Week 27

Buenos dias! How are you?

All is well on this side of the world! The moon is SO beautiful here! It's way bigger because it's closer, I think, and it's been a full moon for the past 2 days. I feel like it's so close I could see the astronauts there if there were any ha. But seriously, it blows my mind what a gorgeous world God has given us. The creation was for us and I'm so grateful to have these amazing marvels to remember the power of God. 

Mama y papa, we have a cocinera (cook) now and I'm eating really well! (too well) I think I'm gaining some...but I don't care because it's so nice to have home-cooked meals. Hermana Castro is so funny about food! She loves these cookies they make here and she literally has them at all times. This morning we were studying and she said tengo hambre (I'm hungry), and a pack of cookies appeared out of nowhere! I think she's hiding them in her hair, shoes and skirt, cuz I have no idea where they come from! Haha it makes me laugh so much. My companions are the funniest.

Casey, the videos of baby Nathan are so precious! I'm dying of love for him, as usual. Can't wait to meet him in a year!

Funny story. One of our investigators S has a baby and she came to church with her yesterday. K is S's boyfriend and the baby isn't his but he wants to get married to S so as I was playing with the baby he says to me in broken English, "I want that baby to be mine. She will be mine." Haha! I tried so hard not to laugh.

Well, M was baptized and she's doing so great! We talked about missionary work in Gospel Principles class yesterday and she shared the most beautiful testimony on the blessing missionary work has been to her. 

We found a new investigator the other day who is also so prepared! His name is R and he told us he has never accepted any type of missionaries in his home before, but the day that we started talking to him he said he just accepted without even realizing it. When we came the first day to visit him, he told us it wasn't coincidence that we were there. It was an amazing experience!

Speaking of amazing experiences, this week we had a multi-zone conference. It really impacted me. I felt a spirit stronger than ever in my life of the power of the Atonement. How great it is!!! I can't explain my feelings that day, the best I can say is that it was freeing. It's hard to realize how weak we are and how much we need Christ's sacrifice, but at the same time there's so much hope in the literal definition of it. It saves one who wants the saving. I want it more than anything! I WANT to complete the potential He sees in me and help others be the person they are meant to be! The purpose of this life is to be happy, and I'm happy! I just feel great in my life. This is life eternal, to help others come unto Christ. This meeting wasn't only mission-changing for me, but life-changing.

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and will give Him everything to be who I'm meant to be. I love you all and I hope you remember the worth you have as sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven!

Con todo mi amor,

Hermana Infanzon

Multi-zone conference

Nicki sang in a group for the conference

Fotos de mi habitacion!

This is where I live! I thought you guys would like to see what my life is like! It's hard to take photos outside because it's dangerous to bring our valuables outside but I'll try to do it soon.

Week 26

It's been a good week! We have found a lot of new investigators and so we've been testifying a lot about The Restoration. I had a really powerful experience while watching the video with a new family on the power of prayer. The example that Joseph Smith gives us is so simple but so powerful. When we pray with pure intention and true desire to know something from God, He is BOUND to give us an answer.

We had Stake Conference yesterday, it was amazing! Our mission president, the temple president, and the stake president gave great talks! I am so grateful for my Church leaders here. They are so inspiring. They spoke a lot on standing in holy places and how we don't need to be in the temple to be in a holy place. We can be in a holy place wherever we stand if we always have the Spirit with us.

People are always telling us to be careful and safe and I really understand them and we are always being careful but something that's so hard to explain is that I truly feel safe. I feel like there is a literal bubble around the 3 of us and that we are being protected by the Spirit and by our own personal angels.

A and E came to Stake Conference and they really liked it. A reminds me of dad a little in his mannerisms and way of talking, and the relationship E has with him is similar to dad's and mine, so they are really special to me. A will be baptized this month and we are very excited for him.

We had a death in the ward this week. Hermana R lived in our pasaje (street/alleyway) and passed away. She was a cocinera (cook) for missionaries for years. The ward has really come together to support the L family and we have had many service opportunities to help them out.

Well, thats all! Love you bunches and I'll talk to you next week!

Challenge: Talk to one person about the gospel this week! Just one! And then pray for them. 

Con amor,

Hermana Infanzon

Nicki learning to make pupusas!

Week 25

How was Halloween? Everything is good over here. They don't celebrate it here but we had a cool Dia de Los Muertos. There were flowers everywhere!

Caseyyy today is our 12 year anniversary of being baptized! What a great day that was. Changed our lives. And look where we are now, with babies! Well, not me but kinda because I have "daughters" here haha. But how fast the time flies!

Nothing new, just working hard. I'm really tired but it's a good kind of tired because we're putting our all into every day! And feeling the Spirit so often is tiring because our spirits are way stronger than our physical bodies.

We have a baptism this week with M- she's awesome! Totally prepared. And we taught a family this week that asked if they could be baptized. Ahh sucha blessing.

Well I gotta go- we're gonna go play soccer as a zone and learn to make pupusas today!

Love you all!

Con amor,

Hermana Infanzon

Week 24

Hola familia y amigos!

So, we now have 30 minutes to write so we can work more on P-day. It's crazy but it's the will of the Lord! So I'll just recap everything as well as I can.

My comps are so amazing! I love them to death! We work so well together!

The work is pretty busy over here lately, which is great but makes little time to do much else but work and sleep! We eat if we're lucky (jokes, mom and dad, I am well nourished I promise!) but with our new callings as rescue missionaries we are super tight on time! Time is GOLD on the mission. I've never wanted more time in the day than now. 

So our investigators are progressing really well! We have a baptism on Friday and Saturday and a family next week! And we found 2 new families yesterday and they seem pretty interested so we'll see!

It's been an amazing experience helping the menos activos (less actives) come back to church and work with them. Again I'd like to repeat that if you know of someone who hasn't been to church in a while, lift them up with a simple call, note or visit and let them know that you are thinking of them! It makes a world of difference!

We have a conference with an area of the seventy on thursday and I'm going to do a musical number with a couple other missionaries. I'm pretty excited but a little nervous because it's in front of the whole mission- but yeah it's a great opportunity to share our talents!

We were the zone with the most success this month again so we're gonna have another super P-day! wooooh!

The mission is growing my testimony so much! I feel so converted to the Lord and His work. I love being here and I never want to leave! Haha just kidding I wanna go home to see the baby presh Nathan! And all my hermanitas (little sisters) leave on their missions! I hope you are preparing right now Shannon and Kayla- the time will come quickly. 

Well I love you all! Enjoy Halloween! They don't really celebrate it here but they're already preparing for Christmas- crazy. And I saw the candy cane kisses! But I didn't buy them cuz they're caro (expensive). But I think you know what I want for Christmas now so...

Con amor, 
Hermana Infanzon

Week 23

Hola from the trees of Arboledas!

Still here in my hometown. And I have 2 new daughters! My family is growing very fast in the mission. My other children, Hermana Broadhead and Hermana Martinez se fueron with madrastos (went with ?). My CCM comp Hermana Foster stole my daughter Hermana Broadhead from me, now she is her stepmother. But I know she will take good care of her :) My 2 new chillen are Hermana Romero and Castro. Hermana Romero is really Hermana Baratta from Boston but they changed her name because it means cheap in Spanish (how secret agent is that?) and Hermana Castro is from Nicaragua and Hermana Romero is 20. They're both so awesome! It's been a great week training them, they adjusted well to the lifestyle changes and are getting right into the work with me! They talk to everyone, I love it.

This cambio (transfer) was pretty big because we have received a new calling. The President has called us and some other missionaries to be missionaries of de liderazgo and rescate. Which means rescue leadership missionaries. It's kind of a test drive right now that the prophet has put into action (I think in all the missions? I'm not sure.) But it has been an answer to my prayers. We have a focus on less actives now, so we are still going to teach and baptize investigators, but our main work is going to be to reactivate. We have already seen results! We had 3 inactives come back to church yesterday that hadn't been for almost a year. One of them brought his nonmember girlfriend, we taught her for the first time yesterday, and she has a baptismal date in November. M is so excited and prepared for baptism, and we never would have found her if we didn't visit her boyfriend R and invite him back to the fold. It was a very fulfilling week for me. I have felt the love of Christ for all of his sheep, even the lost ones. He never forgets his children and we shouldn't either. I encourage every one of you to think of someone who hasn't been to church for a while. Pray for them tonight, write them a note, give them a call, and invite them to return. The Atonement gives us this chance to become a new person, no one is excluded from this.

S is doing well and is preparing for her baptism on the 1st of November (she was going to have it on the 2nd but we changed it because it's the Day of the Dead and she didn't want to remember her baptism on that date haha)

We have some new investigators, A and E who are very interested in the church. We also met P this week. All of them we felt to teach Lesson 2, The Plan of Salvation, and they received it really well. One of my favorite things to teach is that we lived with our Father in Heaven before we came to earth, that we accepted His plan to come here, and that He knows every one of us by name. The light that comes to their eyes makes me know that this wasn't new knowledge, but a reminder of who we are. We are children of a loving Heavenly Father, who has given us His son Jesus Christ to prepare the way to eternal joy and happiness with our families. How great is this knowledge! I hope there is no one in your social circle that is not aware of this beautiful truth! Share with the world the truth of the gospel. Please, they need to hear it. Sharing the gospel has been such a source of happiness for me. If you need the Spirit with you more, if there are problems festering in your hearts or homes, I promise they would resolve themselves through the blessings that come from accepting the call that God has given each of us to be missionaries.

Serving as God has instructed us in these latter days need not be difficult  It doesn't require power, it gives us power! The savior, the greatest teacher, has shown us how to do it. Study his parables and put into action the principles found. The work of salvation is given to every man if we learn how to do it in ways that mirror the mind and the ways of the Lord.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (Isaiah 55:8)

Con amor, 

Hermana Infanzon