3/23/15

Hna Mandy

Hola familia y amigos!!

So this week has been incredible!! For starters like Nicia we had our conference of the mission and we got to hear from our Pres. his wife and a setenta that came to talk to us Elder Zaballos. We had to travel to rancagua the night before and we stayed in an apartment there with four other hermanas and we all looked around and realized that out of six hnas. I was the only gringa! There were hnas. from Chile Peru, Brazil and even Guatemala! It was funny becausethe hna. from Guatamala is blonde haired blue eyed so she looks like a gringa and I thought of Nicia when I talked with her. The messages were great and we got to see a bunch of old companions and friends in other parts of the mission and we all were spiritually uplifted in many ways!! Then afterwards we also got to watch the movie Meet the Mormons which was really cool!! It's cool to see the gospel in all different areas of the world with different cultures but we all have the same values and goals and it's true no matter what language or country. OUr pres. de mission talked a lot about spiritual experiences so we decided to put it to practice and thought of the ways that we could have spiritual experiences with each of our investigators, conversos and menos activos and started praying for miracles and it really worked!! We went to a lesson with an investigator that has been hearing the lessons for months but never ever says the prayer in the lesson so we planned a lesson super Bakan and the spirit was so strong and at the end FINALLY she gave the prayer!!! It was soo cool and it may seem like a little thing, for her to give a prayer but I actually started crying because I care so much for this hna. and to see her finally take a step, even if it was a litte one, forward was incredible! Then the next morning we went to visit the investigators that came to church, it's a mom and her 25 year old son Nicholas and the mom, Rosa, started bugging him to share what had happened to him and we were sitting there like "what happened what happened!" then finally he told us that his dog died and he felt super responsible because he had heard something weird outside but just figured the dog was playing or something and he didn't do anything and left and when he got back the dog had passed away. So he was feeling super upset and remembered a leccion that we had had where a member shared his testimony about the libro de mormon and saidthat he had said a prayer and let the libro fall open and started reading no mas and that's howhe got his testimony. So Nicholas remembering that, said a prayer and let his book of mormon fall open and started reading in Alma 15 a chapter that talks about zeezrom a man that was super worried that he had caused the death of Alma and Amulek but then he realizes that they're alright and he's not to blame and he calls out for Alma and Amulek to come and visit him and they come and heal him  and he responds by being baptized.  and knowing that backstory and reading Alma 15 afterwards it really was the PERFECT chapter he could have read for his situation. and a chapter that neither one of us would have thought to suggest, it was through the power of prayer and taking a step of faith that he recieved that answer and now he has a powerful testimony of the book of mormon and wants to be baptized!!! It was so amazing to hear his story first hand especially when he said that he read about Alma and Amulek he thought of us his missionaries because he knew that we would be coming the next morning and that we could help heal him spiritually and that we would help him take the next step and be baptized. It's a lot of pressure to be compared to Alma and Amulek! But I'm so grateful for all the little things that happened so that he could take that step, pray and recieve an answer so clear about the gospel. The gospel is so awesome. and it's so awesome to be a missionary and watch these changes in people. Everyday I'm more and more grateful to be here. Then this sunday nicholas y rosa came to church again and they really liked it and turns out they know like half the members so they felt right at home! But wait there's more! The next day we had a lesson with our investigator as of 7 years and he really opened up to us and said he felt different than before and is actually trying to pray and read and get an answer and domingo in la iglesia he started crying and said he felt the spirit super strong! THEN we went and visited a menos activo that we hadn't met before and turns out he was in a coma recently and is still recovering but he said that when he was out of it he was visited by people with placas and he knew that they were the misionaries and they taught him a lot and now he knows he needs to come back to church! Its funny because they don't know what caused the coma andthere aren't any physical or medical indicators so my first thought was the hand of the lord to help him come back to the straight and narrow path but that's just my opinion :P Thisweek we also found a new investigator that has an adorable son with down syndrome but it was so special to teach them because we pulled out a folleto and when the son saw the picture of Jesucristo he said "I know him that's Christ!"and was super happy and excited and sang I am a child of god with us even though he didn'tknow the words he still sang along and at the end of the leccion he gave us the biggest hugs!! It was such a spiritual boost! As if we needed one with all that happened this week!! We finished the week strong with la iglesia full of investigators and converts that haven't been coming recently and menos activos that we have just started teaching and this weekend they changed the bishopric and now we have this amazing young return missionary as our bishop who is still in is twenties but so great! He's the one who gave the talk about Peter, so we're really excited to have him as the bishop. Then we went to a members house sunday night and ate crepes which were so good!! We're doing the same thing as you guys and teachingthe members the lessons so that they can help us with the work. Finally today we played soccer again, zone against zone and I played wing because one of the elders wanted to be goalie so it was super fun and I'm out of shape but managed to amaze a couple elders that hermanas know how to really play :P Love you all and this week I wanna invite you guys to pray for miracles in your lives because it may seem like a small thing, or that it can't really happen but when we pray in faith todo es posible and it's so amazing to feel your testimony grow because of it!

Con mucho amor!!

Hna. Mandy Boully

Me in my apartment where I'm the only Gringa

Playing Futbol

Hna Nicia

Hoy!

It was a week of suprises Tuesday we had consejo de Districto and they told us that we had a conferencia the next day with Elder Anderson! It was a good suprise but a little crazy cuz when we are outside the cap we have to make sure there are buses to make it back to our area in the night time and in the morning. The conferencia was a multi mission so it was Mission South, Central, and East so I got to see my friends from the ccm that went to the mission Central it was lots of fun to see everyone and even more important it was great to hear from Elder Anderson. He talked alot about how we need to learn more about the Atonment and where in the scriptures talk about it and have them in our memory. He talked alot about has missionaries we need to love and know the scriptures so that our Invest., members, ma love and read the scriptures also he invited us to memorize 10 veces from the scriptures in the New Testiment, Old, LDM, and DyC. Me and my comp are starting to work every day to memorize a verce together! We also got to hear from Hna Anderson she talked about her testimony of Tithing and shared a story of her mom that even when she couldnt attend church she sent her tithing to her bishop that becuase she did this her family recieved blessing that they where able to return to church. She continued to pay her Tithing all her life even when she was to weak to write her check, her mother said ¨I want to be right before the the lord´ It was very powerful. We where taught that we need to teach the comandments like Tithing so people can show their faith, that they can recieve blessings in thier lives. With all the comandments when we keep them we show the lord that we love him. ¨If you love me Keep my commandments¨ They are there to help us not to limit us but to help us show our love to recieve the blessings. 

It was a great meething I felt the spirit so strong and I felt very specail that a Apostal came to visit us! After we got back to our house and area around 8.30 in the night all our day gone but it was worth it. We where so happy to find a bus that we didnt have to stay the night with one of the sisters in the captial!

So I dont know why but there are alot of Cacroches that enter our house the other day we came home in the night to find a big old caroche in our room high on the wall I grabed the Protox and started spraying it but it started flying around the room where my comp was we both went running out of the room but in the end the Hnas won and the cocroch went to the spirt world! but after I went to the bathroom only to find two more oh the fun!!

This week we found two families and one hno that is really excited to hear from us. This hno contacted us asking when we held meetings we set up a time to visit him. This hno likes to talk but he also knows the Bible really well he told us that he had looked into other churches but didnt feel wellcome or didnt have prophets or didnt baptise the way Jesus Christ was Baptised!! We Invited him to pray about being baptised this next month and to come to church sunday. The next day he called us saying he recieved this answer..... that yes he wanted to be baptised and was asking where and how we did it and all it was really amazing. That he was calling us with good news! He also came to church this last sunday and said that he liked it! We still have to work with him but We have faith with him! 

We also have the two families that look like they can progress to! 

Im so grateful to be here in the mission! I love learnine more about the scriptures me and my comp are studing DyC along with the LDM of course but we are learning alot we are hoping to finish before the conference its been amazing like why didnt I read this before! I know that ya the hnas can be the best in the mission but we gotta work!! I hope to be better every day to be what the lord wants me to be! I love you all hope you all have a good week!

Hna Boully