Week 9

BLACKOUT YEAR WHO???? 

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!!!! 

This is Hermana Geary coming to you again from Chile... IN 2026!!!!!! 

This year is the one and only year of my life in which I will get to be a missionary every single day. And I am ready to soak up every precious moment! 

I'd love to hear your goals and plans for this year! Message me with anything you want to share. It's hard to find time for everything here on the mission, but know that I love hearing from you and I treasure every single one of your messages. So please, don't be afraid to reach out! You all have my heart!!! 

I want to start a little differently this week! Instead of starting with a scripture, let's start with a song! 

Pay special attention to the lyrics and how you feel! I promise that as you listen, you will be able to feel God's love for you. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/music/hymns-for-home-and-church/because?lang=eng

Write down what you feel! Email me your thoughts! 

Now, for an update on what's happening here in La Florida  Sorry if these emails are too long haha! I've been trying to condense them...I just have so much to share! Anyways, here's my week! 

Viernes - Rotisserie chicken & sangre latina

~ Super chill day today. We didn't have a member almuerzo so we just took a nap during our lunch block. God knew what we needed 

~ It was SOOOOOO hot outside today. It was 95 degrees and the sun here is so strong. There's also been some wildfires here in the south and the smoke is trapping in all the heat. I feel like a rotisserie chicken, genuinely just being roasted out here 

~ So many little miracles today. Nothing big, just little moments that remind me that God's by my side. 

~ I taught clase de inglés today, and afterwards the bishop told me that my accent sounds like a Latina  Genuinely made my day haha! 

Sábado - What else matters? 

~ Pretty normal day - lots of sun, lots of water, lots of walking, lots of talking to people. It was fun! 

~ Had a cool experience during almuerzo today. I was feeling super anxious all morning, and I wasn't understanding anything people were saying during the meal. But with a desperate prayer in my heart, I opened my mouth to give the spiritual thought. And I don't know how to explain this, but the words I spoke to that family were not mine. No, my Spanish wasn't perfect. But it didn't need to be. The Spirit was so strong in that room, and I watched the eyes of this heavy-hearted, overstressed, weary mother fill with tears of relief as she once again felt God's love for her and the divine help she has on her side. I watched as the whole family cuddled up on the couch afterwards to watch a conference talk together. I left that home just a little better than I found it, and that's enough for me. The Spirit took over, and all the sudden, my anxiety became a vessel for a heartfelt testimony of Jesus Christ. 

Domingo - Finding my Savior 5000 miles from home

~ I don't always understand what's going on here haha, but it is just so beautiful to get to know these people and their stories. They are the kindest people you'll ever meet, and they'll give literally everything they have just to feed you a good meal and make you feel at home. I’m still figuring it all out and it's hard sometimes, but I feel like I'm finding my Savior in a lot of the people I meet here 

~ The Spirit was so strong at church today! Especially during the sacrament! (basically like communion - each Sunday we symbolically remember Jesus Christ by eating bread & drinking water, and God promises to bless us with an extra measure of the Holy Spirit! ) 

Lunes - Enabling grace & strength to bear the weak 

~ 100 degrees outside all day today 

~ Drinking so much water, which is a problem because none of the street tiendas have bathrooms 

~ Hermana Bryner got food poisoning and we had to go home the last half of the day (don't worry she's okay now) 

~ Finding so much joy in serving others and just turning outwards! And the Spirit prompts us and helps us know what to do. It's cool!

Martes - Cherishing the God that I love

~ I think the thing that has surprised me the most about the mission is just how many miracles there are. And how personal and impactful each of those little miracles would be to me. 

~ Long story short, today started out super hard. I was feeling super down and anxious for some reason, it was SOOOOOO hot outside, and ALL of our lessons for the day fell through. From 11:30am to 9pm, we were in the streets, knocking doors, walking in the 100° heat, inviting everyone to church and desperately trying to help someone, even just one person, come unto Christ. But the miracle of today, like every other day, was the Spirit. The Spirit led us to the people and places we needed to be. We ended up finding 3 super elect people and we had a spontaneous restoration lesson at the very end of the day - the Spirit was so incredibly strong. 

I know, and continue learning each day, that God is a God of miracles. Because truly, as hard as today was, it was a miracle to me. And I'm glad that we sometimes have to fight for things. Because God doesn't want us to just have blessings - He wants us to cherish them! 

Miércoles - It's all about the people! 

~ This morning was CONSEJO DE ZONAAA! It was awesome. The missionaries around me are so inspiring. And another cool moment - I prayed in my heart that I might be able to share something that would inspire them…and right after my prayer, the zone leaders called on me and asked me to share my experiences with the missionaries in Virginia as a new convert! I felt the Spirit really strongly, and even though my Spanish felt all jumbled up, several people came up to me afterwards thanking me for my testimony and the Spirit I brought. Prayers are answered, and the gift of tongues is REAL!!!

~ A member drove us to her house for lunch today but forgot to bring her keys so we watched her climb over the 8ft tall fence (and almost die) to open the gate  Genuinely one of the FUNNIEST MOMENTS ever. We were dying 

~ We're not working past 6pm tonight so we ordered a pizza and stayed in! I'm so excited for this new year!!!! 

 Spiritual Thought 

As we go into the new year, there are so many exciting things to look forward to! But at the same time, there's definitely a lot of hard things as well. Because truth is - life is never easy, nor was it meant to be. But that doesn't mean we have to be scared of the future or the hard things we might have to face this year. Listen to what Jesus says about it:

"Fear not, little flock...Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." DC 6 

Whatever you go through this year, good or bad, know that you have a Friend by your side! 

I invite you all to pray, tonight, and ask God if He loves you. Listen and let yourself feel His love. Then think of ways you can grow closer to Him this year. Think and pray about new year's eve this December - who do you want to be? What do you want your relationship with God to look like? 

I promise that as you do this, you will feel an overwhelming feeling of peace and love, and you will be inspired with ways that you can become stronger and happier, and you will feel closer to God than you have before. I can promise you that because I've seen it in my own life. I testify that God truly does love and care about you personally. Out of everything else happening in the whole world and all the people in it, He makes your prayer a priority. I know that He listens, and I know that He answers. And if He does it for me, I promise He will do it for you too. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

I love you all so much!!!! I'm so excited to see what this year has in store for us. Remember that God is good! Remember that you are precious to Him! And don't forget to smile and laugh 

Talk to you all on Monday!! Chao chao!!

~ Hermana Geary