The Atonement and Missionary Work 7/14/14

Hi family!

Bueno, this week was great!

Monday- we had a Noche de Hogar with Orlando to teach him about the temple to start his Family History work. Pres Vasquez has a big focus on fam history work and it makes me very happy because I became obsessed with it right before I left for the mission and I havent been able to do it much here. But we have lots of plans to work with it in wards and im pumped!

By the way, President asked us to ask our families to send us pictures of our geneology and the info of them from the My Family pamphlet. Case, if you wanted to you could fill a My Family pamphlet for me and send that in the package? Thank you!

Tuesday- Well, we had an extremely powerful lesson with a part member family and the high council president this night. Hno Guillen talks like an apostle! I literally felt like I was in the presence of an apostle. I dont know, it was just the way he testified. And he has crazy life experiences! So that was cool.

Wednesday- visited an antiguo investigador and her family and they said they have felt terrible without our visit. Its interesting to see how people notice the lack of Spirit without the gospel teachings in their home. Needless to say, they are much more willing to keep commitments (the reason why we left them beforehand)

Thursday- we started a BOM study group with Hno Burgos who is just a scriptorian to the max and so Im looking a bunch! I look forward to the class more than anyone I think. Reading the Book of Mormon just never gets tiring now. I am going to read it every day for the rest of my life!

Friday- We had an awesome zone conference with the focus on working with members. Im so proud of my members here! They are so awesome at helping us and investigators in the work. I have NOTHING to complain about with them and I never want to leave this place. Refineria is my home.

Saturday- It was a crazy day just running around! We had a delicious breakfast with the Ortiz family and then ran to our area to have some lessons than ran to the church to do Orlandos interview (passed with flying colors!) and ran back to teach more and back to go to a baptism and then back to do a NDH. It was a full day! 

Sunday- A beautiful and peaceful day. We had the best sacrament attendance so far this year, lots of investigators and less actives in the sacrament meeting, and an awesome Ward Council. Did I mention that I love this ward?
Pres Vasquez gave us a challenge to focus on the Atonement this week. I loved this challenge. It helped me look at people more through Gods eyes and I felt I was testifying about Gods love more in the lessons which really brought the Spirit. It was wonderful!I love this scripture about the Atonement, I always have. This week, I tried to focus on verse 8- how important to make these things known to everyone I come in contact with! It brought great experiences, like finding more families, teaching on buses, and working more with members. I want everyone to have the opportunity to know this gospel! I have felt a great desire to to teach our dueño and his family the Restoration and last night we did! His wife was only there but she accepted an invitation to learn more and come to church on Sunday!

 

6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROjuz9GSYUI

Well, have a great week!

Les quiero!

Hermana Infanzon

HAPPY BELATED BDAY SIS P/KEEKS!! 6/23/14

Kyra! Happy birthday! Sorry its belated. Also, I sent you a package but it went to Peru by mistake so...

 Ill send you one soon!

 

You are my bestest of best friends. I am so grateful to have you in my life. Although were far away, I constantly pray for your safety and success. Its a blessing to be serving the Lord together. I know you are in Colorado for a reason, to change many lives! You are giving people salvation for goodness sakes! Thats some pretty big service youre doing, there. I know God is with you at all times. I am always with you! I love you with all my heart and i am so proud of you for your service. im grateful for your sacrifice to serve and i look up to you. And youre beautiful! Why cant I look like a babe on my mission?

 

This is the last week with President Glazier and the first week we will have Pres Vasquez! I am so grateful for all the lessons Pres Glazier told me but so excited for Pres Vasquez! He was my branch president in the Guatemala CCM and he is an amazing man! Of all the people God could have called, He chose Bruno Vasquez. I know he is going to help us work miracles here in the mission.

 

 It was a great week with our amazing investigators!

 

Our recent convert, Celina, and her mom are working really hard on their dad, Ismael. He has never gone to any church since a month ago. He was a very unreligious man. But he started coming to church with his family and now he feels his faith growing. He used to ignore us when we came to the house but now he warmly welcomes us and attacks us with a bunch of questions about the Book of Mormon. Hes still a little nervous to be baptized but we are so happy to see this family progressing in the gospel. We are going to invite him to be baptized tonight! Wish us luck!

 

Orlando is an investigador de oro! (Hes golden!) We found him drunk on his doorstep one morning and he admitted he drank to forget the pain of his wifes death. We gave him the plan of Salvation pamphlet and told him wed come back the next day. Well, it turns out we couldnt find him for a month. But from the first day we started teaching him, he was prepared! He told us he stopped having the desire to drink the day he met us and he didnt know why. Also, he has expressed to us many times how he feels his faith growing. He came to the church for the first time yesterday and he said he felt so good, so different, he couldnt explain it. He is reading the Book of Mormon and is learning alot. He is such a humble man and he is so excited for his baptism on the 17th of July. Its times like these that I feel like im doing my job. I love to see people change their lives through the gospel!

Also, we have an eternal investigator who is suddenly extremely interested in the church! Hes the husband of a less active and never listened to us. We always visited his wife (well, theyre not married so, his companion) and he sat in, but he didnt satrt acting until recently. The ward 1st counselor is his childhood friend and once we found that out, we asked him to visit with us. Well, I dont know what changed, but Hno Ortiz touched something is his heart and now he wants to come to church and read the Book of Mormon. it was a total miracle to see him show up on Sunday!

 

We also have a VERY less active, Rosalia, that finally came on Sunday! Another miracle!

 

I feel like all of these miracles on Sunday mean I must be changing areas, but who knows. I have complete trust that the Lord will send me or keep me where i need to be. I trust everything He does, He is God after all! My time in the mission has helped me truly strengthen my relationship with Heavenly father, that i dont doubt Him anymore. I just try to follow Him. And everything turns out well! His perfect plan never fails, so why dont we just give up fighting against it and go with the flow (into the waters of baptism) Thats what id like to tell our investigators sometimes. But everyone needs to learn that lesson for themselves. Christ did all the dirty work so that we just had to follow His path-

 

 27 Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^call things are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be ^hmiserable like unto himself.

 28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great ^aMediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
Look to the Savior and choose eternal life!
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-08-1350-we-are-free-to-choose?lang=eng
Love, Hermana Infanzon
PS- to all my missionary friends! I would love to read about your mission experiences if you could send me your weekly emails if youre not yet! Youre all a great example to me and I need to learn more from you!
HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

HABBY BERDAY HABIBUR 6/30/14

Feliz mañana folks!

 

MY SISTIES! HAPPY BIRTHS! 

Caseface. 25. How did that happen? But youre still young, wild, and free. With a baby! I hope you enjoyed youre first birthday as a mama! Love you sis!

Kayla! 13. A true teen! Please dont grow up on me too fast! But I knew this day would come. Hope you enjoyed your birthday Kaykay! But youll always be my little chubby baby sister

Papi! Turnin the big 60 on Thursday! What a blessing you have been to all of us girls. Thanks for raisin me well. Enjoy your first bday as a grandpa! Lovins you!

Well, its been a week of changes. Good ones! Wednesday we had change meeting and Pres Glazier and Hna Glazier gave their last advice. The focus was on faith. I have learned so much on faith in my mission and my testimony of the importance of faith has grown a lot!

We are very excited to meet Prez and Hermana Vasquez tomorrow! Were gonna have a get to know you meeting with them and our zone tomorrow morning. Funny little story. Friday night we were going to the Stake Presidents house to visit and I called Pres Sorto to open the gate. Well I wasnt looking at the phone and I accidently dialed Pres Vasquez. Its kinda a big deal to call the mission president, and moreso because Pres Glazier told us not to call them at all as they were moving in and very busy. So he answered the phone and I said Hola President! Can you open the gate? And he was like, who is this? And I was like Hermana Infanzon (duh) and he said, Hna Infanzon, Im President Vasquez, how can I help you?

oops! I told him sorry President, I meant to call the stake prez...but whats up? haha. I played it cool and said we love you guys already, cant wait to meet you on Tuesday! he then asked me a couple questions about our area and wished me a good night. The hermanas got a good laugh on that.

UPDATE- 

Hna Infanzon and Hna Merrell together at last! We served together in Americas (hence the old photo) and I prophesied that wed be compies. My prophecy was fulfilled! Hna Merrell was in my history class at BYUI so thats cool. Shes great! She has many strengths thats Im excited to learn about. Were doing a lot of member missionary work right now.

Well, love you all! 

Our investigators are doing great! Baptisms to come!

I love the mission, its the most amazing experience Ive ever had. Much better than jumping out of an airplane! 

Keep the faith peeps!

Hermana Infanzon

Hermana Indiana Jones 6/17/14

HOLA!

This week was wonderful, absolutely inspiring for me! We are having many meetings and activities with our ward council to get them involved. We did a missionary work training called Somos Sus Manos that was beautiful. We did it to encourage, thank, support, and express love to our leaders. They needed and deserved it! Theyre a hardworking group! I love my leaders in the ward and mission and im grateful for the lesson Ive learned to always support them, no matter what happens. They are called of God. Rejecting them is rejecting Him.

Speaking of great leaders, I want to thank my President for EVERYTHING. We had our last meeting with them yesterday. they leave in 10 days...I left that meeting yesterday very edified and grateful. Grateful for him and Hermana and their hard work, grateful for their examples, and most of all grateful for this wonderful gospel. I see the light that comes from obedience in their lives and it confirms the fact that this is the only way to true happiness.

I know without a doubt that the gospel is true. If we have faith, we will not fall. Repentance changes us to be better. Baptism saves us from our sins. The Holy Ghost guides us on the path, and all of these things put together bring us to Heavenly Father. The gospel is so simple! Why are we so quick to lose sight of our goal? Well, as weak as we may be, Christ understands and through His love carries us to the end.

We had a beautiful Noche de Hogar last night with the Reyes family. They are going through a difficult time in the church, and Brother Reyes is moving to Spain today. Well, last night, we came to say goodbye and support them. I figured they would be depressed and packing. I cant tell you the surprise on my face when I entered to a happy family starting their NDH. The night was happy and light. They shared the theme of the Lost Sheep and then we played, laughing and enjoying the company. Their neighbors came by to say goodbye to them, too, but they invited them to the Family Night. Their reactivated daughter was in charge. Everyone was uplifted by the experience. Another example of enduring to the end.

We also shared a blessed moment with Celina on her baptismal day. Let me tell you, Hermana Henrie and I were beyond happy! Weve had trouble in our time together achieving the ultimate goal of baptizing. I know it was partly my faith in doing it. Maybe my testimony wasnt strong before, but now I have a burning desire in my heart to BAPTIZE every week! My understanding of the need of it is growing, and for that reason my actions follow. I bear solemn testimony that baptism is the door to enter heaven. if we do not enter the waters of baptism, we will not see God. I need everyone in my alredador to understand how heartbreaking that is! I need to help them enter the door!

I had a WONDERFUL experience on Sunday. It started out chaffa. We were SURE that 5 families were going to come Sunday morning to sacrament. We put all our effort and faith in getting them there. When the hour arrived, 2 were present. Not families, people. I was waiting for 20! I felt discouraged. On top of it, Celina hadnt shown for her confirmation. The negative thoughts were trickling in my mind, but I quickly replaced them with faith. Feeble faith, at first, but I said to myself. Wait. The Lord will bless you for your work, its not in vain. I told myself to be patient and that next week would be better. I focused my thoughts on the Savior and the countless times i had let HIM down. I had no reason to be frustrated. A moment passed and the miracle happened. One of the families entered, and then a another. Celina showed up in time to be confirmed. My tiny particle of faith showed great results. I was overwhelmed with gratitude! I know faith makes miracles, miracles dont make faith.

Also HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!
You are the greatest father in the world, papi! I have felt your love for me as a daughter and Im grateful to have had your support in this year. You are a wonderful father, friend, and son. You are a faithful son to our loving Father in Heaven. He loves you and is proud of your work. I love you very much! And on this day, I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who gave us everything to bring us home. It is a great day to be a child of God!

Love, Hermana Infanzon

PS- this photo is me Indiana Jonesing it through the streets of El Salvador. We were on an adventure yesterday! So fun!

READ ALL ABOUT IT! The Book of Mormon is true! 6/4/14

Good moooorniiing mundoooo!

Its raining and muy fresco- me encanta!

TEMPLE! TEMPLE! IM GOING TO THE TEMPLE! Tomorrow my zone is heading to the Holy House of the Lord! I cant even tell you all how excited I am. Ever since I began going regularly in Provo, the temple has become a part of my life. I have withdrawals once in a while so I am PUMPED to be going tomorrow! Moreso that I will be there as a missionary, its a different feeling. Heres a video of our beautiful temple in El Salvador. I know the youth that participated in the video- their families are still going strong in the gospel.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-11-008-practice-celebration-dedication-temple-blessings-in-el-salvador?lang=eng

What Im the most excited about from this week is that I finished The Book of Mormon!!!! I finished it Saturday night, and restarted it yesterday morning. I read it in exactly 7 weeks. It was wonderful! I have never loved this book more in my life! I really, truly delighted in it- every page. I started it right away again because I enjoy it so much. Ive never felt so much strength come from a book before. I have a SOLID testimony that The Book of Mormon IS the most correct of any book ever written and it DOES bring us closer to Christ! I realized why. You begin loving someone as you get to know them. Well, as we read about our Savior (His life, words, and hand in the lives of the Nephites/Lamanites) we are getting to know Him more. Its obvious were going to love Him more. I feel like I know Him better and I hear His council in my personal life more often now. That is why I will never stop reading this book! The theme I started with this time is repentance because I noticed how often He invites us to repent as I was reading. What a great demonstration of His love for us!

Also, we continue to find the prepared! Yesterday, I was grateful to find 2 more prepared who have fechas. Samuel, a joven of 22, said he wanted to change his life and follow Christ. At the end of the lesson, I asked him how he felt from what we shared and he said, "Bueno, me siento emocionado! Me interesa este libro y estoy animado a leerlo! Gracias" BAM! The power of the Book of Mormon strikes again!
Orlando, 56 years old, has a problem with drinking to forget about his wifes death. His eyes were filled with hope as we told him he would see her again one day if he followed Christ into the waters of baptism. He is hopeful now to have an eternal family. Theres a new light in his life that only the Lord, Jesus Christ can fill.

I feel so SATISFIED to share the gospel with people who are truly ready to accept it. I know I am fulfilling my true purpose here. And its exciting!

I know with ALL my heart that this gospel is true and the only way to everlasting happiness. I lived the other life without the light of the gospel and I can feel the grand difference. We have direction, we have hope, we have patience, and we have the truth. Christ lives and leads us in this work.

All my love to you,

su hija Hermana Infanzon

Happy Mem Day! 5/26/14

Nothing really new with me, just grew a stache...

La Semana de La Familia 5/19/14

Monday: Celebrated Hermana Henrie`s bday with cake and its tradition that someone stuffs her face in it so we took the honor of doing that! (pic below)

Tuesday: The first session of Semana de la Familia. The ward put together some great workshops about the youth, emergency prep, leaving a legacy in your family, and spending time together. We had a great turnout!

Wednesday: We got a part member family to the second session that weve been working with ever since I got to Apopa! Alfredo isnt a member and he loved it! They were very happy, so I was very happy!

Thursday: Members brought their OWN friends to the 3rd session! Way to go, ward!

Friday: We finished off the ward sessions talking about strengthening marriages in a world where the family is being attacked, and how it starts with the relationship between husband and wife and God. it was well done!

Saturday: We had a stake talent show! The bishop wanted me to sing an English pop song but I declined seeing as im a missionary and not a popstar, he was sad. But as a zone we did a funny skit about the devil being converted and getting baptized. It had 4 acts! I was a little girl named Margarita and now everyone calls me that. Ill show you when i get home cuz its too big to send, but it was hilarious! The youth did alot of cool dances. I dont know why Latinos were all blessed, but they can dance! Sendys and Caro already tried to teach me to salsa, but ill just stick to singing...

Sunday: I recommend you look up the devotional the CentroAmerica Area Presidency gave to end la semana. It was beautiful!

So the semana de la familia fue un exito!

I had a great week! We found lots of great, prepared people as we continue striving to pray SPECIFICALLY for the Lords guidance.

Love you all! Pray that god will guide you to the prepared!

Love, Hermana Infanzon

PS-

Funny pictures Hermana Henrie told me to send.

1. My love of water

2. Stealing the elders`ties on Pday while they played soccer and putting them on the fan. Hehehe, my rebelliousness hasnt completely gone

3. Celebrating Hermana Henrie's Bday the Salvadorean way