Week 8

MY Jesus 

FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!! 

It's been a crazy week and a half here in La Florida, Chile!  So many miracles and so many moments where we discovered, once again, the depth of God's love for us. And that's what this Christmas season is all about, right? Remembering Jesus Christ and His profound love. 

Soooooo... Let's start with a scripture about Christmas and the reason Jesus was born! 

 Scripture of the week 

"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else." Alma 11:40

And here's the update! If there's one thing I want you to know about this week, it's that my Savior, Jesus Christ, was walking beside me with each and every step. 

Lunes - He can heal EVERY. WOUND. 

~ 1st pday in the field! 

~ Went to the mall with the district - it was so weird, it looked like every mall I've been to in the states. It felt like I teleported out of South America for a hot minute 

~ Had the BEST empanada of my life 

~ This guy at the little tienda by our house had us try raw seaweed while we were checking out - it honestly wasn't that bad (though I probably wouldn't eat it again lol) 

~ Had a member join us in finding today - it was SO FUN!!! 

Martes - Do you believe it too? 

~ Fire district council. Our DL is genuinely so inspiring. Today he really emphasized truly believing in Jesus, not just going out and talking about Him. A couple quotes he said that I want to share:

    → “The gospel, to me, is the change I see in myself when I apply the teachings of Jesus Christ to my life.”

   → “We have to find people where they are and bring them to Christ, not just wait with Christ and expect them to come by just an invitation no más.”

~ NOELSY PASSED HER BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW TODAY!!!! God is so so good. There's been a lot of opposition and stress leading up to her baptism, but it's happening this Saturday! She also has a husband and kid who are wanting to get baptized too! God is CHANGING FAMILIES!!!!! 

Miércoles - Just turn outward

~ Had a really fun member lunch today! I'm starting to connect with people, just a little bit more than before. They let me play their guitar too! 

~ Miracles are EVERYWHERE! We keep having experiences where we're not having ANY success, but then we stop on the side of the road to say a heartfelt prayer, and within the next hour we find more people who are waiting to hear the gospel! 

If you're ever wondering if God hears your prayers or knows your heart, I'm here to testify that He DOES!!! 

Jueves - Give your all and love it

~ We had some pretty hard lessons today

~ I'm starting to LOVE the mission. Obviously I like it already, but as I start to understand more about the people in our area, I'm just falling in love with being a missionary in Chile! 

~ We keep having to pass old men to the elders because they're being  weird 

~ The Spirit today was probably the most filled up and supported I've felt since I got to Chile. Every moment was holy ground. Especially the hard moments. I truly felt Him by my side, His Spirit in my heart, and truly, His angels round about me to bear me up. 

Viernes - Light the world 

~ Pretty normal day

~ Had JAS members with us all day - it was sooooo fun! 

~ God keeps sending little miracles <3

~ Missing my people back home today. So many awesome memories! I love you all! 

Sábado - Greenwich time

~ NOELSY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!! 

It was the sweetest thing. Her whole family came to support her - they all are so happy for her and they all felt the Spirit! I think the coolest part was watching her come up out of the water. I remember exactly what that feels like - you can't find that feeling anywhere else in the whole entire world. You could see it in her face. Everything was just washed away, and for a split second, it was just her and Jesus. Nothing else was there, nothing else mattered. It kind of felt like I was watching my own baptism, but this time I got to see it from the perspective of my missionaries.

Shoutout Elder Johnson, Elder Guptill, & Elder Goeckeritz…I'm following in your footsteps! Thanks for giving me the BEST example. I hope to fill your shoes as a missionary. 

Domingo - Quién es Cristo para mí? 

~ EVERYYYY new person I meet keeps telling me that I have “sangre latina” (the blood of a Latina) 

~ We had 2 super cool friends at church today! We weren't expecting one of them to show up, so it was so joy when she came! 

~ The old ladies in our ward (there's a lot of them) all sing in a really loud, kinda off-pitch opera voice, and sometimes it is genuinely SO HARD for us to not laugh during the musical numbers 

~ Taught my first restoration lesson! It was really powerful, especially during the first vision. All I could think of, the whole lesson, was how it feels for her to hear about this for the first time. 

She was SUPER prepared too - at the end she told us that she's excited to start reading the Book of Mormon and to gain a testimony of the church for herself  Honestly the first person I've met on the mission that was so ready to hear the gospel like this. It was really cool! 

Lunes - What a privilege 

~ Our alarm didn't go off this morning and we accidentally slept in 

~ Decorated our CHRISTMAS TREEEEE!!! 

~ People were kinda cranky in district council this morning haha. It's been a long week 

~ Helped a guy load a bunch of eggs and watermelons into the back of his van  He gave us two honeydew melons as a token of gratitude lol. We talked with him for a while afterwards too - we found him & have a phone lesson with him tomorrow 

~ The Talca stake (a group of church congregations here in our part of the mission) did a chorus concert outside the mall! This was probably my favorite part of the day because I got to use my street contacting skills I learned in VA  And funnily enough, the first person I talked to spoke fluent English! He doesn't live in our sector, but I was able to find him and refer him to the elders where he lived. He had some really good questions and was also super prepared, just like the woman from yesterday! 

Martes - God of mercy, God of grace <3

~ Today was FILLED with miracles. And the Spirit was so tenderly personal for us - He really is my constant companion 

~ Comp study today was so spiritually filling. I'm so grateful for my companion! She is such a light! 

~ Got bit by a dog (starting to feel grateful for those rabies shots I got in the CCM) 

~  JOOOYYYYY TO THE WORLD, WE FOUND A GOLDEN FAMILY OF FOUR!!!! 

We were leaping and skipping away afterwards - the Spirit was SO STRONG!!!!! They even came to our ward Christmas devociónal in the evening! 

Miércoles - Noche de luz, noche de paz

~ We had CONFERENCIA DE ZONAAAA

Basically a big conference with a bunch of the missionaries from the southern part of our mission. It was SOOOOOO FUN!!!! And the testimonies we heard were so beautiful. Afterwards we ate lunch, put on a district talent show, and played a ton of games! It was special this time because we basically had a big Christmas party haha. It was so tender too. These people really care about each other, and it shows! 

~ Spent the rest of the night with a member family! Here in Chile they all stay up until midnight on the 24th to open their presents, so us missionaries got permission to stay out late! It was so fun but we are SOOOOOO tired 

Now, for what I consider to be the most important part of this email. 

 Spiritual Thought 

Christmas is an amazing time of year. But I think a lot of times, we get caught up in the decorations and holiday plans and all the things we need to do...and we forget the reason why we're actually celebrating. So now is our chance to slow down for a minute and think about it! 

Jesus Christ was born thousands of years ago. And yet, He is your Savior, today, right now. He was born so that YOU could have hope and peace, here, in this very moment. Around this time of year, we tend to hear a lot of the names of Jesus Christ.

Savior, Redeemer, Good Shepherd, light and life of the world, Son of God, Comforter, Friend, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

And the list goes on! 

But this Christmas, I invite you all to think about this question:

Who is Jesus Christ to you? 

What makes Him your Jesus? 

I would LOVE to hear some of your thoughts on this. Send me a message with who Jesus is to you! Any and all answers are welcome! 

I also invite you to think about ways that you can be a representative of Him! How can YOU be a comforter, a healer, a good shepherd, a friend, or a light to someone this week? How can you bring Jesus to those around you? 

I promise that as you ponder on this, you will feel closer to God and you will see all His promises of peace, joy, mercy, and happiness come to life for you. I can promise that because I saw it happen for me this week. He is my Jesus, and He is yours too. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen! 

This week was really good. The mission is hard, but that's the point. Just like everything in life, nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and being a representative of Jesus Christ is the most worthwhile thing in the world! I am so filled up. And I hope and pray that you all can feel that as you read this email! 

Merry Christmas everyone! You all are so amazing, thanks for tagging along with me on my adventures here in Chile!

As always, reach out with any photos, updates, thoughts, or anything you want to share! It's always welcome and it makes me so happy to hear from you! 

I'll talk to you all on my pday next Thursday!!

LAM, 

Hna Geary