew up balloons and woke me up at the hour singing happy birthday. We also found betty crocker cake mix and frosting here so I got a chocolate cake for my birthday. It was a day that I will not forget. I will try to send photos. 

This week something that has been on my mind a lot are the two first great commandments. That I think us all as human beings aren't fully obedient to. I think we all should try a little bit harder to love God and to love our neighbors. This world would be such a different place if we could all be a little bit more charitable. We had an experience this week that one of our investigators were kicked out of their home and had to move down the street to live with their mother in law. We went to go help them move all of the things out of their house. If it weren't for us two, they would have been left alone to move all of their stuff and it would have been something really difficult because they have two little girls that they have to take care of. As we were moving stuff around I thought, what a blessing it is to be able to help them. Later, we went and visited one of their neighbors who said I would have helped them but the husband isn't a good guy so I don't think they deserve the help. It made me so sad. The real charity of Christ is helping those that who have done or can't do any good for you, but you still help them because they are still our brothers and sisters.

 

I had such a great birthday present yesterday, we found a woman who is so special. Her name is Marina. She is living with her sister right now because her world was turned upside down this last year, Marina left her house to go live with her boyfriend at the age of sixteen and they lived together for six years but in the last year together, she got pregnant and her boyfriend left her. So she continued on but at the same time she lost her stable job that she had had. So she was left without her pareja and without a job and she kept preparing for the birth of her baby and when she was seven months pregnant she lost her baby. This was as of four months ago. This week, we were walking in the street and we passed her and I just felt that we needed to stop and talk to her and she told us that she had sundays free, so we taught her sunday night and she confided in us so much with the things of her life and she is really interested in our message. I know that she will get baptized, she is so prepared to hear this message, I am so excited for her. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week! 

Con amor

Hna Ayre