Week 30

Meant to be missed 

What's up yall!!

Hope this week has been fantabulous for you, it's been a party out here in Machalí too! We got cambio news this week (don't worry, Hna Martin and I are both staying - they can't split the duo up yet!!) and things have been a little crazy! 

Also, message me when you get the chance! I love hearing from all of you! 

First, and as always, let's start with a scripture 

 Scripture of the Week 

"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." DyC 6:36-37 <3

Let's get into it!

Lunes ~ Bandaids, chicken juice, & my people  

~ ZONE PDAYYYY!!!

Yo, it was so fun haha! We did an asado at this literal MANSION that a member in Doñihue owns. In the gazebo out back we had kabobs, smores, games, and Spikeball (Hna Woodley and I dominated the elders ). Since we share a sector with the zone leaders we went early with them to help set up - I was like elbow deep in a bag of raw chicken making those kabobs with the Hermanas 

Martes ~  hey hey hey, goodbyeeee  

~ Last district council of the cambio! Honestly I love this sector and our district so much, I'm gonna be sad when some of us have to leave 

Especially since HERMANA EKINS IS GOING HOME!!!! We had a funeral for her after consejo. Rip my queen 

Miércoles ~ Lil chilean fam

~ Had lunch with the elders and our new convert today...and holyyyy cow, they crack me up so hard. They're legit toddlers making potty jokes and Elder Whiting stuffing noodles up his nose  Sometimes our conversations remind me of my brothers  

~ Lucas joined us for some lessons today - genuinely the most goated ward mission leader ever! All of our friends feel super comfortable about coming to church when we have lessons with him 

Jueves ~ D&C 84:88

~ Today was a good day - and today was a hard day haha. It was super cold and misty and there was some sort of Chilean holiday, so nobody was in the streets and people were kinda agitated the whole time haha. We got rejected the whole day and people were kinda mean when it came to my Spanish.  

I think it was also just that at the end of the day it felt like we did nothing and I started getting eaten up in my thoughts lol. BUT luckily for me, I have the best companion and the best Hermanas in my sector - they helped me a lot when I was kinda in the dumps a little tonight. God sends angels!! And Jesus is always there, I promise. I'm writing about it because I want you all to know that the mission is amazing, and the mission hard too. But I love these moments all the same because this is how I know my Savior! 

Viernes ~ Prayers & lava showers  

~ Lots and lots of referencias today 

I actually found a couple cool people! Some inactive members that are wanting to come back to church too. I love it so much!!!

~ Daniela my QUEEN  came with us all day today. She has such a strong testimony and I always feel the spirit so strongly around her. Especially when she offers a prayer for us! She's such a powerful missionary without a tag - a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ! We love her with literally all we've got! 

~ THE BIGGEST MIRACLE OF ALL THE MIRACLES HAPPENED TODAY: The mission repair guy came today and he fixed our water heater so WE HAVE HOT WATER NOW!!! I know that might not sound like the biggest miracle of all time, but you try taking ice-cold showers during the winter for an entire transfer - then we can talk 

Sábado ~ Frozen hands, happy heart 

~ We had a really good day today!! It was SOOOOOO COLD and honestly I loved it haha. I haven't felt this kind of cold for like a year and a half, when I was beginning my second semester at JMU! I will always prefer freezing cold over the heat that we endured in Talca this summer 

~ We've had a lot of success lately with visiting people who were previously taught! Kinda cool to hear their stories and everything!

Domingo ~ Love moved first

~ I want to use today as a segue into my spiritual thought! 

This morning was precious to me.

We had 11 friends and all of our converts confirm for church yesterday, and when we called them this morning...none of them picked up. And we didn't see any of them in church either. I was frustrated and sad, and so was my companion. But honestly, what happened next was the thing that truly mattered.

While sitting in silence, thoughts flooding my mind, a 12 year-old boy with a baggy white dress shirt walked in front of me and looked me in the eyes. He approached me, smiled, and extended his arm towards me. In his hand, he held a silver tray filled with  broken pieces of bread, each different in its own unique way. I paused before taking a piece, and realized the magnitude of what was happening. 

In my time of need, I watched this little 12 year old represent my Savior in the most holy, precious, beautiful way I ever could've imagined. It was as if Jesus was the one who saw me from across the room - He looked at me, smiled, walked up to me, and extended His sacrifice to me first, before I could ever even offer something to Him.

After eating the bread, I then took the tray and passed it to my companion, symbolically taking it upon myself to be a representative of Jesus Christ for her.

After church, as we were reflecting on our week, we joyfully realized that we did everything we could to help God's children have an experience with Jesus in that sacred ordinance of the sacrament this Sunday. And we did it! We had 2 lifelong, never-fall-away converts in church this week: me and her. During lunch, while telling the elders about it all, Elder Whiting asked, "And how does it feel to look back at this week and know that you gave everything you had to God's work?"

This is my call to each of you. 

Give everything you have to bring yourself and all the rest of God's children home to Him. And if at the end of the day, it's just you who's there with Him, know that Jesus Christ will wrap you in His arms all the same.

In what ways have you seen Jesus offering His sacrifice to you?

How can you be His representative and offer it to others this week?

I promise that as you ponder and act on this that you will feel as I did - encircled eternally in His love, strengthened and uplifted, reassured and renewed.

I testify and promise you all these things. in the name of the One who always offers first, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Have the best week ever! I love you with my whole heart! 

All I've got, 

Hermana Geary