Santiago East, Chile Mission

Santiago East, Chile Mission
January 16,2013

Week # 67 LA ULTIMA CARTA!!!!!



wow so this is my very last letter i am writing to you guys... well i´ve thougHT a lot this week about what to write... I'm not really sure how to explain this last year and a half. i think the most important thing that has happened is that i am not the same person i was when i left (i don't mean that I'm weird... well i guess we´ll see) but that i have become absolutely converted to the gospel. i have absolutely no doubt of the truth of this gospel!! i know with all my heart that it is true!!! i have seen the spark of the gospel grow in so many people, and to have seen them gain there testimonies of this truth!! i feel so grateful to my heavenly father for the chance i have had to come here to chile and the chance to meet so many people that have changed my life. i had a really cool experience this last week... so i had the chance to go back to los platanos. it was an experience i will never forget... i got to go back and see all the people that i love so much!! i got to see my converts and how much they have progressed in the gospel. i got to see investigators i was teaching who have gained testimonies of the gospel and have fechas to be baptized... the work is growing so strong there and me dio tanto alegría a verlo, everyone was so sweet and i was so emotional and excited to see everyone again!!! i felt like i was at home and that i had never left.. i think that was a inspired call from my presidente.  i felt i was able to say goodbye and strengthen people with some last words!! i love my heavenly father with all my heart! i leave this week running hard and ready to start my next mission in life. i also want to thank all of you!! thanks so much for you support for us missionaries you guys have no idea how much it means to just hear a few words from someone!! i love you all so so much !!! we'll see you next week on tuesday!! aaaaawwwwwww!!!  PS my comp is dying!!! this is her second comp she has killed in the mission, one after the other!! poor thing, but i love her!!!
les amo muchisimo!!!
con mucho amor,
HERMANA GODFREY

Week #66 Photos

Francisca, my favorite!!  Only 10 years old!

Linda!!


We needed our scarves...

Rainy Day!

Week #66 Two weeks to go!!

so how do i start out this week??? lots of crazy things happened the week. but i think the main thing i would like to focus on was the baptism we had with fransica!! i don't know if you guys remember her, the little girl who was baptized in freezing water.. well she said she still wanted to be baptized, and for this sunday we had the date ready to go.. i think it was one of the most stressful days of my life!! so first off, we fill up the font and again the water is freezing cold,  so i told hermana orozco we were going to go to the kitchen and heat up water to pour in the font. well, we get to the kitchen and there were no matches to light the stove, so we found a calefont, a little heater that works with flames of gas, and lit a piece of paper and ran into the kitchen (mind you that one of the secretaries was helping us) we got the heater working and i accidentally blew out the one we had lit. we tried again but it didn't work. then the secretary told us it was a waste and probably wasn't going to make a difference (he was probably right) so i said a prayer in my head that fran wouldn't feel the water. so time came for her to get baptized, and the whole ward was sooo excited. she was super scared even to start with, because she didn't have the best first impression... we said a sweet little prayer together before the baptism to help calm her down... but it literally took her 30 minutes to be baptized and was the most suspenseful thing I've ever seen. it was like watching mundial!! hahaha. but she was super scared but she wanted to do it so bad and she knew it was important. the amazing thing was you could really see her testimony shine in that moment because she was so scared of the water, one of her biggest fears, but she wanted so badly to get baptized. the hermano that baptized her was so patient and amazingly perfect i think it was revelation that we picked him to baptized her... en serio... and the best part was that right before she was about to go under water she said... no i cant do it.. and the hermano who was baptizing her said... fran i know heavenly father and jesucristo are here with us right now... she took a deap breath and went under.... that's all she needed to know was that her HF was there with her. incredibly, i am shocked! my!! the faith of fransica she really was more of a example for me and the faith and the bravery that she had. it wasn't just a baptism for her but also coming over her fears. when she came out of the font she had the biggest smile on her face and looked so happy and ran over and hugged me. i was a really sweet experience for me. she is amazing. i and it was cool to see her take this step  and set the example for her family!! well, i don't have much time to write more, but lots of good things are happening. this week was incredible. I'm seeing miracles seriously everyday!! i love the mission.!! well, see you all in 2 weeeks ahhh!! les amo.
con amor,
hermana godfrey

Week #65 Photos

Wilberdani... I just love her!

Doing Divisions

Beautiful Colors in Chile

Lots and Lots and Lots of Rain!!

Week #65 3 Semanas left!

haber.... where do i start .. i really don't know what to say? all these weeks are blurring together and lots to do. let's see here...  monday we ran into giovanna a wilberdani and it was soo good to see them because its been a long time. we invited wilberdani to church and she came!! wahoo!!!! it was awesome! i think she really likes it its hard to tell sometimes because she doesn't speak a lot of spanish but there is a family in the ward that is amazing and has completely taken her under there wing. i think she really enjoys them! i love wilberdani she is awesome! we'll see what happens. i also did division as a sister training leader this week in ñuñoa 1 with a hermana named hermana todesco ( her familia is from italy but she is american) but she is such a sweet heart. i think one of the nicest people i have ever met, and big ball of energy! we cut down a huge tree, almost fell off a wall and contacted crazy drunk people, met a guy who loves nitro circus and gave him sticker and we set up another cita with him, it was good time... before we started the day, i asked HF to help me help this hermana in anything she needed and help me be a good leader... there was a point during the day when i felt like i was the worst leader and that she was teaching me more then i was helping her.. and then came a moment were we were talking and she expressed to me her concerns and how she doesn't feel like a good missionary... that was my moment!! i know how that feels.. we had a really nice conversation and i cried without even knowing her, and i think she could really feel the love from her heavenly father and me, and i think it really helped her a lots! she kept telling me thank you... i don't know,  i tried my best and i hope i was able to make her feel like a good missionary because she is!! it was a neat experience for me. other then that we have just been running all over the place. life is good! i love the mission and am trying to enjoy every minute. i hope you all are doing well and know how much i miss you all and am always praying for you!! have such a great week!!!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey

Week # 64 The Rain is here!


Got my birthday dress a little early!!





Longest straw on earth!

My new rainboots!

Rain, Rain...





Week #64 Four Weeks To Go!!

 Hola a todos ¿como estan?
so this week was just kinda a crazy week! so first of all mundial (the world cup for soccer) started and chile made it! the chileans are so freaking happy and we actually aren't allowed to go out and work when chile is playing because its very dangerous... chuuuuta... hahah. but its fun to see chile and the people so patriotic... but ya and we had zone conference this week and elder robbins for the 70ies came and talked to us... it was a crazy week with lots of reunions... but a really good week.  i learned a lot. it was cool because elder robbins talked about the mission and how the mission is the university of life, and the best place to learn and prepare you for everything you will take on during your life... he also talked about the holy ghost and the importance of having a true conversions because if we don't, even a angel coming down to visit us would not be enough for us to believe if the holy ghost hasn't truly touched our hearts; and tons and tons of other stuff...but it was awesome. he is an incredible person and without a doubt you could see that he was a disciple of Christ!!
so we had a really good district class this week and i just absolutely loved it. my district leader is elder gowdy (mckenzie mckeon's friend) he's awesome!! so the week before, we had zone class and i had to teach one of the parts, and i was so nervous!! and i remember before i gave the class the only thing i wanted was that i could touch someone with the message i had. so the class ended and i kinda felt dumb after, but se me paso... then we had this class and elder gowdy was like, "hermana godfrey said this and i wanted to explain it a bit more..." and he just shared about how much my message had touched him and it was such a testimony to me that you never know whose hearts you might touch and heavenly father answers our prayers!!! it was cool, but he read a story from the liahona of june 2014 by elder holland that i really liked:
 
Latter day Saints are called upon to be the leaven in the loaf, the salt that never loses its savor, the light set upon a hill never to be hidden under a bushel. So start presenting!

If we do right and talk right and reach out generously with our words and our deeds, then, when the Savior cuts short His work in righteousness,says time is no more in this last dispensation, and comes in His glory, He will find us doing our best, trying to live the gospel, trying to improve our lives and our Church and our society the best way we can.

When He comes, I so want to be caught living the gospel. I want to be surprised right in the act of spreading the faith and doing something good. I want the Savior to say to me: “HERMANA GODFREY(place your name  here), I recognize you not by your title but by your life, the way you are trying to live and the standards you are trying to defend. I see the integrity of your heart. I know you have tried to make things better first and foremost by being better yourself and then by declaring my word and defending my gospel to others in the most compassionate way you could.”

He will certainly add: “I know you weren’t always successful with your own sins and with the circumstances of others, but I believe you honestly tried. I believe in your heart you truly loved me.”

I want to have something like that encounter someday as I want nothing else in this mortal life. And I want it for you. I want it for us all. “Israel,Israel, God is calling”6—calling us to live the gospel of Jesus Christ personally in small ways and large ways, to reach out to those who may not look or dress or behave quite as we do, and then (where we can) to go beyond that to serve in the widest community we can address.

I love the Lord Jesus Christ, whose servant I am trying to be. And I love our Heavenly Father, who cared enough to give Him to us. Regarding that gift, I know that God is calling to Israel in these latter days to be more Christlike and to be more holy than we now are in our determination to live the gospel and establish Zion. I also know that He will give us the strength and the holiness to be true disciples if we plead for them.

i love it!! and that is how i want to be when i am done with this life. it doesn't matter how cool we are or how much money we have or how famous we are because at the end of the day, Christ is not going to look at us for these acts but at how we lived our lives.... so what are we focused on?

well i hope you all have a great week love you all so much 30 days, omgoodnesss..... i cant believe it!! always praying for you all!! thanks always for the support!! con amor,

hermana godfrey

Happy Birthday Meghan!!! More Birthday Photos!!

Birthday Celebrations with the Members

Make a wish!

Then your face gets the cake!!

Gifts

Sister Orton's beautiful Cake!!

It was beautiful!!!



Make another wish!!

Hope it comes true!

All the Roomies

Can't forget....

An egg on the head for good luck!

Week #63 Feliz Cumplianos!!


Happy Birthday from Papa and Gigi

Someone is a big fan!!
Happy Birthday from Travis and Dusty



Ahhh Wheelz!!




Happy Birthday from Hawaii


Happy Birthday from Gma and Gpa Goodie

Week #63 I'm a Sister Training Leader!!!!

so just so you all know.... dan dan dan.... que? i did not have changes!!! im still here in lo cañas... can you believe that? i thought for sure i was going to get changes but i guess im going to finish my mision here! its all good, i´ve got mixed feelings about it but it will be good. im excited. 3 comps my whole mission and 2 sectors wow... hahah! ALSO guess what??  I am a sister training leader!! ya it will be crazy with lots of meetings. but i´ve going to start my divisions with my hermanas tomorrow actually so should be fun!! wish me luck. ya about kyn it was crazy Saturday we got on the computer to do this thing we do to find less actives and i had to get on my email to get my password... and i saw the email and being a little chueca, and i think the spirit was there too... i looked at kyns message curious tooo... and so i started my fast for her right after in the street haha but I'm glad I was able to fast with you guys! so hopefully it helps her a bit...

ok so lets see... this week was a lot of walking not many people wanted to talk to us this week but we all have those weeks right... but we had some miracles too... so we were walking and all of a sudden Monica's name came into my head and i said ya we need to go visit her... so we went and she wasn't doing too good, still struggling with the whole thing with her son and all the things that have happened... but we were able to help lift her up for a bit... you could feel the spirit really strong and i just felt good that we were able to help lift her up when she was down!! then we have this new investigator named adrian. he is from Ecuador and is living here in Chile so we can't go to his house and teach him so we had to teach him in the park on wed. and we were all freezing our butts off... it was so cold... and like 9:30 at night tooo. but the lesson went really good and we taught the whole thing in english because he wants to practice his english.  it was so weird!! my first lesson in english and i was forgetting all the words in english. it would have been so much easier in spanish. blessing tho right? i remember when i couldn't even give a lesson in spanish when i first got here so it made me realize how blessed i have been to have learned a new language. i thought it was going to be impossible! heavenly father is a miracle worker "im speaking spanish"!! thanks to him!
we also had a cool experience with a contact. we were walking and all of a sudden my body stopped. i turned and the next thing i knew i was handing the kid a tarjeta and talking to him and then when i realized what i was doing, i had gotten his address and set up an appointment to visit him!! it was soooo weird and it definitely was not me talking... kinda cool tho. but he lives in the other hermana's sector but i have a feeling he is going to be a good investigators for them!! well that's about it for now, lots more happened but i don't have time hahaha.!! but i love you all so much and i feel so blessed to have every single one of you guys in my life...thanks for everything and for the birthday wishings -  you guys all made me cry!!! LES AMO!!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey

Week #62 P-Day in the Andes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

I finally got to see the Andes!!





Winter Weather in Chile

Week #62 My Testimony

so first off, to start off we have cambios this next week so we will see next monday where i end up spending my last transfer. that's cool you guys met hna chamberlin.. she was my comp from the CCM´s trainer-- she's really sweet and a way good missionary.

so this week was a bit crazy!! i was raining super hard on wed. i was on divisiones and i wasn't too prepared for the rain... and i got soaking wet hahah. thankfully we  got into two houses.. wahoo but the rest of the night we were walking around in the cold, raining night... you have got to love the mission. my comp that day,  hna sharp was worried because my feet were soaked but i told her that i was fine and we continued. plus i was loving the rain...haha. it was a fun night!!!

so the other day i was sitting there listening too a talk by Eyring, the one he gave this last conference about his grandfather and everything he has and the fact that he has the gospel in his life is all thanks to his grandfather. i thought that was neat because i know the gospel came into our life thanks to one of our ancestors... but then he started to talk about the conversion of his grandfather and how he was converted and how he gained his testimony... so i started to think, where did my testimony come from? when was I truly, truly converted??... well i don't know if it was day and noche for me... i think it was little things testifying to me throughout my whole life... and experiences i have had throughout my life. but i would have to say my mission has definitely sealed my testimony, and it tries your testimony too but i think after its been tried its that much more stronger. I'm so grateful that from my mission i have learned and grown so much, all thanks to the mission. I have gained my testimony out here. i know God is our Heavenly Father, i know Christ lives... and i know he has a plan for each and every one of us. i love this gospel with all my heart.!! and i have the best family in the whole world and thanks to my parents and their faithfulness,  i was able to grow up in the gospel.
i would love you hear your guys conversion stories. when was the moment that you were truly converted????  so feel free to write me!! hehehe  ill be waiting next monday!!
haha  well time is going fast trying my hardest to just finish running. hope you all have a great week and know im always praying for you all. love you all so much!!
con amor,
hermana godfrey

Photo Week #61

I got my birthday early!!! After not getting a christmas package it was awesome!

Week #61 Only 8 Weeks to Go!!

hola familia y amigos,

things here in chile are going really good! this week was crazy and i am absolutely exhausted... lets see where do i start.. well i had to run down to el centro and wake up early to go get my carnet... and we were there all day... then we came back and went straight to help with the noche de hogar or the activity we have been planning. it was crazy then we got everything set up and wilberdani and paul came!!!! wahooo!! they stuck out like sore  thumbs and so everyone was just talking to them like crazy and everyone was supporting them a lot. it was really neat to see and then, sunday came around and they both came to church. i think they really like it. it was really cool to finally see them in church and all the guys, just man, really good friends with paul. during the noche de hogar us missionaries, we did a skit and it seriously was the funnest thing!! we got the whole ward laughing so hard. ill try and see if i can send it on dropbox. it was a good night.

then on sunday we had a pretty crazy experience. fransica was supposed to get baptized and everything was ready to go. they showed up to church on time and at the end of church we started the baptism service. everything started out good, but when we got to the font, the water was freezing cold freezing freezing cold!! but they still got in... but poor fran got scared and didn't want to go under the water. the hno pushed her under the first time but she didn't go down all the way and then the second time she was bawling .... i felt so so bad!! i promised her that the water would be warm and that it would be a beautiful experience and here we traumatized the poor girl... so we ended the service and they went home. i was a wreck.. i felt so so bad... one of the counselors of the ward was really sweet and just told me that it was normal and things like this happen and its just another story i can tell people haha. but ya we got home and i made her a banana cake and i cute little card and we took it to them, and when we got there i really didn't know if they were going to let us in. but they did and fran was super excited to see us. she told us that she was super cold and scared and she asked if we could show her video of baptism and we did and she started to get excited again. i dunno the conclusion that i came to is that heavenly father knows what he is doing and me and my comp really think that maybe it was to help the mum and give her time to follow the example her daughter is giving or something like that, but everything happens for a reason... i think and it was just a challenge she has to overcome and her fear of water too. and if she really has a strong testimony she will do it!!! so ya that was pretty much my week lots more happened but too much to write. that is kinda the key points!! i love you all so much and am always praying for you all have a great week!
besitos y abrasos!!
con mucho amor,
hermana godfrey

Photo Week #60


Week #60, A Mother's Day Chat

Familia it was so good to talk you all on sunday!! it seriously is this best thing in the world to talk too the fam out here in the mission. and it just made me realize that i have the best family in the world my comps even said you guys are all awesome. i just told them, "ya i know" haha. but you guys are the best!! thanks so much for just being the best all of you.

i can't believe we were talking about when i get home!  only 8 weeks left that is nothing.. I'm freaking out but excited and sad and just lots of things going through my head. but ya.  as i told you this week was a bit ruff walking a lot and stuff and not getting into many houses, but that isn't going to hold us back and I know we have a great week ahead of us. it already started out really well. so today for pday we went to this little china store, like china town kinda and when we got on the micro(bus) wilberdani was sitting there (paul y giovannas) and we invited her to come with us to an actividad we have on friday... and she said she wanted to come and was super excited to come!! wahoo!! I'm so stoked! she is such a sweet heart. so I'm excited... this week is going to be chuck full with things to do so im excited... 

lets see what else happened this week? oh i think i told you martha and fransica came to church they are amazing and i think they really like church. and we had a really good noche de hogar with lorena and we are going to take her to the temple this week and put the meta(goal) with her that in one year she can enter to do her endowments!! wahoo!!! she is awesome, i love her. but my motto for this week perseveras hasta el fin.... endure to the end!! I'm coming close to the end! i cant believe it and this is not the time to give up but to push until the very end of my mission....so that is my invitation for all of you guys too.. whatever you are doing school, work, life don't give up until you are done. and the church especially we all need to be going, going, going and growing for the church and enduring to end so that we all can be with heavenly father again one day!! that is our goal right? la vida eterna... eternal life!!  i love you all so much! so fun to talk to you all, always praying for you guys!! love you tons!
con amor,
hermana godfrey

Week #59 Fran and Martha






Week #59 Martha and Fran

 buen día a todos!! everything here in chile is going really well. we had a pretty good week... kinda slow because as you all know these crazy chileans have a vacation for the littlest things, so this weekend was día de los trabajadores... so everyone went out of town for the weekend, but we were still able to kick some butt and contacted a ton of new people which was awesome.

this week, we really focused a lot on martha and fran... o fransica... martha is the mum of fran and they both have been listening to the lessons. they are so cute! fran said she wants to be a missionary one day... awwww! so cute - she's only ten but she acts as if she is 20! it was awesome because they both came to church on Sunday!! AHH it was a miracle for me! at first i didn't see them and i was crushed, and then i looked back and there they were!! fran had her book of mormon and everything!! it was wonderful to see them in church! cool story, so we were walking around contacting and i was  over it because no body was listening, and i told hna orozco... let's say a prayer really quick. i prayed specifically... i asked that we could find a young man that could someday hold the priesthood and serve a mission. we were walking... first one we contacted, nothing... the second man we contacted was so cool and totally interesting and had tons of questions for us. his name is maxamiliano.... he is incredible!! heavenly father answers prayer, people!!

 i also got the chance finally to go to the temple on friday. we went me, hna adams, hna guevara and fanny!! it was so nice to go to the temple again!! i missed the temple so much and to be honest, i did not want to leave. i watched the new video finally, and it was awesome!! so much better then the old one and i felt like i understood so much, so much!! it was incredible how many things i actually understood this time!! i dunno if it was because my spanish was better then the last time, or i´ve studied so much the scriptures that everything makes sense. i dunno, but it was a special experience and fun to go with fanny. she was so excited!!  well, a lot more happened this week but that is the basics!! have such a great week!! always praying for you all! Les Amo un monton!!
> Con mucho amor,
> hermana godfrey

Week #58 Happy Birthday Photos