18 Life Lessons of My Mission

1. You dont really need that much to get along in life. In the words of Jethro, when all you've got is nothing, there's a lot to go around. The people of El Salvador live this princple. Although they have very little, they are so willing to give. It has greatly impacted me to see such selflessness.

2. We must respect our leaders. They are called of God and have the authority and revelation to guide us. We should never complain about a leader or second guess their decisions. When we raise our hand to sustain them, we are promising to follow them. Especially the prophet. I know that God calls prophets today, what a demonstration of His love! Contrary to popular belief, He has not ceased to speak to His children.

3. Reading the scriptures is fun! I have learned to feast upon the words of Christ. ("Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." -Nephi 32:3) No one is saved in ignorance. We must continually search the scriptures to find the path to eternal life. Studying the scriptures is a sign of humility. Not studying the scriptures is a sign of pride. I now know that I know nothing. We NEED to study daily! And we can enjoy it once we realize the benefits of it.

4. If you don't have a vision, goals, or plans you won't get very far. This has been a big lesson for me. I never realized how much I could push myself to work. There's a difference between working hard and working smart. When we have a goal set in mind and we strive to achieve it, we can accomplish much more than we ever thought! That is working smart.

5. Patience is a virtue. It's a constant struggle for us to accept God's will and be patient. I have been given many opportunities to develop the attribute of patience and I'm grateful for it. 

6. The spirit speaks in every language. What a blessing it has been to learn Spanish! At first, it was hard. But I felt the Spirit working through me although I couldn't quite form a sentence haha. Now I understand that the language doesn't matter, we can share the gospel with anyone.

7. The sacrament should be the most important part of our week. I wait for this moment like it's Christmas! Let the Sacrament change you. It's a wonderful and sacred experience. Think of the Savior and His life, His words, His sacrifice. Promise to do better than the week before. 

8. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6) Pray, read, go to church. Simple as that.

9. Talents are given to share. I'm glad I have been able to bless the lives of the people here through music. It's a gift God has given me to help others feel His spirit and I love it. We need to develop our talents or theyll be taken away.

10. El que sirve, sirve. El que no sirve, no sirve. We must fill our life with service. I have NEVER felt happier in my life than while serving! It's like magic! It takes away stress, sickness, depression, anger. Just serve and you will be happy. That's what I'm going to continue to do for the rest of my life.

11. No one's perfect, but we can all strive for perfection. We should see people in their potential, not their current state.

12. Gratitude must be practiced at all times. It doesnt matter where or when. We should always thank God because there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for. It makes life easier, too. It's tiring being negative, just be thankful instead!

13. Repentence is a good thing. I used to cringe at the word. It meant you were a vile sinner. But really, who of us are not sinners? We all mess up ALL THE TIME. Why would we not want to repent?! Christ died for us for THIS VERY REASON. The atonement is real, don't let His sacrifice be in vain.

14. The family is the most important priority in our lives. They CAN be eternal. We must love and spend time with our families. God has given us the family to be happy! 

15. Charity is the most important attribute of all. Every other trait revolves around it. It's the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

16. It's our duty as children of the covenant to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is preparing His children. We wont make it to heaven if we don't. President George Albert Smith said "That is your mission, my brethren and sisters of the Church, that is your responsibility. Freely you have received and our Heavenly Father will expect you freely to share with His other sons and daughters these glorious truths...We will attain our exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom only on the condition that we share with our Father`s other children the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and observe the commandments that will enrich our lives here and hereafter" (Preach My Gospel pg. 12) Is this not charity?

17. Prayer can be a sacred experience if we use it as it should be. It's the window to heaven. It's how we get to know our Heavenly Father in a very real and personal way. If you want to feel closer to God, talk to Him.

18. The mission is a refiner's fire. I have learned things that take people almost their whole life to learn. My faith has grown immensely. There is no way on earth I will ever regret the decision I made to serve a mission! It has made me a better daughter, future mother, future wife. If you are considering go on a mission, then do it! Its the greatest job in the world! We are helping people return to Heaven. Is there anything more important than that?

Love you all, see you on Thursday!

Hermana Infanzon

Awww I can't believe it's been 6 years since Grandma Magda passed away. I miss her so much! But I'll never forget the day I did her work in the temple. I KNOW she accepted! 

Apopa is such a beautiful area. It's more fields and less city than I've ever been in (all my areas have been city-like). It's also the poorest area I've been to. This week I've had humbling experiences listening to the stories of such faithful people in their economic trials.

My bishop has quite the story: he grew up in a tiny adobe home and lived his whole life without owning a pair of shoes. He was 16 when the missionaries found him and invited him to church. He wanted to go very badly but he was embarrassed because he had no shoes to wear. He walked into church that first sunday afraid everyone would reject him for being barefoot. On the contrary, he was warmly received with many handshakes and hugs and felt completely welcomed. He continued going to church week after week. The ward bought him a pair of shoes. They taught him how to read. They changed his life. Now he's the bishop of the ward, with a nice suit and shoes, but he still has the heart of that 16 year old boy that walked in one sunday wanting to come closer to Christ. He recieved the gospel quickly and saw many miracles in his family. He loves the youth. He has a beautiful testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and works closely with us to find all the 16 yr old boys without shoes! 

There's a less active family who are starting to come back to church- the A family and they are just so special! J and J are both sister missionary age and we're trying to get them to start their papers! They left with us yesterday to do splits and we had an amazing time! They both have strong testimonies of the gospel. 

At one visit, Hermana M was talking about the miracles she's seen in her life. She was telling us how one night a couple years ago they had just moved into their home and they had nothing to eat. Her kids were saying "mommy we're hungry" but they had nothing. She told them to go to sleep and that they would have food soon, "I promise" she said. 10 minutes later she heard a knock on the door. A woman who she didn't know answered and introduced herself as their new neighbor. Without knowing, she had brought a platter of food to welcome them and she excused herself for coming so late. M's eyes filled with tears as she humbly thanked God for blessing them with this simple dinner. As she told her story, J and J teared up and shared with us a similar story they had experienced looking for food as kids for their family of 8. 

I've never gone through an experience like that, and as I sat there listening to these young women's stories, I said a thankful prayer to God for the life I've been given. I hope we all remember our many blessings and forget what we don't have, because there are MANY out there who have nothing and they live on with hearts full of gratitude.

Please remember that God has a plan for all of us. He gives us trials so that we may grow closer to Him. I am so grateful for all my life experiences that have given me the testimony and relationship I have with him today. Share it with others! We all desreve to know our Father in Heaven!

Con amor, 

Hermana Infanzon

Only part of this picture was uploaded...still looks sweet though!

"By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." -Alma 37:33

My dad got baptized on Saturday! It was the most beautiful baptism I've ever seen in my life! Without fail. And not because I'm biased pero (but) nothing went wrong, it was so perfect. He was so calm and happy. At one point before his baptism he told me, "I'm ready." In the most sure tone of voice I'd ever heard from him. It was a miracle! I was looking back on my life and sharing with Hermana Henrie my family's story this morning, and I realized how much the Lord's hand was in my life to get us to where we are today. I never realized how perfect He planned it. All the trials, blessings, everything had a purpose.

I also have a testimony of that here in the mission. I know the trials and blessings have a purpose. We were a little discouraged that a family we wanted to baptize this month didn't come to church. We had prayed and fasted fervently for them and it was a shame to see their fechas (dates) fall. But with an eternal perspective in mind, I knew it was just part of God's plan. That doesn't mean however that we don't work to see the miracles. We do everything in OUR power to put miracles into effect and when they don't happen in the time or manner we hope, we keep going! God is a just God and He will recompense all our good works. Be it in this life or the next.

Love you all! Til next week!

Con amor,
Hermana Infanzon

Heavenly peace

Had a great week!

I love Apopa, it's all campo, or fields and it's gorgeous. Hermana Henrie and I walk and use the bus A LOT. We have been talking to everyone here and the Lord has put many people in our path! This week we found 27 new investigators.

As we found these people, many have felt the spirit through the first vision. I love teaching that part.

There's a family, the H-M family, that we found this week and the husband and wife are so interested! We met them on the street on tuesday and they were so nice to us, we could tell they would be a positive family. And they're great, their kids are 5 and 3 and they are precious! I love them.

I love the people here, they are so ready to hear the gospel. So we need to work our hardest to find them all!

Well I'll see you all on saturday at Brother Infanzon's baptism. Sweeeet!!!!
I love the gospel!

Con amor,
Hermana Infanzon

Hey that's so sweet that Elder Nielson came to Stake Conference! Exclamation point! Dad, how did you like meeting him? It was your first Stake Conference, verdad (right)? I am so happy to hear you've been able to quit smoking and coffee for over a week now! The Lord works miracles when we trust in Him -- way to go!

We had a great intercambio (exchange) on Saturday! Hermana Caal and Hermana Romero came with me and they are just wonderful! The two have them have grown so much in this change. They have more confidence in themselves, they contact with inspired questions, they focus on baptism, and they are urgent! It was a blessing to learn from them, I felt the Spirit all day.

Hermana Herrera and I have found many new people! And that means there are more prepared, and more to let go. It seems to me that this week everyone has wanted to come to church. We had a neighbor ask us if she could come yesterday morning on our way to pick up someone and our other neighbor came with us for the first time. We have been working a lot more in La Manzano. Our members in La Buena Vista are visiting with us there more often so we haven't had many lessons in the house of members, but we are strengthening that part of the area by visiting less actives so we can start teaching in their homes. It's funny, when we started talking to literally EVERYONE we found that there are many LOST SHEEP. People who got baptized yeeeaaars ago. And it's exciting to see how God has led us to them!

Our investigator E is doing very well and will be baptized on Friday. She has grown so much in her faith. And I've come to understand that it is our principal purpose for being here, that their faith in Jesus Christ may grow. I have been blessed with many spiritual experiences that has increased my faith in the Savior and I know he wants all of his children in our area to have faith in Him, because THAT'S when we see His miracles. I love Him so very much. And I love the people we are visiting, even the ones who don't accept us at this time! God is working on them, he never stops trying, so I will not either.

Changes are on Wednesday, I don't think I'll be leaving yet, pero quien sabe (but who knows)? Love you all sooo very much! Write me, friends! I love to hear how life is up in the snow...wait what is snow? I don't remember. Haha, I'm evil, sorry, but en serio, escribanme (seriously, write me)!

Con amor,
Hermana Infanzon

February zone conference