I Believe in Miracles!‏

Hola familia y amigos! 

 

Este semana literalmente fue LLENO de milagros. Little ones and big ones. Seriously, EVERY DAY I pause for a second and think to myself, "It is SUCH a privilege to be here!" Every day! haha I LOVE MY LIFE PEOPLE! :)

Okay to anwer all of your questions in one paragraph:

I LOVE my bici! (Bike) Every day I love it more and more. I don't ever want to be a walking missionary again. haha just kidding, walking is great too. (It's much easier to do street contacts when you're on your feet. haha) It's really not that hard to ride with a skirt on! I dare you all to try it. It's really simple. I offically understand the difference between Boy and Girl bikes! haha ;) 

 

Yep, the food is the same! Pasta, meat. Pasta meat bread. Pasta bread meat potatoes. Pasta. hahaha :) We eat with one member once a week. He's the Gospel Principles Teacher! Hermano Falcon. 25 people came to church yesterday, and ya. Our branch is little :) 

 

Yep! We still do our laundry by hand! And we will for the rest of our missions because washing machines are like, non-existant. haha ;) Laundry is a constant thing. You can't just do it on P-day, that's for sure. 

 

In our apartment is just Hermana Espinoza and me! And our apartment is pretty nice compared to the rest of the mission! Word has it that it's the nicest in the mission. Maybe its a little gift from the President for serving in Campo. Which doesnt make sense, people always are saying that they don't like campo, but I LOVE it! LOVE!!! haha I am so in love with Chacabuco.

Hermana Espinoza is great! She is from Chile (southern) and is super sweet! She doesn't talk much, but I am helping her open up. I've already seen her be more outgoing (with me, and strangers) so yay! Also, she is a convert! She is 23 years old, and she was baptized when she was 17. YEAH! Her and her little sister were baptized together. And they are the only members in thier family. But her parents are really happy she's out here! I keep telling her that she needs to share her testimony during lessons, especially about how she came to know for herself about the truthfulness of the Gospel, because its POWERFUL! And she can help so many people by sharing that she was catholic too, and now knows about the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She has shared this with a few investigators and it really opened their eyes! :)

We have been teaching Eva who is about 48 years old and catholic. She came to church yesterday and LOVED it so much! We taught her a lesson later that day and she told us for about 20 minutes how the Gospel is the answer to every question she has had, and that everything Just Makes Sense! She loved the relief society class and the Gospel Principles class so much. She was a great participant! And she told us that as she took the sacrament she felf a deep sense of peace that she has been looking for. Her baptism is scheduled for March :)

It's true, what Eva said! The Gospel of Jesus Christ makes sense! There's no hidden objective, no secrets, nothing you need to like, memorize or whatnot. It is just pure truth. You can feel it and know it! It shows what there is to look forward to and what to work toward and why. The Gospel of Jesus Christ answers questions that people don't realize they had.

I was also thinking about how I can help people to gain a testimony (and be converted) for themselves. Sometimes (all the time) I just want so badly to force people to know that these things are true, because I do! With all my heart! But how does a person gain their own testimony of truth? The answer to that is--they need to act! I gained (and am gaining) my testimony of different aspects of the Gospel through living them. I know tithing is a commandment of God and that we are blessed for paying it because I have payed it! I know that prayer is real and that it works because I do it! I know the Book of Mormon is true with all my heart because I read and study it daily. We as missionaries can't force people to have testimonies (no matter how much I want them to have one), but we can help them to act. To actually live by the principles we teach them. That's how they gain a testimony.! Not to mention the Spirit bearing witness that these things are true. Then conversion comes when they on a constant basis apply their testimony and what they learn at church to their daily lives. It becomes a part of them when they apply these things constantly.

Wheew. My testimony has been strengthened so much this week through working in behalf of our investigators. I love this work! I love my Savior, and I know that He lives. I know that God is my Heavenly Father and that He hears and answers every one of our prayers! I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored 100% completely in this day. The Gospel that He taught and the Covenants He taught the people to make (and the Authority He had) when He was on the Earth, are here once again through a modern prophet of our day! These saving truths are here again. I can't think of a more important thing to be sharing with the world right now. I am so grateful for this privilege!

I love you all! And here are some pictures! This are the outskirts of our area, we have a town, too so don't worry. haha :)

Remember who you are!

Hermana Gardner